AP World History Unit 1 Vocabulary – Flashcards
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hunting and gathering
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means of obtaining subsistence by humans before the mastery of sedentary agriculture; normally typical of tribal social organization
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civilization
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societies with reliance on sedentary agriculture, ability to produce food surpluses, and existence of nonfarming elites, along with merchant and manufacturing groups
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Paleolithic
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the Old Stone Age ending in 12,000 B.C.E.; typified by use of evolving stone tools and hunting and gathering for subsistence
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Neolithic
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the New Stone Age between 8000 and 5000 B.C.E.; period in which adaptation of sedentary agriculture occurred; domestication of plants and animals accomplished
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nomads
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cattle- and sheep-herding societies normally found on the fringes of civilized societies; commonly referred to as "barbarian" by civilized societies
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culture
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combinations of ideas, objects, and patterns of behavior that result from human social interaction
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Homo sapiens
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the species of humanity that emerged as most successful at the end of the Paleolithic
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Agrarian revolution
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occurred between 8000 and 5000 B.C.E.; transition from hunting and gathering to sedentary agriculture
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pastoralism
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a nomadic agricultural lifestyle based on herding domesticated animals; tended to produce independent people capable of challenging sedentary agricultural societies
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Çatal Hüyük
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early urban culture based on sedentary agriculture; located in modern southern Turkey; larger in population than Jericho, had greater degree of social stratification
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Bronze Age
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from 4000 to 3000 B.C.E.; increased use of plow, metalworking; development of wheeled vehicles, writing
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Mesopotamia
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literally "between the rivers"; the civilizations that arose in the alluvial plain of the Tigris Euphrates river valleys
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potter's wheel
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a technological advance in pottery making; invented circa 6000 B.C.E.; encouraged faster and higher quality ceramic pottery products
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Sumerians
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people who migrated into Mesopotamia circa 4000 B.C.E.; created the first civilization within the region; organized area into city states
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cuneiform
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a form of writing developed by the Sumerians using a wedge shaped stylus and clay tablets
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city-state
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a form of political organization typical of Mesopotamian civilization; consisted of agricultural hinterlands ruled by an urban based king
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ziggurats
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massive towers usually associated with Mesopotamian temple connections
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Babylonian Empire
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unified all of Mesopotamia circa 1800 B.C.E.; collapsed due to foreign invasion circa 1600 B.C.E
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Hammurabi
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the most important Babylonian ruler; responsible for codification of the law
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pharaoh
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the term used to denote the kings of ancient Egypt; the term, "great house" refers to the palace of the pharaohs
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pyramids
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monumental architecture typical of Old Kingdom Egypt; used as burial sites for pharaohs
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hieroglyphs
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form of writing developed in ancient Egypt; more pictorial than Mesopotamian cuneiform
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Kush
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African state that developed along the upper reaches of the Nile circa 1000 B.C.E.; conquered Egypt and ruled it for several centuries
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monotheism
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the exclusive worship of one god; introduced by Jews into Middle Eastern civilization
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Phoenicians
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seafaring civilization located on the shores of the eastern Mediterranean; established colonies throughout the Mediterranean
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Harappa and Mohenjo Daro
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major urban complexes of Harappan civilization; laid out on planned grid pattern
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Aryans
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Indo-European nomadic, warlike, pastoralists who replaced Harappan civilization
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Huanghe (Yellow) River Basin
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site of the development of sedentary agriculture in China
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Shang
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1st Chinese dynasty
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oracles
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shamans or priests in Chinese society who foretold the future through interpreting animal bones cracked by heat; inscriptions on bones led to Chinese writing
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Ideographic writing
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pictograph characters grouped together to create new concepts; typical of Chinese writing
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Zhou
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originally a vassal family of the Shang; possibly Turkic-speaking in origin; overthrew Shang and established 2nd Chinese dynasty (1122-256 B.C.E.)
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Xianyang
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capital of the Zhou dynasty
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Feudalism
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social organization created by exchanging grants of land (fiefs) in return for formal oaths of allegiance and promises of loyal service; typical of Zhou dynasty
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Mandate of Heaven
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the divine source of political legitimacy in China; established under Zhou to justify overthrow of Shang
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Qin
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dynasty (221-207 B.C.E.) founded at the end of the Warring States period
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Shi Huangdi
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first emperor of China; founder of Qin dynasty
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Warring States period
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time of warfare between regional lords following the decline of the Zhou dynasty in the 8th century B.C.E.
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Confucius
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major Chinese philosopher born in 6th century B.C.E.; sayings collected in Analects; philosophy based on the need for restoration of social order through the role of superior men
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Laozi
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Chinese Daoist philosopher; taught that governments were of secondary importance and recommended retreat from society into nature
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Daoism
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philosophy associated with Laozi; individual should seek alignment with Dao or cosmic force
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Legalists
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Chinese school of political philosophy; stressed the need for the absolute power of the emperor enforced through strict application of laws
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Great Wall
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Chinese defensive fortification built to keep out northern nomadic invaders; began during the reign of Shi Huangdi
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Han
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dynasty succeeding the Qin ruled from 202 B.C.E. to 220 C.E.
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Himalayan Mountains
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region marking the northern border of the Indian subcontinent
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Varnas
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the categories organizing Indian society into a functional hierarchy; categories of castes
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Untouchables
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lowest caste in Indian society; performed tasks that were considered polluting (street sweeping, removal of human waste, tanning); people without a caste (outcast); in Hindi, called pariahs
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karma
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the sum of merits (good things you do) accumulated by an individual; determined the caste one would be born into in the next life; basic belief in Hinduism, and even Buddhism
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reincarnation
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the successive rebirth of the soul according to merits earned in previous lives; "carn" means meat or flesh, "incarnate" means to become flesh
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Mahabharata, Ramayana
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Indian epics, deeply imbued with Hindu teachings; Mahabharata about war; Ramayana about a man and a princess going on an adventure
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Buddha
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creator of a major Indian and Asian religion; born in the 6th century B.C.E.; taught that enlightenment could be achieved only by abandoning desires for earthly things; name was Siddhartha, was a prince; reacted against the teachings of Hinduism
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nirvana
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the Buddhist state of enlightenment; a state of tranquility; Buddhist heaven
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Maurya dynasty
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established in Indian subcontinent in 4th century B.C.E. following the invasion of Alexander the Great; great Buddhist dynasty (Ashoka)
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Chandragupta Maurya
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founder of the Mauryan dynasty, the first empire in the Indian subcontinent; first centralized government since Harappan civilization; may have met Alexander the Great; creates the first central government (tightly organized)
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Ashoka
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grandson of Chandragupta Maurya; extended conquests of the dynasty (slaughtered thousands); converted to Buddhism (realized the horror of his actions) and sponsored its spread throughout his empire
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stupas
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stone shrines built to house relics of the Buddha; preserved Buddhist architectural forms; spherical
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Upanishads
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later books of the Vedas (like the Bible); combined sophisticated and sublime philosophical ideas
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Shiva, Vishnu
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the most important Hindu deities; destroyer | preserver
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Gupta dynasty
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built an empire in the 3rd century C.E. that included all but southern Indian regions; less centralized than Mauryan Empire; India does not have another unified empire until the British empire; Hinduism takes over from Buddhism
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Sanskrit
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the classical and sacred Indian language
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Leonard Woolley
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archeologist who excavated a Sumerian city, Ur, in 1922 and found statues, musical instruments, and the Royal Graves; also found evidence of a great flood
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Lord Elgin
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a British lord who removed the marble from the Parthenon from Greece and sold them to the British museum
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Heinrich Schliemann
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excavated Troy and Mycenae; found the mask of Agamemnon and a shafte grave
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Howard Carter
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discovered Tutankhamen's (King Tut) tomb
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Hiram Bingham III
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discovered Inca outposts called Machu Picchu; inspiration for Indiana Jones
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band
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a level of social organization normally consisting of 20 to 30 people; nomadic hunters and gatherers; labor divided on a gender basis
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vassal retainer (vassals)
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subordinate leaders serving the king and great lords and usually bound to them by personal ties
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syncretism
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the combination of cultural elements
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Silk Road
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network of roads through central Asia that allowed people to trade silk and luxury products
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monsoons
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seasonal winds crossing Indian subcontinent and southeast Asia; during summer bring rains
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yoga
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a form of meditation and self-disciple; means "union"
