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2. Early Civs
Ap World History - Summerville High School
Term | Definition |
---|---|
City-state | a form of political organization typical of Mesopotamian civilization; consisted of agricultural hinterland ruled by an urban based king. |
Babylonians | unified all of Mesopotamia circa 1800 B.C.E.; collapsed due to foreign invasion circa 1600 B.C.E. |
Hammurabi | the most important Babylonian ruler; responsible for codification of the law. |
Kush | African state that developed along the upper reaches of the Nile circa 1000 B.C.E.; conquered Egypt and ruled it for several centuries. |
Indus River | river sources in Himalayas to mouth of Arabian Sea; location of Harappan civilization. |
Harappa | along with Mohenjodaro, major urban complex of the Harappan civilization; laid out on planned grid pattern. |
Aryans | Indo-European nomadic, warlike, pastoralists who replaced Harappan civilization; militarized society. |
Vedas | Aryan hymns originally transmitted orally but written down in sacred books from the 6th century B.C.E. |
Mahabharata | Indian epic of war, princely honor, love, and social duty; written down in the last centuries B.C.E.; previously handed down in oral form. |
Ramayana | one of the great epic tales from classical India; traces adventures of King Rama and his wife, Sita; written 4th to 2nd centuries B.C.E. |
Upanishads | later books of the Vedas; contained sophisticated and sublime philosophical ideas; utilized by Brahmans to restore religious authority. |
Yellow River | also known as the Huanghe; site of the development of sedentary agriculture in China. |
Ideographs | pictograph characters grouped together to create new concepts; typical of Chinese writing. |
Shang | first Chinese dynasty for which archeological evidence exists; capital located in Ordos bulge of the Huanghe; flourished 1600 to 1046 B.C. |
Olmecs | people of a cultural tradition that arose at San Lorenzo and La Venta in Mexico c. 1200 B.C.E.; featured irrigated agriculture, urbanism, elaborate religion, beginnings of calendrical and writing systems |
Chavín de Huanter | Chavín culture appeared in the highlands of the Andes between 1800 and 1200 B.C.E.; typified by ceremonial centers with large stone buildings; greatest ceremonial center was Chavín de Huantar; characterized by artistic motifs. |
Phoenicians | seafaring civilization located on the shores of the eastern Mediterranean; established colonies throughout the Mediterranean. |
Monotheism | the exclusive worship of one god; introduced by Jews into Middle Eastern civilization. |