1. AP World History
Unit 1 Vocabulary #1

2. 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

3. Jati
One of the many subcastes in the Hindu caste system

4. 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.

5. 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

6. Artisan
A craftsman

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

8. Ziggurat
A multilayered pyramid constructed by Mesopotamians

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

10. Artifact
An object made by human hands

11. 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

12. Aristocracy
Rule by a privileged hereditary class or nobility

13. 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.

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

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

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

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

18. Democracy
A political system in which the people rule

19. Dynasty
A series of rulers from the same family

20. Foraging
A term for hunting and gathering

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

22. Hieroglyphics
A system of picture writing used in Egypt

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

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

25. 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

26. Monsoon
A seasonal wind

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

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

29. 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.

30. 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.

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

32. Pharaoh
An Egyptian monarch

33. Polytheism
The belief in many gods

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

35. Steppe
A dry grassland

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

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