What were the most important developments in pre-history?
The beginnings of agriculture, first through semi-cultivation, and then through clearing fields and specializing tools for planting and harvesting
The beginnings of domestication of animals and pastoralism
Why is the Neolithic Revolution considered so highly significant?
It brought about:
permanent dwellings, villages and towns
specialized labor because of food surpluses
the need for record keeping - so brought about written language
the need for social order - so brought about government
How were early civilizations shaped by the rivers?
Rivers shaped:
world view as predictable and orderly or unpredictable and frightening.
religious view of gods needing to be appeased or benevolent.
Agriculture helping to determine when and where crops could be planted
Agriculture determining whether irrigation was needed or not
Who were some of the first ethnic groups of Mesopotamia?
The Sumerians and the Semites (both later assimilated)
fallow
cultivated land that is not seeded for one or more growing seasons
megalith
Structures and complexes of very large stones constructed for ceremonial and religious purposes in Neolithic times
lugal
"Big man" - or king - in Ancient Mesopotamia
Who/what were the two powers over Mesopotamia?
THe temples and palaces
Hammurabi's Code
an organized set of laws that established a way of life with law and order (rules and punishments) for the ancient Mesopotamians.
What method of writing was used in ancient Mesopotamia?
cuneiform
scribe
A scholar charged by the temple with reading and writing tasks
ziggurat
a rectangular tiered temple or terraced mound erected by the ancient Assyrians and Babylonians
Historians divide Egypt history into 30 dynasties and also a system of ______, ______, and _______ kingdoms.
Old, Middle, New
city-state
a self-governing urban center
weir
a partial dam
Harappa
Site of one of the great cities of the Indus Valley civilization of the third millennium B.C.E. It was located on the northwest frontier of the zone of cultivation , and may have been a center for the acquisition of raw materials.
dowry
money or property brought by a woman to her husband at marriage
What was the first official Chinese dynsaty?
Shang
Babylon
The largest and most important city in Mesopotamia. It achieved particular eminence as the capital of the Amorite king Hammurabi in the eighteenth century B.C.E. and the Neo-Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar in the sixth century B.C.E. (p. 14)
Hieroglyphs
System of writing in which pictorial symbols represented sounds, syllables, or concepts. Used for official and monumental inscriptions in ancient Egypt. (p. 26)
forager
People who support themselves by hunting wild animals and gatherings wild edible plants and insects
Stone Age
The historical period characterized by the production of tools from stone and other nonmetallic substances. It was followed in some places by the Bronze Age and more generally by the Iron Age. (p. 6)
divination
used to determine will of gods; used before taking action; involved sacrifices to gods & ancestors
Which dynasty followed the Shang dynasty in China?
Zhou
yang
male, sun, active, bright shining
yin
moon, passive, shaded, reflective
Kush
name given by Egyptians to kingdom whose capital was located at Kerma in tropical Africa; beginning around 1750 B.C.E. kings marshaled labor force to build monumental walls & structures of mud brick; servants & wives sacrificed for burial w/ kings, rich objects found in tombs - rulers were rich & powerful & belief in afterlife; good metal & pottery
feng shui
The orientation of buildings - especially notable in China
barbarians
nomadic people
What two metals help make bronze?
copper and tin
Who defeated the last Shang king?
Wu, the first ruler of Zhou dynasty
Who was the "Son of Heaven"?
The ruling monarch who obeyed the "Mandate of Heaven"
What do legalists believe?
All human beings are wicked in nature and only obey with strict laws and harsh punishment
When was the Warring States Period?
480-221 BCE, Zhou dynasty
Who were the warlike group of people from Ireland?
The Celts
Meroe
center of the Kush dynasty from about 250 B.C. to A.D. 150; known for its manufacture of iron weapons and tools
What animal was an important symbol in Chavin religion?
the jaguar
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)
From where did the Hittite people originate?
Anatolia
Who was the first to develop technology for making tools out of iron?
the Hittites
The New Kingdom of Egypt started when ____
the Hyksos were expelled from Egypt
Ramesses II
A long-lived ruler of New Kingdom Egypt (r. 1290-1224 B.C.E.). He reached an accommodation with the Hittites of Anatolia after a military standoff. He built on a grand scale throughout Egypt.
Where was the Minoan civilization?
The island of Crete
Who was probably responsible for destroying the Minoan civilization?
Mycenaean Greeks
shaft graves
Term used for the burial sites of elite members of Mycenaean Greek society in the mid-second millennium B.C.E.
Who founded Carthage?
The Phoenicians.
In the Assyrian Empire, the king had both _____ and ______ duties. Some of his duties were ________
religious and secular. Supervising the state religion, running the military, solving complaints. The chief responsibility being supervising the religion.
At it's peak, the Assyrian military had _____ troops.
1/2 million
Israel was a crossroad linking Assyrian Empire to _______, and Arabia to _______.
Egypt, Mesopotamia
The Israelites were _______.
nomads
Who was the first king of Israel, and therefore created the monarchy?
Saul
Under which monarch was the 1st Temple of Jerusalem built?
Solomon
When did Israel split into two separate states?
After Solomon's death (920 BCE)
In 721 BCE, the Assyrians captured which Israeli state?
Israel (Northern kingdom)
Where was Tyre located?
Phoenicia
What was the start of Tyre expansion/colonization?
Cyprus
Carthaginian power relied on what?
The navy
Which two groups destroyed the major cities of the Assyrian Empire?
The Neo-Babylonians and the Medes
Which emperor divided the Persian Empire into 20 provinces?
Darius I
Zoroastrianism
A religion originating in ancient Iran with the prophet Zoroaster. It centered on a single benevolent deity-Ahuramazda, Emphasizing truth-telling, purity, and reverence for nature, the religion demanded that humans choose sides between good and evil.
Which religions did Zoroastrianism indirectly influence?
Christianity and Judaism
The Greeks created an alphabet after contact with whom?
The Phoenicians
What are some characteristics of a poli?
public buildings, no distinction of poor and rich areas
Hoplite
a heavily armed Greek foot soldier
After the tyrants, what political structure did Athens take?
A democracy
Poli
An urban center and the rural territory it controlled
Who was the "father of history"?
Herodotus
Where did the Spartans first conquer?
Messenia
Persians seized and sacked Athens under what monarch?
Xeres
Aristotle was an apprentice/disciple of _____ who was an apprentice/disciple of ______.
Plato, Socrates
The Athenian democracy was true to what percent of the population?
10 to 15
Who were the opposing forces in the Peloponnesian war?
Athens and Sparta
Alexander, of Macedonia, revenged what empire and for what?
the Persian, for Xerxes' invasion of Greece
The Macedonian Empire divided into what three kingdoms after Alexander the Great's death?
Seleucid, Ptolemaic, and Antigonid
Why did the Persians and Greeks come into conflict?
Darius 1 went into Europe extending Perisan Empire into Thres; basically, a series of invasions and revolting
Though the first Rome was a republic, it wasn't a ________.
democracy
Paterfamilia
The oldest male of a family, and therefore the head of the family
Which empire allowed citizenship to those they conquered?
The Roman
What essentially lead to the fall of the Republic?
Julius Caesar starting the chain of emperors.
Octavian, later known as Augustus, added what lands to the Roman Empire under his reign?
Egypt, Middle East, and Central Europe
Which Roman emperor granted citizenship to all free, adult males?
Caracalla
What does AD stand for?
Ano Domini
What three inventions during the Roman Empire are considered notable?
aqueducts, arches, and concrete
In the 3rd century crisis in the Roman Empire, how many empires reigned?
more than 20
Which emperor saved the Roman Empire with his laws that set a certain price for goods?
Diocletian
Which emperor was the first to stop the persecution of Christians and move the capital of the Empire to Byzantium, later renamed Constantinople?
Constantine I
When was Rome sacked by the German barbarians?
476 CE
What was the basic unit of Chinese society in Han China?
the family
Who was the first emperor of Qin period?
Shi Huangdi
What did Shi Huangdi and Li Si abolish in Qin China?
Primogeniture and slavery
Who established the Han dynasty?
Liu Bang
Gentry
people of standing(rank or position); people of good family or high social position; class of people just below nobility
What makes India very hard to unify, even today?
Its geography
The Brahmin had a monopoly over what?
religion
Who founded Jainism?
Mahavira (Jina)
Who gained control and created India's first empire, the Mauryan Empire, in late 4th century BCE?
Changdragupta Maurya
What was the tax rate in the Mauryan Empire?
25% on agriculture
What was the Gupta Empire tax rate?
1/4 (well close enough, like 24%) on agriculture
Women in the Gupta Empire were treated equivalent to which level of varna?
the lowest
What important mathematical concept did the Indians of the Gupta Empire invent?
The concept of 0
What are the three regions of Southeast Asia?
Indo-China, Malay Peninsula, and surrounding islands
theater state
A state that acquires prestige and power by developing attractive cultural forms and staging elaborate public ceremonies (as well as redistributing valuable resources) to attract and bind subjects to the center.
When were the two periods of heavy use of the Silk Road?
150-907 CE, 1200-1600 CE
What group of people developed the stirrup?
The Kushans
What style of sails did the Mediterranean sailors use during Alexander the Great's rule?
square
What group of people from Southeast Asia sailed to Madagascar?
The Malay people
entrepot
Big commercial center for importing and exporting commodities.
What animal is shown in Saharan rock art to prove water was available for grazing of animals?
a cow
