Peopling of the Earth

Today, there are between _____ languages spoken on Earth.

5,000 and 6,000

Homo erectus is believed to be the first species found outside

Africa

The first hominid that is believed to have walked upright is

Australopithecines

first species to appear on earth

Australopithecus

It is believed that a mother language originally developed in

Eurasia

third species to appear on earth

Homo erectus

The human species that may have been the first to use crude tools is

Homo habilis

second species to appear on earth

Homo habilis

fifth species to appear on earth

Homo sapiens

What made the climate of northern Africa change from tropical to grasslands, and then to desert?

Ice Ages

fourth species to appear on earth

Neanderthals

What are some characteristics of hunter-gatherer societies?

They showed a level of technology such as tools and fire; they possessed and used knowledge of plants and animals; their communities were generally nomadic in nature as food supplies moved or were used up; their communities were small in size; and there appeared to be divisions in communities of age and gender.

The procedure of comparing cultural similarities as well as differences among societies is called the

comparative method

Linguists do not know for certain

how language was developed by early humans.

Cro-Magnon

is the closest relative to modern humans.

Collective learning is the ability to learn and transfer of _____ to others.

knowledge

petroglyphs

pictures carved out of stone

cuneiform

symbols used to represent objects

hieroglyphs

symbols used to represent sounds

Linguists often debate about

the origins of language

scientific method

the processes and procedures by which we acquire information

linguistics

the study of languages

anthropology

the study of the human race