Unit 1: Early Hominids and the Beginnings of Humans

What is the order of hominids?

1. Australopithecus Afarensis 2. Australopithecus Africanus 3. Australopithecus boisei 4. Homo habilis 5. Homo Neanderthalensis 6. Homo sapiens 7. Homo sapiens sapiens

List and describe the characteristics of civilization.(List the 3 main ones first)

1. Complex Institutions 2. Advanced Technology 3. Specialization 4. Record Keeping 5. Advanced Cities

Who is lucy and what is her significance?

A hominid woman who was the oldest hominid remains to ever be found. She lived about 3.2 million years ago in a site called Hadar in Ethiopia.

What are the 5 key characteristics that define a civilization?

Advanced cities, specialized workers, complex institutions, record keeping, advanced technology.

What are the 5 main hominid groups and what do they mean?

Australopithecus Afarensis Homo Erectus: hominid who walked upright Homo Sapiens: hominid who thought Cro Magnon: early versions of modern humans; first homo sapiens Homo Neanderthalensis: Neanderthals who coexisted with the Cro Magnon and made technological advancements due to their bigger brains.

Ice Ages

Between 2 million and 10,000 years ago, the Earth experienced FOUR long periods of cold climate.

What things had the largest effect on the lives of early nomadic hunters and gatherers?

Climate and geography because it determined where their food travelled/grew, and how hard it was to keep walking.

Which hominids made cave paintings?

Cro Magnons

Where were some of the earliest civilizations?

Earliest civilizations were in River Valleys. (ex: Nile River, Tigris, Euphrates, Indus, Huang He)

irrigation

Farmers dug ditches and canals for watering crops which let them grow more food because they didn't have to wait for rain.

Name the 4 Early River Valley Civilizations

Indus, India, China, Fertile Crescent

What is another name for the Middle Stone Age?

Mesolithic period

What is another name for the Mesolithic period?

Middle Stone Age

What did Neanderthals do to make life easier in cold climates?

Neanderthals made clothing, harnessed fire, adapted to the cold, and moved to warmer places to make life easier in the cold.

What is another name for the New Stone Age?

Neolithic period

What is another name for the Neolithic period?

New Stone Age

What is another name for the Paleolithic period?

Old Stone Age

What is another name for the Old Stone Age?

Paleolithic period

Explain the significance of the Bronze Age.

People started making tools and weapons out of bronze because instead of using stone weapons and animal hides/wood for protection, they could now use this new metal. Bronze was more malleable and easier to work with and shape into whatever tools they needed. In the Bronze Age, people no longer needed to make tools out of stone because a new, stronger, more efficient material was available.

How did physical geography determine the lives of early humans?

Physical geography determined the lives of early humans because it could make it easier or harder to survive. If they were landlocked, it was hard to find water, but if they were surrounded by sea, it made it hard to chase down prey and other unique challenges. However, early humans adapted to their surroundings, which made it easier to get around such challenges and sometimes even benefitted them and their needs.

Define the term hierarchy in regards to social issues. Draw an example of an early social hierarchy.

Social hierarchy is how individuals and groups are arranged in a linear ladder according to significance, importance, wealth, intelligence, skill, etc. It has been evident in many species of animals (i.e. the food chain), but it is most complex in humans.

What different types of early societies existed and how did they evolve into what we have today?

Social hierarchy is how individuals and groups are arranged in a linear ladder according to significance, importance, wealth, intelligence, skill, etc. It has been evident in many species of animals (i.e. the food chain), but it is most complex in humans.

What makes us human?

The belief that humans can control their own destiny to some extent.

How do anthropologists use things they find to tell about ancient people?

They study the physical features, development, and behavior of ancient people to tell us how they adapted and lived. Archaeologists look at artifacts and paleontologists look at fossils.

How to anthropologists use things they find to tell about ancient people?

They study the physical features, development, and behavior of ancient people to tell us how they adapted and lived. Archaeologists look at artifacts and paleontologists look at fossils.

What were some benefits of using fire?

Warmth Cooked food Frightened away attacking animals.

The Leakeys

a family that made many archaeological breakthroughs such as prehistoric footprints of australopithecus in Tanzania, about 4.1-1.8 million years ago They turned the study of human origins into a major field of scientific inquiry

Beringia

a land bridge that spread across the Bering Strait connecting Eastern Asian continent/Russia and Alaska

paleontologist

a person who studies FOSSIL remains

Hadar

a site farther north where scientist discovered "Lucy"-a woman's remains from 3.2 million years ago

Aramis

a site in Ethiopia where paleontologist Gen Suwa discovered the oldest human remains ever found (4.4 million years old)

land bridge

a strip of land connecting two large land masses such as two continents connected across a major ocean

Stone Age

a time periods where the use of stone tools was developed and more specialized tools were made

culture

a way of life that includes language, religion, eating habits, clothing, arts, etc.

circa

about or approximately

deity

another term for a god or higher power

What species was the early hominid Lucy?

australopithecus afarensis

adapt/adaptation

changing to fit the environment, become more efficient, and stay fittest. Species who don't adapt get breeded out through natural selection

Civilization

complex cultures that developed at least five key characteristics including advanced cities, specialized workers, complex institutions, record keeping, advanced tech,

Civilization

complex societies/cultures that developed at least 5 key characteristics; early farming villages

division of labor

dividing specific jobs or tasks up amongst different people in society

What were some defining factors of more modern hominids? (habilus, sapiens, erectus)

fire, opposable thumbs, toolmaking

Cro Magnons

first homo sapiens that had an overlap in time with the Neanderthals

What were the three main species of hominids?

homo sapiens: person who thinks homo habilis: person with ability to use tools homo erectus: person who walks upright

social hierarchy

how individuals and groups are arranged in a relatively linear ladder

What does the Latin word "homo" mean?

human

hominid

human beings and humanlike creatures that preceded them

artifacts

human made objects

Neolithic (Agricultural) Revolution

humans began producing food, domesticated animals, settling in communities, growing crops, and invented the sickle for grains

specialization of labor

jobs

migration

moving from one place to another; could be because of many factors such as weather and geography changes

Jericho

oldest village ever found

nomads

people that travel from place to place usually in search of food or resources

prehistory

period of time before people developed writing

fossil

plant or animal preserved in rock, could be bones, fish, plants, etc.

Archaeologists

scientists that study ARTIFACTS

Anthropologists

scientists that study HOMINIDS

malleable

shapable; soft

jobs

specialization of labor

cultural diffusion

spreading ways of life and ideas from one culture to another; the exchange of goods, ideas, and customs between different cultures

myth

story told by word of mount to explain natural events

sexually dimorphic

the ability to distinguish males and females of a species based upon primary and secondary sex characteristics

technology

the skills and knowledge available; anything that makes life easier

Histioriography

the study and writing of world writing

Economy

the way people use the environment to meet their material needs

Radiocarbon dating

used to determine the age of once living things also known as C14/carbon14 dating

bipedal

walking on two feet

limited evidence

when only a small portion of historical evidence is found, so historians use their prior knowledge to piece together a theory or idea

artisans

workers skilled in a craft