| A | B |
|---|
| latitude | imaginary lines that divide the earth into north and south region and include the Equator |
| longitude | imaginary lines that divide the earth into east or west regions and include the Prime Meridian |
| archaeology | the study of artifacts |
| anthropology | the study of the origins and development of people and their societies |
| prehistory | period of time before recorded or written history |
| culture | refers to the way of life of a society that is handed down from one generation to the next |
| Paleolithic | meaning old stone age humans were primarily hunter gatherers using stone bone and wood for tools |
| Neolithic | meaning new stone age agriculture began during this time and the use of metal for tools and weapons |
| Animism | the primitive belief that spirits lived in objects |
| city-state | political unit that includes a city and surrounding villages or land |
| empire | a group of states controlled by one ruler |
| steppe | dry grassland |
| cultural diffusion | the spread of ideas customs and technologies from one people to another |
| polytheistic | belief in many gods |
| Donald Johanson | an anthropologist who discovered one of the oldest hominid skeleton and named the skeleton Lucy |
| Jericho | one of the earliest cities located in what is present day Jordan it had a population of several thousand was about the size of 8 football fields occurred 10000 years ago surrounded by a wall that was 12 feet high and 6 feet thick |
| Hominid | primates that are human like creatures |
| primary sources | are sources that were created at about the same time as the event being studied often by people involved in the event |
| secondary sources | are sources created after the event by people not involved in the event |
| pharaoh | title of an Egyptian leader that literally means great house |
| vizier | chief minister to the pharaoh who supervised the business of government |
| papyrus | a plant that grows along the Nile that Egyptians used to make a paper like writing material |
| Ramses II | the last powerful Egyptian pharaoh during the New Kingdom who extended Egypt to its greatest size He made a truce with the Hittites and built many large public works |
| mummification | the preservation of the human body at death so that an individual could use their body in the afterlife |
| hieroglyphics | a form of picture writing used by the Egyptians |
| Menes | first Egyptian king to unite Upper and Lower Egypt |
| Hatshepsut | a powerful pharaoh of the New Kingdom who encouraged trade and peace during her reign |
| Akenaton | a powerful pharaoh of the New Kingdom who favored the sun god Aton over Amon Re |
| Rosetta Stone | discovered in the 1800s by Jean Champollion this object had the same message carved in three different forms of script |
| Hierarchy | system of ranks within society |
| Epic of Gilgamesh | an epic poem recounting the adventure of a Sumerian hero |
| Mesopotamia | meaning between the rivers it is the region of the Fertile Crescent |
| Sumer | an early civilization of city-states in Mesopotamia around 3200 B.C. |
| ziggurat | a type of pyramid temple built by Sumerians |
| cuneiform | an early form of Sumerian writing |
| tolerance | term meaning acceptance |
| barter economy | the exchange of one set of goods or services for another |
| money economy | the exchange of goods or services for some token of an agreed value such as a coin |
| Nebuchadnezzar | a great Babylonian leader who restored Babylon but destroyed the Temple of the Israelites |
| Darius | was a great Persian leader who standardized the weights and measures of the Persian Empire |
| Hittite | a group of people who were the first to smelt iron |
| Phoenicians | a people known as the carriers of civilization and they developed the alphabet that our language is based on today |
| codify | arrange and set down in writing the laws that govern a state |
| satrap | governor of a Persian province |
| Hammurabi | a great Babylonian ruler who is known for first writing down the code of law an eye for an eye is a well known section of this law code |
| Cyrus the Great | the first ruler to conquer all the great land holdings of Persia |
| Zoroaster | a Persian thinker who developed religious beliefs in one god and in the concept of good vs. evil |
| patriarchal | fathers or oldest male relatives are head of the household |
| Torah | this work contains all the laws of the Israelites |
| Moses | great leader who led the Israelites in their escape through the desert known as the Exodus |
| monotheist | belief in one true God |
| ethics | moral standards of behavior |
| Abraham | considered the Father of the Israelites |
| David | was a strong Israelite King who united the feuding tribes of Israel |
| Solomon | the son of David who as King of Israel built the Temple |
| Subcontinent | large landmass jutting from a continent |
| Plateau | raised area of level land |
| Deccan Plateau | sparsely populated raised area of Indian subcontinent |
| monsoon | seasonal winds |
| Harappa | an ancient Indus Valley city |
| Caste | social groups into which people are born and cannot change |
| Aryans | nomadic people who entered India around 1500 B.C. |
| Veda | a collection of prayers hymns and other religious teachings from Ancient India |
| Vedic Age | period of time in Ancient India from 1500-500 BC |
| Dharma | the religious and moral duties of a person |
| Buddhism | a religion that grew from Hindu traditions founded by Siddhartha Gautama his teachings emphasized following the Four Noble Truths and the Eight Fold Path |
| Sect | smaller groups |
| Reincarnation | rebirth of the soul into another bodily form |
| Ahisma | nonviolence |
| Karma | the actions of a person’s life that affect his or her fate in the next life |
| Nirvana | union with the universe and release from cycle of rebirth |
| Hinduism | an ancient Indian religion that has no founder and no single sacred scripture |
| Siddhartha Gautama | an Indian Prince who after discovering suffering went on a search for enlightenment and founded Buddhism |
| Gupta | an Indian empire that is considered a Golden Age |
| golden age | a period of great cultural achievement |
| Chandragupta | the first leader of Maurya Empire he was harsh and crushed dissent |
| Asoka | a great Maurya Emperor who is remembered for his conversion to Buddhism and how that transformed his leadership into being more focused on the benefit of others |
| Legalism | a Chinese philosophy that proposed the nature of man is evil his goodness is acquired greed was the motive for most actions and the cause of most conflicts |
| Daoism | philosophy that taught to follow the way and avoid the unnatural ways of society |
| Analects | work written by the followers of Confucius that contains his teachings |
| Qin Dynasty | led by Shi Huangdi this dynasty put an end to feudalism in China and also did not allow dissent of any kind the Great Wall was built during this dynasty |
| Han Dynasty | led by Liu Bang this dynasty established a Golden Age for China in which Confucianism was promoted especially in government positions |
| Great Wall | a defensive structure built primarily during the Qin dynasty to defend the Chinese against nomads to the North |
| Loess | fertile yellow soil from the river |
| oracle bones | an object used by priests to ask the gods questions |
| calligraphy | art of fine handwriting |
| dynastic cycle | the rise and fall of dynasties |
| feudalism | form of government in which the central government was weak and the local lords had most of the power and influence |
| philosophy | a system of ideas |
| filial piety | respect of parents |
| civil service | the administration of a government |
| Huang He River | the Yellow River China’s earliest civilizations occurred along this river |
| Silk Road | a trade route linking China to the Fertile Crescent |
| Yin and Yang | two opposite forces that needed to be balanced for the well being of the Universe |
| Mandate of Heaven | in China the divine right to rule |
| Confucius | a philosopher who attempted to work within the government to effect change but he was rejected by corrupt government officials he taught harmony resulted when people accepted their place in society |
| Confucianism | philosophy that taught harmony resulted when people accepted their place in society and had respect for their elders |
| Laozi | known as Old Master he taught of following the Way and living in harmony with nature |
| Hanfeizi | philosopher who taught that man’s basic nature was evil and his goodness was acquired |
| Sui Huangdi | the leader of the Qin Dynasty who put down dissent used the philosophy of Legalism banned books and built the Great Wall |
| fresco | colorful water color paintings done on wet plaster |
| Minoans | an early civilization on the island of Crete that reached its height between 1750 and 1500 BC |
| Mycenaean | war like people who moved into the Greek mainland and overran Crete in 1400 BC |
| Iliad | an epic poem about the Trojan War |
| Trojan War | thought to be a legend but perhaps was a real trade war fought between Troy and the Mycenaeans |
| Homer | blind poet who is attributed with writing two great epic poems |
| acropolis | he high part of a Greek city-state where temples were located |
| monarchy | rule by one person |
| aristocracy | rule by a landholding elite |
| oligarchy | rule by powerful elite from the business class |
| direct democracy | system of government in which citizens participate in the day to day affairs of the government rather than through elected officials |
| Polis | this term means city-state |
| Phalanx | a massive formation of heavily armed Greek foot soldiers |
| Helot | Spartan slaves |
| Ostracism | the vote to banish a public figure whom Athenians saw as a threat to their democracy |
| Delian League | league formed by Athens and its allies after the Persian War |
| Peloponnesian League | league formed by Sparta and its allies after the Persian War |
| Pericles | Athenian leader who transformed Athens into a cultural center after the Persian War |
| Hoplite | a heavily armed Greek foot soldier |
| Plato | a Greek philosopher taught by Socrates who opened a school called the Academy he wrote a book called The Republic in which he rejected democracy in favor of a government led by philosopher leaders |
| Aristotle | Greek philosopher who promoted reason as the guiding force for learning He set up a school the Lyceum and wrote on politics ethics logic biology literature and many other subjects |
| Socrates | he was an Athenian stonemason and philosopher He wrote no books It was his habit to lounge in the marketplace asking his fellow citizens about their beliefs He was accused of corrupting the city’s youth and of blasphemy. He accepted the death penalty and drank a cup of hemlock |
| Stoicism | a philosophy that used the logic of Aristotle and taught self control detachment from emotion and high moral standards it urged people to accept calmly whatever life brought this philosophy was founded by Zeno |
| Alexander the Great | succeeded his father to the throne of Macedonia led his men to conquer Persia and is remembered for his greatest contribution of spreading Greek culture throughout Persian Empire and Egypt |
| Patrician | members of the landholding class in Roman society |
| Consul | two chief executives elected for one year to run the government and command the armies of ancient Rome |
| Dictator | absolute ruler appointed in an emergency for six months |
| Tribune | officials elected by plebeians who could veto some of the Senate’s laws |
| Veto | refuse to approve |
| Republic | form of government in which citizens elect officials to run the government |
| Plebian | the common people of Roman society made up this class |
| Twelve Tables | the written laws of Rome that were displayed in the forum |
| Romulus and Remus | twin brothers that the legendary founding of Rome is based on |
| Senate | this legislative body dominated the Roman government |
| Gracchus brothers | two brothers who tried to put reforms in place to take care of the large number of poor in Rome |
| Circus Maximus | a Racetrack that could hold thousands of Roman spectators |
| Coliseum | Rome’s largest stadium where gladiator battles were often fought |
| Latifundia | huge estates in Rome |
| Hannibal | a great Carthaginian general who fought in the 2nd Punic War wreaking havoc on the Italian countryside for 15 years |
| Julius Caesar | great Roman general he was part of the 1st Triumvirate he fought in Gaul for 10 years gained fame and had himself declared Dictator of Rome he was assassinated by the Senate |
| Augustus Caesar | also known as Octavian he was the nephew of Julius Caesar who was a member of the Second Triumvirate and became the first emperor of Rome his rule of peace and stability began the period known as Pax Romana |
| Breads and Circuses | Free food and entertainment to control the mobs in Rome |
| Spartacus | slave who led a rebellion against Rome |
| First Triumvirate | the political arrangement of Julius Caesar Crassus and Pompey |
| Mosaic | picture made from colored chips of stone or glass |
| Aqueduct | structure built by Romans to transport water |
| Aeneid | the story that praises Rome’s heroic past written by Virgil similar to Iliad & Odyssey |
| diocese | a particular area that is directed by one Bishop |
| patriarch | a bishop who exercises authority over other bishops |
| Bishop | a priest that is in charge of a certain area known as a diocese |
| Constantine | a Roman emperor who moved the capital of the Roman Empire to the east he passed the Edict of Milan in 313 CE |
| Huns | a group of nomadic herders from Asia led by Attila who threatened the Roman Empire by dislodging the German peoples in Europe with their lethal attacks |
| Quipu | A string or rope with knots used by the Inca for counting and recording numerical information |
| chinampa | A floating garden used by the Aztec civilization |
| Asia | The earliest people who migrated to the Americas came from |
| Anasazi | culture is sometimes referred to as cliff-dwellers |
| Maya | civilization was the most advanced civilization of Middle America who developed an accurate 365 day calendar and understood the concept of zero |
| Inca | civilization built over 14000 miles of roads throughout their empire |
| Hernan Cortes | Spanish Conquistador who conquered the Aztec Empire in 1521 CE |
| Beringia | a vast grassland bridge formed between Asia and the Americas during the Ice Age about 12000 to 10000 years ago |
| Tenochtitlan | was the Aztec capital city |
| Olmec | MesoAmerican people who farmed using slash and burn and carved colossal stone heads |
| Francisco Pizzaro | Spanish Conquistador who conquered the Inca Empire in 1532 CE |
| pueblo | Spanish name for Anasazi dwellings |
