Artifact
an object made by human beings; often refers to a primitive tool or other relic from an earlier period
Domestication
the taming of animals for human use, such as work or as food
Civilization
a society in an advanced state of social development (e.g., with complex legal and political and religious organizations)
Culture
all the knowledge and values shared by a society
Hunter-gatherer
a member of a nomadic group whose food supply depends on hunting animals and collecting plant foods.
Neolithic Revolution
This social revolution was also known as the New Stone Age where people changed from hunting and gathering food to domesticating animals and cultivating land as farmers.
Bronze Age
(archeology) a period between the Stone and Iron ages, characterized by the manufacture and use of bronze tools and weapons
City-state
a city and its surrounding lands functioning as an independent political unit
Polytheism
Belief of many gods.
Hieroglyphics
a system of writing using symbols or pictures
Empire
a group of countries under a single authority
Pharaoh
a king of ancient Egypt, considered a god as well as a political leader
Caste
(Hinduism) a hereditary social class among Hindus
Reincarnation
belief that the individual soul is reborn in a different form after death
Moses
the Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites from Egypt across the Red sea on a journey known as the Exodus
Ramses II
powerful pharaoh who kept Egypt together during invasion; helped to regain control of Palestine
Confucius
A Chinese philosopher of the Zhou Dynasty, developed a code of behavior based on old traditions, good behavior, and truth.
Royal Road
A road for the government use built by the ancient Persian ruler Darius which helped unite the empire
Trojan War
a great war fought between Greece and Troy
Homer
ancient Greek epic poet who is believed to have written the Iliad and the Odyssey (circa 850 BC)
Aristotle
A Greek Philosopher, taught Alexander the Great, started a famous school, studied with Plato
Alexander the Great
Between 334 and 323 B.C.E. he conquered the Persian Empire, reached the Indus Valley, founded many Greek-style cities, and spread Greek culture across the Middle East.
Democracy
a political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them
Republic
a political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them
Senate
assembly possessing high legislative powers
Julius Caesar
Aging but successful and overconfident. He has over-reached himself; he is vain. Has recently suffered from a fever in Spain and is now slightly deaf and epileptic (according to Cassius). He is boastful and is subject to flattery. He is not a coward. Ambitious and concerned about his public image. A clever judge of men. Has military power and is generous and just. Tends to forget his human limitations in his ambition for power. Becomes ruthless and overconfident. After he is stabbed his humanity returns. As he dies, he is not an ambitious, vain man. He is more concerned of the noble love of his friend, Brutus, than anything else.
Constantine
Emperor of Rome who adopted the Christian faith and stopped the persecution of Christians (280-337)
Augustus
(63 BCE - 14 CE) First emperor of Rome (27 BCE - 14 CE) He restored order and prosperity to the Empire after nearly a century of turmoil. Grandnephew to Julius Caesar.
Jesus
A Jew from Galilee in northern Israel. A teacher and prophet whose life and teachings form the basis of Christianity. Christians believe Jesus to be Son of God.
Silk Road
an ancient trade route between China and the Mediterranean (4,000 miles)
Han Dynasty
imperial dynasty that ruled China (most of the time) from 206 BC to 221 and expanded its boundaries and developed its bureaucracy
Religious toleration
acceptance of religious differences
Centralized government
A government in which a central authority controls the running of a state.
Civil Service
government workers
Sahara
the world's largest desert (3,500,000 square miles) in northern Africa
Animism
Belief that spirits inhibit everything
Olmec
The first Mesoamerican civilization. Between ca. 1200 and 400 B.C.E., the Olmec people of central Mexico created a vibrant civilization that included intensive agriculture, wide-ranging trade, ceremonial centers, and monumental construction. (86)
Allah
Muslim name for the one and only God
Muhammad
The prophet and founder of Islam
Islam
the religion of Muslims collectively which governs their civilization and way of life
Justinian Code
the legal code of ancient Rome
Hagias Sophia
Most famous example of Byzantine architecture, it was built under Justinian I and is considered one of the most perfect buildings in the world.
Genghis Khan
The title of Temujin when he ruled the Mongols (1206-1227). It means the 'universal' leader. He was the founder of the Mongol Empire.
Marco Polo
Venetian merchant and traveler. His accounts of his travels to China offered Europeans a firsthand view of Asian lands and stimulated interest in Asian trade.
Charlemagne
King of the Franks who conquered much of Western Europe, great patron of literature and learning
Monastery
A place where monks live, pray and eat in solitary.
Chivalry
a code that knights adopted in the late Middle Ages; requiring them to be brave, loyal and true to their word; they had to fight fairly in battle
Serf
(Middle Ages) a person who is bound to the land and owned by the feudal lord
Manor
A large estate, often including farms and a village, ruled by a lord.
Clergy
a body of officials who perform religious services, such as priests, ministers or rabbis.
Crusade
any of the more or less continuous military expeditions in the 11-13th centuries when Christian powers of Europe tried to recapture the Holy Land from the Muslims
Magna Carta
This document, signed by King John of England in 1215, is the cornerstone of English justice and law. It declared that the king and government were bound by the same laws as other citizens of England. It contained the antecedents of the ideas of due process and the right to a fair and speedy trial that are included in the protection offered by the U.S. Bill of Rights
Parliament
the lawmaking body of British government
Hundred Years War
the series of wars between England and France, 1337-1453, in which England lost all its possessions in France except Calais.
Ghana
a republic in West Africa on the Gulf of Guinea
Lineage
Descendants of a common ancestor
Matrilineal
based on or tracing descent through the female line
Pueblo
a communal village built by Indians in the southwestern United States
Iroquois
They blended hunting and agriculture in the Eastern Woodlands
Renaissance
The great period of rebirth in art, literature, and learning in the 14th-16th centuries, which marked the transition into the modern periods of European history
Reformation
a religious movement of the 16th century that began as an attempt to reform the Roman Catholic Church and resulted in the creation of Protestant churches
Utopia
a book by Sir Thomas More (1516) describing the perfect society on an imaginary island
Taj Mahal
A beautiful tomb built by the Mughal ruler Shah Jahan to honor his wife.
Ming Dynasty
A major dynasty that ruled China from the mid-fourteenth to the mid-seventeenth century. It was marked by a great expansion of Chinese commerce into East Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia
Conquistador
an adventurer (especially one who led the Spanish conquest of Mexico and Peru in the 16th century)
Jamestown
The first successful settlement in the Virginia colony founded in May, 1607. Harsh conditions nearly destroyed the colony but in 1610 supplies arrived with a new wave of settlers. The settlement became part of the Virginia Company of London in 1620. The population remained low due to lack of supplies until agriculture was solidly established. Jamestown grew to be a prosperous shipping port when John Rolfe introduced tobacco as a major export and cash crop.
Atlantic Slave Trade
the buying, transporting, and selling of Africans for work in the Americas
Columbian Exchange
The exchange of plants, animals, diseases, and technologies between the Americas and the rest of the world following Columbus's voyages.
French and Indian War
Was a war fought by French and English on American soil over control of the Ohio River Valley-- English defeated French in 1763. Historical Significance: established England as number one world power and began to gradually change attitudes of the colonists toward England for the worse.
Absolute Monarch
A king or queen with complete authority over the government and people in a kingdom
Divine Right
belief that a ruler's authority comes directly from God
Isaac Newton
English mathematician and physicist
Declaration of Independence
this document was adopted by the second continental congress on July 4, 1776. it established the 13 colonies as independent states, free from rule by great Britain. Thomas Jefferson wrote the majority of this document
Maximilien Robespierre
Jacobin leader who slowly gained power in 1793, he set out to build a republic of virtue by wiping out every trace of France's past; later became the leader of the Committee of Public Safety through which he governed France like a dictator and implemented the Reign of Terror
Napoleonic Code
a comprehensive and uniform system of laws established for France by Napoleon
Guillotine
a machine for beheading people, used as a means of execution during the French Revolution.
Waterloo
the battle on 18 June 1815 in which Napoleon met his final defeat
Conservative
a person who has conservative ideas or opinions
Liberal
a person who generally believes the government should take an active role in the economy and in social programs but that the government should not dictate social behavior
Nationalism
a strong feeling of pride in and devotion to one's country
Industrial Revolution
the change from an agricultural to an industrial society and from home manufacturing to factory production, especially the one that took place in England from about 1750 to about 1850.
Socialism
A social and political philosophy based on the belief that democratic means should be used to evenly distribute wealth throughout a society
Karl Marx
German journalist and philosopher, founder of the Marxist branch of socialism. He is known for two books: The Communist Manifesto (1848) and Das Kapital (Vols. I-III, 1867-1894).
Union
an organization of employees formed to bargain with the employer
Suffrage
the right to vote
Anti Semitism
Prejudice against Jews
Emancipation Proclamation
Issued by Abraham Lincoln on September 22, 1862 it declared that all slaves in the confederate states would be free
Suez Canal
a human-made waterway, which was opened in 1869, connecting the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea
Racism
Belief that one race is superior to another
Monroe Doctrine
A statement of foreign policy which proclaimed that Europe should not interfere in affairs within the United States or in the development of other countries in the Western Hemisphere.
Spanish American War
In 1898, a conflict between the United States and Spain, in which the U.S. supported the Cubans' fight for independence
Triple Alliance
Alliance between Germany, Italy, Austria Hungry
Triple Entente
an alliance between Great Brittan, Russia, and France
Central Powers
in World War I the alliance of Germany and Austria-Hungary and other nations allied with them in opposing the Allies
Allies
in World War I the alliance of Great Britain and France and Russia and all the other nations that became allied with them in opposing the Central Powers
Treaty of Versailles
Treaty that ended WW I. It blamed Germany for WW I and handed down harsh punishment.
Lenin
founded the Communist Party in Russia and set up the world's first Communist Party dictatorship. He led the October Revolution of 1917, in which the Communists seized power in Russia. He then ruled the country until his death in 1924.
Stalin
Russian leader who succeeded Lenin as head of the Communist Party and created a totalitarian state by purging all opposition (1879-1953)
Totalitarianism
a form of government in which the ruler is an absolute dictator (not restricted by a constitution or laws or opposition etc.)
Gandhi
This was a leader of the Indian independence movement in mid-20th century known for his nonviolent protests.
Albert Einstein
physicist born in Germany who formulated the special theory of relativity and the general theory of relativity
Sigmund Freud
Austrian physician whose work focused on the unconscious causes of behavior and personality formation; founded psychoanalysis.
Hitler
German Nazi dictator during World War II (1889-1945)
Holocaust
the Nazi program of exterminating Jews under Hitler
Genocide
systematic killing of a racial or cultural group
Cold War
A conflict that was between the US and the Soviet Union. The nations never directly confronted each other on the battlefield but deadly threats went on for years.
PLO
Palestinian Liberation Organization; formed in 1964 with the purpose of creating a homeland for Palestinians in Israel
Nelson Mandela
South African statesman who was released from prison to become the nation's first democratically elected president in 1994 (born in 1918)
Mikhail Gorbachev
Soviet statesman whose foreign policy brought an end to the Cold War and whose domestic policy introduced major reforms (born in 1931)
Apartheid
Laws (no longer in effect) in South Africa that physically separated different races into different geographic areas.
Internet
the worldwide computer system that allows communication and information sharing among people
Free Trade
international trade free of government interference
Global Economy
The interconnected economies of the nations of the world
Refugee
A person who has to leave his or her country to find safety.
Terrorism
the calculated use of violence (or threat of violence) against civilians in order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature
Genetic Engineering
process of making changes in the DNA code of living organisms
Materialism
a desire for wealth and material possessions with little interest in ethical or spiritual matters
USA Patriot Act
law passed due to 9/11 attacks; sought to prevent further terrorist attacks by allowing greater government access to electronic communications and other information; criticized by some as violating civil liberties