homo sapiens sapiens
modern humans
Stone Age
period of time when early humans made tools and weapons out of stone. It ended around 3500 B.C.E.
Neolithic Revolution
the shift from hunting of animals and gathering of food to the keeping of animals and the growing of food on a regular basis around 8,000 B.C.E.
Mesopotamia
civilization on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, begun by the Sumerians
Egypt
civilization on the Nile river
Indus valley
civilization on the Indus river
China
civilization on the Yellow river
Olmec
arose in Central America around 1200 B.C.E. (without a major river system)
Chavin
appeared in Andes Mountains after 12000 B.C.E.
Africa
birthplace of humanity
civilization
social organization of a high order, marked by advancements in the arts and sciences
agriculture
began in the Middle East
cuneiform
Sumerian script, begun in 3300 B.C.E.
Hammurabi's code
one of the world's first law codes
Babylonians
originated the base-60 number system
ziggurat
Babylonian pyramid-like temples
Book of the Dead
Egyptian religious text
pyramid
royal Egyptian tomb
hieroglyphics
Egyptian script, begun around 3100 B.C.E.
Xia, Shang, Zhou, Qin
early Chinese Dynasties
Hittites
likely first group to make systematic use of iron weapons
Nebuchadnezzar
Assyrian ruler, who built the Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Cyrus the Great
first Persian ruler
Hebrews
first group to practice monotheism
Phonecians
inventors of the world's first true alphabet (1400 B.C.E)
Sparta
rigid, Greek city-state that was ruled by an oligarchy, focused on military, used slaves for agriculture, discouraged the arts
Athens
Powerful city in Ancient Greece that was a leader in arts, sciences, philosophy, democracy and architecture.
Oligarchy
a political system governed by a few people
Democracy
a political system governed by the people (a concept invented in Athens)
Peloponnesian War
civil conflict between Sparta and Athens
Alexander the Great
one of the most successful military leader in history
Hellenism
Greek culture
Homer
composed the Iliad, and the Odyssey
Socrates, Plato, Aristotle
influential greek philosophers. believed truth could be discerned through rational thinking and careful observation. virtue=happiness.
Roman Republic
The period from 509 to 31 B.C.E., during which Rome was largely governed by the aristocratic Roman Senate
plebeian (lower), patrician (upper)
Roman classes
Julius Caesar
successful Roman general and famous speaker, was governer of Gaul, used army to epland control of Roman Republic, eventually becoming a dictator
Caesar Augustus
Octavian, Julius Caesar's adopted son
Aryans
Indo-European nomadic group that conquered Indians around 1500 B.C.E.
Sanskrit
religious, literary, and intellectual language of India
Mauryans
first true rulers of India (324-184 B.C.E.)
Gupta Empire
United India after the fall of the Mauryan Empire (320-550 C.E.)
Gupta scholars
invented the decimal system, pi, and zero
Roman Empire splits
395 C.E.
Justinian
Created "new rome"; best known for his law reforms-400 years of codified Roman law; built Hagia Sophia
Corpus Juris Civilis
Body of Civil Law
Middle Ages
The era in European history that followed the fall of the Roman Empire, lasting from about 500 to 1500 C.E.
Bantu
Collective name of a large group of sub-Saharan African languages and of the peoples speaking these languages
Nubia
(Not counting Egypt) first major civilization in Africa
Ghana
First known kingdom in sub-Saharan West Africa, dating back to 500 C.E. Also the modern West African country once known as the Gold Coast and "Land of gold
earth mounds
North American religious burial mounds
Anasazi
A civilization in North America's desert Southwest (first millennium C.E.)
cliff dwellings
Anasazi houses built into overhanging cliffs
cultural diffusion
The spread of ideas, customs, and technologies from one people to another
class distinction
religious purities and social boundaries
food surplus
leads to specialization of labor and increase populations
social stratification
The process whereby the members of a society are sorted into different statuses.
Heirarchy
a culture's system of ranking social classes
social mobility
a change in position within the social hierarchy
Patriarchies
societies in which males are dominant
Monarchy
a government led by a single ruler
Aristocracy
the elite class or nobility
Feudal system
governmental system of the Middle Ages
Republic
a state in which all or most adult citizens play an equal role in government
Democracy
Government by the people, exercised either directly or through elected representative
Theocracy
a government dominated by the religious elite
Atlantic Slave Trade
Lasted from 16th century until the 19th century. Trade of African peoples from Western Africa to the Americas. One part of a three-part economical system known as the MIddle Passage of the Triangular Trade
Silk Road
a chain of trade routes stretching from China to the Mediterranean Sea
Polytheism
Worship of more than one deity
Pantheon
a group of gods
Monotheism
worship of one god
Abraham
Patriarch of Judaism
diaspora
the scattering of the Jews to countries outside of Palestine during the Roman rule
Talmud
collection of Jewish law and tradition (another name for Torah)
Law of Manu
a book, written between 200 B.C.E and 200 C.E, in which the rules for social behavior were written down; Manu is the mythical founder of India
Hindu deities
Vishnu, Shiva, Brahma, and Mahadevi Skakti
Caste System
A Hindu social class system that controlled every aspect of daily life
Reincarnation
belief that the individual soul is reborn in a different form after death
karma
(Hinduism and Buddhism) the effects of a person's actions that determine his destiny in his next incarnation
World Soul
a great spirit to which everything in the world belongs
nirvana
any place of complete bliss and delight and peace (blissful nothingness)
dao
The way
Mandate of Heaven
a political theory of ancient China in which those in power were given the right to rule from a divine source
I-Ching
a Chinese book of oracles, consulted to answer ethical and practical problems
filial piety
in Confucian thought, one of the virtues to be cultivated, a love and respect for one's parents and ancestors
Jesus of Nazareth
founder of Christianity
Sermon on the Mount
Jesus' most famous message
Golden Rule
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
Bible
Christian holy book
Muhammad
the Arab prophet who founded Islam (570-632 C.E.)
Qur'an
Muslim holy book
Sunni
Muslims that believe that one elected by the believers should become caliph
Shiites
Muslims that believe that only direct descendants of Muhammad should become caliph