Chapter 1- Early Civilizations

How did conditions in some river valleys favor the rise of early civilizations?

River valleys provided fertile soil for the surrounding lands and also, water to the civilizations to use to irrigate crops and for other basic uses.

City-State

a political unit that included a city and its surrounding lands and villages

Neolithic Age

also known as the New Stone Age, the period of time when people changed from nomadic ways to settled farming

Steppe

less fertile lands, on sparse grasslands

Longitude

measures distance East or West of the Prime Meridian

Latitude

measures distance North or South of the equator

Artifacts

objects made by human beings

Polytheistic

the belief in many gods

Animism

the belief that spirits and forces may live in animals, objects, and dreams

Cultural Diffusion

the spread of ideas, customs, and technologies, from one people to another

Archaeology

the study of past people and cultures

Geography

the study of people, their environments, and the resources availible to them

Anthropology

the study of the origins and development of people and their societies

Glacier

thick sheet of ice that covered parts of the Earth, spanning over regions of Asia, North America, and Europe, during the Ice Age

Domesticate

to tame animals they once had hunted

What was a scribe? Were women allowed to become a scribe? Why or why not?

A scribe was a person specially trained to read and write. Women were not allowed to become a scribe, for men believed they were dominant over women and did not want them to become more intelligent that they were, in fear that women would use their intelligence to control.

What were the key features of the Neolithic agricultural revolution? How did it change people's lives?

During the Neolithic agricultural revolution, people learned to use seeds to grow crops, as well as domesticate animals they once hunted. This got rid of the need for moving to find food. Therefore, people settled into permanent villages; population increased, gender roles changed, goverments formed, people acquired more personal belongings, new technologies like the calendar made life much easier.

Give two examples of how people interact with their environment.

Farming rose in the Neolithic Age and early people settled near water resources to irrigate their crops. Nomads in the Paleolithic Age followed migrating animals and ripening fruit so that they'd have a constant supply of food.

What kinds of evidence do historians use to study the past? What is the risk in using this evidence?

Historians mainly relyed on written evidence. However, by taking this risk, some historic accounts could be false.

What are the five themes of geography?

Location, Place, Region, Human-Environment Interaction, Movement

How did Paleolitic people learn to adapt to their environment?

Paleolithic people were nomads, moving place to place following game animals and ripening fruit, in order to find food. They developed a language system, learned to build fires to keep them warm, invented clothing to keep them warm in harsh climates, and made simple stone tools to use for basic needs.

Paleolithic Age

earliest period of human history, known as the Old Stone Age, dating from about 2 million to 10,000 BC.

Nomads

people who move place to place in search of food, following game animals and ripening fruit

Prehistory

refers to the long period of time before people invented systems of writing

Technology

refers to the skills and tools people use to meet their basic needs

Culture

refers to the way of life of a society that is handed down from one generation to the next by learning and experience

Pictograms

simple drawings that looked like the objects they were representing

Artisan

skilled craft workers

How does modern technology help current archaeologists during a dig?

Today's modern technology like the metal detector and helicopter have assisted archaeologists in several ways. The metal detector could detect any early froms of metal that past civilizations could have used. Helicopters could have an aerial view of the landscape around a dig to predict a location where an early civilization could have settled.

Civilization

a complex, highly organized social order

Empire

a group of states or territories under one rule