AP World History Terms List 1 – 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 band 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 accomplishedH
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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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"savages"
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societies engaged in either hunting and gathering for subsistence or in migratory cultivation; not as stratified or specialized as civilized and nomadic 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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Neanderthals
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species of genus homo that disappeared at the end of the Paleolithic.
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band
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a level of social organization normally consisting of between 20 and 30 people; nomadic hunters and gatherers; labor divided on a gender basis.
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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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Natufian complex
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preagricultural culture; located in present -day Israel, Jordan, and Lebanon; practiced collection of wild barley and wheat to supplement game; large settlement sites.
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matrilocal
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a culture in which young men upon marriage go to live with the bride's family.
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matrilineal
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family descent and inheritance traced through the female line.
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pastoralism
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a nomadic agricultural life-style based on herding domesticated animals; tended to produce independent people capable of challenging sedentary agricultural societies.
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Huanghe or Yellow river basin
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site of the development of sedentary agriculture in China.
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Mesoamerica
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Mexico and Central America; along with Peru, site of development of sedentary agriculture in western hemisphere.
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Jericho
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early walled urban culture based on sedentary agriculture; located in modern Israel-occupied West Bank near Jordan river.
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Çatal Huyuk
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early urban culture based on sedentary agriculture; located in modern southern Turkey; larger in population than Jerico, 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 TigrisEuphrates river valleys.
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potter's wheel
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a technological advance in pottery making; invented ca. 6000 B.C.E.; encouraged faster and higherquality ceramic pottery product.
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Sumerians
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people who migrated into Mesopotamia ca. 4000 B.C.E.; created the first civilization within region; organized area into citystates.
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cuneiform
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a form of writing developed by the Sumerians using a wedgeshaped 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 urbanbased king.
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Epic of Gilgamesh
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the first literary epic; written down ca. 2000 B.C.E.; included story of the Great Flood.
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ziggurats
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massive towers usually associated with Mesopotamian temple connections.
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animism
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a religious outlook that recognizes gods in many aspects of nature and propitiates them to help control and explain nature; typical of Mesopotamian religions.
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Sargon I of Akkad
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ruler of citystate of Akkad; established the first empire in Mesopotamian civilization ca. 2400 B.C.E.
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Babylonian Empire
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unified all of Mesopotamia ca. 1800 B.C.E.; collapsed due to foreign invasion ca. 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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Aknenaton
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Egyptian pharaoh of the New Kingdom; attempted to establish monotheistic religion replacing the traditional Egyptian pantheon of gods.
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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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mummification
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act of preserving the bodies of the dead; practiced in Egypt to preserve the body for enjoyment of the afterlife.
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hieroglyphs
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form of writing developed in ancient Egypt; more pictorial than Mesopotamian cuneiforrn.
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patriarchate
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societies in which women defer to men; societies run by men and based upon the assumption that men naturally directed political, economic, and cultural life.
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Kush
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African state that developed along the upper reaches of the Nile ca. 1000 B.C.E.; conquered Egypt and ruled it for several centuries.
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Yahweh
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the single god of the Hebrews; constructed a covenant with Jews as his chosen people.
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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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Minoans
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a civilization that developed on Crete ca. 1600 B.C.E.; capital at the palace complex of Knossos.
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Mycenae
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the 1st civilization to emerge on the Greek mainland; destroyed ca. 1000 B.C.E.
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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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Hittites
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an IndoEuropean people who entered Mesopotamia ca. 1750 B.C.E.; destroyed the Babylonian Empire; swept away ca. 1200 B.C.E.
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Indus river valley
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river flows from sources in the Himalayas to the Arabian Sea; location of Harappan civilization.
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monsoons
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seasonal winds crossing the Indian sub-continent and Southeast Asia; during the summer they bring rain.
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Harappan civilization
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first civilization of the Indian subcontinent; emerged in Indus river valley ca. 2500 B.C.E.
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Harass and-Dar
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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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Vedas
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Aryan hymns originally transmitted orally; written down in sacred books from the 6th century B.C.E.
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India
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chief deity of the Aryans; depicted as a hard-drinking warrior.
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daises
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Aryan name for indigenous people of the Indus river valley region; regarded as societally inferior to Aryans.
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caste system
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rigid system of social classification introduced by Aryans.
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varnas
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clusters of caste groups; four social castes: brahmans (priests), warriors, merchants, peasants; beneath them were the untouchables.
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polygamy
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marriage practice in which one husband had several wives; present in Aryan society.
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polyandry
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marriage practice in which one woman had several husbands; recounted in Aryan epics.
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patrilineal
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social system in which descent and inheritance is passed through the male line; typical of Aryan society.
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Huanghe river
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river flowing from the Tibetan plateau to the China Sea; its valley was site of early Chinese sedentary agricultural communities.
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Ordos bulge
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located on Huanghe river; region of fertile soil; site of Yangshao and Longshan cultures.
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loess
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fine-grained soil deposited in Ordos bulge; created fertile lands for sedentary agricultural communities.
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Yangshao culture
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a formative Chinese culture located at Ordos bulge ca. 2500 to 2000 B.C.E.; primarily an intensive hunting and gathering society supplemented by shifting cultivation.
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Longshan culture
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a formative Chinese culture located at Ordos bulge ca. 2000 to 1500 B.C.E; based primarily on cultivation of millet.
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Yu
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a possibly mythical ruler revered for construction of a system of flood control along the Huanghe river valley; founder of Xia kingdom.
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Xia
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China's first, possibly mythical, kingdom; ruled by Yu; no archaeological sites yet discovered.
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Shang
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1st Chinese dynasty; capital in Ordos bulge.
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vassal retainers
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members of former ruling families granted control over peasant and artisan populations of areas throughout Shang kingdom; indirectly exploited wealth of their territories.
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extended families
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consisted of several generations, including sons and grandsons of family patriarch and their families; typical of Shang China elites.
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nuclear households
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husband, wife, and their children, and perhaps a few other relatives; typical of Chinese peasantry.
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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 in origin; overthrew Shang and established 2nd Chinese dynasty.
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Xian and Loyang
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capitals 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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shi
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probably originally priests; transformed into corps of professional bureaucrats because of knowledge of writing during Zhou dynasty.
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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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Mencius
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major follower of Confucius; stressed that humans were essentially good and that governments required the consent of their subjects.
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Xunzi
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follower of Confucius; stressed that humans were inherently lazy and evil and required an authoritarian government.
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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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Sunzi
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author of The Art of War; argued that war was an extension of statecraft and should be fought according to scientific principles.
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Liu Bang
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founder of the Han dynasty in 202 B.C.E.
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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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scholar-gentry
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Chinese class created by the marital linkage of the local landholding aristocracy with the office-holding shi.
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secret societies
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Chinese peasant organizations; provided members financial support during hard times and physical protection during disputes with local aristocracy.
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forbidden city
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imperial precinct within Chinese capital cities; only imperial family, advisors, and household were permitted to enter.
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Wang Mang
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member of a powerful family related to the Han emperors through marriage; temporarily overthrew the Han between 9 and 23 C.E.
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eunuchs
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castrated males used within households of Chinese emperors, usually to guard his concubines; became a political counterbalance to powerful marital relatives during later Han rule.
