Shared Flashcard Set

Details

West Civ Midterm 1
Key Terms
27
History
Undergraduate 1
09/30/2008

Additional History Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term

 

 

 

 

 

Hominids

Definition

 

 

 

 

The primate family hominidae. H

omo Sapiens, modern human, is only species of this faimly still in existance.

First appeared about 100,000 years ago.

Term

 

 

 

 

 

Hunter-Gatherers

Definition

 

 

 

-Food-collecting society where people live by hunting, fishing, and gathering fruits and nuts.

-No crops/ livestock raised.

-Nomadic, but in agricultural boom many settled down in villages. 

Term

 

 

 Neolithic Revolution

Definition

-Time: between 10,000 and 5000 B.C.

-Domesticate dogs (useful in hunting) & then other animals, and learned how to cultivate crops. (wheat & barley)

-About 13,000 B.C. people begin to specialize in wild crops & collect hunted animals

-Begain in crescent-shaped zone of land of dependable rainfall

-Stretches from present day South Jordan-South Iran

-W/ this came agricultural settlements at around 7000 B.C.

 

Term

 

 

 

 

 

Cuneiform

Definition
-3500-3100 B.C.
-1st writing in Mesopotamia spread to Egypt
-wedge-shaped impressions in clay
-first used to record offerings to the gods
-used for economic records
-About 600 signs
 
Term

 

 

 

 

 

Papyrus

Definition
-Easier to transport and pen and ink was easier than using clay tablets
-Plant grew on Nile
 
Term

 

 

 

 

 

Summerians

Definition
-Dominant inhabitants of Southern Mesopotamia in 3200 B.C.
-World's 1st civilization w/ 30 independent city states w/ common culture, commerce, and frequent war upon eachother
-invented the wheel & plow
-1st Royal Dynasty
-polytheist, gods were thought to be like human beings. Had ziggurat (temple-complex)
-made advances in mathematics, astronomy, and engineering
 
Term

 

 

 

 

 

Pharoah

Definition
-Ancient Egypt King, absolute ruller
-occured because of static outlook, where the gods were all-powerful and nothing is constant
NILE
Term

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amarna Reform

Definition
-Carried out by King Amenhotep IV (1352- 1336 B.C.)
-Seizure of power from temple priests and replacement of god Amun-Re w/ Aten & renaming himself Akhenaten, only family could worship directly and the rest of the people had to worship --> pharaoh
-After death the cult died, and after Tutankhaten's death military exercised great influence over the empire
Term

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hittites

Definition
-First speakers of indo-European language (language group to which English branches off from) to establish a civilization
-1800 B.C.
-warriors and administrators
-fought Egypt to standstill
 
Term

 

 

 

 

 

Assyrians

Definition
-Ruled near east (northern Iraq) in Bronze Age
-expansionistic, first to use calvary as main strike force
-mass deportations so as to assimilate them into the Assyrian culture 
Term

 

 

 

 

 

Neo-Babylonians

Definition
-Ruled W. Asia (founded 626 B.C.)
-rebuilt Babylon (hanging gardens)
-Destroyed Jerusalem, deported Judeans (Babylonina Captivity)
-Ruled by Nabuchadrezzar II
-astronomical advances
Term

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Phoenicians

Definition
-Canaanites whose civilization flourished about 1050-750 B.C. in present-day Syria
-Rose through trade, colonies all over Mediterranean which became indpt. states
-open to outside influence (shown through art w/ Egyptian and Greek influence)
 
Term

 

 

 

 

 

Persian Empire

Definition
-Vast, prosperous, law-abiding
-West Asian empire
-550- 330 B.C.
-greatest success of universal kingship
-1st navy
-provincial gov.s (satraps)
-spoke Aramaic (most widespread lang)
Term

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zoroastrainism

Definition
-Religion founded by Persian prophet Zarathustra
-Supreme deity w/ a cosmic contest between good and evil (ethical dualism)
-Religion of Persia until Muslim conquest
-1000-550 B.C.
-rose in midst of society dominated by blood cults,violent gods, and sacrifices
-fire sign of purity
-power of one god over all people, not a monotheist though
Term

 

 

 

 

 

 

Torah

Definition
-1st 5 books of Bible
-Accepted as sacred by Hebrews around 425 B.C.
-working of God's covenant w/ Hebrews
-Historical books of prophets (Joshua, Judges, Kings, and Chronicles as well as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and 12 "minor prophets")
 
Term

 

 

 

 

 

Covenant

Definition
-Pact God made w/ Abraham (1st patriarch of Israel)
-In return for land of Canaan & promise of becoming 1 nation the Israelites promised to worship no other gods
-action has moral, military, & political consequences
-shows God's plan for humanity
Term

 

 

 

 

 

Israelites

Definition
-People who settled on the E. shore of Med. 
-1200 B.C.
-Belief in 1 God influences Christian, Muslim & modern Jews
-Abraham
Term

 

 

 

 

 

 Monotheism

Definition
-Belief in 1 God
-2000-1500 B.C.
-God commands Abraham to give up polytheism for 1 God
Term

 

 

 

 

 

Minoans

Definition
-2000-1490 B.C.
-Aegean island Crete (Greece's 1st civ.)
-sophisticated culture & econ. administrated from elaborate palaces
-King Minos (later Greek myth)
-bureaucrats supervised economy
-exploited timber
-men & women play important role in cult & ritual (shown through art)
-end is thought to be by invasion
Term

 

 

 

 

 

Mycenaeans

Definition
-Militaristic Greeks (mainland)
-conquered Minoans around 1490-1375 B.C. (though learned from them and adopted minoans-style palace economy)
-center of Bronze Age until destruction in 1100 B.C.
-1490 destroy Crete
-traveled through network of roads 
-pottery, fortifications, bridges
-period from their fall to polis' is called Greek Dark Ages
 
Term

 

 

 

 

 

 

Homer

Definition
-Iliad & Odyssey
-written during 8th cent. B.C.
-inspired, moved, & motivated the Greeks
-lived in area affected by Troy
Term

 

 

 

 

 

 

Archaic Greece

Definition
-Ancient Greece 700-500 B.C.
-patchwork of hundreds of city-states, tribes, and monarchies
-1st steps of democracy as well as tyranny, oligarchy
-fundamentals of citizenship & law
Term

 

 

 

 

 

 

Polis

Definition
-Greek city state
-Reached height in 700-300 B.C.
-Change came from peace which caused sharp pop. rise & shift from herding to farming
-Commerce rises w/ trade
-Spread of ideas through this trade
Term

 

 

 

 

 

Hoplite Phalanx

Definition
Battlefield tactic relying on heavy armed pike-bearing infantrymen
700 BC- result of new armaments
bronze armor
close ranks
only independent men of means could afford armor, and most were farmers
warrior powress becan central concept to Greeks
Term

 

 

 

 

 

Solon

Definition
630-560 B.C.
appointed sole archon (chief officer) for one year
freed those sold into slavery and thus created a larg class of indp. small farmers
-insured the democracy by tansforming Greek society through moderation, mediation, respect for the law, and liberation of the poor
Term
 
 
 
 
Sappho
Definition
625 B.C.
-of Lesbos
-famous private poet writing odes, wedding songs, and hymns expressing intimate feelings, & love for other women
-showed she was educated, wordly, and versed in politics
-female sexuality that elite class tended to ignore (were mostly bipolar)
 
 
Supporting users have an ad free experience!