ANCIENT CIVILIZATION VOCABULARY
Name:
Paleolithic Era
1.
Paleolithic Era –
Time period where people hunted and gathered for food; The Old Stone
Age
2.
Nomads
People who moved from place to place, hunting and gathering their food.
3.
Hominids -
Members of the group of the earliest human species or human like
creatures
4.
"Lucy" -
Skeleton of earliest known hominid (3.1 million years old) found by the
Leaky Family in Eastern Africa.
5.
The Leakey Family - Archaeologists who made important discoveries about early humans in
Africa
Neolithic Revolution
6.
Neolithic Revolution – A major turning point in history, where people began to farm and
domesticate animals; the New Stone Age or the Agricultural Revolution
7.
Domesticate –
8.
Sedentary Agriculture - To farm in one place
9.
Traditional Economy – Economy based on past practices, such as farming or hunting and
gathering
To tame an animal for human purposes
River Valley Civilizations
10.
River Valley Civilizations – An area that provided early civilizations water, farmland,
transportation and trade (Ex: The Nile River, Indus River, Yellow River
and the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers)
11.
Civilization –
An area that has a highly organized social order with systems of religion
and government
12.
Empire –
A group of states or territories that were conquered and controlled by one
ruler
13.
Mesopotamia –
“The land between two rivers”; The area between the Tigris and Euphrates
Rivers that provided fertile land to civilizations such as Sumer, Babylon,
Persia and the Phoenicians.
14.
Fertile Crescent –
Fertile land that spans from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf, in
the Middle East.
15.
Ziggurats -
Stone temples made out of sun-dried bricks that were used for political and
religious purposes
16.
Cuneiform -
17.
Hammurabi –
Leader of Babylon who set strict, harsh codified laws; “Eye for an Eye and
tooth for a tooth”
18.
Hieroglyphics –
Ancient Egyptian writing system using pictures symbols for ideas or
sounds
19.
Pharaoh –
Sumerian system of writing using wedge shaped markings
King of Egypt who was considered a living God
China
20.
Zhou Dynasty –
21.
Mandate of Heaven -
22.
Silk –
23.
Middle Kingdom –
An ethnocentric term that the Chinese used to describe their civilization
24.
Qin Dynasty –
Dynasty of China that ruled from 221 BCE to 206 BCE
25.
Legalism –
Qin Dynasty’s strict set of laws that imposed harsh penalties
Dynasty of China that ruled from 1027 BCE to 221 BCE that first claimed
the Mandate of Heaven
Chinese theory that the right to rule came from God/Heaven.
An expensive material used for clothing that was a valuable Chinese
export
26.
Han Dynasty –
27.
Civil Service Exam – Exams that were based on Confucian principles that Chinese government
officials must pass
28.
Compass -
Instrument used for determining direction; invented during the Han
Dynasty in China
29.
Acupuncture –
Medical treatment developed in China that inserts needles under the skin at
specific points to relieve pain or treat various illnesses.
30.
Silk Road –
Ancient trade route that spanned from China to the Middle East and the
Eastern borders of Europe
Dynasty of China that ruled from 206 BCE to 210 CE and experienced a
Golden Age
India
31.
Maurya Empire –
Ancient Indian Empire that ruled from 321 BCE to 185 BCE
32.
Bureaucracy –
A system of managing government
33.
Gupta Empire –
Ancient Indian Empire that united India from 320 CE to 550 CE and
experienced a Golden Age
34.
Decimal System –
Number system based on ten that is used today
35.
Arabic Numerals –
Number system that we use today (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.); Developed in India
but called Arabic numerals because Europeans learned about number
system through contact with Muslims via trade
Greece
36.
Greek City-States –
Politically independent areas in Greece that formed due to mountainous
terrain. (ex: Athens, Sparta, Olympia, Delphi)
37.
Athens –
Greek city-state that experienced a Golden Age and had many
achievements in art, literature, math and government.
38.
Sparta –
Greek city-state that set up a totalitarian state based on militarism
39.
Golden Age –
Time period of peace and economic prosperity that produces high levels of
education, art, and technology
40.
Direct-Democracy – Form of Democracy that was first used in Ancient Athens, Greece.
41.
Philosophers –
A term that means “seeker of wisdom.” A person who sought out answers
about the world and human behavior by using reason and logic.
42.
Socrates -
Greek philosopher who used the question and answer method to encourage
young people to come to the absolute truth.
43.
Plato -
Greek philosopher who wrote “The Republic” & felt the state was more
important than the individual
44.
Aristotle –
Greek philosopher who was Plato’s student and wrote about logic and
political science; Alexander the Great’s teacher
45.
Parthenon –
Famous landmark building in Ancient Athens that used columns and
symmetry
46.
Columns -
Structures first used Greek architecture that supported large buildings
47.
Sculpture –
A form of art that is carved from stone.
48.
Theatre –
An art form founded in ancient Greece that includes dramas, tragedies and
comedies.
49.
Pythagoras –
Greek mathematician who studied geometry and produced the Pythagorean
Theorem (A2 + B2 = C2 )
50.
Hippocrates –
Ancient Greek doctor who came up with a code for doctors; this code
includes the doctor-patient confidentiality.
51.
Hellenistic/Hellenic Civilization–
The blending of Persian, Egyptian and Greek culture that
formed when Alexander the Great conquered and unified these areas.
52.
Alexander the Great – Emperor from Macedonia who conquered the areas from Greece to Egypt
to India
Rome
53.
Pax Romana –
Time of Roman peace and economic prosperity that produced great works
of engineering and educational accomplishments (Rome’s Golden Age)
54.
Republic –
Form of democracy where people elect or vote for representatives to make
governmental decisions
55.
Patricians –
Upper class citizens of Rome who made up the Senate
56.
Plebeians –
Roman citizens (farmers, merchants, artisans and traders) who had little
political power but fought for the creation of the Twelve Tables
57.
Twelve Tables –
Codified laws that guaranteed the rights of Roman citizens and serves as
the basis to modern laws systems
58.
Aqueducts –
Architectural achievement of Rome that used a system of arches and pipes
that brought fresh water from the mountains to the cities of the Roman
Empire
59.
Coliseum –
Architectural landmark in Rome that was used for Gladiator fights, chariots
races and executions (Circuses).
60.
Bread and Circuses – Political idea that gave Rome’s poor population bread and entertainment to
keep the citizens distracted from politics