AP World History Unit 1 Vocabulary #1

Unit One: Foundations (8000 B.C.E. – 600 C.E.) Oracle bones Patriarchal Pharaoh Polytheism paterfamilias Ziggurat Alexander the Great Aristocracy Aristotle Artisan Democracy Dynasty Geocentric theory Hellenistic Age Indo-Europeans Jati Mystery religion Pax Romana Civilization Climate Cultural diffusion Independent invention Monsoon Steppe Agricultural Revolution Artifact Foraging Neolithic Age Neolithic Revolution Slash-and-burn agriculture Specialization of labor Cuneiform Hieroglyphics Mandate of Heaven Matrilineal

Jati One of the many subcastes in the Hindu caste system

Paterfamilias “Father of the family" - the head of Roman family life; the oldest living male who looked after the family's business affairs and property and could perform religious rites on their behalf; he had absolute rule over his household and children. If they angered him, he had the legal right to disown his children, sell them into slavery or even kill them.

Mandate of Heaven The concept developed by the Zhou dynasty that the deity granted a dynasty the right to rule and took away that right if the dynasty did not rule wisely

Artisan A craftsman

Oracle Bones Animal bones or shells used by the Chinese priests to receive messages from the gods

Ziggurat A multilayered pyramid constructed by Mesopotamians

Agricultural Revolution The transition from foraging to the cultivation of food occurring about 8000-2000 B.C.E; also known as the Neolithic Revolution

Artifact An object made by human hands

Alexander the Great (356–323 BC) King of Macedon (336–323), the son of Philip II. He was a pupil of Aristotle. After his succession he invaded Persia, liberating the Greek cities in Asia Minor, and then defeating the Persians in Egypt, Syria, and Mesopotamia. While in Egypt he founded Alexandria (332 BC), his first and best-known city

Aristocracy Rule by a privileged hereditary class or nobility

Aristotle (384–322 B.C.) Greek philosopher and scientist. A pupil of Plato and tutor to Alexander the Great, in 335 BC he founded a school and library (the Lyceum) outside Athens. His surviving written works constitute a vast system of analysis, including logic, physical science, zoology, psychology, metaphysics, ethics, politics, and rhetoric. He established the inductive method of reasoning and proposed a system for the classification of plants and animals.

Civilization A cultural group with advanced cities, complex institutions, skilled workers, advanced technology, and a system of recordkeeping

Climate The pattern of temperature and precipitation over a period of time

Cultural Diffusion The transmission of ideas and products from one culture to another

Cuneiform A system of writing originating in Mesopotamia in which a wedge-shaped stylus was used to press symbols into clay tablets

Democracy A political system in which the people rule

Dynasty A series of rulers from the same family

Foraging A term for hunting and gathering

Geocentric Theory The belief held by many before the Scientific Revolution that the earth is the center of the universe

Hieroglyphics A system of picture writing used in Egypt

Hellenistic Age The era (c. 323-30 B.C.E) in which Greek culture blended with Persian and other Eastern influences spread throughout the former empire of Alexander the Great

Independent Invention The development of innovation or technology independent of cultural diffusion

Indo-Europeans A group pf semi-nomadic peoples who, around 2000 B.C.E., began to migrate from central Asia to India, Europe, and the Middle East

Monsoon A seasonal wind

Matrilineal Referring to a social system in which descent and inheritance are traced through their mother

Mystery Religion During the Hellenistic Age, religions that promised their faithful followers eternity in a state of bliss

Neolithic Age Final stage of technological development or cultural evolution among prehistoric humans. It is characterized by the use of stone tools shaped by polishing or grinding, the domestication of plants or animals, the establishment of permanent villages, and the practice of such crafts as pottery and weaving.

Neolithic Revolution The discovery of farming and the domestication of animals brought an end to the slow development of the hunting societies of the PALAEOLITHIC and MESOLITHIC periods and initiated a time of rapid change that soon produced metal-working, cities, states, and empires.

Patriarchal Pertaining to a social system in which the father is the head of the family

Pharaoh An Egyptian monarch

Polytheism The belief in many gods

Pax Romana The Roman Peace; the period of prosperity and stability throughout the Roman Empire in the first two centuries C.E.

Steppe A dry grassland

Slash and Burn Agriculture A agricultural method in which farmers clear fields by cutting and burning trees, then use the ashes as fertilizer

Specialization of Labor The division of labor that aids the development of skills in a particular type of work