SS-River Civilizations
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47 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 civilization | a form of culture characterized by cities, specialized workers, complex institutions, record keeping and adanced technology |
| specialization | the developement of skills in a particular kind of work, such as trading or record keeping |
| Artisans | skilled worker, such as a weaver or potter, who makes goods by hand |
| Institution | a long-lasting pattern of organization in a community |
| Cutural Diffusion | the spreading of of ideas or products from one culture to another |
| Bronze Age | a period in human history, beginning around 3000 BC in some areas, during which people began using bronze, rather than copper or stone, to fashion tools and weapons |
| Barter | a form of trade in which people exchange goods and services without without the use of money |
| Polytheism | a belief in many gods |
| Irrigation | the bringing of water to crop fields by means of canals and ditches |
| Silt | fine soil carried in the water by rivers |
| Monsoon | a wind that shifts in direction at certain times of each year |
| Loess | a fertile deposite of wind blown soil |
| Scribes | one of the professional record keepers in early civilizations |
| Cuneiform | a system of writing with wedge shaped symbols; invented by the Sumerians around 3000 BC |
| Hieroglyphics | an ancient Egyptian writing system in which pictures where used to represent ideas and sounds |
| papyrus | a tall reed that grows in the Nile delta used by the ancient Egyptians to make a paperlike material for writing on |
| Oracle Bones | one of the animal bones or tortoise shells used by ancient Chinese priests to communicate with the gods |
| Dynasty | a series of rulers that form a single family |
| City-State | a city and its surrounding lands functioning as an independant political unit |
| Empire | a political unit in which a number of peoples or countries are controlled by a single ruler |
| Pharoah | a king of ancient Egypt, considered a god as well as a political leader |
| Theocracy | a government in which the ruler is viewed as a divine figure; a government controlled by religious leaders |
| Mandate of Heaven | in Chinese history, the divine appproval thought to be the basis of royal authority |
| Dynastic Cycle | the historical pattern of the rise, decline and replacement of dynasties |
| Fuedalism | a political system in which nobles are granted the use of lands that legally belong to the king, in exchange for thier loyalty, military service and protection of of the people who live on the land |
| Hammurabi | a Sumerian who wanted to get a united government with the same laws applying to each person |
| Hammurabi's Code | laws that apply to everyone in Sumeria to unite government; the first government that was responsible for its people |
| Epic of Gildamesh | first literature of ancient civilizations that tells about how life was |
| Pyramids | a massive structure with a rectangular base and four triangular sides that were tombs for the Pharaohs of Egypt |
| Book of the Dead | collection of texts containing hymns, prayers, magic spells, and declarations intented to prove the soul worthy of etenal life |
| Mummification | a process of embalming and drying corpes to prevent them from decaying; thought to have a great afterlife |
| China's Sorrow | a nickname for the Huang He because the floods it could bring were horrific |
| Advantage of Civilizations | development of specialized art, skills, invententions, and literature; building of economically and politically organized cities; increased ability to protect people from dangers both inside and outside the city; growth of proserity, improving quality of life |
| Disadvantage of Civilizations | increased inequality between men and women and different social and economic classes; overuse of land and natural resources, destruction of land by increasing polution; increased attacks from outsiders (other people want wealth and resources; more people=more crime); pollution, disease and dirty (decrease in sanitation) |
| large cities dominate countryside around them, monumental architecture and public building projects, complex political organization, record keeping, advanced technonlogy, specialization of labor, advanced art and literature, long distance trade, complex institution and religious institution | 9 characteristics of civilization |
| large cities that dominate the coutryside around them | with the increase in population come an increase in food production. The cities control the outlying lands in order to ensure a reliable source of food for the inhabitants |
| Monumental Architecture and Public Building Process | this may include churches, temples, city walls, irriagation projects, public arenas, government buildings, ect. They are generally an indication of what the society values |
| Record Keeping | this important development allowed societies to organize and maintain the growing political, social and economic structure that emerged with the settlement in farming areas. These societies that developed record keeping were able to communicate multiple ideas adn large amounts of information that led to greater complexity and growth |
| Advnaced Technology | the use of knowledge, tools and inventions to meet a community's needs (it may make tasks easier, or solve problems) |
| Specialization of Labor | With basic food needs taken care of by fewer people, others had time to specialize in jobs taht improve the quality of life |
| Advanced Art and Literature | In prehistoric times and in simple drawings, most artwork and literature was produced by people who were preoccupied with activities for survival like hunting and gathering or farming. Art consisted of simple drawings, and literature usually took form of oral stories passed from one generation to the next. With the development of civilization, some people had time to concentrate on art and literature, making them their primary occupation |
| Long Distance Trade | As technology improved and specialization increased, trade with other civilization centers began. This trade led to cultural diffusion. Not only was material culture shared, but nonmaterial culture also spread, contributing to the cosmopolitan nature of cities |
| Cultural Diffusion | the spreading and sharing of cultural characteristics |
| Material Culture | object that are part of a culture such as pottery, tools and textile |
| Nonmaterial Culture | such as beliefs, customs and values |
| Nile | able to travel with winds blowing south and current moving north, therefore uniting upper and lower Egypt |
| Institution | a long lasting pattern in communities |
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