AP World: Chapter 1 Before History

Homo sapiens

"Consciously thinking human," which first appeared around two hundred fifty thousand years ago and used sophisticated tools.

Austrolopithecus

"Southern ape," oldest known ancestor of humans; it lived from around four million down to around one million years ago, and it could walk on hind legs, freeing up hands for use of simple tools.

Homo erectus

"Upright-walking human," which existed from 1.5 million to two hundred thousand years ago; Homo erectus used cleavers and hand axes and learned how to control fire.

Hominids

A creature belonging to the family Hominidae, which includes human and humanlike species.

Jericho

Earliest known Neolithic village.

Neanderthal

Early humans (100,000 to 35,000 years ago) who were prevalent during the Paleolithic period.

History

Era after the invention of writing

Homo sapiens sapiens

First human being of the modern type, which appeared roughly one hundred thousand years ago; Cro-Magnon falls into this category.

Cro-Magnon

Homo sapiens sapiens, who appeared forty thousand years ago during the Paleolithic age and were the first human beings of the modern type.

Catal Huyuk

Important Neolithic settlement in Anatolia (7250--6150 B.C.E.).

Paleolithic

Old Stone Age, a long period of human development before the development of agriculture.

Jomon

Paleolithic settlement located in central Japan.

Chinook

Permanent Paleolithic settlement in the Pacific Northwest region of North America.

Natufians

Permanent Paleolithic settlement in the eastern Mediterranean.

Venus figurines

Small Paleolithic statues of women with exaggerated sexual features.

Prehistory

The period before the invention of writing.