Unit 1 Flashcards
prehistory
history prior to writing
Australopithecus
-Lived in Africa 4 million years ago
-plant based diet
-small brain but large jaw
-could walk upright
-long, strong arms for climbing trees
Homo Habilis
-Emerged 2.5-1.6 million years ago
-Used stone tools
-Omnivore
-slightly larger brain than Australopithecus
Homo Erectus
-ability to walk/run long distances
-large brains
-nomadic
-Diet of mainly meat
-started to control fire
Neanderthal
-mastery of fire/weaponry
-lived in shelters
-made/wore clothing
-buried their dead
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Paleolithic Period
-2,500,000 BC to 10,000 BC
-usage of stone tools and flint
-hunters and gatherers
-lived in small groups of 20-30
-nomads
-equal leadership between men and women
Neolithic Period
-around 10,000 BC
-intro of agriculture
-transition from nomadic to settled life
Mesopotamia
-Means between 2 rivers
-500-1750 BC
-independent cities with shared culture
Ziggurat
a temple for a city’s patron God
Cuneiform
-First seen example of writing
-3000 BC
-reed stylus used to make impressions on clay tablets
-used for record keeping
Epic of Gilgamesh
-One of the first examples of writing
-parallels to Noah’s arc
-religion based story
Sumer
-farmed via usage of river flooding
-city made of mud bricks
-social hierachy
-usage of boats/trade network
-economy mainly farming based
-domesticated animals
-barley and silver as currency
-regional trade of wood, stone,etc
-invented wheel
Empire
An empire has 1 ruler over a collection of cities and controls them via a military.
Babylon
-Mesopotamian city North of Sumer
-Same religion
-different language
Hammurabi’s code
-list of 282 laws
-tool to unify growing empire
-allowed everyone to know the rules
-punishment for crime so the strong might not injure the weak
Pharaoh
-Considered both king and god
-theocracy
-absolute ruler
-oversaw religious ceremonies
-enacted law and military
-collected tax
-mantained Ma’at
bureaucracy
a system of government in which most of the important decisions are made by state officials rather than by elected representatives.
book of the dead
-helped you reach immortality
-could be customized according to what you think you’ll need in the afterlife
Hieroglyphics
-Written language of Hieratic
-system of pictorial writing
Theocracy
Ruler is divinely guided
Egyptian Gods
-Sun god Ra
-Osiris lord of the dead
-Isis helped the dead enter the after life
-Anubis was the god of mummification
Khufu
-grew up in father’s shadow
-wanted to outdo Sheferu
-symbol of political and economic control
-chose an easy to see and unused area to build the largest pyramid
-known for building the pyramids
papyrus
-reeds near the Nile used to make paper
Ma’at
-mantained by pharaoh
-order, justice, and balance in the land
mummification
-key practice
-tombs built to ensure safe journey to afterlife
-all organs but heart removed
-essential oils+wrapped
-heart scarab amulet so you could lie to the Assesors
-Book of the dead
-Shabti doll
-Feather of the truth weighed against your heart in Anubis’s final test
Great pyramid of Giza
-zenith of Egyptian kingship
-took 2 decades to build
-working conditions were poor
-sense of team
-divine kingship=purpose
Assyrian Empire
-known for cruelty
-after late Bronze Age collapse
-911-609 bc
-led military campaigns across Mesopotamia
-mastered siege warfare
Siege warfare
-mastered by Assyrian empire
-used to fare against defensive walls
-tanks, arrows, chariots, and battering rams
Late Bronze Age collapse
-1200-1150 bc
-sudden and violent end to most Bronze Age civilizations
-Iron Age begins in aftermath
-potential causes: invasions, economic disruption, and natural disasters
Ashurbanipal
-ruled 669-631 bc
-last great Assyrian king
-conquered Egypt
-Patron of art and literature
-established a famous library with tombs from ancient Mesopotamia
Persian Empire
-559-331 BC
-built on foundation of Assyrian Empire
-founded by Cyrus the great
-known for unification and government
Cyrus the Great
-conquered the neo-babylonian empire
-allowed Babylons to keep their culture and religion
Satrapy
Persian name for divided territories in place of a word like province
Royal Road
-Road with constant horsemen going through it
-could easily deliver message to King
Zoroastrianism
-founded by prophet Zoroaster (1000-600 bc)
-supreme god of good- Ahura Mazda
-ongoing struggle of good and evil
-free will to pick a side
-afterlife had final judgement
Isrealites
-known primarily for religious influence
-God=yhwh
-world’s first montheistic religion
-origins of three major religion
-Hebrew bible
-only Yahweh was a real God
-God made a covenant with them
-belief in prophets
Monotheism
belief in only one God
Exodus
The exit of Isrealites from slavery and entry to Canaan
Jerusalem
Capital of Israel
Babylonian exile
-Forced relocation of Israelites by Babylonian empire
-Israelites held onto their religion
