Indra
Early Indian god associated with the Aryans; the king of the gods and is associated with welfare and thunderbolts
Aryans
nomads from Europe and Asia who migrated to India and finally settled; vedas from this time suggest beginning of caste system
The Vedas
most revered texts in hinduism. status of shruti. divinely revealed. 4 vedic texts: Rig, Sama, Yajur, Atharva Vedas
Caste
a social class separated from others by distinctions of hereditary rank or profession or wealth
Varna
caste classes: priests, warrior class, farmer and merchant class, laborers and untouchables; birth determines occupation
Brahmins
Priests, at the top of the caste system which the Aryans made
Shudras
laborers, craftworkers and servants in the Indian caste system
Jati
A Hindu caste or distinctive social group of which there are thousands throughout India
Sati
a ritual that required a woman to throw herself on her late husband's funeral pyre or burn herself. This was done gladly and if a woman didn't comply with this she would be disgraced.
Upanishads
commentaries on the Vedas that are considered sacred texts in the Hindu religion
Asceticism
the doctrine that through renunciation of worldly pleasures it is possible to achieve a high spiritual or intellectual state
Brahman
Universal spirit behind everything
Karma
In Hindu belief, all the actions that affect a person's fate in the next life
Moksha
The Hindu concept of the spirit's 'liberation' from the endless cycle of rebirths.
Huang He
A river in early China which the early societies in east asia formed around
Yangshao
Early Neolithic Society based on farming near the Yellow River
Xia
Legendary first dynasty of China
Zhou
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. Remembered as prosperous era in Chinese History
Shang
The dominant people in the earliest Chinese dynasty for which we have written records. Ancestor worship, divination by means of oracle bones, and the use of bronze vessels for ritual purposes were major elements of their culture
Veneration of Ancestors
Family ancestors could bring good or evil fortune to the living members of the family; the eldest male leaded the worship
Tian
Chinese word for heaven
Oracle Bones
An animal bone or turtle shell used by the Shang kings of China to communicate with and influence the gods by telling the future
Olmecs
(1400 B.C.E. to 500 B.C.E.) earliest known Mexican civilization,lived in rainforests along the Gulf of Mexico, developed calendar and constructed public buildings and temples, carried on trade with other groups.
Maya
Mesoamerican civilization concentrated in Mexico's yucatan peninsula and in guatemala and honduras but never unified into a single empire. major contributions were in mathematics, astronomy, and development of the calendar.
Tikal
the most important Maya political center between the 4th-9th centuries. It was a city that had temples, pyramids, palaces, and public buildings.
Teotihuacan
City of the Aztec empire; had up to 200,000 inhabitants; paintings and murals showed the importance of priests in this area
Madagascar
an island off the coast of Africa that the Austronesian peoples migrated to
Lapita Peoples
Austronesian migrants who settled in Pacific islands. They developed and maintained communication and trade systems with other islands and civilizations.
Chichen Itza
an ancient Mayan city located on the Yucatan Peninsula; was conquered by the Toltecs c.1000 BCE and was ruled by the Toltec dynasty; also featured the serpent pryamid
Bloodletting
A ritual performed in Maya and Aztec civilizations where people would cut themselves in a process that allowed them to sacrifice their blood to a specific god.
Popol Vuh
Mayan creation epic, taught that god created humans out of maize and water.