AP World History Unit 1&2 Study Terms

Neolithic

Historical Definition "New Stone Age," the archaeological term for societies that used stone tools and practiced agricultural. Historical Example The residents of Jericho were Natufians from the Neolithic period. Historical Significance By creating stone tools they started the first steps toward development in technology. General Significance The two discoveries of farming and herding allowed some of the first cities to emerge in the Middle East

Bureaucracy; civil service

Historical Definition A bureaucracy is when important decisions were made by government official, and a way of organizing large numbers of people Historical Example The Byzantine Empire had a bureaucracy. Historical Significance A bureaucracy allowed decisions to be made quickly and effectively in government, and the people could be organized efficiently too. General Significance A bureaucracy made organizing the area ruled more efficient.

Caste system

Historical Definition A caste system is a way of organization in which a person's status was typically based off of birth. Historical Example Hinduism had a caste system. Historical Significance This allowed social stratification. This makes it easier for some people to attain wealth, and freedom. This also makes it easy to have slaves, and make someone a slave. Civilizations become further patriarchal and women would decline in their status and importance. General Significance Social stratification gave structure to civilizations.

Deity

Historical Definition A deity is a person of divine status, that is worshipped by a group of people. Historical Example Shiva is the deity from Hinduism Historical Significance This not only shows the development of human intellect, but it also allowed leaders and ruler to form. By having a religion and/or deity it was easier for someone to lead and rule the people through religion. General Significance Artwork depicting beliefs and deities begin to appear, having a common deity unifies the people.

Kinship Groups

Historical Definition A kinship group refers to family, a clan, or people that are related to each other. Historical Example Pastoral societies were usually divided through kinship groups; Historical Significance Kinship groups emphasized the importance of family or clan. Loyalty was an important characteristic to them, and for many groups their relationships were defined by recognizing a common ancestry. The structure in them sometimes led to violence within due to personal loyalty dominating. They influenced how relationships within groups of a clan of family worked. General Significance Kinship groups created an intense atmosphere that influence the relationships between different members of a clan or family that were often grouped through ancestry.

Missionaries

Historical Definition A missionary is a person who sets off on a religious mission, and missionaries are a group of people set off on a religious mission. They often go to other places in attempts to convert people to their religion. Historical Example While traveling in China, Ennin encountered Buddhist monks who were part of a missionary. Historical Significance Religion was capable of being found far from where it was originally founded due in part because of missionaries. Missionaries made it possible for far away places to learn about other religions by sending missionaries. This made several countries convert to other religions, which influenced the country's culture, and the people's values and beliefs. General Significance They converted people to other religions.

Nun

Historical Definition A nun is a religious female who lives under different oaths such as an oath of chastity. Historical Example Nuns of Christianity Historical Significance Nuns gave women another outlet besides to procreate and assist their husbands. By becoming a nun they would not have to marry, instead they would have to devote their lives to religion. They also helped to guide their religious followers. General Significance Gave women another outlet, and allowed them to have religious significance.

Patriarchy

Historical Definition A patriarchy is when males are dominant in a society or government, or when the eldest man or father is in charge. Historical Example Hinduism was patriarchal. Historical Significance Patriarchy allowed men to take power, and to lower the status of women. Men were given more privilege and women's lived were often defined on what her father, male relative, or husband told her to do. It meant that men dominated in most fields, and were given opportunities women were not. General Significance Men were given more privilege and opportunities than women.

Pilgrims

Historical Definition A pilgrim is a person that due to their religion travels to a sacred place. Historical Example There is a Buddhist Monument in Java, Indonesia where pilgrims brought simple clay objects and buried them in the ground. Historical Significance Pilgrims show how important religion was at a certain time, and how influential it was. It also allowed the pilgrims to spread their religion as they traveled long distances to a particular sacred place. This leads to information and ideas being spread do their travels. General Significance Shows the dedication and significance of religion.

Priest

Historical Definition A religious person (in most religions a man) who performs religious rituals, and devotes their life to their religion and deity. Historical Example Priest of Christianity Historical Significance Due to the importance of religion to many societies, priests became very influential to society. Their words held a lot of weight, and they could decree different things claiming it through divine power. They also helped to organize their religion, and moral code. General Significance They guided their religious followers, and society through their connection with their divine being.

Autonomy

Historical Definition A self governing region or freedom from external control. Historical Example City-states of the Persian Empire that had satraps. Historical Significance Autonomy meant that a region could govern themselves without an external force controlling them. This meant that they were given the freedom to conduct themselves how they wanted to. It meant that they could preserve their culture, and language due to the diverse regions. This leads to a broad spectrum of knowledge, and allowed different people more freedom due to the fact that their cultures were not restricted, as they would've been under a different system of rule. General Significance Autonomy allowed self governing regions to preserve their cultures, and former governments.

Pantheon

Historical Definition A temple dedicated to all the gods and/or goddesses. Historical Example Parthenon of Athena Historical Significance These temples should the devotion to their religion. It gave them somewhere to worship their deities and place sacrifices. They held great value to the religion's followers and became pivotal places in their society. General Significance They gave a place for people to worship their deities.

Empire

Historical Definition An empire is an extensive group of states or countries under a single supreme authority. Historical Example Persian Empire under Ashoka Historical Significance Empires showed the great advance that humans made in a shorter amount of time. New technologies were being created, a military, large scale organization, the ability to be a power vacuum, and managing resources were all things that greatly improved. General Significance Empires were capable of ruling a larger amount of people.

Citizen

Historical Definition An inhabitant of a certain area, however, some empires did not recognize certain people as citizens such as slaves. Historical Example Athens had citizens that could vote. However, citizens there had to be male and not slaves. Historical Significance A citizen was given certain rights depending on the empire. They had certain responsibilities such as paying for taxes. In a democracy such as Athens, they were capable of voting. They were the the individual person who were one of many they made up the values of the region and when united had a great influence. General Significance A person who is recognized by the government as an inhabitant that has certain rights and responsibilities.

Conversion

Historical Definition Conversion is the act of converting, and conversion is when you change you act, behavior, religion, function, or something similar. Historical Example Ashoka converted to Buddhism, which made him a more tolerant ruler Historical Significance Conversion leads people to change their perspective, beliefs, and morals among other things. Conversion greatly influences what people do and act. Ashoka for example became for tolerant as a Buddhist, whereas previously he had been on the harsher side. His empire in turn because of him was tolerant. Conversion leads people to adapt and shape the world around them. General Significance Through conversion people change their beliefs, and morals which changes how you act and interact with people and your environment.

Elites

Historical Definition Elites were a select group of people that were superior to other classes for varying characteristics. Historical Example The Roman honestiores were elites. Historical Significance Elites were similar to aristocrats they held a higher standing in society that allowed them to have a stronger voice in government, and held a lot of privilege. General Significance Elites were a very privileged group.

Feudal

Historical Definition Feudal refers to Feudalism which is a social system where nobles held lands from the Crown in exchange for military protection, and the land was worked by peasants. The money generated from the land was given to the nobles and a portion when to the ruler. Historical Example Zhou Dynasty Historical Significance Feudalism was a complex system, that developed authority, and the rights of property. It was a solution for large societies. The king was given money for the land, and the nobles received land which in turn generated them money. It followed a system where the top dogs benefitted. General Significance The feudal system allowed the privileged people to benefit, and have a clear agreement on how everything worked.

Filial

Historical Definition Filial refers to what is appropriate for a son or daughter, or something that relates to a son or daughter. Historical Example Filial piety in Confucianism refers to how a child should treat their parent's with respect. Historical Significance Something filial describes how children were supposed to act towards their parents and their elders. This is something that becomes passed down from generation to generation because it is something that is simply supposed to be down. This contributes to how relationships worked and how people acted in society. General Significance Something filial refers to how children are to act, and how relationships worked between parent and child, which contributed to how society worked.

Ideology

Historical Definition Ideology is a system of beliefs and ideals. Historical Example An example of ideology is racism and sexism. Historical Significance Ideology can both be helpful and hurtful. They are the ideas and views of the people during a certain time period, and they capture what they viewed and believed about different people such as their views of slavery, rulers, how to live, and so on. General Significance They were the people's ideals.

Monasticism

Historical Definition Monasticism is how life is lived in a monastery Historical Example Egyptian Christians in monasteries worked in the field, prayed all day, and lived alone. Historical Significance A monastery was a great source of knowledge and intellect. They educated people, and were often at times some of the only people who knew how to read and write. They also recorded information, and wrote books among other things. Besides education, they helped other people such as travelers. General Significance Monks were well educated.

Nobility

Historical Definition Nobility was a upper social class (often hereditary but it could also be an honorary title) Historical Example Copán, a Maya city-state had a nobility class. Historical Significance People of nobility were often a class lower than the ruler themselves. They made many important decisions like if the ruler died if the heir was fit to rule yet, or who would rule if their was no heir. The person chosen was usually a noble. General Significance They were a class who made important decisions, and gave counsel to the ruler.

Role of nomads in trade

Historical Definition Nomads are people with no permanent home, who travel from place to place for necessities. They often herded animals. Historical Example The original Indo-European migrants were nomads. Historical Significance Nomads often traded different goods they found in exchange for things such as clothing. Their goods were often found in the wild, or bought from a distance place. The items they received often made their lives easier. General Significance Nomads also traded and usually for things such as clothing.

Pastoral Nomadic Peoples

Historical Definition Pastoral nomadic peoples were people who herded domesticated animals as they moved from place to place as they found food for their animals. Historical Example The Natufians were pastoral nomadic people. Historical Significance By herding domesticated animals larger groups begin to form, and the a belief system called animism begins to form. General Significance Human intellect begins to develop more during the development of these groups.

Sedentary Farming Villages

Historical Definition People who settles in a region and farmed. Historical Significance This led to the spread of agriculture, and a surplus of food. This led to the a growth in population as people began to settle in a particular area. This led to the agricultural revolution. General Significance This leads to the rise of agriculture

Priesthood

Historical Definition Priesthood is the position of being a priest, or the occupation of being a priest. It also refers to priests as a whole. Historical Example Christianity has priests, and a priest is part of the priesthood. Historical Significance Just like Buddhist monasteries, priests were also well educated, and documented their surroundings. They passed down the knowledge from generation to generation. Priesthood allowed people to teach others of their religion, and pass along knowledge from previous generations. General Significance Priesthood was significant because it allowed them to teach others of their religion and educate other people.

Sacred Texts

Historical Definition Sacred Texts, are holy books, scriptures, and texts of a religion that are divinely related. Historical Example The Bible is a sacred texts. Historical Significance Sacred Texts guide religions and the very beliefs of a religion. They are the written record of what to do for that religion, and the history of that religion. They influence a person's beliefs and morals along with their character. They also give insight to the period they were written in. General Significance Sacred Texts guide their followers in how to act.

Slavery

Historical Definition Slavery is the state of being a slave, or someone viewed as the property of somebody else. Historical Example The Helots were slaves of the Spartans. Historical Significance Slaves created a away for cheap labor. Societies relied heavily on them, due to the fact that they did the majority of all the hard work. For example, in Rome the slaves for the most part did everything while the Romans were at war which was almost constantly. Societies were able to flourish and evolve because of them. They flourished because they were able to produce a lot of material and it cost them little money. The revenue they gained went towards themselves and new ideas leading to new discoveries. General Significance Slaves were used to do all heavy labor, and societies benefited greatly from them.

Social Inequality

Historical Definition Social inequality is the difference in opportunities, and rewards between different social classes. Historical Example In Rome, the patricians had many more opportunities than the plebeians. Historical Significance Social inequality allowed cheap labor, and for people at the top to have a stronger voice in their government and to have more control over what goes on in an empire, state, government etc... It allowed people to create a way to keep people at the bottom, while others could gain more wealth. Cheap labor meant that many public works could be done without spending a lot of money. General Significance People who were at the top had more opportunities than those at the bottom, who were not as privileged.

Social hierarchy; social stratification

Historical Definition Social stratification was a way of categorizing people by their status and social class. Historical Example Rome had a system of social hierarchy, at the bottom were slaves. Historical Significance Social hierarchy gave certain people more influence in the government then others. It created an unequal flow of money, and there were large wage gaps. It created cheap labor off of those at the bottom of the period such as slaves. It made it easier to classify people. It also led to the decline of empires due to the growing tensions between classes. General Significance People were categorized by their status, which allowed more privilege to some rather than others.

Hunting-gathering (foraging)

Historical Definition Societies where men hunt and/or fish, women gather fruits and they follow migratory pattern of animals. Historical Example The residents of Monte Verde, Chile were foragers. Historical Significance The historical significance of hunting-gathering is that due to following the migratory patterns of animals they migrated to different area of the world, and later they would become nomadic and herd animals. Which leads to domesticating animals, and plants before settling down in a particular area. General Significance Hunting-gathering allowed the people to survive, and migrate to different lands.

Imperial

Historical Definition Someone or something relating to an empire. Historical Example Roman Empire Historical Significance Imperial rule led to many conflicts with an empire's neighbors, as they warred with each other for more territory and resources. Many empires flourished with centralized government, and unified communities. General Significance Internally many empires were unified, while outside of their borders they warred with their neighbors.

Tax revenue

Historical Definition Tax revenue is the total amount of taxes collected to pay for government funded projects. Historical Example The Persian empire collected taxes. Historical Significance Taxes allowed empires to fund campaigns like war, without the taxes it would've been too expensive for them to do. This allowed empires, societies, and dynasties to pay for different projects, or things such as maintenance on roads. General Significance It allowed the government to pay for different campaigns.

Polytheism

Historical Definition The belief in several gods/goddesses or multiple divine beings. Historical Example Roman religion adapted from the Greeks was polytheistic. Historical Significance Polytheism shaped the beliefs and culture of people. By having a several deities each devoted for something different, such as Mars for war, they had a unique way of organizing their beliefs. Polytheism also had great influence on architecture. By having more than one god, believers often created multiple temples for each deity. General Significance People could pray to a different gods depending on the situation and what they needed.

Afterlife

Historical Definition The belief of life after death, mostly associated with religion. Historical Example Christians believe in life after death. Historical Significance The belief in an afterlife gave many people hope during tough situations, and made them more willing to partake in different causes where their life was at risk. This also led believers to follow the rules of their particularly religion in hopes that they could achieve life after death. General Significance The belief in an afterlife sparked hope in people, and had them follow the rules of their religion more strictly.

Monotheism

Historical Definition The belief that their is only one god/divine being. Historical Example Judaism believes that their is only one divine being. Historical Significance Monotheism allowed the belief in one divine being, and these caused many new religions to be created, including some of the most popular religions today such as Christianity. This influenced how people view the world, their morals, cultures, and their perspective on death. General Significance Monotheism changed people's beliefs.

Reincarnation

Historical Definition The belief that your soul will be reborn into another body after death. Historical Example Followers of Hinduism believe in reincarnation Historical Significance The belief in reincarnation caused things like castes to be created. They influenced your status in life and who you would be in your next life. In religions like Hinduism, it reinforced social stratification. General Significance Reincarnation led to social stratification being enforced further due to some religions.

The State

Historical Definition The state is an area that is ruled under an organized political community under one government. Historical Example German States Historical Significance The state was significant because it showed the capability to organize people, and the government. General Significance The government and political community was strong enough to rule an area.

Domesticated plants and animals

Historical Definition This is otherwise known as the start of agriculture. This is when people started to plant seeds, and tame animals. Historical Example The Natufians were the one of the first to start planting seeds. Historical Significance By domesticating animals, they were able to create food sources for generations to come, they also settled in the areas. Once they settled in the area, the population would grow and the people would would eventually begin to organize each other. By domesticating animals they also gained a value tool to their success. General Significance By domesticating animals and plants it was easier for them to find a steady source of food, and this led to higher populations and larger groups also known as urban development.

Technology

Historical Definition Tools and equipment developed from the application of scientific knowledge. Historical Example Irrigation canals, plumbing, and qanats are all examples of technology. Historical Significance New technologies made it possible for people to do things such as bathe daily. It made people's lives easier, and led to new discoveries. It let them evolve to create more complex items and goods. General Significance Technology made people's lives easier and led to new discoveries.

Trade Goods

Historical Definition Trade goods were items exchanged between different people for something else. Historical Example A trade good on the Silk Road was silk. Historical Significance Trade goods allowed other places to get necessities and resources they didn't have along with luxury items they didn't need. This meant allowed different regions to exchange new concepts and ideas, and to evolve them. General Significance Ideas, and goods were exchanges, and evolved throughout trade due to the many different influences on them.

Pagan

Historical Definition Unlike other religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism, and Christianity someone who is pagan is not from one of the major religions and holds other beliefs. It is usually a polytheistic religion Historical Example The people of Greece had a pagan religion, that included gods Zeus, Hades, and Ares among others. Historical Significance These religions would come to influence other religions to come, and created a unique culture to many civilizations due to the main beliefs. General Significance Civilizations would develop cultures that included rituals for their pagan belief system.

Urban

Historical Definition Urban refers to relating to a city, or a city itself. An urban setting often refers to characteristics seen in a city, such as a crowded population. Historical Example Athens was a city in Greece that was urban. Historical Significance By having large populated cities, many great thinkers were able to meet each other and come up with new technology, and ideas. Trading became very influential in these places since there was a broad section of items and goods. It also had down sides. For example, during an outbreak of measles the urban sections of the Han Dynasty suffered greatly due to crowded population. General Significance Information and goods were easier to share and trade.

Celibacy

Historical Definition Celibacy is when someone abstains from marriage and sexual intercours/interations. Historical Example Priests and Nuns of Christianity take vows of celibacy and abstain from marriage and sexual intercourse. Historical Significance Celibacy often had to do with religion, however, it was not limited to it. Culturally women specifically were not supposed to engage in sexual intercouse before they were married. Once married they were supposed to be completely dedicated to their husbands. Not following these rules led to harsh punishments, and even death. This influenced generations of cultures, and often leads to shaming women for having sexual intercourse before marriage. General Significance Celibacy influenced the perspective on when people should have sexual interactions.