AP World History Semester One

Catal Huyuk 1.10

A Neolithic city from 7000 BCE in modern day Turkey. The entire city was constructed as a fortress with no streets or ground level entrances. People walked around on rooftops and used ladders to get into houses. They had a thriving obsidian trade, and the town had wealth and social distinctions. The city also had many religious shrines with food offerings, clay figurines of powerful animals and various gods and goddesses associated with life and death, including some fertility goddesses.

Copper 1.7

A bright and easily shaped metal often formed in a relatively pure form, used by Neolithic humans for tools and weapons.

Importance of Writing 1.5

A hallmark of civilization, it helps administer government, laws, edicts and treaties. Helped keep records for taxes and business. Allowed scientists and technologists to share ideas. Gave way to a new form of literature. First kind of writing was cuneiform, in 3500 BCE.

Steppe 1.9

A harsh region in China where very little is able to grow.

Tribe 1.3

A large kinship group descended from a common ancestor and sharing social or informal political ties.

Irrigation 1.5

A method of watering agricultural crops by diverting water into fields in contained volumes. This was hard to plan, and specialists and leaders came forward to develop and direct these projects.

King Menes 1.7

A minor leader from South (lower) Egypt who led a campaign of conquest against his neighbors. He united upper and lower Egypt and became their ruler. He created an elaborate administrative system, villages reported to districts who reported to the capital. There were records of land ownings, workforce, harvest, and other products. The government offices collected taxes, regulated the economy, and exercised total control over important commercial interests, such as trade with other countries.

Nomadic Pastoralists 1.8

A peaceful, farming person who travels from place to place.

Clan 1.3

A small close knit kinship group descended from a common ancestor.

Chavin 1.9

A society that came to prominence in South America around the 900s BCE. People were called members of the Chavin cult. They created large religious centers and made lots of artwork. They developed irrigation systems and domesticated llamas. They used precious metals, and created a system of worship based on new life and crops.

Patriarchal Society 1.8

A society that privileges men and puts them in positions of authority over women.

Sirius 1.10

A star read by the Egyptians to predict the flooding of the Nile.

Fu Hao 1.10

A woman from the Shang era in China who was the wife of Wu Ding. She was unusual in that she had her own property and the religion practiced there, and she had military power and even served in combat.

City States 1.5

Agricultural are politically controlled by a central city. Popular in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Rome.

Agriculture Timeline 1.4

Agriculture spread rapidly from Southeast Asia to eastern Mediterranean and Balkans by 6000 BCE. In the next 2000 years it spread along Mediterranean coast to western Europe. Agriculture began around 4000 BCE in the eastern coast of Central Mexico, and spread down into Central America and northern South America, from the Andes it spread into Chile and Argentina.

Shang Dynasty 1.7

An early Chinese river civilization, the earliest Chinese civilization that left enough of an archaeological record to reveal much about itself. Religion shaped political and social structure, they believed in an afterlife where the dead could talk to the Gods on the behalf of the living. An authoritarian King was the people's sole intercessor with the powers of heaven. The king petitioned his dead ancestors for heavenly favors, they petitioned their dead ancestors until it eventually reached the god Di. There was also no middle class of people in society. It was the second Chinese Dynasty, it began around 1750 BCE and fell around 1027 BCE. They turned to an elite group of fighters for leadership, which helped to increase their territory. Then the monarchs began their rule. They arranged for many urban centers to be built, and they were buried very elaborately. People did a lot of work with bronze, including using it to record their type of pictograms. They were good at trade, they had silk and ivory and jade. They developed the tradition of ancestor worship and privileging China over other countries (Middle Kingdom of China).

BCE and CE 1.2

Before common era, and common era.

Paleolithic Cave Art 1.3

Cave art was of large animals, many of them game animals. Some human figures appear, and abstract symbols. No plant life or landscapes. Males were painted. Reasons for cave art are unknown, some say it was for arts sake, or to memorialize past hunts and help inspire young hunters, calendrical, magical, or religious reasons could be possible also.

Social Inequities in Early Civilizations 1.5

Classes, castes, and gender distinctions within civilizations separated people more widely and rigidly. Rulers and nobles did not associate with the commoners, rich did not associate with the poor. The educated assumed prominent social roles, and men controlled all political, religious, and social matters. Women were second class citizens, no more than property. Slaves were the lowest class in all of the civilizations.

Timeline of Early Egypt 1.8

Early Dynastic Era: 3100-2373 BCE, began with the rule of King Menes Old Kingdom: 2373-2134 BCE, several innovations were made in government, monarchs were referred to as pharaohs, and pyramids were being built. First Intermediate Period: 2134-2040 BCE, Egyptians split into two sides and battled with each other for control. Middle Kingdom: 2040-1640 BCE, Invaded the Nubians. Second Intermediate Period: 1640-1532 BCE, The Egyptians successfully drove the Hyskos out. New Kingdom: 1532 -900 BCE, expanded empire greatly, only to lose most of it by 900 BCE.

Animal Domestication and Crop Timelines 1.4

Early humans domesticated dogs, sheep, pigs, poultry, horses, cows, water buffalo, llamas (in the New World), and other animals. This allowed them to shepherd, and have pack animals and allowed oxen to wear yokes. They cared for animals in a way that benefited them like treating them well to get more milk. They also used the manure for fertilizer. Wheat and barley were grown in the Balkans by 6500 BCE, the Nile River Valley by 6000, Northeast Africa by 5300 BCE, and continental Europe by 4000 BCE. In India by 7000 BCE millet was cultivated, in 6800 BCE rice was cultivated by the Yangtze River in China. Soybeans and millet were grown near the Yellow River. In 5000, rice was cultivated in southeast Asia. Coconuts, breadfruit, yams, citrus fruits, and bananas arrived around 3000 BCE. In the Sahara Desert, sorghum grew around 9000-7000 BCE. Central and west AFrica grew yams, okra, black eyed peas, and plantains between 8000 and 6000 BCE. Mexico grew maize around 4000 BCE, along with beans, peppers, squash, and tomatoes. In Peru, potatoes grew around 5000 BCE, then maize, beans, and quinoa. Amazon River grew sweet potatoes, peanuts, and manioc.

Djoser 1.6

Early king of Egypt who built the precursors to the pyramids.

Hominid 1.2

Early species of human like beings who exhibited uniquely human characteristics.

Paleolithic Era Tools 1.3

Early tools had no handles, they included: knife blades, scrapers, drills, and scrapers. Later tools showed more careful shaping and specialization like: ax heads, spear points, arrowheads, fish hoops, harpoon heads, awls, and needles. Carpentry and masonry started, also mats, baskets, and cloth are dated back to this era.

Travel Timeline of Homo Sapiens 1.3

Eastern Africa around one hundred thousand years ago, then all over Africa, then temperate regions of Europe and Asia, then cooler northern Europe and Asia, then during Ice Age Southeast Asian Islands, Australia, and Western Hemisphere.

Textile 1.4

Fabric made out of animal or plant fivers spun to form yarn and woven or knitted into cloth.

Nuclear Family 1.4

Familial group consisting of a father, a mother, and their children.

Phonetic Language 1.8

Form of writing consisting of images keyed to specific sounds.

Arable 1.5

Having good potential for cultivation.

Monogamy 1.7

Having only one spouse at a time.

How groups of people functioned in clans and tribes? 1.3

Hunting and gathering endeavors seemed to work best when fairly small groups of thirty to fifty individuals combined their efforts. At first, these groups consisted of family members, but when they would get too big to manage efficiently, and especially when drought or famine reduced the food supply, smaller clusters would split off and move to a new hunting range. They continued to recognize their kinship ties, but they hunted and gathered separately.

Mesopotamia and Egypt Gender Roles 1.7

In Mesopotamia, men were more important than women, women were property. Men had legal rights to sell wives and children into slavery to pay debts. They could take more wives and divorce the original wife if she didn't have children. Married women veiled themselves in public and avoided contact with men outside their family to maintain constant proof of the innocence and fidelity to their husbands. Parents married girls for money, not love. In Egypt, women had more rights and were more equal. They could have their own property, marry or divorce at will, and chose who to leave their land as an inheritance to.

Indus River Valley Civilizations 1.7

In modern day Pakistan. Based on the Indus River. Agriculture was the basis of the economy and they also developed irrigation systems. Two major cities, Harappa had 35,000 people and Mohenjo Daro was many times larger. IT had a written language, but that has not been translated yet. This leads to many unknowns. There was a three tiered class system based on wealth. Nearly all houses had indoor plumbing, there was an extensive trade network, and the region was very heavily engaged in technology and manufacturing. This civilization used metal the most extensively for everyday tools and implements. The people believed in a Hindu religion.

Bronze Age 1.4

It started around 3500 BCE when people started working with metals instead of stone. People in Southwest Asia and also China discovered that when you mix copper and tin it makes bronze. This ended the stone age. The bronze age ended when people discovered iron.

Chinese Ancient Culture and Civilization 1.9

It was a patriarchal society. Upper class women could stay home while lower class women had to work. There were five classes of people, at the bottom were slaves, and the poor free serfs. Then there was the merchants, then artisans. The top were the landowning and wealthy nobles, and then the monarch and his direct relatives. Family was important, the oldest man in each family assumed control over decision making. The Chinese did not form a widely practiced religion early on, instead they valued proper behavior and societal ideals. They wrote these down on bronze, bamboo, silk, or bones.

King Assurbanipal 1.8

King from Assyria who ruled Mesopotamia as the lugal. He overreached its political and economic bounds, and he treated Assyria better than the other regions and the other regions were not happy with this. Even though he did make one of the world's first libraries, he desired too much land and his successors could not effectively hold it all. Just a few years after he died in 627 BCE, Assyria began to lose its hold on Mesopotamia, the rulers that followed could not keep the empire together, and as of the 500s BCE, Mesopotamia had fallen to other rulers.

Sedentary 1.2

Living or working in a fixed place for an indefinite period of time.

Hammurabi 1.7

Lugal of the city state in Mesopotamia of Babylon between 1800 and 1750 BCE. He compiled the first law code. It listed penalties for crimes in Mesopotamia. It was known as the law of retribution, an eye for an eye. Crime and punishment carried equal weight. It did not administer justice equally across the social distinctions. The Code of Hammurabi extracted punishment in due proportion for any offense that injured a man's person, property, or prestige.

Papyrus 1.8

Material like paper that the Egyptians wrote the hieroglyphs on.

Australopithecus 1.2

Means southern ape, first hominid species to stand on hind legs and use forelimbs as arms. They appeared in east central Africa 4.5 million years ago. They were very small, and had very little brains.

Homo Erectus 1.2

Means upright human. Superseded Australopithecus, appeared two million years ago. Migrated to the temperate zones of the Eastern Hemisphere, invented specialized tools and mastered fire. Brain capacity one half of modern human. Effective communication, hunted big game. Dominant until two hundred thousand years ago.

Homo Sapien 1.2

Means wise man, or human with the ability to reason. They came after Homo Erectus. Modern sized brains, made better clothing, tools, and structures. They migrated to areas of the earth with more sever climates. They drove some species of large mammals to extinction. They migrated to Southeast Asia, the East Indies, and Australia.

Base 60 Number System 1.8

Mesopotamian mathematical system still used today to tell time and describe months of the year.

Civilization Timeline 1.5

Mesopotamians in 3500 BCE Egyptians in 3000 BCE Indus River Valley in 2500 BCE Then the Xia and Shang Dynasty, then Olmec Civilization and then Chavin Civilization.

Semitic peoples 1.8

Middle Eastern individuals of Semitic descent, including the Hebrews.

Neolithic Revolution Technology

New tools developed including: ground stone axes, hammers, wedges, chisels, shovels, hoes, and plowshares. The smooth surfaces allowed them to slide through soil easily and wood also. Tools that required a sharp edge consisted of obsidian blades or chips hafted into wood handles. To improve crops and farming techniques, people started studying the earth, seasons, and skies to understand and project the weather. They developed machines to move water, invented the wheel. and the plow. Basketry became more important, bone needles became finer, sharper, and more plentiful. Pottery sold more because it could now hold water and protect seeds.

Epic of Gilgamesh 1.8

One of the first pieces of literature, written by the MEsopotamians around 2000 BCE. It is an epic poem, one eighth of it is lost to scholars forever as it is incomplete. It is based on a real man named Bilganes who lived in Sumeria, he was a military man and leader. After his death the stories about him gradually transformed into tales of a hero and condensed into an epic. This shows the Mesopotamians focus on a heroic protagonist whose characteristics are larger than life.

Culture and Politics in Mesopotamia 1.8

Patriarchal society, over time women's rights became more and more limited. By 1800 BCE they could not go outside without their heads covered. They built lots of buildings, also developed bridges and the base 60 number system. They developed new tools and materials for their own use, and became one of the first societies to create bronze and had started making it into arms for defense as early as 4000 BCE. They also made weapons from iron, and invented the wheel as well as cuneiform. Polytheistic, organized their cities around temples. Male priests had a high status and good pay. They did not practice celibacy, and they gave their positions to their heirs. People wore amulets. Mesopotamian ideas, religion, and inventions were spread all over the world.

Specialization of Labor 1.4

People could do what they specialized in whether it be making tools or farming. This came from having an abundance of food and not everyone needed to be farming, they had enough for everyone. People could do what they were good at. This occurred during the Neolithic Revolution, and was one of the things that led to the rise of cities.

Saqqara 1.10

Region near Memphis where Djoser built the precursors to the pyramids.

Akhenaton 1.10

Ruler of Egypt during the 1400s BCE. Husband of Nefertiti. They encouraged a different kind of art that realistically mimicked elements of the natural world. He also converted the country to monotheism in favor of his own sun god. The country soon reverted after his death.

Pangea 1.5

Scientists believe that the earth began with a single ocean and a single landmass called Pangea. The plates under Pangea broke and the continents formed. Four main oceans divide the continents.

Cultivation Methods 1.4

Slash and burn farming, Migratory farming, Burning forested areas and using that land to farm on, Letting the land lie fallow, Developed irrigation systems, Crop rotation.

Mingqui 1.10

Small, artisanal, objects made of wood and straw, sometimes shaped like humans to bury in tombs of people in the Zhou era in Chinese history

Societies that developed into civilizations tended to operate on what kind of economy?

Societies that developed into civilizations tended to operate on agricultural and ag-pastoral economies.

Herding Societies 1.4

Societies that domesticated animals but did not adopt agriculture. They migrated seasonally to provide herds with new grass and food. They were at an economic disadvantage in comparison to the ag. and ag-pastoral societies. Most herding societies did not turn into advanced civilizations until they adopted agriculture.

Mesolithic Tools 1.3

Surfaces of groundstone tools were smother, chipped edges of flaked obsidian were more skillfully shaped and sharper, handles were hafted onto tools. Bone implements were also finely shaped and more numerous. There were more baskets, pottery, rafts, and dugout canoes from this era. Theses advances led to more warfare and violence.

Mesolithic Era 1.2

The Middle Stone Era, began 12000 years ago, Homo Sapiens came up with more sophisticated stone tools, some bone tools and pottery and basket ware. They began to domesticate animals and there was beginning warfare. It lasted until 10,000 years ago.

Gender Based Division of Labor 1.2

The allocation of work responsibilities culturally predetermined by gender.

Middle Kingdom of China 1.9

The belief that China was the center of the world and was privileged over other countries.

The Judgement of the Dead 1.8

The central section of the Book of the Dead. This describes a supernatural hearing in which a person's spirit travels to the underworld to meet with Osiris and other gods.

Definition of Wealth and Social Distinction 1.4

The determination of a individual's standing based on his or her material worth.

Opposable Thumb 1.2

The digit that enables a hand to grasp objects.

Pharaoh 1.7

The early kings of Egypt. They claimed to be the descendants of God, they built temples and pyramids in their honor. Royals only married other Egyptian royals to keep their lineage pure. The pharaoh owned all of the land in Egypt. The term Pharaoh was first used in the Old Kingdom period.

Hunting during the Paleolithic Era 1.3

The early people hunted wild cattle, bison, rhinos, woolly mammoths, and mastodons. Hunting groups used disguises and camouflage, engineered ambushes and used fire and stampedes to drive the prey into swamps or enclosures for an easier kill.

Lugal 1.5

The equivalent to a king in Mesopotamian societies. They maintained the irrigation and fortification systems, defended the city-states from attack, determined the weights and measures for trade, and solved legal disputes. Some even began to paint themselves as deities and controlled the religion of the city states.

Stone Age 1.3

The era of prehistory lasting from about 2-4 million years ago to about 3,000-4,000 years BCE. Characterized by the use of stone tools. It had three parts: Paleolithic Era, Mesolithic Era, and Neolithic Era.

What factor determined a person's standing in the earliest Neolithic communities?1.4

The factor that determined a person's standing in the earliest Neolithic communities was his or her parentage.

Xia Dynasty 1.7

The first civilization in China. Both this and the Shang Dynasty had a system of public irrigation and flood control to tame the Huang He river by where they formed. Both also made pottery, worked with bronze and iron, developed a written script, and engaged in scientific research primarily in astronomy. The Xia Dynasty was formed around 2200 BCE. The first leader was named Yu, he did three important things. He made it so that the child of the ruler would rule after the ruler's death, he invented ways to manage the Yellow/Huang He River, and he encouraged people to study metals.

Cuneiform 1.8

The first form of writing, developed by the Mesopotamians around 3300 BCE. They wrote by using pieces of reeds to make indentations on material made from clay, the reeds made a specific image like a triangle and that image became standard. Each character symbolized an idea rather than a phonetic sound. characters impressed into the clay tablet while it was wet with a stylus. Cuneiform began with images and eventually included signs that signified different kinds of sounds. Only wealthy Mesopotamians learned how to read and write it.

Pictograms 1.9

The first kind of writing used in China, based on pictures.

Pantheon

The grouping of gods and goddesses

Book of the Dead 1.8

The holy book of Egypt. It provides spiritual and practical instruction for preparing souls of the living to meet death and readying the bodies for burial. It includes prayers and magical suggestions, and also tells people how to behave.

Migration 1.2

The movement of a group from one place to another according to a deliberate plan.

Sumerians 1.5

The name of Mesopotamian society. They began as just a group of villages and towns. They grouped together and that made living easier.

Neolithic Era 1.2

The new stone era. It began around 8000 BCE. Because of game scarcity, people began to stray from hunter-gathering lifestyle and began to grow their own crops and domesticate animals. People became sedentary and lived in larger communities because it was hard to raise food. Humanity moved beyond the subsistence level to the abundance level. Clothing became more colorful, paintings adorned walls, and sculptures became more durable. Burials and statues began to show an interest in an existence beyond this life. Burials included flowers and treasured possessions. This era lasted until 3000 years ago. It was the gradual but momentous transition of neolithic humans from hunter-gatherer economies to agricultural or pastoral economies.

Paleolithic Era 1.2

The old stone era, about four million years ago. Most of the tools from then were made from stone, population migrated to populate the temperate zones of the Eastern Hemisphere. Early hominids mastered the use of fire for warmth, cooking, defense, and communication.

Yangtze River 1.9

The other great river in China after the Yellow (Huang He) River.

Phoenicians 1.9

The people that lived in the societies in the Mediterranean near Lebanon and Syria. They were good at sea travel and exchanged goods like cedar wood, fish, wine, fabrics and colorful dye. Carthage was one of the great cities in the ancient world. They used alliances with Assyria and Persia to retain their freedom. They made the first alphabet, but it only had consonants.

Domestication of Animals 1.4

The practice of habituating wild animals to human domination and cultivation.

Pastoralism 1.4

The practice of herding sheep, goats, cattle or other animals for food and other products.

Mesopotamia 1.5

The region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in modern day Iraq. The site of the earliest civilizations around 3500 BCE.

Huang He (Yellow River) 1.7

The river where the first two Chinese civilizations formed and used for irrigation.

Dynasty 1.9

The ruling body in China, signifying both the ruling family and the era in which they ruled.

History 1.2

The study of human societies, cultures, and civilizations over time.

World History 1.2

The study of the interactions of human societies, cultures, and civilizations with each other.

Di 1.7

The supreme god in the religious system of the Shang Dynasty

Slash and Burn Farming 1.4

The technique of clearing and fertilizing land for cultivation by slashing the bark of trees to kill them and then burning the dead word and native foliage to provide nutrients for the soil.

Metallurgy 1.4

The technique of extracting metals from ore and purifying them.

Neanderthals and Cromagnons 1.3

The two major subspecies of Homo Sapiens. Neanderthals were the stereotypical caveman, low forehead and protruding jaw. Cromagnons had higher foreheads and looked more normal.

Paleolithic Religion 1.3

They buried their dead in graves along with food, clothing, stone tools and flowers. Graves indicated reverence for the dead and their contents may well have indicated belief in the afterworld.

Harrappan Seals 1.10

They were made in Harrappa, and traded all over the world. They were tiny squares, usually under two square inches. They typically had two parts, either images or writing, Images often depicted animals. Seals could have been used as money or jewelry.

Zhou Dynasty 1.9

Third Chinese Dynasty formed in 1027 BCE after rebelling against the Shang. The first king was King Wu. They were located around the Wei River. They worked with bronze and iron. Taoism and Confucianism were implemented at this time. The Mandate of Heaven was also created.

Warring States Period 1.9

This was from 480-221 BCE when the Zhou fought with various rebel groups. The Zhou officially remained in power until 221. BCE when the Qin officially defeated them. The people simultaneously turned to new philosophies as a means of explaining their situation in the world.

Mandate of Heaven 1.9

This was referred to the principle of divine power the Chinese believed was invested in their monarch. Should the monarch behave badly or govern poorly this mandate could be disavowed and bestowed upon another more fitting ruler. This was put in place during the Xia dynasty by the leader Yu.

Mesopotamian Social Order 1.7

Top: people who owned the most land because they had the greatest buying power. Then came the religious and military leaders, then scribes. In the middle were the artisans, then laborers. At the bottom were the disabled and old. When the government began using silver as their currency, the social ladder changed. The top was those close to the king and the very rich. Then was the commoners and then the slaves.

Tigris and Euphrates Rivers 1.5

Two rivers in Mesopotamia, in modern day Iraq. They provided sufficient water and fertile soil for agriculture to succeed on a large scale.

Mesopotamian Government 1.8

Two types of overarching leadership, although individual cities retained a great deal of control and occasionally went against the larger government. The first type came from a limited association or council of religious leaders, the second was from the lugal. Individual cities retained enough power to collect taxes and go to war with each other.

Obsidian 1.9

Type of sharp rock used to make early weapons.

Veneration of Ancestors 1.9

Valuing the deceased and ancient members of families. If people did not respect or care for their ancestors it was believed that they would fail or run into trouble. Especially popular in Asian and Hindi religions. It started during the Shang dynasty.