Combo with Ch.5 AP World History ( The Classical Period: Directions, Diversities, and Declines by 500 C.E.) and 12 others
Anyang
Shang's oldest and most important building; one of the capitals; built of wood; located in forest, wa also the capital.
5 minutes before midnight
The amount of time that humans have been on land if you set it relative to a 24 hour day. Approximate time is about 2.5 million years on earh as a species out of 4.56 billion.
Shang
1st Dynasty in China had oracle bones, bronze casting, ancestor obsessed. Followed Xia
Ethiopia
A Christian kingdom that developed in the highlands of eastern Africa under the dynasty of King Lalaibela; retained Christianity in the face of Muslim expansion elsewhere in Africa, also defeated the kingdom of Axum.
Sargon of Akkad
A ancient Mesopotamian ruler who reigned approximately 2334-2279 BC, and was one of the earliest of the world's great empire builders, conquering all of southern Mesopotamia as well as parts of Syria, Anatolia, and Elam (western Iran). He established the region's first Semitic dynasty and was considered the founder of the Mesopotamian military tradition.
Celtic
A cultural meta-group in central and northwestern Europe, flourishing prior to Roman expansions; includes Irish, Welsh, Scottish, and the Gauls
Java Man
A homo erectus discovered by Dutch physician and anatomist Eugene Dubois in 1891 in JAVA Indonesia,
Peking Man
A homo erectus skeleton about 1.7 million years old Found in Northern China near Beijeing; shows that people settled there more than 500,000 years ago.
Pharaoh
A kng of ancient Egypt, considered a god as well as a political and military leader.
Skara Brae
A late Neolithic village in Northern Scotland(Orkeny Islands) discovered by archaeologists in the 1800s, Dates back to 1500 BCE. Special Storage areas for grain, sturdy housed, better conditions lead to higher birth rates and lower mortality rates at least when crop yeilds were high.
Quechua
A member of a South American Indian people in Peru who were formerly the ruling class of the Inca empire, also a , the spoken language of the Inca that is still used today in countries of Peru, Ecuador, Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina
Inca
A member of the small group of Quechuan people living in the Cuzco valley in Peru who established hegemony over their neighbors to create the great Inca empire that lasted from about 1100 until the Spanish conquest in the early 1530s. Had the best roads in the world at their height. Ruins at Machu Picchu
Bronze Age
A period of human culture between the Stone Age and the Iron Age, characterized by the use of weapons and implements made of BRONZE. From 4000 BCE to 1500 BCE when Iron replaced it.
Teotihuacan
A powerful city-state in central Mexico (100-75 C.E.). Its population was about 150,000 at its peak in 600. It is most remembered for the gigantic "pyramid of the sun"
Barbarian
A term coined by the ancient greek to disparage those that did not speak their language, throughout history it has changed from being a cultural construct( Greeks, Romans) to a social and racial one (Nazi Germany, Dark Age Europe) etc etc.
Hiram Bingham
A young American explorer and US Senator who discovered the abandoned city of Machu Picchu in 1911.
Mohenjo Daro
Along with Harappa, major urban complex of the Harappan civilization; laid out on planned grid pattern. Even had houses with running water.Language of the civilization has NOT been deciphered.
Aztecs
Also known as Mexica, they created a powerful empire in central Mexico (1325-1521 C.E.). They forced defeated peoples to provide goods and labor as a tax. Engaged in frequent warfare to conquer others of the region. Worshiped many gods (polytheistic). Believed the sun god needed human blood to continue his journeys across the sky. Practiced human sacrifices and those sacrificed were captured warriors from other tribes and those who volunteered for the honor
Hammurabi
Amorite ruler of Babylon (r. 1792-1750 B.C.E.). He conquered many city-states in southern and northern Mesopotamia and is best known for a code of laws, inscribed on a black stone pillar, illustrating the principles to be used in legal cases. Boasted that " to promot the welfar of the people, I Hammurabi, the devout, god fearing prince, cause justice to prevail in the land by destroying the wicked and eveil, that the strong might not opress the weak"
Kush
An African state that developed along the upper reaches of the Nile c. 1000B.C.E.; conquered Egypt and ruled it for several centuries.
Kush
An Egyptian name for Nubia, the region alongside the Nile River south of Egypt, where an indigenous kingdom with its own distinctive institutions and cultural traditions arose beginning in the early second millennium B.C.E. It was deeply influenced by Egyptian culture and at times under the control of Egypt, which coveted its rich deposits of gold and luxury products from sub-Saharan Africa carried up the Nile corridor. Defeated by the Axum Kingdom in 300 BCE.
La Venta
An ancient island town of Middle America on the east coast of what is now Mexico; center of Olmec culture in 1000 B.C. surrounded by swamps and rivers.
Silk Road
An ancient trade route between China and the Mediterranean Sea extending some 6,440 km (4,000 mi) and linking China with the Roman Empire. Marco Polo followed the route on his journey to Cathay. Pastoralists played a major role in establishing and expanding this trade network. Major spread of religion(peacefully) because of this, and of technology.
City-state
An independent, self-governing city; a form of political organization typical of Mesopotamian civilizations; consisted of agricultural hinterlands ruled by an urban-based king.
Slash and burn agriculture
Another name for shifting cultivation, so named because fields are cleared by slashing the vegetation and burning the debris. Used by non sedentary peoples who would farm for a couple of years and then leeave for a couple decades before codming back.
Bodhisattvas
Buddhist doctrine that held that some people could gain nirvana through their own meditation. This shows that Buddhism shifted from a system of ethics into a more emotional belief.
Justinian
Byzantine emperor in the 6th century A.D. who reconquered much of the territory previously ruler by Rome, initiated an ambitious building program , including Hagia Sofia, as well as a new legal code
Yellow Turbans
Chinese Daoists who launched a revolt in 184 C.E., promising a golden age to be brought about by divine magic. Attacked the weakness of the Emperor and self indulgence of the bureaucracy. They FAILED. Epidemics might have factored into it. Han Dynasty did end around this time.
Maya
Classic culture emerging in southern Mexico and Central America contemporary with Teotihuacan; extended over broad region; featured monumental architecture, written language, calendrical and mathematical systems, highly developed religion
Tang Dynasty
Cnsidered the golden age of Chinese civilization and ruled for nearly 300 years; China grew under the dynasty to include much of eastern Asia (expands from Vietnam to Manchuria ), as well as large parts of Central Asia. Confucianism was revived along with the bureaucracy
Olmec Culture
Cultural tradition that arose at San Lorenzo and La Venta in Mexico circa 1,200 BCE; featured irrigated agriculture, urbanism, elaborate religion, beginnings of calendrical and writing systems, famous for its HEADS(especially at San Lorenzo)
Constantinople
Emperor Constantine,AD 330 moved the capital from Rome to the Greek city Byzantium in the east, and renamed the city. This city became the capital of the Roman empire. It was strategically located for trade and defense purposes.
Harappan Culture
Existed three millennia ago in the age of bronze and copper. Advanced and developed for its time. Traded with the Persian Gulf and Mesopotamia. Believed in life after death but there was no concept of reincarnation. Also known as the Indus Valley Civilization.
Machu Picchu
Famous fortress city high in the Andes Mountains (provides us with great examples of Inca building skills). The ruins of the city were rediscovered in 1911 by Hiram Bingham.
Mesopotamia
First civilization located between the Tigris & Eurphrates Rivers in present day Iraq; term means "land between the rivers;" Sumerian culture, was WAY more fertile back then.
5 pillars
Five requirements of Islam; Declaration of Faith,Daily prayer, alms for the poor, fasting during Ramadan, Hajj
Benedict of Nursia
Founder of monasticism in what had been the western half of the Roman Empire; established Benedictine Rule in the 6th century; paralleled development of Basil's rules in Byzantine Empire.
Eugene Dubois
He uncovered what he believed to be the remains of a human ancestor. He named his find Homo erectus, meaning human who stands upright. It was nicknamed Java Man
Byzantine Empire
Historians' name for the eastern portion of the Roman Empire from the fourth century onward, taken from 'Byzantion,' an early name for Constantinople, the Byzantine capital city. The empire fell to the Ottomans in 1453.
Augustine
Influential church father and theologian; Bishop of Hippo; champion of Christian doctrine against various heresies and very important in the long-term development of Christian thought on such issues as predestination
Back Problems
Is a problem caused largely by evolutionary history, came about because of upright structure.
Easter Island
Island located in the eastern pacific ocean, 2,300 miles west of chile. The Polynesian name is Rapa Nu. Has the famous statues on the island called moai that were made mysteriously hundreds of years ago.
Polynesia
Islands contained in a rough triangle whose points lie in Hawaii, New Zealand, and Easter Island, a sub region of Oceania.
Axum
Kingdom located in Ethiopian highlands; defeated kingdom of Kush around 300 B.C.E. and succeeded by Ethiopia. Received strong influence from Arabian peninsula; eventually converted to Christianity
Moai
Massive statues on Easter Island made by the Polynesians. ancestor figures, "discovered" on Easter sunday 1772
Ziggurats
Massive towers usually associated with Mesopotamian temple complexes. Each city had a patron god that they prayed to and professional priests operated theses temples.
Pyramids
Monumental architecture typical of Old Kingdom Egypt; used as burial sites for pharaohs.
Devi
Mother goddess within Hinduism; widely spread following collapse of Guptas; encouraged new emotionalism in religious ritual
Ottoman Turks
Muslims, that took over Constantinople in 1453; and renamed it Istanbul; as a result the Byzantine people flee to Italian City-States which becomes a catalyst for the expansion of language and art; established a large empire and ended the Byzantine empire
P'an Ku
Mythic ancestor which ancient chinese said was their creator.
Paul
One of the first Christian missionaries; moved away from insistence that adherents of the new religion follow Jewish Law; use of Greek as language of the Church, initially persecuted the followers of Jesus but, after receiving a revelation on the road to Syrian Damascus, became a Christian
St. Thomas
One of the 12 who doubted God's resurrection and , he evangelized in present day Turkey and Iran and the Gnostic book states he started the Church in India and was martyred there.
Crassus
One of the three men who emerged as victors to form the first Triumvirate; feared Caesar and disliked Pompey; died fighting in Persia; his wife died in childbirth, defeated Spartacus and crucified 6,600 slaves on the Alpennine way. Considered the wealthiest man in Roman history, and perhaps one of the richest men in all history
Catal Huyuk
One of the world's first Neolithic cities(founded in 7000 BCE, the remains of this large city were found in 1958 in modern Turkey. Houses were largely made of mub brick set in timber frames. Worship of a "Mother Goddess". Was actually larger in population than Jericho and had a greater degree of social stratification.
Mahayana
One of two great schools of Buddhist doctrine emphasizing a common search for universal salvation especially through faith alone, bigger boat. Also called the "Greater Vehicle", found mainly in China/ Tibet etc. Bodhisattvas remained important.
Sumerians
People who migrated into Mesopotamia ca. 4000 B.C.E.; created the first civilization within region; organized area into city-states. Also developed the cuneiform alphabet, the FIRST known case of human writing. Devloped a system of numbers based on 10, 60 , and 360, founded Astronomy and built massive Ziggurats.
Ideographic
Pictographic characters grouped together to create new concepts; typical of Chinese writing.
Mastodons
Prehistoric furry elephants, the retreat of big game animals like this one after an ice age lead to the increasing importance of agriculture, which catalyzed the movement and population boom among our species.
Jesus of Nazereth
Prophet and teacher aamong the Jews, believed by Christians to be the Messiah, executed 30 CE.
Rajput
Regional princes in India following collapse of the Gupta empire; emphasized military control of their regions
Trinity
Religious dogma which professes the belief in the three persons in one God, The father, the son, and the Holy Spirit
Yellow River
River in China at a high plateau in Tibet. Loess soil carried by the river, gave river it's name, very fertile. "China's sorrow" when it had extensive flooding.The majority of ancient Chinese civilizations originated here.
Oracles
Shamans or priests in Chinese society who foretold the future through interpretations of animal bones cracked by heat; inscriptions on bone led to Chinese writing.
Harappa
Site of one of the great cities of the Indus Valley civilization of the third millennium B.C.E. It was located on the northwest frontier of the zone of cultivation , and may have been a center for the acquisition of raw materials. Was laid out on a planned grid pattern.Language of the civilization has NOT been deciphered. Part of Indus River Valley Civilization
Civilization
Socities distinguised by a reliance on sedentary agriculture, ability to produce food surpluses, and the existence of non- farming elites, as well as merchant and manufacturing groups. Also involves the formation of formal political ties or states , as opposed to a dependence on family or tribal ties.
animism
Superstitious religious belief that attributes human qualities to material objects or nonhuman living creatures, oldest belief system.
Cultures
Systems of belief that help explain the environment and set up rules for various kinds of social behavior. Emerged in the late Paleolithic and was also accompioned by the rapid spread of speech(languages)
Grand Canal
The 1,100-mile (1,700-kilometer) waterway linking the Yellow and the Yangzi Rivers. It was begun in the Han period and completed during the Sui Empire.
Coptic
The Christian church of Egypt, with dioceses elsewhere in Africa and the Near East. This is a branch within Orthodox Christianity, tolerated an Islamic takeover.
Mesolithic Age
The Middle Stone Age.12,000-8,000 BCE; ability to fashion stone tools & such improved greatly; made better weapons & cutting edges; had increased population growth accelerated producing more conflicts & wars;(Large amount of bone breaks and skull fractures.
Neolithic Age
The New stone age which went from about 8000 B.C to 3000 B.C. People who lived during this learned to polish stone tools, make pottery, grow crops, and raise animals.
Pope
The bishop of Rome and supreme leader of the Roman Catholic Church
Cuzco
The capital city of the Incan Empire, Located in present-day Peru.
Hagia Sofia
The cathedral of Holy Wisdom in Constantinople built by order of the Byzantine emperor Justinian. Frequently converted to other uses , now a museum.
Domestication
The conscious manipulation of plant and animal species by humans in order to sustain themselves. Along with agriculture it effectively changed the roles and relationships between men and women and patterns of childbearing , leading to social stratification, political organizations, expression, and larger more lethal war.
Copper
The first metal that people learned to use and work with, soon replaced by the stronger bronze. An early example of humans(and civilizations) impact on the enviroment is exhibited when the large scale production of copper along the Danube Valley led to extensive deforestation that ended up depleting the fuel supply, and the industry collapsed around 3000 BCE.
Homo Erectus
The humanoid species that developed a larger brain capacity, erect stance(leading to better tool use) emerging between 500,000 and 750,000 ears ago. First developed a nd spread in Africa, then to Asia and Europe, reaching a population size of perhaps 1.5 million 100,000 years ago. Now Extinct
Sahara
The largest desert in the world, stretching 3,000 miles across the African continent, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea, and measuring 1,200 miles from north to south.
Pyramid of the sun
The largest single -structured monument in Mesoamerica which was built in the city of Teotihuacan in 100 CE by the Aztecs, occupies as much space as the pyramid of Khufu in Egypt, although it's half in size.
Sassanid Empire
The name of the last pre-Islamic Iranian empire. It was one of the two main powers in Western Asia for a period of more than 400 years. Was founded by Ardashir I after defeating the last Parthian (Arsacid) king, in Persia,also involving a revival of a revival of the Persian religion Zoroastrianism). Fought the Byzantines, which weakened them both.
Homo Sapiens
The newest human breed, which emerged as the most successful(and therefore survived), and of which ALL humans in the world are descendants.
Paleolithic Age
The old stone age perio ending in 12,000 BCE, typified by the use of CRUDE stone tools and hunting and gathering for subsistence. Takes the majority of the 2 million plus years during which are species has existed. Homo Erctus first developed during this age.
Agriculture
The purposeful tending of crops and livestock in order to produce food and fiber, this is what MOST clearly moved the human species, led to the massive explosion in population, was triggered by the end of an ice age.
hunting and gathering
The process of living that involves hunting for meat, gathering edible produce, and traveling frequently.
Shintoism
The religion of the early Japanese culture; worshiped numerous gods and spirits associated with the natural world (polytheistic, animistic); offered food and prayers to gods and nature spirits
Sui Dynasty
The short dynasty between the Han and the Tang built the Grand Canal, strengthened the government, and introduced Buddhism to China
Neolithic Revolution
This social revolution was also known as the New Stone Age where people changed from hunting and gathering food to domesticating animals and cultivating land as farmers. (Was actually very slow)
Babylonian Empire
Unified all of Mesopotamia circa 1,800 BCE; collapsed due to foreign invasion circa 1,600 BCE
Speech Gene
What enabled our early anscestors to communicate better(beyond the sounds and gestures common to a number of animal groups), developed about 70,000 years earlier.
Nimbus
a halo or aureole appearing around the head of a holy figure to signify divinity
Islam
a monotheistic religion meaning "submission to the will of Allah." Muslims, or followers of this religion, are monotheistic and believe Allah is the only God and that Muhammad is his messenger. It was started by Muhammad in Mecca at around 610. Muslims follow the five pillars: faith, prayer, alms, fasting, and pilgrimage and believe in their holy book the Qur'an.
Cuneiform
a system of writing used in ancient Mesopotamia(around 3500 BCE) , in which wedge-shaped characters were produced b pressing a stylus into a soft clay tablet, which was then baked or otherwise hardened. Early writing such as this enabled socities to tax more efficently, make contracts, treaties, and generate an intellectual climate which promoted "rationality"
Nomads
cattle- and sheep-herding societies normally found on the fringes of civilized societies; commonly referred to as "barbarian" by civilized societies.
Indus River Valley
located in modern Pakistan; also known as Harappan Culture (including Mohenjo-Daro); highly advanced organized: sewer system, grid streets, uniform building construction, all examples of centralized government, home of dravidians., Language of the civilization has NOT been deciphered.
Dravidians
one of the main groups of people in India; probably descended from the Indus River culture that flourished at the dawn of Indian civilization over 4,000 yrs. ago
Predestination
the doctrine that God has decided all things beforehand, including which people will be eternally saved, Calvinism etc etc.
San Lorenzo
the first Olmec ceremonial center that arose about 1200 B.C.E. a. Farming: dry gardens and fields on river levees Religion: pyramids, public rituals and authoritarian display. Monumental architecture: pyramids. Art: monumental stone statues and carvings of rulers Trade: obsidian and semiprecious stones
Free will
the human ability to make decisions without being forced to choose or act in one specific way
Allah
the supreme God in the monotheistic Islam
Akkadians
this civilization included Semitic people living north of Sumeria; conquered Sumeria; united city-states of Mesopotamia; first empire in history; established by Sargon the Great