World History chapter 2 vocab

Alycia A.
46 words 173 learners

Learn words with Flashcards and other activities

Definition First
Print Flashcards

Other learning activities

Answer a few questions about each word. Use this to prep for your next quiz! Compete with other teams in real time to see who answers the most questions correctly! Test your spelling acumen. Read the definition, listen to the word and try spelling it!

Teaching tools

Create and assign quizzes to your students to test their vocabulary. Assign learning activities including Practice, Vocabulary Jams and Spelling Bees to your students, and monitor their progress in real-time.

Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. city-state
    an independent nation comprised of a single town
    The Vatican is a sovereign city-state outside EU jurisdiction, though surrounded by Italian territory.
  2. Mesopotamia
    the land between the Tigris and Euphrates
    Perhaps the first documented power of attorney dates from 561 B.C. in Mesopotamia. Washington Post (Oct 1, 2010)
  3. Fertile Crescent
    a geographical area of fertile land in the Middle East stretching in a broad semicircle from the Nile to the Tigris and Euphrates
    Now, after four consecutive years of drought, this heartland of the Fertile Crescent — including much of neighboring — appears to be turning barren, climate scientists say. New York Times (Oct 13, 2010)
  4. Tigris River
    an Asian river; a tributary of the Euphrates River
    New homes are sprouting from farmland once irrigated by the nearby Tigris River but rendered barren by war and neglect. New York Times (Mar 13, 2012)
  5. Euphrates River
    a river in southwestern Asia
    The location was at the crossroads of major, ancient trade routes in Mesopotamia that followed the course of the Euphrates River valley.
  6. polytheism
    belief in multiple gods
    Great systems of mythology sprang up among nations about to enter the precincts of civilization, and polytheism predominated. Blackmar, Frank W. (Frank Wilson)
  7. empire
    the domain ruled by a single authoritative sovereign
    The Roman Empire, one study argued, was more equitable than the United States is now.
  8. Hammurabi
    Babylonian king who codified the laws of Sumer and Mesopotamia (died 1750 BC)
    King Hammurabi’s code -- the most ancient recorded law, dated about 1700 B.C. -- set out 282 rules for Babylonian citizens.
  9. Nile River
    the world's longest river
    He is looking for a two-headed crocodile, said to be somewhere along the Nile river, and he's fitting out an expedition there I understand. Appleton, Victor [pseud.]
  10. delta
    a low area of alluvial deposits where a river divides
    Here in the upper delta, the least urbanized area of the region, small towns invariably described as sleepy dot winding levee roads. New York Times (Aug 11, 2012)
  11. Mediterranean Sea
    the largest inland sea; between Europe and Africa and Asia
    The Mediterranean Sea, probably more than any other marine ecosystem, has been shaped by the impact of human hands. New York Times (Mar 4, 2012)
  12. Pharaoh
    the title of the ancient Egyptian kings
    "It would be like watching the Pharaohs of Egypt, dragging huge blocks across the desert."
  13. theocracy
    the belief in government by divine guidance
    But seriously, is any conceivable sort of theocracy a desirable ideal? Archer, William
  14. papyrus
    paper made from a plant by cutting it and pressing it flat
    “ ‘The Iliad’ was written on papyrus without punctuation, without even spaces between words,” Ms. Kingsolver said. New York Times (Jun 6, 2012)
  15. mummification
    the act of embalming, drying, and wrapping a dead body
    Beeswax is hardly modern — the Egyptians used it in mummification thousands of years ago. New York Times (Oct 25, 2010)
  16. hieroglyphic
    a writing system using picture symbols
    These singular hieroglyphics are not written horizontally but vertically. Scherzer, Karl Ritter von
  17. Rosetta Stone
    a part of an inscribed granite stela that was originally about six feet tall and was set up in 196 BC; the inscriptions in hieroglyphics and Demotic and Greek gave the first clues to the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphics
    More recently he has included two outside specialists to give lectures on art history topics like the Rosetta Stone and Caravaggio. New York Times (Dec 4, 2011)
  18. sarcophagus
    a stone coffin, usually bearing sculpture or inscriptions
    The sculptured sarcophagi found in this tomb were removed to the Lateran Museum. Howe, Julia Ward
  19. subcontinent
    a large, distinct landmass that is part of a larger landmass
    They are most commonly found in Africa, Asia and Indian subcontinent.
  20. Indus River
    an Asian river that rises in Tibet and flows through northern India and then southwest through Kashmir and Pakistan to the Arabian Sea
    The floods, triggered by torrential monsoon downpours just over two weeks ago, engulfed Pakistan's Indus river basin, killing up to 1,600 people.
  21. monsoon
    a seasonal wind in southern Asia
    Monsoon patterns in Asia's rice basket will be disrupted.
  22. Huang He
    a major river of Asia in northern China
  23. mandate
    make obligatory
    Torrent says the penalties are mandated by the state but that it is now looking at ways of reducing them.
  24. artifact
    a man-made object
    There are 222 props, prints, costumes, paintings, sculptures, photographs, posters and other artifacts in a 3,000-square-foot gallery space arrayed over three floors.
  25. origin
    the place where something begins
    These origins are worth recalling because memories have faded.
  26. culture
    the attitudes characteristic of a particular social group
    “You’ll also see a lot of recognizable faces from pop culture,” Mr. Pollock said.
  27. hominid
    relating to a family of primate mammals that includes humans
    Until the past few years, most scientists doubted that human beings had ever stooped to interbreed with Neanderthals or other archaic hominids. Slate (Jul 18, 2012)
  28. antiquity
    an artifact surviving from the past
    Precise carbon dating of dried human faeces discovered alongside the stone specimens tied down their antiquity.
  29. orthodox
    adhering to what is commonly accepted
  30. equinox
    when the sun crosses the plane of the earth's equator
  31. solstice
    when the sun is at its greatest distance from the equator
  32. nomad
    a member of a people who have no permanent home
  33. hunter-gatherer
    a member of a hunting and gathering society
  34. Neolithic Age
    latest part of the Stone Age beginning about 10,000 BC in the Middle East (but later elsewhere)
  35. agriculture
    the practice of cultivating the land or raising stock
  36. domestication
    adaptation to close association with human beings
  37. economic
    of or relating to production and management of wealth
  38. social
    living together or enjoying life in communities
  39. political
    involving or characteristic of governing or social power
  40. barter
    exchange goods without involving money
  41. artisan
    a skilled worker who practices some trade or handicraft
  42. scribe
    someone employed to make written copies of documents
  43. cuneiform
    an ancient wedge-shaped script used in Mesopotamia
  44. Bronze Age
    (archeology) a period between the Stone and Iron Ages, characterized by the manufacture and use of bronze tools and weapons
  45. ziggurat
    a rectangular tiered temple or terraced mound
  46. specialization
    making something suitable for a particular purpose
Created on Sun Sep 30 20:10:46 EDT 2012 (updated Mon Oct 08 15:30:38 EDT 2012)

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.