Unit One
City-states
"A central city and its surrounding villages, which together follow the same law, have one form of government, and share languages, religious beliefs, and ways of life."
Neolithic Revolution
(10,000 - 8,000 BCE) The development of agriculture and the domestication of animals as a food source. This led to the development of permanent settlements and the start of civilization.
Zhou Dynasty
(1050BC-400BC) Longest dynasty in Chinese history. Established a new political order with king at the highest level, then lords and warriors and then peasants.
New Kingdom
(1550 BCE - 700 BCE) Period in ancient Egyptian history characterized by strong pharaohs who conquered an empire that stretched from Nubia in the south, to the Euphrates River in Mesopotamia.
Shang Dynasty
(1766-1122 BCE) The Chinese dynasty that rose to power due to bronze metalurgy, war chariots, and a vast network of walled towns whose recognized this dynasty as the superior.
Old Kingdom
(3100- 2500 BCE) extended from Menes to the first intermediate period/ ancient Egypt's most fertile and successful era, Pyramid era
Maize (in The Americas)
(a.k.a. corn) this crop was the most important crop among all the Native Americans. It was traded over long distances and in Mesoamerica, it was somewhat genetically engineered to be more healthy and abundant.
Bronze Age
(archeology) a period between the Stone and Iron ages, characterized by the manufacture and use of bronze tools and weapons
iron
-technological advancement occurred in the Bantu society during the first millennium BC
Unit Four
1450 CE to 1750 CE
Unit Five
1750 CE to 1900 CE
Unit Six
1900 CE to Present
Tigris and Euphrates
2 major rivers of Mesopotamia, Both rivers beginning in the hills of modern Turkey. The Tigris has the greater amount of water. The Euphrates creates problems by creating a great deal of silt.
city of Ur
2100 B.C - 1955 B.C., built on a Tell (hill); temenos (religious precinct); ziggurat (hill of heaven) - temple common to Sumerians, Babylonians, & Assyrians
Middle Kingdom
2100 BC. - 1650 BC.: A new dynasty reunited Egypt. Moved the capital to Thebes. Built irrigation projects and canal between NIle and Red Sea so Egytian ships could trade along coasts of Arabian Penninsula and East Africa. Expanded Egyptian territory:Nubia, Syria.
When and where did the First Civilizations emerge?
3500-3000 BC- Mesopotamia, Sumer, Nile Valley, Nubia, Norte Chico, 2000 BC- Indus Valley, Xia China(followed by Shang and Zhou, Olmec)
Indus Valley civilization
3rd millennium BC, Elaborately planned cities, standardized measures, irrigated agriculture, written language, no temples kings etc., had a lot of land, no political hierarchy, was abandoned because of mass deforestation, low crop yields, famine, environmental deterioration, etc. their influence continued even to this day (i.e. yoga). Important because it shows how we developed in our cities and economy.
Uruk
4100-3100 BC, monumental Urban center in Southern Mesopotamian alluvium w/ large Anu Ziggurat. World's first monumental urban center. Used potters wheels, wheel and plow writing, bula tokens and beer/bread making.
Unit Two
600 BCE to 600 CE
Unit Three
600 CE to 1450 CE
Unit One
8000 BCE to 600 BCE
Vedas
A Hindu holy book which is a collection of Aryan hymns that were transmitted orally before being written down in the 6th century BCE.
Hyksos
A Semitic speaking people who invaded Egypt and brought the Middle Kingdom to an end in the 17th century B.C. They introduced Bronze Age technology for new tools and weapons, heavier swords, the compound bow, and the horse-drawn war chariot. Eventually, the Egyptians used the war technology to get rid of the Hyksos. The historian Josephus maintains that the Hyksos were in fact the children of Jacob who joined his son Joseph to escape the famine in the land of Canaan.
Nubia
A civilization to the south of Egypt in the Nile Valley, noted for development of an alphabetic writing system and a major iron working industry by 500 BCE
Hinduism
A cohesive and unique society, most prevalent in India, that integrates spiritual beliefs with daily practices and official institutions such as the caste system.
Code of Hammurabi
A collection of 282 laws which were enforced under Hammurabi's Rule. One of the first examples of written law in the ancient civilizations.
Epic of Gilgamesh
A famous poem that describes ancient Sumerian life. It is also called the "oldest story in the world"
patriarchy
A form of social organization in which a male is the family head and title is traced through the male line
Lucy
A forty percent complete skeleton discovery of an Australopithecus afarensis, or a species within the category of hominid. She was rediscovered on November 24, 1974 in Hadar, Ethiopia.
Fertile Crescent
A geographical area of fertile land in the Middle East stretching in a broad semicircle from the Nile to the Tigris and Euphrates
Wheat (in Middle East)
A grain that is used for culinary purposes. It is often used in the form of flour.
Aryans
A group of Indo-Europeans speakers that occupied India. Their sacred literature, the Vedas, are four collections of prayers, magical spells, and instructions for performing rituals. Had no system of writing and counted their wealth in cows, but, they did develop a caste system that organized them into five distinct groups. (Priests, Warriors/Lords, Merchants/Artisans, Slaves/Laborers (Shudras), and the Untouchables.) Their enemies were the dasas, who fit well into the "untouchable" class within the caste system.
Persians
A group of Indo-Europeans who frist migrated from Central Europe and southern Russia to the mountains and plateaus east of the Fertile Crescent in 1000 B.C. Iran was not only abundant in fertile soil, but also boasted its wealth in minerals. At first, there were dozens of small kingdoms; but when two powers arose, themselves and the Medes, they came to dominate the region and founded a huge empire. Through tolerance and good government, they brought political order to Southwest Asia. They also preserved ideas from the earlier civilizations and found new ways to live and rule.
Babylonians
A group of people who conquered the Sumerians. They had a very famous king named Hammurabi. Hammurabi created nearly 300 laws known as Hammurabi's Code of Laws, the old known legal system based on the concept of "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth".
Sumerians
A group of people who were the first to settle in Mesopotamia. They were the first people to invent the wheel and plow (a tool used for farming). They may have been the first people to discover agriculture and create an irrigation system.
Bantu
A major African language family. Collective name of a large group of sub-Saharan African languages and of the peoples speaking these languages. Famous for migrations throughout central and southern Africa.
ziggurat
A massive pyramidal stepped tower made of mud bricks. It is associated with religious complexes in ancient Mesopotamian cities, but its function is unknown.
bronze
A metal alloy consisting of 90% copper with tin and sometimes zinc comprising the other 10%
Hyksos
A pastoral group of unknown ethnicity that invaded Egypt and ruled in the north from 1650 to 1535 BCE. Their dominance was based on their use of horses, chariots, and bronze technology
Hittites
A people from central Anatolia who established an empire in Anatolia and Syria in the Late Bronze Age. With wealth from the trade in metals and military power based on chariot forces, the hittites vied with New Kingdom Egypt over Syria (p.64)
Chavin (of Peru)
A pre-Incan South American civilization developed in Peru; famous for their style of architecture and drainage systems to protect from floods.
rise of the state
A process of centralization that took place in the First Civilizations, growing out of the greater complexity or urban life in recognition of the need for coordination, regulation, adjudication, and military leadership
end of the last Ice Age
A process of global warming that began around 16,000 years ago and ended about 5,000 years later, with the earth enjoying a climate similar to that of our own time; the end of the Ice Age changed conditions for human beings, leading to increased population and helping to pave the way for agriculture.
Papyrus
A reed that grows along the banks of the Nile River in Egypt. From it was produced a coarse, paperlike writing medium used by the Egyptians and many other peoples in the ancient Mediterranean and Middle East.
Zoroastrianism
A religion originating in ancient Iran that became the official religion of the Achaemenids. It centered on a single benevolent deity, Ahuramazda, who engaged in a struggle with demonic forces before prevailing and restoring a pristine world. It emphasized truth-telling, purity, and reverence for nature.
Judaism
A religion with a belief in one god. It originated with Abraham and the Hebrew people. Yahweh was responsible for the world and everything within it. They preserved their early history in the Old Testament.
Nile
A river in East Africa, the longest in the world, flowing N from Lake Victoria to the Mediterranean. Lots of resources surrounding, 4,000 miles in Uganda, Sudan, and into Egypt
Hammurabi's Code
A set of 282 laws that dealt with almost every part of daily life developed by King Hammurabi of Mesopotamia. The code was influential in the establishment of Hebrew and Islamic law and in the U.S. judiciary system. It specified crimes and punishments to help judges impose penalties.
Hebrews
A smaller early civilization whose development of a monotheistic faith that provided the foundation of modern Judaism, Christianity, and Islam assured them a significant place in world history.
Hieroglyphics
A system of writing in which pictorial symbols represented sounds, syllables, or concepts. It was used for official and monumental inscriptions in ancient Egypt. Because of the long period of study required to master this system, literacy in hieroglyphics was confined to a relatively small group of scribes and administrators. Cursive symbol-forms were developed for rapid composition on other media, such as papyrus.
"secondary products revolution"
A term used to describe the series of technological changes that began c.a. 4000 B.C.E., as people began to develop new uses for their domesticated animals, exploiting a revolutionary new source of power. Examples: milk, transportation, wool, hunting help, glue, muscle power, eggs, blood, feathers, bones, ivory, manure/fertilizer, and hides/fur.
What was the sequence of human migration across the planet?
Africa, Middle East, Eurasia, Australia, America, Pacific.
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.
Menes
An Egyptian leader that united both upper and lower Egypt into one kingdom
Jericho
An ancient and strategically vital city in Canaan, the first major city to be captured by the Israelites.
Phoenicians
An early trading civilization located in present day Lebanon and Syria along the Mediterranean. They produced various products, such as glass, papyrus scrolls, and dyes, and established trade across the entire Mediterranean Sea. The Phoenician trade empire benefited most cultures in this region. As their trade expanded, they setup colonies throughout the Mediterranean. The Phoenicians also developed an alphabet to keep track of their business dealings. This alphabet was later adopted and adapted by the Greeks and Romans, and is the basis for the western alphabets of today. Phoenician trade is responsible for the great exchange of ideas and culture that occurred during this time period.
Olmec civilization
Another First Civilization. Along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Rose from many chiefdoms and created the first language in the Americas.
Cattles (in Eurasia)
Any of various chiefly domesticated mammals of the genus Bos, including cows, steers, bulls, and oxen, often raised for meat and dairy products.
pastoral societies
Based on the domestication of animals and use their products as main source of food. Groups move where there is foods but they are more settlers than nomads. Independent and warlike.
Monotheism
Belief in a single God.
Polytheistic
Belief in many gods
Animism
Belief that inanimate objects, such as plants and stones, or natural events, like thunderstorms and earthquakes, have a discrete spirit and life. Common in many parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, Native American religions are fundamentally animistic, and even Shintoism is highly animistic.
diffusion
Borrowing between cultures either directly or through intermediaries
chiefdoms
Centralized political systems with authority vested in formal, usually hereditary, offices or titles.
Mandate of Heaven
Chinese religious and political ideology developed by the Zhou, was the prerogative of Heaven, the chief deity, to grant power to the ruler of China.
Indus River Valley
Chronologically, the third of the five urbanization hearths. The two major cities were Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro. There was a leadership class, but houses were equal in size.
Why did some Paleolithic peoples abandon earlier, more nomadic ways and begin to live a more settled life?
Climatic warming allowed many plants and animals upon which humans relied to flourish. The increased food stocks allowed some groups of humans to settle down and live in more permanent settlements.
The Worst Mistake in Human History (by Jared Diamond)
Diamond viewed the Agricultural revolution as the worst thing to happen to humans. He viewed that after the Ag. Rev. population exploded and this was a large problem to come in later generations. He argued that the ag. revolution is to blame for social/gender inequality.
In what ways did agricultural spread? Where and why was it sometimes resisted?
Diffusion & Colonization/ Migration of agricultural peoples.
In what ways were Mesopotamia and Egyptian civilization shaped by their interactions with near and distant neighbors?
Egypt relied on barley, wheat, gourds, watermelon, donkeys, and cattle imported from Mesopotamia/Egypt's writing and pyramids might have been influenced by Mesopotamian examples/"Divine Kingship" derived from central or eastern Sudan/Mesopotamia and Egypt both influenced by Indo-European pastoralists; brought horse drawn chariots forever changing warfare/When the Hyksos invaded Egypt they brought new kinds of armor, bows, daggers, swords, new methods of spinning and weaving, musical instruments, olive and pomegranate trees.
In what ways did Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations differ from each other?
Egypt- more optimistic, mostly because the Nile was predictable and flooded at the some time every year, not destroying crops, protected from invasion, "more sustainable agricultural system", unified, some urban presence(not as much as Mesopotamia) Mesopotamia- Tigris and Euphrates rivers flooded unpredictably, damaging crops, les optimistic because of this, very open to invasion, environmental problems, city-states lead to internal conflict, huge urban presence Both "carried on extensive long-distance trade" with each other and other areas
pyramids
Egyptians built these structures to protect the bodies of dead pharaohs. These structures also contained items the pharaohs might need in the afterlife.
Sargon the Great
Emperor of the Akkadians Empire. He also over ran the Sumerian city -states and set up the first empire in world history. His dynasty ruled Mesopotamia for around 200 years
What accounts for the emergence of agriculture after countless millennia of human life without it?
End of Ice Age fertilized the ground, also killed harmful plants and animals.
Iron Metallurgy
Extraction of iron from its ores. allowed for cheaper stronger production of weapons and tools. More abundant than tin and copper
Yams (in West Africa)
Good source of potassium. Extremely important as a source of food, religious worship, and economic hierarchy for the Wemale people.
Fertility Statue
Historians suspect that this use may be the purpose of Venus of Willendorf.
"Civilization were held together with force." Do you agree with this assessment, or were there other mechanisms of integration as well?
I think that not all used force, some civilization like China, used the Mandate of Heaven. Which basically means that if the who ever is ruling treating the people bad, the people has the right to overthrow him.
Mohenjo Daro/ Harappa
Indus River cities- laid out in orderly manner, indoor bathrooms, monotheistic, domesticated animals, good farmers, system for weights and measures, traded with Sumer
How did Austronesian migrations differ from other early patterns of human movement?
It was mostly done over water, they took men and women and the brought domesticated animals.
Assyrians
Known as a warrior people who ruthlessly conquered neighboring countries; their empire stretched from east to north of the Tigris River all the way to centeral Egypt; used ladders, weapons like iron-tipped spears, daggers and swords, tunnels, and fearful military tactics to gain strength in their empire
bantu language
Language brought by Bantu people to southern Africa
Mohenjo-Daro
Largest city of the Indus Valley civilization. It was centrally located in the extensive floodplain of the Indus River. Little is known about the political institutions of Indus Valley communities, but the large-scale implies central planning.
Uruk
Mesopotamia's largest city. Enclosed by 20ft high walls. The city center was a stepped pyramid with a temple on top calleda ziggurat.Many people were specialists of a certain craft.
In what different ways did the Agricultural Revolution take shape in various parts of the world?
Middle Eastern societies quickly replaced hunting & gathering with agricultural, but in Mesoamerica it took 3,500 years.
In what ways have historians tried to explain the origins of patriarchy?
More intense forms of agricultural. Men having lesser roles in the household had more time to take on leadership roles in the community.
Bantu migration
Movement of people whose descendents shared the bantu language, no set pattern, divided into hundreds of ethnic groups, people worked specific jobs according to their age set, tradition and religion maintained stability
Norte Chico/Caral
Norte Chico is a region along the central coast of Peru, home of a civilization that developed in the period 3000-1800 BCE; Caral was the largest of some 25 urban centers that emerged in the area at that time
peoples of Australia
Often called "aboriginals" (from the Latin aborigine, the people who had been there "from the beginning"), the natives of Australia continued (and to some extent still continue) to live by gathering and hunting, despite the transition to agriculture in nearby lands.
Catal Huyuk
One of first true cities in history, created in the Neolithic Era in 6500 to 5500 BC, from which were created agriculture, trading, temples, housing, and religions
Çatalhüyük
One of first true cities in history, created in the Neolithic Era in 6500 to 5500 BC, from which were created agriculture, trading, temples, housing, and religions, first neolithic village (modern day turkey, 7,000 b.c, 6,500 people, First early farming village in the Neolithic age, a very early agricultural village in southern Turkey; layered their buildings; no indication of male or female dominance,They had about 6,000 inhabitants. Their houses were made from simple mud, people walked on roofs, entered houses through holes in the rooftops, and had a steady food supply.
social stratification
One of two components, together with agricultural surplus, which enables the formation of cities; the differentiation of society into classes based on wealth, power, production, and prestige
How does the use of the term "civilization" by historians differ from that of popular usage? How do you use the term?
One talks about the impacts of superiority and the other talks about a higher form of society. The way I use it is that a group of people, a society or not, learn to comprehend knowledge and technology, setting up in class, and using religion, government, and culture.
What was the role of cities in the early civilization?
Political/Administrative Capitals Centers for Production of Culture Housed manufacturing activities.
What distinguished civilization from others forms of human community?
Religion, government, and culture.
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.
Indus Seals
Stamps and seals of carved stone were used to identify where a good has come from, in this case, Indus.
clay tablet
Sumerians wrote on these with a sharp ended rock only scribes can write.
What accounts for the initial breakthroughs to civilization?
The Agricultural Revolution.
In what ways did Mesopotamia and Egyptian patriarchy differ from others?
The Mesopotamia rulers arose to bring order to the land, yet the Egyptian Pharaohs were there to rule over everyone and no one questioned the authority of the Pharaoh.
In what ways did a gathering and hunting economy shape other aspects of Paleolithic societies?
The Paleolithic societies became highly egalitarian (equal) because there were no formal rulers. Most people had the same skill sets.
In what ways, and why, did Chumash culture differ from that of the San?
The San are representative of a seminomadic gathering and hunting society; the Chumash are more representative of the later, post-Ice Age Paleolithic peoples who settled in permanent villages and constructed more complex gathering and hunting societies
Mayan glyphs
The ancient Mayan writing system with pictoral complexity
What have been the major turning points in the pre human phases of "big history"?
The big bang; Stars and galaxies beginning to form; Milky Way Galaxy formation; Origin of the solar system; Formation of the Earth; Earliest life on the Earth; Oxygen formation on Earth; First Worms; First vertebrates & Fish; First reptiles & Trees; First Agriculture
Olmec (of Central America)
The first Mesoamerican civilization. Between ca. 1200 and 400 B.C.E., the Olmec people of central Mexico created a vibrant civilization that included intensive agriculture, wide-ranging trade, ceremonial centers, and monumental construction.
China
The large country in Asia with the world's largest population, composed of many dynasties
dynastic cycles
The measure of Chinese history by a chain of emperors, often 200-300 years. These began with the usurpation of a corrupt emperor followed by a strong dynasty which then also declined into corruption.
Tikal
The most important Maya political center between the 4th-9th centuries. It was a city that had temples, pyramids, palaces, and public buildings.
Nubians
The people in Eastern Africa south of Egypt who were rivals of the ancient Egyptians and known for their flourishing kingdom between the 400s BC and the 400s CE. They speak their own language and were known by the Egyptians for their darker skin.
How did chiefdoms differ from stateless agricultural village societies?
They had no formal centralized states or fulltime rulers. They used an 'equal lineage' system that performed like a government in large family groups but there were no kings or queens.
What are most prominent features of San life?
They were a hunting & gathering society. They had adequate food & a short working week. A society based on mobility, sharing & equality.
Mesoamerica
This early civilization included Mexico and Central America and it was based on sedentary agriculture and the cultivation of corn and food production.
In what ways was social inequality expressed in early civilizations?
Through wealth, status and power. (Code of Hammurabi, etc.)
In the development of the First Civilization, what was gained for humankind, and what was lost?
We gained a system of government, religion, culture, and more knowledge (phonetics). We lost equality (gender and class)
Banpo
a Neolithic village in the Yanshao society. The whole village was discovered in 1952. Large quantities of fine painted pottery and bone tools used by early cultivators in the 6th and 5th millennia B.C.E. was found there.
Sheep (in Eurasia)
a domesticated ruminant animal with a thick woolly coat and (typically only in the male) curving horns. It is kept in flocks for its wool or meat, and is proverbial for its tendency to follow others in the flock.
teosinte
a grass from which modern maize/corn subsequently developed in a process of adaptation and "genetic engineering" over thousands of years
Indo Europeans
a group of seminomadic people who, about 1700 B.C., began to migrate from what is now southern Russia to the Indian subcontinent, Europe, and Southwest Asia. invented two wheel chariot
Goats (in Eurasia)
a hardy domesticated ruminant animal that has backward curving horns and (in the male) a beard. It is kept for its milk and meat and is noted for its lively and frisky behavior
Taro (in New Quinea)
a large-leaved tropical plant (Colocasia esculenta) of the arum family grown throughout the tropics for its edible starchy corms and cormels and in temperate regions for ornament; also : its corms and cormels typically cooked as a vegetable or ground into flour
Horses (in Eurasia)
a solid-hoofed plant-eating domesticated mammal with a flowing mane and tail, used for riding, racing, and to carry and pull loads
Rice (in East and Southeast Asia)
a swamp grass that is widely cultivated as a source of food
Cunieform
a system of writing with wedge-shaped symbols invented by the sumerians around 3000 B.C.
"stateless societies"
as a result of the bantu migrations many areas of africa developed a segmented structure of political power shared by family and kinship groups. Such organiation did not depend on a hierarchy of government officials nor did it require a bureaucratic apparatus to operate
What different kinds of societies emerged out of the Agricultural Revolution?
chiefdoms, kinship societies, pastoralists and agriculturalists.
Expansionistic
commerce + political power
Egypt
cultural hearth, Herodotus gave name "gift of the Nile", span 2,600 years with about 30 dynasties (monarchs=pharaohs)
Mesopotamia
first civilization located between the Tigris & Eurphrates Rivers in present day Iraq; term means "land between the rivers;" Sumerian culture
Barley (in Middle East)
grain crop: a cereal plant with a long head of whiskered grains, widely grown for food, malt production, and livestock feed.
"broad spectrum diet"
making use of a large number of plants and hunting and eating both small and large animals
What was revolutionary about the Agricultural Revolution?
no more moving around, more reliable source of food.
Egypt: "the gift of the Nile"
provided annual and predictable flooding that benefited and provided a sustainable lifestyle for this civilization, also gave them a stable and positive worldview, proved unty and independence and security
Why have world history achieved an increasingly prominent place in America education in recent decades?
the horrendous consequences of unchecked nationalism, persuade some historians that a broader view of the past might contribute to a sense of global citizenship.
Llamas (in the Americas)
the only large domesticated animal in the Americas, really. They could only carry 100 lbs of weight on them, which made humans the most efficient method of travel in the Americas.
Iron Age
the period following the Bronze Age; characterized by rapid spread of iron tools and weapons
Domestication of Plants and Animals
the process of taming and training animals and of sowing, caring for, and harvesting plants for human uses
Akkadians
this civilization included Semitic people living north of Sumeria; united city-states of Mesopotamia; first empire in history; established by Sargon the Great
What were the sources of state authority in the First Civilizations?
voluntary leaders, not elected
