hunting and gathering
means of obtaining subsistence by humans before the mastery of sedentary agriculture; normally typical of band social organization.
civilization
societies with reliance on sedentary agriculture, ability to produce food surpluses, and existence of nonfarming elites, along with merchant and manufacturing groups.
Paleolithic
the Old Stone Age ending in 12,000 B.C.E.; typified by use of evolving stone tools and hunting and gathering for subsistence.
Neolithic
the New Stone Age between 8000 and 5000 B.C.E.; period in which adaptation of sedentary agriculture occurred; domestication of plants and animals accomplishedH
nomads
cattle- and sheep-herding societies normally found on the fringes of civilized societies; commonly referred to as "barbarian" by civilized societies.
"savages"
societies engaged in either hunting and gathering for subsistence or in migratory cultivation; not as stratified or specialized as civilized and nomadic societies.
culture
combinations of ideas, objects, and patterns of behavior that result from human social interaction.
Homo sapiens
the species of humanity that emerged as most successful at the end of the Paleolithic.
Neanderthals
species of genus homo that disappeared at the end of the Paleolithic.
band
a level of social organization normally consisting of between 20 and 30 people; nomadic hunters and gatherers; labor divided on a gender basis.
agrarian revolution
occurred between 8000 and 5000 B.C.E.; transition from hunting and gathering to sedentary agriculture.
Natufian complex
preagricultural culture; located in present -day Israel, Jordan, and Lebanon; practiced collection of wild barley and wheat to supplement game; large settlement sites.
matrilocal
a culture in which young men upon marriage go to live with the bride's family.
matrilineal
family descent and inheritance traced through the female line.
pastoralism
a nomadic agricultural life-style based on herding domesticated animals; tended to produce independent people capable of challenging sedentary agricultural societies.
Huanghe or Yellow river basin
site of the development of sedentary agriculture in China.
Mesoamerica
Mexico and Central America; along with Peru, site of development of sedentary agriculture in western hemisphere.
Jericho
early walled urban culture based on sedentary agriculture; located in modern Israel-occupied West Bank near Jordan river.
Çatal Huyuk
early urban culture based on sedentary agriculture; located in modern southern Turkey; larger in population than Jerico, had greater degree of social stratification.
Bronze Age
from 4000 to 3000 B.C.E.; increased use of plow, metalworking; development of wheeled vehicles, writing.
Mesopotamia
literally "between the rivers"; the civilizations that arose in the alluvial plain of the TigrisEuphrates river valleys.
potter's wheel
a technological advance in pottery making; invented ca. 6000 B.C.E.; encouraged faster and higherquality ceramic pottery product.
Sumerians
people who migrated into Mesopotamia ca. 4000 B.C.E.; created the first civilization within region; organized area into citystates.
cuneiform
a form of writing developed by the Sumerians using a wedgeshaped stylus and clay tablets.
city-state
a form of political organization typical of Mesopotamian civilization; consisted of agricultural hinterlands ruled by an urbanbased king.
Epic of Gilgamesh
the first literary epic; written down ca. 2000 B.C.E.; included story of the Great Flood.
ziggurats
massive towers usually associated with Mesopotamian temple connections.
animism
a religious outlook that recognizes gods in many aspects of nature and propitiates them to help control and explain nature; typical of Mesopotamian religions.
Sargon I of Akkad
ruler of citystate of Akkad; established the first empire in Mesopotamian civilization ca. 2400 B.C.E.
Babylonian Empire
unified all of Mesopotamia ca. 1800 B.C.E.; collapsed due to foreign invasion ca. 1600 B.C.E.
Hammurabi
the most important Babylonian ruler; responsible for codification of the law.
Aknenaton
Egyptian pharaoh of the New Kingdom; attempted to establish monotheistic religion replacing the traditional Egyptian pantheon of gods.
pyramids
monumental architecture typical of Old Kingdom Egypt; used as burial sites for pharaohs.
mummification
act of preserving the bodies of the dead; practiced in Egypt to preserve the body for enjoyment of the afterlife.
hieroglyphs
form of writing developed in ancient Egypt; more pictorial than Mesopotamian cuneiforrn.
patriarchate
societies in which women defer to men; societies run by men and based upon the assumption that men naturally directed political, economic, and cultural life.
Kush
African state that developed along the upper reaches of the Nile ca. 1000 B.C.E.; conquered Egypt and ruled it for several centuries.
Yahweh
the single god of the Hebrews; constructed a covenant with Jews as his chosen people.
monotheism
the exclusive worship of one god; introduced by Jews into Middle Eastern civilization.
Minoans
a civilization that developed on Crete ca. 1600 B.C.E.; capital at the palace complex of Knossos.
Mycenae
the 1st civilization to emerge on the Greek mainland; destroyed ca. 1000 B.C.E.
Phoenicians
seafaring civilization located on the shores of the eastern Mediterranean; established colonies throughout the Mediterranean.
Hittites
an IndoEuropean people who entered Mesopotamia ca. 1750 B.C.E.; destroyed the Babylonian Empire; swept away ca. 1200 B.C.E.
Indus river valley
river flows from sources in the Himalayas to the Arabian Sea; location of Harappan civilization.
monsoons
seasonal winds crossing the Indian sub-continent and Southeast Asia; during the summer they bring rain.
Harappan civilization
first civilization of the Indian subcontinent; emerged in Indus river valley ca. 2500 B.C.E.
Harass and-Dar
major urban complexes of Harappan civilization; laid out on planned grid pattern.
Aryans
Indo-European nomadic, warlike, pastoralists who replaced Harappan civilization.
Vedas
Aryan hymns originally transmitted orally; written down in sacred books from the 6th century B.C.E.
India
chief deity of the Aryans; depicted as a hard-drinking warrior.
daises
Aryan name for indigenous people of the Indus river valley region; regarded as societally inferior to Aryans.
caste system
rigid system of social classification introduced by Aryans.
varnas
clusters of caste groups; four social castes: brahmans (priests), warriors, merchants, peasants; beneath them were the untouchables.
polygamy
marriage practice in which one husband had several wives; present in Aryan society.
polyandry
marriage practice in which one woman had several husbands; recounted in Aryan epics.
patrilineal
social system in which descent and inheritance is passed through the male line; typical of Aryan society.
Huanghe river
river flowing from the Tibetan plateau to the China Sea; its valley was site of early Chinese sedentary agricultural communities.
Ordos bulge
located on Huanghe river; region of fertile soil; site of Yangshao and Longshan cultures.
loess
fine-grained soil deposited in Ordos bulge; created fertile lands for sedentary agricultural communities.
Yangshao culture
a formative Chinese culture located at Ordos bulge ca. 2500 to 2000 B.C.E.; primarily an intensive hunting and gathering society supplemented by shifting cultivation.
Longshan culture
a formative Chinese culture located at Ordos bulge ca. 2000 to 1500 B.C.E; based primarily on cultivation of millet.
Yu
a possibly mythical ruler revered for construction of a system of flood control along the Huanghe river valley; founder of Xia kingdom.
Xia
China's first, possibly mythical, kingdom; ruled by Yu; no archaeological sites yet discovered.
Shang
1st Chinese dynasty; capital in Ordos bulge.
vassal retainers
members of former ruling families granted control over peasant and artisan populations of areas throughout Shang kingdom; indirectly exploited wealth of their territories.
extended families
consisted of several generations, including sons and grandsons of family patriarch and their families; typical of Shang China elites.
nuclear households
husband, wife, and their children, and perhaps a few other relatives; typical of Chinese peasantry.
oracles
shamans or priests in Chinese society who foretold the future through interpreting animal bones cracked by heat; inscriptions on bones led to Chinese writing.
ideographic writing
pictograph characters grouped together to create new concepts; typical of Chinese writing.
Zhou
originally a vassal family of the Shang; possibly Turkic in origin; overthrew Shang and established 2nd Chinese dynasty.
Xian and Loyang
capitals of the Zhou dynasty.
feudalism
social organization created by exchanging grants of land (fiefs) in return for formal oaths of allegiance and promises of loyal service; typical of Zhou dynasty.
Mandate of Heaven
the divine source of political legitimacy in China; established under Zhou to justify overthrow of Shang.
shi
probably originally priests; transformed into corps of professional bureaucrats because of knowledge of writing during Zhou dynasty.
Qin
dynasty (221-207 B.C.E.) founded at the end of the Warring States period.
Shi Huangdi
first emperor of China; founder of Qin dynasty.
Warring States period
time of warfare between regional lords following the decline of the Zhou dynasty in the 8th century B.C.E.
Confucius
major Chinese philosopher born in 6th century B.C.E.; sayings collected in Analects; philosophy based on the need for restoration of social order through the role of superior men.
Mencius
major follower of Confucius; stressed that humans were essentially good and that governments required the consent of their subjects.
Xunzi
follower of Confucius; stressed that humans were inherently lazy and evil and required an authoritarian government.
Laozi
Chinese Daoist philosopher; taught that governments were of secondary importance and recommended retreat from society into nature.
Daoism
philosophy associated with Laozi; individual should seek alignment with Dao or cosmic force.
Legalists
Chinese school of political philosophy; stressed the need for the absolute power of the emperor enforced through strict application of laws.
Great Wall
Chinese defensive fortification built to keep out northern nomadic invaders; began during the reign of Shi Huangdi.
Sunzi
author of The Art of War; argued that war was an extension of statecraft and should be fought according to scientific principles.
Liu Bang
founder of the Han dynasty in 202 B.C.E.
Han
dynasty succeeding the Qin ruled from 202 B.C.E. to 220 C.E.
scholar-gentry
Chinese class created by the marital linkage of the local landholding aristocracy with the office-holding shi.
secret societies
Chinese peasant organizations; provided members financial support during hard times and physical protection during disputes with local aristocracy.
forbidden city
imperial precinct within Chinese capital cities; only imperial family, advisors, and household were permitted to enter.
Wang Mang
member of a powerful family related to the Han emperors through marriage; temporarily overthrew the Han between 9 and 23 C.E.
eunuchs
castrated males used within households of Chinese emperors, usually to guard his concubines; became a political counterbalance to powerful marital relatives during later Han rule.