First Civilizations: Cities, States, and Unequal Societies (3500 B.C.E. -> 500 B.C.E.) Flashcards Preview

AP World History (Old) > First Civilizations: Cities, States, and Unequal Societies (3500 B.C.E. -> 500 B.C.E.) > Flashcards

Flashcards in First Civilizations: Cities, States, and Unequal Societies (3500 B.C.E. -> 500 B.C.E.) Deck (41)
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1
Q

When did Civilizations first appear?

A

At around 3500 B.C.E.

2
Q

What was strange about the appearance of Civilizations?

A

Like with agriculture, it showed up in many different places around the world all at once.

3
Q

What were the first Civilizations to appear?

A

The Civilizations in Egypt, the Middle East, and around Peru.

4
Q

What are Quipu?

A

Threads with knots in them that were used for counting in South America.

5
Q

What Civilizations appeared soon after the first ones?

A

The Civilizations in Central America, the Indus Valley, and in Central Asia.

6
Q

What are the characteristics of a Civilization?

A

The general characteristics are that they are very large, are organized by a government, use a common currency, and have the same culture throughout.

7
Q

Why was Agriculture important to the start of Civilization?

A

It allowed for there to be enough food with which to support large populations.

8
Q

What was a huge difference between Civilizations and small villages?

A

Civilizations produced tons of things, way more than they needed on a daily basis.

9
Q

What new technologies were invented and used in these new Civilizations?

A

Many technologies including the plow, irrigation systems, sewers, and much more.

10
Q

What new religious aspects were invented in these new Civilizations?

A

The building of much more elaborate religious areas and ritual sacrifice (which sometimes included people, ew).

11
Q

What was the role of a city in these ancient Civilizations?

A

They served as large living areas for tons of people and they also served as great trading hubs.

12
Q

What is a Hierarchy ladder?

A

A ladder that shows the most respected to the least respected social class.

13
Q

What is the Hummurabi Code?

A

A famous code of rules written in ancient times.

14
Q

What were the highest and lowest social statuses?

A

Slave was the lowest and king/ruler was the highest.

15
Q

What is Patriarchy?

A

A ruling system where men are always in charge.

16
Q

Why did Gender Equality disappear around this time?

A

Some tasks become more automated and some old ones along with new ones became very heavy-duty, so men did them better.

17
Q

What kept Civilizations together?

A

The people living in them, they stayed because they were given protection from armies and it was easy to get food. They were also partly held together by force.

18
Q

How did force keep Civilizations together?

A

Force showed people how powerful the rulers were and in a lot of cases they were either trapped or too scared to leave.

19
Q

What was one big things that got leaders elected?

A

Religion, a lot of people believed that their rulers were divine and so they followed them.

20
Q

How important was writing in these first Civilizations?

A

It was very important, only nobles and leaders knew how to write.

21
Q

How was writing used in these early Civilizations?

A

It was used first to keep track of accounting information.

22
Q

What was the first writing like?

A

It didn’t use letters and phonetics, it instead used symbols that meant certain things.

23
Q

What were the big geographic differences between Egypt and Mesopotamia and why was it important?

A

Mesopotamia was more harsh in environment and it was much more open, so life was harder and they were more prone to invasion.

24
Q

What was the big agricultural difference between Egypt and Mesopotamia?

A

Egypt had a nice farming area with fertile soil, but Mesopotamia’s soils became salinized (salty) over time.

25
Q

What was a big difference in the settlements of Egypt and Mesopotamia?

A

Mesopotamia was much more urban and strict while Egypt was loose and carefree and houses were just scattered.

26
Q

What were some important results of connections between Civilizations?

A

These connections allowed ally groups to be formed, the spread of language, and large trade.

27
Q

What were the results of all of this trade?

A

It allowed all civilizations to have very similar things and this allowed the development of armies and military equipment. Culture and language also spread.

28
Q

For what were calendars first created?

A

To plan rituals and events.

29
Q

What was the first written language?

A

Cuneiform invented by the Sumerians.

30
Q

What are the three stages of Egypt’s history?

A

They are called the Old Kingdom, the Middle Kingdom, and the New Kingdom.

31
Q

What do we know about the Indus River Valley Civilization?

A

We know that it lasted until about 1900 B.C.E., we know that it had writing and big cities, and that it participated in trade and was heavily urban.

32
Q

Where did the first Chinese Civilization spring up?

A

Along the Haung Ye (Yellow) River, the people here eventually formed the Shang Dynasty.

33
Q

What is Feudalism?

A

A political system where governors control small areas.

34
Q

How did Chinese Civilization go once the Shang Dynasty started?

A

The Shang Dynasty was eventually overthrown and the Zhou Dynasty started. The Zhou Dynasty lasted very long but it started to have major problems 600 years before it ended.

35
Q

Who are the Olmec?

A

An ancient civilization that was in Southern Mexico.

36
Q

What were the Olmec like?

A

We know that they perform sacrifice and that they believed in polytheism. We also know what they probably ate.

37
Q

Who are the Chavin?

A

Arguably the most famous Andean society, they were skilled with metal and weaving. They built many complex structures such as bridges from mountain to mountain and they were also polytheistic.

38
Q

Who are the Hebrew?

A

A middle eastern civilization that made the first main monotheistic religion- Judaism.

39
Q

What was one trait that all ancient civilizations shared?

A

Specialization of labor and some sort of gender or social inequality.

40
Q

What is an Oligarchy?

A

A system where several nobles rule an area.

41
Q

What are some of the greatest religion-related things created?

A

Ziggurats, pyramids, and the Book of the Dead; to name a few.