Chapter 1- From Human Prehistory To The Early Civilizations

Question 0

Homo sapiens

Answer 0

The human species that emerged as most successful at the end of the Paleolithic period

Question 1

Paleolithic Age

Answer 1

The Old Stone Age ending in 12,000 B.C.E.; typified by use of crude stone tools and hunting and gathering for subsistence

Question 2

Neolithic Age

Answer 2

The New Stone Age between 8000 and 5000 B.C.E.; period in which adaption of sedentary agriculture occurred; domestication of plants and animals accomplished

Question 3

Neolithic Revolution

Answer 3

The succession of technological innovations and changes in human organization that led to the development of agriculture, 8500–3500 B.C.E.

Question 4

Hunting and Gathering

Answer 4

Means of obtaining subsistence by human species prior to the adaption of sedentary agriculture; normally typical of band social organization

Question 5

Bronze Age

Answer 5

From about 4000 B.C.E., when bronze tools were first introduced in the Middle East, to about 1500 B.C.E., when iron began to replace it

Question 6

Slash and burn agriculture

Answer 6

A system of cultivation typical of shifting cultivators; forest floors cleared by fire are then planted

Question 7

Bands

Answer 7

A level of social organization normally consisting of 20 to 30 people; nomadic hunters and gatherers; labor divided on a gender basis

Question 8

Çatal Hüyük

Answer 8

Early urban culture based on sedentary agriculture; located in modern southern Turkey; was larger in population then Jericho, had a greater degree of social stratification

Question 9

Civilization

Answer 9

Societies distinguished by reliance on sedentary agriculture, ability to produce food surpluses, and existence of non-farming elites, as well as merchant and manufacturing groups

Question 10

Cuneiform

Answer 10

A form of writing developed by the Sumerians using a wedge-shaped stylus and clay tablets

Question 11

Nomads

Answer 11

Cattle– and sheep– herding societies normally found on the fringes of civilized societies; commonly referred to as “barbarian” by civilized societies

Question 12

Mesopotamia

Answer 12

Literally “between the rivers”; the civilizations that arose in the alluvial plan of the Tigris-Euphrates river valleys

Question 13

Sumerians

Answer 13

People who migrated into Mesopotamia c. 4000 B.C.E.; created first civilization within region; organized area into city states

Question 14

Ziggurats

Answer 14

Massive towers usually associated with Mesopotamian temple complexes

Question 15

City-states

Answer 15

A form of political organization typical of Mesopotamian civilizations; consisted of agricultural hinterlands ruled by an urban-based king

Question 16

Babylonian empire

Answer 16

Unified all of Mesopotamia c. 1800 B .C.E.; collapsed due to foreign invasion c. 1600 B.C.E.

Question 17

Hammurabi

Answer 17

The most important ruler of the Babylonian empire; responsible for codification of law

Question 18

Pharaoh

Answer 18

Title of kings of ancient Egypt

Question 19

Pyramids

Answer 19

Monumental architecture typical of Old Kingdom Egypt; used as burial sites for pharaohs

Question 20

Kush

Answer 20

An African state that developed along the upper reaches of the Nile c. 1000 B.C.E.; conquered Egypt and ruled it for several centuries

Question 21

Indus River valley

Answer 21

River sources in Himalayas to mouth in Arabian Sea; location of Harappan civilization

Question 22

Harappa

Answer 22

Along with Mohenjo-daro, major urban complex of the Harappan civilization; laid out on planned grid pattern

Question 23

Mohenjo-daro

Answer 23

Along with Harappa, major urban complex of the Harappan civilization; laid out on planned grid pattern

Question 24

Yellow River

Answer 24

Also known as Huanghe; site of development of sedentary agriculture in China

Question 25

Ideographic writing

Answer 25

Pictographic characters grouped together to create new concepts; typical of Chinese writing

Question 26

Shang

Answer 26

First Chinese dynasty for which archeological evidence exists; capital located in Ordos bend

Question 27

Phoenicians

Answer 27

Seafaring civilization located on the shores of the eastern Mediterranean; established colonies throughout the Mediterranean

Question 28

Monotheism

Answer 28

The exclusive worship of a single God; introduced by the Jews into Western civilization

Question 29

Harappan civilization

Answer 29

First civilization of Indian subcontinent; emerged in Indus River Valley c. 2500 B.C.E.

Question 30

Loess

Answer 30

Fine grained soil deposited in Ordos bend by winds from central Asia; created fertile soil for sedentary agricultural communities

Question 31

Mandate of Heavan

Answer 31

The divine source for political legitimacy of Chinese rulers; established by Zhou to justify overthrow of Shang