American History

American History

Western Civilization
1. Neolithic revolution-the invention of agriculture, the domestication of animals, and the consequent changes in human society that occurred around 10,000-8,000 b.c.e.in the near East. This marked the time where the hunter-gathers started to sow and harvest crops. With the regular food supply in turn promoted human fertility and the human race began to grow.
2. Civilization- a way of life that includes political states based on cities with dense populations, large buildings constructed for communal activities, diverse economies, a sense of local identity, and some knowledge of writing. Human beings all over the world chose to develop civilization and no peoples have ever decided to reject it.
3. Hammurabi- king of Babylonia in the eighteenth century B.C.E., famous for his law codes. His goals as ruler were to support “the principles of truth and equity” and wanted to protect the less powerful from exploitation. His new laws published an idea of justice but did not reflect everyday reality.
4. Polis- in 750-500 B.C.E. the Greek city state, an independent community of citizens in habiting a city and the country side around it. Greece’s geography, dominated by mountains and islands, promoted hundreds of city-states. The polis gave a limited say to the poor, but it was never able to eliminate tension between the interests of the elite and those of ordinary people.
5. Homer- Greece’s first and most famous author, who composed the Iliad and the Odessy.
6. Rationalism-the philosophic idea that people must justify their claims by logic and reason, not myth. This became the foundation for the study of science and philosophy. This caused havoc in the community in the change in the understanding of the world. These Greek philosophers deeply influenced later times in separating scientific thinking form myth and reason thinking.
7. Hoplite/phalanx- A Greek military tactic that forms a wedge that is impenetrable and protects the...

Similar Essays