| A | B |
|---|
| City-states | Governments based in urban centers of the Mesopotamian basin that controlled neighboring regions; also an independent, self-governing city |
| Composite | Made up of distinct patterns |
| Cuneiform writing | A writing system composed of wedge-shape characters. Used by the Sumerians and adopted by the Akkadians |
| Cylinder seal | An engraved piece of stone or material used as a signature, confirmation of receipt, or identification of ownership |
| Double entendre | A word or expression that can be understood in two ways, one often having sexual or risqué connotation |
| Epic | A long narrative poem in elevated language that follows characters of a high position through a series of adventures, often including a visit to the world of the dead |
| Epithet | A word or phrase that characterizes a person |
| Fluting | The vertical channels in a column shaft |
| ground-line | A baseline |
| Hierarchy of scale (also called social perspective) | A pictoral convention in which the most important figures are represented in a larger size than others |
| Lost-wax casting | A sculptural process in which a figure is molded in wax and covered in plaster or clay; firing melts away the wax and hardens the plaster or clay, which then becomes a mold for molten metal |
| Metallurgy | The science of separating metals from their ores |
| Metaphor | A word or phrase used in place of another to suggest a likeness |
| Narrative genre | A class or category of story with a universal theme |
| Narrative scene | A scene that represents a story or event |
| Patriarch | A scriptural father of the Hebrew people |
| Phonetic writing | A writing system in which signs represent sounds. Ancient Egyptians used this |
| Pictogram | A picture represents a thing or concept |
| Priest-king | In ancient Mesopotamia, a government leader who acted as an intermediary between gods and people, and established laws |
| Prophet | One who serves as a mouthpiece for and interpreter of Yahweh's purposes, which is understood through visions |
| Register | A self-contained horizontal band |
| Similie | A comparison of two unlike things using the word like or as |
| Stele | An upright stone slab carved with a commemorative design or inscription |
| Stylus | A writing tool |
| Synoptic | A view that depicts several consecutive actions at once |
| Ziggurat | A pyramidal temple structure consisting of successive platforms with outside staircases and a shrine at the top |
| Ankh | A hieroglyph of a cross topped with a look; a symbol of life in ancient Egypt |
| Ba | In ancient Egypt, an idea comparable to a person's personality |
| Cartouche | In ancient Egyptian art, an ornamental and symbolic frame reserved for the names of rulers and their wives |
| Colonnade | A sequence or row of columns supporting a lintel and a roof |
| Composite view | A view that integrates multiple perspectives into a single, unified representation |
| Determinative | A sign used in Egyptian hieroglyphs to indicate the category of an object or being |
| Fresco secco | "'Dry seco," the technique of painting on dry plaster |
| Hieroglyph | A sign used in hieroglyphic writing, a writing system consisting mainly of pictorial characters |
| Hypostyle hall | A vast space filled with columns supporting a roof |
| Ka | In ancient Egypt , an ideal comparable to a soul |
| Mastaba | A trapezoidal tomb structure |
| Mummification | The process of embalming, drying, and preserving a body |
| Obelisk | A square, tapered stone column topped by a pyramid shape |
| Pharaoh | A ruler of ancient Egypt |
| Phonogram | A pictogram used to representa sound |
| Pictogram | A drawing that represents an object or being often combined in hieroglyphic writing to express ideas |
| Pictorial formula | A convention of representation in art |
| Pylon | A massive gateway with sloping walls |
| Sanctuary | The most sacred place of a religious building |
| Serekh | A hieroglyphic device representing a pharaoh's palace seen simultaneously from above and the front, usually with a falcon on top of it (though not on Narmer's Palette, used to hold the pharaoh's name) |
| Symmetrical | Balanced on the left and right sides |
| Theocracy | A state ruled by a god or by the god's representative |
| Votive | A ritual object |
| Apostasy | Turning away another god |
| Ethical monotheism | The belief in a god who guides humanity through ethical problems. For example: Israel's god tells you what to do and not to do |
| Epic of Gilgamesh: Ishtar | The goddess of love and war who become furious when Gilgamesh won't marry her |
| Archetype | Model of motif found repeatedly, possibly encoded in our minds. This pattern implies that humans subconsciously need something |
| Myth | A story, religiously based; grounded in human culture and used to explain some phenomenon |
| Bodhisattva | In Buddhism, a person who refrains from achieving total enlightenment in order to help others achieve buddhahood |
| Dharma | In Hinduism, good and righteous conduct that reflects the cosmic moral order underlying all existence |
| Legalism | A philosophythat requires the state to exercise power over the individual to elicit proper conduct |
| Mandala | The Buddhist diagram of the cosmos |
| Nirvana | A place or state free from worry, pain, and the external world |
| Stupa | A type of Buddhist burial mound |
| Filial piety | Piety proper of a son or daughter; respect for parents and elders |
| Geographical determinism | Certain features of geography produce certain effects on cultures |
| Pantheism | Everything is divine or has god in it |
| Henotheism | More than one god, but only one right god |
| Cyrus | Persian who believed the Hebrews should be allowed to go home and helped them rebuild the temple. He was considered a messiah and a "righteous gentile" |
| Xenophobia | Dislike/distrust of foreigners |
| Confucian virtues: ren | "Human heartedness," people relating to one another as human beings |
| Confucian virtues: li | Ritual, courtesy |
| Confucian virtues: xiao | Filial piety (obedience/respect for parents and elders) |
| Dao (Tao) | Means the "way" |
| Yin/yang | There is opposition in all things, and a bit of one thing may be found in its opposite |
| What are the “two handles” of legalism? | Punishment and reward |
| Confucianism | Hierarchy, order, social responsibility, morality, activism, service, seriousness. Want to instill the right attitudes in people; guide them by virtue and they’ll reform themselves. |
| Daoism | Individualism, freedom, nonconformity, nature, retirement, wit, mysticism, relaxation, reject hierarchy |
| Legalism | Says laws should be objective (no bias), exhaustive, universal (applies equally to everybody), harsh (lavish rewards, tough punishments), public (everybody must know what will happen) |
| Emic data | comes from ‘inside’ a culture, assumes that others will understand language and cultural contexts |
| Etic data | is deliberately objective and uses languages that make sense to other cultures |
