APWH Unit 0
Paleolithic era The long period during which human societies sustained themselves through
gathering, hunting, and fishing without the practice of agriculture. Such ways of
living persisted well after the advent of agriculture in many places.
2. Pastoral society Based on an alternative kind of food-producing economy focused on the raising
of livestock, pastoral societies emerged in the Afro-Eurasian world where settled
agriculture was difficult or impossible. Pastoral peoples often led their animals to
seasonal grazing grounds rather than settling permanently in a single location.
3. chiefdom A societal grouping governed by a chief who typically relies on generosity, ritual
status, or charisma rather than force to win obedience from the people.
4. patriarchy A social system in which women have been made subordinate to men in the family
and in society; often linked to the development of plow-based agriculture, intensive
warfare, and private property.
5. Hinduism A religion based on the many beliefs, practices, sects, rituals, and philosophies in
India; in the thinking of nineteenth-century Indian reformers, it was expressed as
a distinctive tradition, an Indian religion wholly equivalent to Christianity.
6. Upanishads Indian mystical and philosophical works written between 800 and 400 b.c.e. (pron.
oo-PAHN-ee-shahds)
7. Siddhartha Gautama
The Indian prince whose exposure to human suffering led him to develop a path
to Enlightenment, which became the basis for the emerging religious tradition of
Buddhism; lived ca. 566–ca. 486 b.c.e. (pron. sidd-ARTH-uh gow-TAHM-uh)
8. Theravada Buddhism
“Teaching of the Elders,” the early form of Buddhism according to which the
Buddha was a wise teacher but not divine; emphasizes practices rather than beliefs.
(pron. THAIR-ah-VAH-dah)
9. Mahayana Buddhism
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Strayer, Ways of the World with Sources for the AP® Modern Course, 4E - Chapter 1
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“Great Vehicle,” the popular development of Buddhism in the early centuries of
the Common Era, which gives a much greater role to supernatural beings and to
compassion and proved to be more popular than original (Theravada) Buddhism.
10. bhakti movement Meaning “worship,” this Hindu movement began in south India and moved
northward between 600 and 1000 c.e.; it involved the intense adoration of and
identification with a particular deity through songs, prayers, and rituals. (pron.
BAHK-tee)
11. Confucianism The Chinese philosophy first enunciated by Confucius, advocating the moral example of superiors as the key element of social order.
12. Han dynasty The Chinese dynasty (206 b.c.e.–220 c.e.) that emerged after the Qin dynasty
collapsed, establishing political and cultural patterns that lasted into the twentieth
century.
13. Daoism A Chinese philosophy / popular religion that advocates a simple and unpretentious
way of living and alignment with the natural world, founded by the legendary figure
Laozi. (pron. dow-ism)
14. Judaism The monotheistic religion developed in the Middle East by the Hebrews, emphasizing a sole personal god (Yahweh) with concerns for social justice.
15. Jesus of Nazareth A peasant/artisan “wisdom teacher” and Jewish mystic (ca. 4 b.c.e.–29 c.e.) whose
life, teachings, death, and alleged resurrection gave rise to the new religion of
Christianity.
16. Saint Paul An early convert and missionary (ca. 6–67 c.e.) and the first great popularizer of
Christianity, especially to Gentile (non-Jewish) communities.
17. Muhammad Ibn
Abdullah
(570–632 c.e.) The Prophet and founder of Islam whose religious revelations
became the Quran, bringing a radically monotheistic religion to Arabia and the
world.
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18. Quran. Also transliterated as Qur’án and Koran, this is the most holy text of Islam, which
records the words of God through revelations given to the Prophet Muhammad.
19. umma The community of all believers in Islam, bound by common belief rather than
territory, language, or tribe. (pron. OOM-mah)
20. ulama Islamic religious scholars, both Sunni and Shia, who shaped and transmitted the
core teachings of Islamic civilization.
21. Sufism An understanding of the Islamic faith that saw the worldly success of Islamic
civilization as a distraction and deviation from the purer spirituality of Muhammad’s
time. By renouncing the material world, meditating on the words of the Quran,
chanting the names of God, using music and dance, and venerating Muhammad
and various “saints,” Sufis pursued an interior life, seeking to tame the ego and
achieve spiritual union with Allah.
22. Silk Roads Land-based trade routes that linked many regions of Eurasia. They were named
after the most famous product traded along these routes.
23. Sea Roads The world’s largest sea-based system of communication and exchange before
1500 c.e. Centered on India, it stretched from southern China to eastern Africa.
24. Sand Roads A term used to describe the routes of the trans-Saharan trade, which linked interior
West Africa to the Mediterranean and North African world.