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Concept List — Ancient History: Origins to 1200 CE

This is the master concept list for the learning graph. Concepts are numbered (1–297) and grouped by section. The numeric ID is stable and is used as the ConceptID in learning-graph.csv.

Course-Wide Framework and Methodology

  1. Big Era Framework
  2. Three Thematic Axes
  3. Humans And Environment Theme
  4. Humans And Other Humans Theme
  5. Humans And Ideas Theme
  6. AHA Tuning Competencies
  7. Chronological Reasoning
  8. Contextualization
  9. Historical Argumentation
  10. Historical Synthesis
  11. Research Information Literacy
  12. Historical Communication
  13. Periodization
  14. Causation In History
  15. Primary Source Analysis
  16. Secondary Source Analysis
  17. Historical Bias Detection
  18. Comparative History Method
  19. Systems Thinking In History
  20. Historiography

Big Era 1 — Cosmic and Biological Origins

  1. Big Bang
  2. Cosmic Inflation
  3. Stellar Nucleosynthesis
  4. Formation Of Galaxies
  5. Formation Of Solar System
  6. Formation Of Earth
  7. Geological Time Scale
  8. Origin Of Life
  9. Single-Celled Organisms
  10. Photosynthesis Evolution
  11. Cambrian Explosion
  12. Mass Extinction Events
  13. Mammalian Radiation
  14. Primate Evolution
  15. Hominin Evolution
  16. Bipedalism
  17. Australopithecus
  18. Homo Habilis
  19. Homo Erectus
  20. Stone Tool Technology
  21. Control Of Fire
  22. Homo Sapiens Emergence
  23. Cognitive Revolution
  24. Symbolic Thought

Big Era 2 — Paleolithic Humanity and the Peopling of the Globe

  1. Paleolithic Period
  2. Hunter-Gatherer Societies
  3. Band-Level Organization
  4. Out Of Africa Migration
  5. Peopling Of Eurasia
  6. Peopling Of Australia
  7. Peopling Of Americas
  8. Bering Land Bridge
  9. Ice Age Climate
  10. Last Glacial Maximum
  11. Megafauna Extinctions
  12. Cave Art
  13. Venus Figurines
  14. Burial Practices
  15. Animism
  16. Language Evolution
  17. Stone Age Toolkits
  18. Mesolithic Period
  19. Neanderthals
  20. Denisovans
  21. Sapiens-Neanderthal Contact
  22. Microliths
  23. Coastal Migration Routes
  24. Ethnographic Analogy
  25. Foraging Lifeways
  26. Gender In Foraging Bands

Big Era 3 — The Neolithic Revolution and Primary Civilizations

  1. Neolithic Revolution
  2. Plant Domestication
  3. Animal Domestication
  4. Fertile Crescent
  5. Wheat And Barley Origins
  6. Rice Domestication
  7. Maize Domestication
  8. Sedentism
  9. Agricultural Villages
  10. Catalhoyuk
  11. Jericho
  12. Pottery Origins
  13. Neolithic Population Growth
  14. Social Stratification
  15. Surplus Food Production
  16. Bronze Age
  17. Metallurgy Origins
  18. Urban Revolution
  19. Writing Systems
  20. Cuneiform
  21. Hieroglyphics
  22. Indus Script
  23. Oracle Bone Script
  24. Mesopotamian Civilization
  25. Sumer
  26. Akkadian Empire
  27. Babylonia
  28. Hammurabi Code
  29. Egyptian Civilization
  30. Old Kingdom Egypt
  31. Middle Kingdom Egypt
  32. New Kingdom Egypt
  33. Pharaoh Kingship
  34. Egyptian Religion
  35. Pyramid Construction
  36. Indus Valley Civilization
  37. Harappa And Mohenjo-Daro
  38. Yellow River Civilization
  39. Shang Dynasty
  40. Zhou Dynasty
  41. Mandate Of Heaven
  42. Olmec Civilization
  43. Mesoamerican Origins
  44. Primary Vs Secondary Civ
  45. Late Bronze Age System
  46. Hittite Empire
  47. Minoan Civilization
  48. Mycenaean Civilization
  49. Phoenicians
  50. Phoenician Alphabet
  51. Hebrew Tribes Origins
  52. Late Bronze Age Collapse
  53. Iron Age Transition

Big Era 4 — Classical Empires and the Axial Age

  1. Iron Age
  2. Iron Metallurgy
  3. Greek Polis
  4. Athenian Democracy
  5. Spartan Society
  6. Persian Wars
  7. Achaemenid Empire
  8. Cyrus The Great
  9. Darius And Royal Road
  10. Zoroastrianism
  11. Peloponnesian War
  12. Alexander The Great
  13. Hellenistic World
  14. Ptolemaic Egypt
  15. Seleucid Empire
  16. Library Of Alexandria
  17. Roman Republic
  18. Punic Wars
  19. Roman Empire
  20. Pax Romana
  21. Roman Law
  22. Roman Engineering
  23. Augustus And Principate
  24. Christianity Origins
  25. Jesus Of Nazareth
  26. Pauline Mission
  27. Diocletian Reforms
  28. Constantine Conversion
  29. Crisis Of Third Century
  30. Qin Dynasty
  31. Han Dynasty
  32. Confucianism
  33. Daoism
  34. Legalism
  35. Silk Road Origins
  36. Maurya Empire
  37. Ashoka
  38. Buddhism Origins
  39. Gautama Buddha
  40. Vedic Religion
  41. Upanishads
  42. Hindu Synthesis
  43. Caste System
  44. Gupta Empire
  45. Sanskrit Literature
  46. Indian Mathematics
  47. Parthian Empire
  48. Sasanian Empire
  49. Axial Age
  50. Greek Philosophy
  51. Socrates
  52. Plato
  53. Aristotle
  54. Hebrew Monotheism
  55. Hebrew Prophets
  56. Second Temple Judaism
  57. Mahayana Buddhism
  58. Theravada Buddhism
  59. Early Spread Of Buddhism
  60. Roman-Indian Ocean Trade
  61. Universal Religion Concept
  62. Imperial Bureaucracy
  63. Tribute Systems
  64. Frontier Strategy

Big Era 5 — Post-Classical Transformations

  1. Late Antiquity
  2. Fall Of Western Rome
  3. Byzantine Empire
  4. Justinian
  5. Hagia Sophia
  6. Greek Fire
  7. Byzantine Iconoclasm
  8. Eastern Orthodox Church
  9. Origins Of Islam
  10. Muhammad
  11. Quran
  12. Hijra
  13. Five Pillars Of Islam
  14. Sunni-Shia Split
  15. Rashidun Caliphate
  16. Umayyad Caliphate
  17. Abbasid Caliphate
  18. Baghdad House Of Wisdom
  19. Islamic Golden Age
  20. Dar Al-Islam
  21. Sufism
  22. Tang Dynasty
  23. Tang Cosmopolitanism
  24. Grand Canal Of China
  25. Examination System
  26. Buddhism In China
  27. Chan Buddhism
  28. Early Song Dynasty
  29. Carolingian Empire
  30. Charlemagne
  31. Feudalism
  32. Manorialism
  33. Western Christendom
  34. Papacy
  35. Monasticism
  36. Vikings
  37. Kievan Rus
  38. Trans-Saharan Trade
  39. Ghana Empire
  40. Bantu Migrations
  41. Aksum
  42. Indian Ocean Trade
  43. Monsoon Trade Winds
  44. Srivijaya
  45. Chola Dynasty
  46. Heian Japan
  47. Tale Of Genji
  48. Korean Three Kingdoms
  49. Khmer Empire
  50. Angkor Wat
  51. Buddhism In East SE Asia
  52. Classic Maya Civilization
  53. Maya Calendar
  54. Teotihuacan
  55. Toltec Civilization
  56. Polynesian Expansion

Bridge Unit — The World on the Eve of Integration (~1100–1200 CE)

  1. World In 1200 CE
  2. Song Economic Revolution
  3. Chinese Iron Industry
  4. Paper Money Origins
  5. Mature Dar Al-Islam
  6. European Urban Revival
  7. Three-Field System
  8. High Medieval Universities
  9. Indian Ocean Maturity
  10. Pre-Mongol Eurasia
  11. Eve Of Integration

Recent Paleoanthropological Evidence (post-2010 additions)

  1. Sahelanthropus
  2. Ardipithecus
  3. Paranthropus
  4. Homo Naledi
  5. Homo Floresiensis
  6. Jebel Irhoud Finds

Paleolithic Visual Culture and Symbolic Art (expansion of Cave Art)

  1. Cave Painting
  2. Pigment Technology
  3. Hand Stencils
  4. Lascaux Cave
  5. Chauvet Cave
  6. Sulawesi Cave Art
  7. Lion-Man Sculpture
  8. Blombos Engravings

Recent Archaeological Discoveries (post-2010 paradigm-shifting finds)

  1. Göbekli Tepe
  2. Karahan Tepe
  3. Tas Tepeler Complex
  4. Pre-Pottery Neolithic
  5. Misliya Cave
  6. Madjedbebe Site
  7. White Sands Footprints
  8. Ancient DNA Revolution
  9. Yamnaya Migration
  10. LIDAR Archaeology
  11. Aguada Fenix

Submerged Landscapes and Coastal Archaeology

  1. Doggerland
  2. Sundaland And Sahul

African Archaeology Expansion

  1. Lomekwi Stone Tools
  2. Igbo-Ukwu
  3. Kilwa Kisiwani

East Asia — Recent Excavations

  1. Sanxingdui
  2. Liangzhu Culture
  3. Erlitou Site

Pre-Columbian Americas (pre-1200 CE)

  1. Caral-Supe Civilization
  2. Cahokia
  3. Chaco Canyon

European Megaliths

  1. Stonehenge

Climate and Disease Drivers (recently documented causation)

  1. 4.2 Ka Event
  2. Late Antique Little Ice Age
  3. Justinianic Plague

Yamnaya Cultural and Linguistic Legacy

  1. Proto-Indo-European
  2. Steppe Pastoralism

Lost-Technology Highlight

  1. Antikythera Mechanism