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
