PART 1: Prehistory and the "firsts" Flashcards
(30 cards)
Paleolithic Age
Paleo=old, lithos=stone because stone tools see primary use
Majority of people are hunter-gatherers and nomadic
Predates agricultural, sedentary living (neolithic)
Neolithic Age
SURPLUS is the key to the neolithic revolution
People agglomerate into sedentary living and the world experiences mass migration
Agriculture gives time for new technologies and methods of living (specialization and differentiation of labor) that improve civilization
Anthropocene=world changed by humans (atomic bomb)
Hominid
Any human like creature
Predated the arrival of homo sapiens
Includes Neanderthals and species such as homo erectus
Homo Sapiens
The modern human-the only surviving hominid
They are sentient- conscious of their awareness of life
Should the most modern humans be considered homo sapiens sapiens?
Cave art
Greatest example=Lasaux (S France) by Magdalenians
People around the world began this practice at around the same time
Could have been for… (because they didn’t live in them)
-worship/religious
-preservation
-rite of passage (transformative moment in life)
Dolmen
The first houses/examples of shelter
Made by rocks leaning up against each other
Great feat because the stones were very heavy
Megalith
A large stone that forms a prehistoric monument
Most famous is Stonehenge
Clovis culture
Refers to the culture of North America during the stone age-the whole continent used a specific stone spearhead that was unique from the rest of the world
7 Cradles of Civilization
Indus=Harrapa HuangHe=Ban Po Nile=Egypt Mesopotamia=Sumer Mesoamerica=Mayan, Aztec Andean=Inca Niger River=Jenna-Jeno
Family > Clan > Tribe
The evolution of how humans group together
Family=parents and their children stay together
Clan=the oldest male is in charge of a larger group of biological relatives that intermarry
Tribe=multiple clans, ->stronger gene pool, ->leader rules with the consent and input from those he ruled
Ban Po
Chinese ancient civilization
Pottery is the greatest example of technology
Circular houses (suggest more equality) but one is usually bigger and in the middle of the group
-Doors on the east
-Bury the dead in the NW corner
Catal Huyuk
Anatolia
Developed around obsidian
Roofs of the square houses are all connected
People walk on the roof
Prevents invaders (and animals) from getting inside
Jericho
Israel
Oldest neolithic village and place where humans have always inhabited
“World’s oldest storehouse of grain” the essential grains
Square houses
Animistic
Religious belief that the world is full of lesser spirits that inhabit and govern all aspects of life and nature
->more respect for everything
Advanced abstract thought of afterlife
Role of Prehistoric Women
More important because they needed to survive in order for the species to survive
Earliest statues and artifacts reflect this
Idealized natural cycles and fertility-lunar and menstrual cycles
Migration
Humans became humans in Africa-knew how to hunt and fish-first animal to migrate all around the world
In order…
Asia: technology and culture emerged
Europe: Adapted to cold weather
North America: Clovis culture
Oceania: Australia and the rest by boat-spread culture
Dreamtime
World outlook of Aboriginal people
Belief that their ancestors created the land and spred it between everyone
Everything stemmed from this beginning
Ritual
A religious act due to a myth or belief
Teo Sinte
Also known as maize, a crop native to mesoamerica
The first time humans mixed crops genetically
Sumer
The first empire
Very small in size but is the nexus of trade-this makes them rich because they intersect and can tax the trade routes
Continuous warfare gives it power but depletes resources
Beginning of silk road trade for luxury goods-Egypt and Harrapa
First City
Ur, Uruk, Eridu
To big to be described as village and has walls
First Emporer
Sargon (Akkadian)
Unified the cities
First Law Order
Lex Taleonis-Hammurabi’s code
“An eye for an eye”…if you are of the victim’s same class
Establishing law gives Ham. posthumous power
First Library
Ashurbanipal (Assyrian)
Preserving knowledge for the future
He controls who’s books are admitted (power)