Download Unit 1 Vocabulary

Unit 1 Vocabulary #1 - AP World History
1. Agricultural Revolution - The transition from foraging to the cultivation of food occurring about 80002000 B.C.E; also known as the Neolithic Revolution
2. Alexander the Great (356–323 BC) - King of Macedon (336–323), the son of Philip II. He was a pupil of
Aristotle. After his succession he invaded Persia, liberating the Greek cities in Asia Minor, and then
defeating the Persians in Egypt, Syria, and Mesopotamia. While in Egypt he founded Alexandria (332 BC),
his first and best-known city.
3. Ancestor veneration - Ritual practice that is based on the belief that deceased family members have a
continued existence, take an interest in the affairs of the world, and possess the ability to influence the
fortune of the living. The goal of ancestor worship is to ensure the ancestors' continued well-being and
positive disposition towards the living and sometimes to ask for special favors or assistance. The social or
nonreligious function of ancestor worship is "to cultivate kinship values like filial piety, family loyalty, and
continuity of the family lineage.
4. Aristocracy - Rule by a privileged hereditary class or nobility.
5. Aristotle (384–322 B.C.) - Greek philosopher and scientist. A pupil of Plato and tutor to Alexander the
Great, in 335 BC he founded a school and library (the Lyceum) outside Athens. His surviving written works
constitute a vast system of analysis, including logic, physical science, zoology, psychology, metaphysics,
ethics, politics, and rhetoric. He established the inductive method of reasoning and proposed a system for
the classification of plants and animals.
6. Artisan - A craftsman.
7. Civilization - A cultural group with advanced cities, complex institutions, skilled workers, advanced
technology, and a system of recordkeeping.
8. Chariot - Type of carriage using primarily horses to provide rapid mobile power. Chariots were used in
militaries as transport or mobile archery platforms, for hunting or for racing, and as a conveniently fast
way to travel for many ancient peoples. The Hittites were the first to record their use.
9. Composite bow - Traditional bow made from horn, wood, and sinew laminated together that
originated among Asiatic pastoralists.
10. Cuneiform - A system of writing originating in Mesopotamia in which a wedge-shaped stylus was used
to press symbols into clay tablets.
11. Dynasty - A series of rulers from the same family.
12. Epic of Gilgamesh - The great Sumerian/Babylonian poetic work which pre-dates Homer’s writing by
1500 years (written c. 2150-1400 BCE) and, therefore, stands as the oldest piece of epic western literature.
13. Geocentric theory - The belief held by many before the Scientific Revolution that the earth is the
center of the universe.
14. Hellenistic Age - The era (c. 323-30 B.C.E) in which Greek culture blended with Persian and other
Eastern influences spread throughout the former empire of Alexander the Great.
15. Hittites – An ancient Indo-European people who settled in Anatolia around 2000 B.C. and excelled in
the technology of war (chariot and iron weapons).
16. Independent invention - The rare development of innovation or technology independent of cultural
diffusion.
17. Indo-Europeans - A group pf semi-nomadic peoples who, around 2000 B.C.E., began to migrate from
central Asia to India, Europe, and the Middle East.
18. Jati - One of the many sub-castes in the Hindu caste system.
19. Monsoon - A seasonal wind.
20. Mandate of heaven - The concept developed by the Zhou dynasty that the deity granted a dynasty
the right to rule and took away that right if the dynasty did not rule wisely.
Unit 1 Vocabulary #1 - AP World History
21. Matrilineal - Referring to a social system in which descent and inheritance are traced through their
mother.
22. Mesoamerica – Region that includes Mexico and Central America.
23. Neolithic Age - Final stage of technological development or cultural evolution among prehistoric
humans. It is characterized by the use of stone tools shaped by polishing or grinding, the domestication of
plants or animals, the establishment of permanent villages, and the practice of such crafts as pottery and
weaving.
24. Nubia - Region along the Nile River located in what is today northern Sudan and
southern Egypt. Home to some of Africa’s earliest kingdoms it was known for rich deposits of gold. Nubia
was also the gateway through which luxury products like incense, ivory, and ebony traveled from their
source in sub-Saharan Africa to the civilizations of Egypt and the Mediterranean. Kings of Nubia ultimately
conquered and ruled Egypt for about a century. Nubian rulers built cities, temples, and royal pyramids in
Egypt and Sudan.
25. Pastoralism – The practice of herding as the primary economic activity of a society that emerged in
parts of Africa and Eurasia. Pastoral peoples domesticated animals which led to more reliable and
abundant food supplies. They rarely accumulated large amounts of material possessions, but became an
important conduit for technological change as they interacted with settled populations.
26. Oracle bones - Animal bones or shells used by the Chinese priests to receive messages from the gods;
their use led to the development of the Chinese writing system.
27. Patriarchal - Pertaining to a social system in which the father is the head of the family.
28. Persepolis - Ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (ca. 550–330 BCE) that lasted only two
centuries. Its majestic audience halls and residential palaces perished in flames when Alexander the Great
conquered and looted the city in 330 B.C.
29. Pax Romana - The Roman Peace; the period of prosperity and stability throughout the Roman Empire
in the first two centuries C.E.
30. Paterfamilias - "Father of the family" - the head of Roman family life; the oldest living male who
looked after the family's business affairs and property and could perform religious rites on their behalf; he
had absolute rule over his household and children. If they angered him, he had the legal right to disown
his children, sell them into slavery or even kill them.
31. Steppe - A dry grassland.
32. Slash and burn agriculture - Agricultural method in which farmers clear fields by cutting and burning
trees, then use the ashes as fertilizer.
33. Specialization of labor - The division of labor that aids the development of skills in a particular type of
work.
34. Surplus of food – Single most important factor that led to the rise of human civilization. Once humans
adopted a sedentary existence through the production of crops and livestock and the surplus of food that
eventually resulted, specialization and stratification in society began to occur.
35. Ziggurat - A multilayered pyramid constructed by Mesopotamians.
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