prehistory the period before people developed writing

hominids human beings and the human like creatures

anthropologists compare hominid bones and other fossil remains

paleontologists study fossil remains looking for changes in such features in brain size and posture

archaeologists investigate prehistoric life by unearthing and interpreting the objects left behind by
prehistoric people

artifacts objects made by humans

radiocarbondating determination of the age of objects of organic origin by measurement of the

radioactivity of the carbon content

nomadspeople with no permanent home; move from place to place in search of food,

culture way of life

technology the skills and useful knowledge available to them for collecting material and making the
objects necessary for survival

cro magnons the earliest homo sapien sapiens in Europe

lascaux

vallon pont d arc sites of cro magnon cave paintings in france

neolithic revolution the shift from hunting of animals and gathering of food to the keeping of
animals and the growing of food on a regular basis around 8,000 BC

domesticated tamed for human purposes

jericho

catal huyuk earliest villages

deities gods or goddesses

civilizations complex societies

nile

tigris and euphrates

indus

huang he river valley civilizations

economy the ways in which people use their environment to meet their material needs is known
as an economy

artisans workers skilled in a craft

culturalo diffusion exchange of goods and ideas when cultures come in contact

myths traditional stories explaining how the world was formed, how people came into being, and what
they owed their creator
nile river valley one of the world's first civilizations developed along the banks of the nile river in
northeastern africa

monarchies under the restricted rule of a king

dynasty a line of rulers from one family

bureaucracy a group of government officials headed by the king's vizier, or prime minister

theocracy the same person is both the religious leader and the political leader

thebes the captial of egypt that was moved south to the northern kingdom in 2050

pharaoh egyptian word meaning "great house of the king"

queen hatshepsut 1480- came to power in egypt first ruling with his husband and then on behalf of
her stepson thurmose III who was too young to govern

thutmose III Hatshepsut's stepson; he brought Egypt to the heigth of its power

empire many territories under one rule

akhenaton egyptian king who believed in only worshippig the sun god, Aton. dedicated a city to
Aton. controversial. artwork

ramses II known as greatest pharaoh ever, ruled for 67 years, created treaty with Hittites (first
treaty in history), establish ownership borders of Isreal, largest tomb, ruled while Jews were there

polytheism the worship of many deities

hieroglyphics the earlies system of egyptian writing. they carved picture symbols onto pieces of slate

fertile crescent piece of land that stretched from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf

Mesopotamis the eastern part of the Fertile Crescent

tigris and euphrates rivers mesopotamia is located on a low pain lying between the tigris and
euphrates rivers

city state a typical sumerian city state consisted of the city itself and the land surrounding it.

cuneiform 3100- the system began with pictograms and consisted od hundreds of wedhe shaped
mrkings made by pressing the end of a sharpened reed on wet clay tablets

gilgamesh 1850- and epic similar to Noah

sargon Ithe first emire builder in Mesopotamia, he may have been born a herder or a farmer's son

akkadians sargon's people who lived in a kingdom called Akkad

hammurabi King of the Babylonian empire; creator of the Code of Hammurabi, one of the world's
oldest codes of law.

The Aramaeans Settled in central Syria around 1200 BCE and controlled trade between Egypt and
Mesopotamia.

caravans

aramaic- closly related to hebrew and arabic

THe Phoenicians lived in the land of canaan

3000

sea people

aphabet

colonies

confederation

confederation loose union of independent Phoenician city states

alphabet a series of written symbols that represent sounds.

colonies settlements of Phoenician emigrants

The Lydians Lived in Asia Minor

gold deposit

stamped coins

barter exchanging their wares for other goods

monotheism the belief in one all powerful god whose commands were revealed by prophets

prophets holy messanger

covenant agreement

exodus departure

david had once fought the philistine goliath on saul's behalf, took the throne in 1012, and ruled for the
next 40 years
set up the capital at Jerusalem, organized a central government, and enlarged his kingdom's borders

jerusalem capital of Judah

Solomon David's son who succeeded his father in 961.

he founded new cities and lavished money on the construfcion of a magnificent temple

high taxes and harsh labor.

922 died

10 northern tribes split away from the 2 southern tribes and became Israel and Judah

The Hittites 2000 conquered the local people of Asia Minor.

city states

fearful army

-first to use iron weapons

- first to use 2 man chariots

anatolia the plateau that the Hittites set up their city- states

babylon1595 the Hittites conquered the city of babylon

The Assyrians People living in northern Mesopotamia

722

lethal fighting force

relocated their conquered people

provinces

Nineveh- the Assyrian capital

road

612 the Chaldeans conquered the Assyrians

THe Chaldeans captured Nineveh and brought down the Assyrian empire in 612

King Nebuchadnezzar One of the greatest Chaldeans empires

The Persians 539 Persians conquered Chaldeans (Babylonians)

Cyrus ...

Darius I The best organizer amoung the Persian kings

522-486

satraps provincial governors

persepolis the most magnificent city in the persian empire

zoroaster 570 Persian prophet

crete early civilization on the island

sir arthur evans british archaeologist who unearthed the remains of the minoan civilization

labyrinth maze
the minoans lived on crete

curled their hair, wore gold jewerly, wore metal belts on their waists

sea trade

1600 height

the mycenaeans lived on the greek mainland

mycenae Mycenaean city which had palaces that served as centers of both government
administration and production

bards singing story tellers

homer poet who wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey

Heinrich Schliemann german archaeologist who claimed that troy was real

polis greek city state

citizens those who took part in the government

aristocrats nobles

phalanxrows of foot soldiers using their shields to form a wall

tyrant a person who seized power and ruled the polis single- handedly
oligarchy a few wealthy people hold power

democracy government by the people

athens democracy

sparta oligarchy

peloponnesus peninsula location of Sparta

Attica peninsulalocation of Athens

constitution plan of government

draco the first of the Athenian leaders who was very harsh and severe

solon the second leader of Athens who premoted trade and increased the political reforms

peisistratus the third leader of Athens who took over the government

cleisthenes the fourth leader of Athens who established a democracy

rhetoricthe art of public speaking

onia Greek city state located in Asia Minor

Darius I Persian king who deafeatd the Ionians

Marathon First major battle of the Persian Wars-

490

the Greeks won by charging at the Persian (on their boats) from above

Xerxes Darius I son

Themistocles Athenian general who had the idea of building a "wooden wall"

thermopylae a mountain pass north of Athens

King Leonidas King of Sparta who stood against the Persians for 3 days

Salamis Staight where the battle of Salamis took place and the Greeks won

Pericles Athenian general who lead Athens through its "golden age"

symposium drinking session followed by a banquet

aspasia the most famous of the metic women

helots slaves

perioikoi free individuals from conquered territories

Delos The location of the treasury of the Delian League

mercenaries hired soldiers

classical artistic works classified by beautiful simplicity and graceful balance

sanctuaries places of worship

perspective artistic showing of distances between objects as they appear to the eye

krater a small 2 handled vase- a wide mouth in which it was easy to mix wine with water

leythos a narrow neck- oil cold be poured out slowly and in small quantities

amphora a large vase for storing oil and other bulk supplies- decorated with scenes from
mythology

kylix wide shallow 2 handled drinking cup- showed scenes of everyday life.

Myron one of the greatest sculptures of the Golden Age

what people should look like rather than the actual person

Discus Thrower

Phidias in charge of the Parthenon's sculptures

Praxiteles a hundred years after the Golden Age

life sized statues

emphasized grace rather than power

ordinary people
tragedy the lead character struggles against fate only to be doomed again.

Aeschylus The first great tragedy writer

90 plays

consquences of one's deeds are carried down from generation to generation

Sophocles accepted human suffering as an unavoidable part of life

stressed human courage and compassion

oedipus rex

Euripides rearely dealt with the influence of the gods and goddesses on human lives.

hated war

the trojan women

comedies plays with humorous themes and happy endings

aristophanes the most famous of the comedy writers

"The Clouds"

Olympia location of the olympic games that were held every 4 years

philosophers thinkers
logic the science of reasoning

sophists 400s

provided higher education

rejected idea that gods and goddesses influenced human behavior

socrates believed in absolute truth