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The biological process by which variations that enhance a population’s ability to survive in a particular environment become dominant in a species over very long periods and lead to the evolution of a new species. |
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| The biological theory that, over time, changes occurring in plants and animals, mainly as a result of natural selection and genetic mutation, result in a new species. |
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| The biological family that includes humans and humanlike primates. |
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| The several extinct species of humanlike primates that existed during the Pleistocene era (genus Australopithecus) |
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The current human species. It evolved in Africa about 200,000 years ago. It includes archaic forms such as Neanderthals (now extinct) and all modern humans. |
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The historical period characterized by the production of tools from stone and other nonmetallic substances. It was followed in some places by the Bronze Age and more generally by the Iron Age. |
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| The period of the Stone Age associated with the evolution of humans. It predates the Neolithic period. |
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| The period of the Stone Age associated with the ancient Agricultural Revolution(s). It follows the Paleolithic period. |
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| People who support themselves by hunting wild animals and gathering wild edible plants and insects. |
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| The first human species (now extinct). It evolved in Africa about 2.5 million years ago. |
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An extinct human species. It evolved in Africa about 2 million years ago. |
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| The ability to walk upright on two legs, characteristic of Hominids. |
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| Great Ice Age/Pleistocene |
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| Geological era that occurred between ca. 2 million and 11,000 years ago. As a result of climate shifts, large numbers of new species evolved during this period, also called the Pleistocene epoch. |
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| An ambiguous term often used to denote more complex societies but sometimes used be anthropologists to describe any group of people sharing a set of cultural traits. |
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The change from food gathering to food production that occurred between ca. 8000 – 2000 B.C.E. Also known as the Neolithic Revolution. |
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| The era of global warming that ended the Great Ice Age; occurred about 9000 B.C.E. |
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| Professionally trained males who applied their skills in reading and writing to tasks of administration; for the most part reflect elite male activities. |
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| A massive pyramidal stepped tower made of mud-bricks. It is associated with religious complexes in ancient Mesopotamian cities, but its function is unknown. |
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| A system of writing in which wedge-shaped symbols represented words or syllables. It originated in Mesopotamia and was used initially for Sumerian and Akkadian but later was adopted to represent other languages of western Asia. Because so many symbols had to be learned, literacy was confined to a relatively small group of administrators and scribes. |
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| The people who dominated southern Mesopotamia through the end of the third millennium B.C.E. They were responsible for the creation of many fundamental elements of Mesopotamian culture – such as irrigation technology, cuneiform, and religious conceptions – taken over by their Semitic successors. |
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Family of related languages long spoken across parts of western Asia and northern Africa. In antiquity these languages included Hebrew, Aramaic, and Phoenician. The most widespread modern member of the Semitic family is Arabic. |
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| A small independent state consisting of an urban center and the surrounding agricultural territory. A characteristic political form in early Mesopotamia, Archaic, and classical Greece, Phoenicia, and early Italy. |
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| Amorite ruler of Babylon who wrote a code of laws, inscribed on a black stone pillar, illustrating the principles to be used in legal cases. |
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| The central figure in the ancient Egyptian state. Believed to be an earthly manifestation of the gods, he used his absolute power to maintain the safety and prosperity of Egypt. |
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| Egyptian term for the concept of divinely created and maintained order in the universe. Reflecting the ancient Egyptians’ belief in an essentially beneficent world, the divine ruler was the earthly guarantor of this order. |
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| A system of writing in which pictorial symbols represented sounds, syllables, or concepts. It was used for official and monumental inscription in ancient Egypt. Because of the long period of study required to master this system, literacy in hieroglyphics was confined to a relatively small group of scribes and administrators. Cursive symbol-forms were developed for rapid composition on other media, such as papyrus. |
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| A reed that grows along the banks of the Nile River in Egypt. From it was produced a coarse, paper-like writing medium used by the Egyptians and many other peoples in the ancient Mediterranean and Middle East. |
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People from central Anatolia who established an empire in Anatolia and Syria in the late Bronze Age. With wealth from the trade in metals and military power based on chariot forces, the Hittites vied with New Kingdom Egypt for control of Syria-Palestine before falling to unidentified attackers ca. 1200 B.C.E. |
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| Egyptian Pharaoh who built a new of capital at Amarna, fostered a new style of naturalistic art, and created a religious revolution by imposing worship of the sun disk. The Amarna letters, largely from his reign, preserve official correspondence with subjects and neighbors. |
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| A long lived ruler if New Kingdom Egypt. He reached accommodation with the Hittites of Anatolia after a standoff in battle at Kadesh in Syria. He also built on a grand scale throughout Egypt. |
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| An Egyptian name for Nubia, the region alongside the Nile River south of Egypt, where an indigenous kingdom with its own distinctive institutions and cultural traditions arose beginning in the early second millennium B.C.E. It was deeply influenced by Egyptian culture and at times under control of Egypt, which coveted its rich deposits of gold and luxury products from sub-Saharan Africa carried up the Nile corridor. |
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Capital of a flourishing kingdom in southern Nubia from the fourth century B.C.E. to the fourth century C.E. In this period Nubian culture shows more independence from Egypt and the influence of sub-Saharan Africa. |
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People sharing a common language and culture that originated in central Europe in the first half of the first millennium B.C.E. After 500 B.C.E. they spread as far as Anatolia in the east, Spain and the British Isles in the west, and later were overtaken by Roman conquest and Germanic invasions. Their descendents survive on the western fringe of Europe (Brittany, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland). |
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| The class of religious experts who conducted rituals and preserved sacred lore among some ancient Celtic peoples. They provided education, mediated disputes between kinship groups, and were suppressed by the Romans as a potential focus of opposition to Roman rule |
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| An empire extending from western Iran to Syria-Palestine, conquered by the Assyrians of northern Mesopotamia between the tenth and seventh centuries B.C.E. They used force and terror and exploited the wealth and labor of their subjects. They also preserved and continued the cultural and scientific developments of Mesopotamian civilization. |
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| The forcible removal and relocation of large numbers of people or entire populations. The mass deportations practiced by the Assyrian and Persian Empires were meant as a terrifying warning of the consequences of rebellion. They also brought skilled and unskilled labor to the imperial center. |
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| Chief deity of the Assyrians, he stood behind the king and brought victory in war. Also the name of an important Assyrian religious and political center. |
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| A large collection of writings from the ancient literary, religious, and scientific traditions of Mesopotamia. It was assembled by the sixth century B.C.E. Assyrian ruler Ashurbanipal. The many tablets unearthed by archaeologists constitute one of the most important sources of present-day knowledge of the long literary tradition of Mesopotamia. |
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| Prosperous civilization on the Aegean island of Crete in the second millennium B.C.E. The Minoans engaged in far-flung commerce around the Mediterranean and exerted powerful cultural influences on the early Greeks. |
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| Name for the society of people from the site of a fortified palace complex in southern Greece that controlled a Late Bronze Age Kingdom (second millennium B.C.E.). In Homer’s epic poems Mycenae was the base of King Agamemnon, who commanded the Greeks besieging Troy. |
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| A collection of sacred books containing diverse materials concerning the origins, experiences, beliefs, and practices of the Israelites. Most of the extant text was compiled by members of the priestly class in the fifth century B.C.E. and reflects the concerns and views of this group. |
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| Belief in the existence of a single divine entity. Some scholars cite the devotion of the Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaton to the Aten (sun-disk) and his suppression of traditional goals as the earliest instance. The Israelite worship of Yahweh developed into an exclusive belief in one god, and this concept passed into Christianity and Islam. |
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| A Greek word meaning “dispersal”, used to describe the communities of a given ethnic group living outside their homeland. Jews, for example, spread from Israel to western Asia and Mediterranean lands in antiquity and today can be found throughout the world. |
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| Semitic-speaking Canaanites living on the coast of modern Lebanon and Syria in the first millennium B.C.E. From major cities such as Tyre and Sidon, Phoenician merchants and sailors explored the Mediterranean, engaged in widespread commerce, and founded Carthage and other colonies in the western Mediterranean. |
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| Under the Chaldaeans (nomadic kinship groups that settled in southern Mesopotamia in the early first millennium B.C.E.), Babylon again became a major political and cultural center in the seventh and sixth centuries B.C.E. After participating in the destruction of Assyrian power, the monarchs Nabopolassar and Nebuchadnezzar took over the southern portion of the Assyrian domains. By destroying the first temple in Jerusalem and deporting part of the population, they initiated the Diaspora of the Jews. |
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| Site in northwest Anatolia, overlooking the Hellespont strait, where archaeologists have excavated a series of Bronze Age cities. One of these may have been destroyed by Greeks ca. 1200 B.C.E., as reported in Homer’s epic poems. |
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| The dominant people in the earliest Chinese dynasty for which we have written records (ca. 1750 – 1027 B.C.E.) Ancestor worship, divination by means of oracle bones, and the use of bronze vessels for ritual purposes were major elements of Shang culture. |
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| The people and dynasty that took over the dominant position in north China from the Shang and created the concept of the Mandate of Heaven to justify their rule. The Zhou era, particularly the vigorous early period (1027 – 771 B.C.E.), was remembered in Chinese tradition as a time of prosperity and benevolent rule. In the later Zhou period (771 – 221 B.C.E.), centralized control broke down, and warfare among the many small states became frequent. |
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| Chinese religious and political ideology developed by the Zhou, according to which it was the prerogative of Heaven, the chief deity, to grant power to the ruler of China and to take away that power if the ruler failed to conduct himself justly and in the best interests of his subjects. |
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| In Chinese belief, complementary factors that help to maintain the equilibrium of the world. Yin is associated with masculine, light, and active qualities; yang with feminine, dark, and passive qualities. |
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| Chinese school of thought, originating in the Warring States Period with Laozi (604 – 531 B.C.E.). Daoism offered alternatives to the Confucian emphasis on hierarchy and duty. Daoists believe that the world is always changing and is devoid of absolute morality or meaning. They accept the world as they find it, avoid futile struggles, and deviate as little as possible from the Dao, or “path” of nature. |
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| In China, a political philosophy that emphasized the unruliness of human nature and justified state coercion and control. The Qin ruling class invoked it to validate the authoritarian nature of their regime and it’s profligate expenditure of subjects’ lives and labor. It was superseded in the Han era by a more benevolent Confucian doctrine of governmental moderation. |
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| Western name for the Chinese philosopher Kongzi (551 – 479 B.C.E.). His doctrine of duty and public service had a great influence on subsequent Chinese thought and served as a code of conduct for government officials. |
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| A people and state in the Wei Valley of eastern China that conquered rival states and created the first Chinese empire (221 – 206 B.C.E.). The Qin ruler, Shi Huangdi, standardized many features of Chinese society and ruthlessly marshaled subjects for military and construction projects, engendering hostility that led to the fall of his dynasty shortly after his death. The Qin framework was largely taken over by the succeeding Han Empire. |
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| A term used to designate (1) the ethnic Chinese people who originated in the Yellow River Valley and spread throughout the regions of China suitable for agriculture and (2) the dynasty of emperors who ruled from 206 B.C.E to 220 C.E. |
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| Founder of the short-lived Qin dynasty and creator of the Chinese Empire (r. 221-210 B.C.E.). He is remembered for his ruthless conquests of rival states, standardization of practices, and forcible organization of labor for military and engineering tasks. His tomb, with its army of life-size terracotta soldiers, has been partially excavated. |
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| The bottom of the social class in Ancient India. Excluded from class system, largely because of the demeaning work that they had to perform (leather tanning and ash sweeping after cremations). |
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| Season winds in the Indian Ocean caused by the differences in temperature between the rapidly heating and cooling landmasses of Africa and Asia and the slowly changing ocean waters. These strong and predictable winds have long been ridden across the open sea by sailors, and the large amounts of rainfall that they deposit on parts of India, Southeast Asia, and China allow for the cultivation of several crops a year. |
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| founding era for Indian Civilization. Named after the Vedas, or religious texts that are our main source of information about the era. |
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| Indian belief in the atman, or “breath”. Upon death, the atman would be released and reborn into another body. Could be born into creatures other than humans as well! |
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| In Indian tradition, the residue of deeds performed in past and present lives that adheres to a “spirit” and determines what form it will assume in its next life cycle. The doctrines of karma and reincarnation were used by the social elite in ancient India to encourage people to accept their social position and do their duty(s). |
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| An Indian prince named Siddhartha Gautama, who renounced his wealth and social position. After becoming “enlightened” (the meaning of Buddha) he enunciated the principles of Buddhism. This doctrine evolved and spread throughout India and to Southeast, East, and Central Asia. |
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| System of controlling people’s interactions in Ancient India. Elaborate rules governed relations between people, including marriage, living location, and eating restrictions. Tied into karma and reincarnation…if you objected to role in this life you would be located in the class below you in the next life! |
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| “Great Vehicle” branch of Buddhism followed in China, Japan, and Central Asia. The focus is on reverence to Buddha and for bodhisattvas, enlightened persons who have postponed nirvana to help others attain enlightenment. |
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| A general term for a wide variety of beliefs and ritual practices that have developed in the Indian subcontinent since antiquity. Hinduism has roots in ancient Vedic, Buddhist, and south Indian religious concepts and practices. It spread along the trade routes to Southeast Asia. |
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| “Way of the Elders” branch of Buddhism followed in Sri Lanka and much of Southeast Asia. Theravada remains close to the original principles set forth by the Buddha; it downplays the importance of gods and emphasizes austerity and the individual’s search for enlightenment. |
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| The first state to unify most of the Indian subcontinent. It was founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 324 B.C.E. and survived until 184 B.C.E. From its capital at Pataliputra in the Ganges Valley it grew wealthy from taxes on agriculture, iron mining, and control of trade routes. |
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| Third ruler of the Mauryan Empire in India (r. 270–232 B.C.E.). He converted to Buddhism and broadcast his precepts on inscribed stones and pillars, the earliest surviving Indian writing. |
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| A powerful Indian state based, like its Mauryan predecessor, on a capital at Pataliputra in the Ganges Valley. It controlled most of the Indian subcontinent through a combination of military force and its prestige as a center of sophisticated culture. |
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An early complex society in Southeast Asia between the first and sixth centuries C.E. It was centered in the rich rice growing region of southern Vietnam, and it controlled the passage of trade across the Malaysian isthmus. |
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| A state based on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, between the seventh and eleventh centuries C.E. It amassed wealth and power by a combination of selective adaptation of Indian technologies and concepts, control of the lucrative trade routes between India and China, and skillful showmanship and diplomacy in holding together a disparate realm of inland and coastal territories. |
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