49 terms

Terms	Definitions
Peking Man	A homo erectus skeleton about 1.7 million years old Found in Northern China near Beijeing; shows that people settled there more than 500,000 years ago.
Mastodons	Prehistoric furry elephants, the retreat of big game animals like this one after an ice age lead to the increasing importance of agriculture, which catalyzed the movement and population boom among our species.
Back Problems	Is a problem caused largely by evolutionary history, came about because of upright structure.
Neolithic Age	The New stone age which went from about 8000 B.C to 3000 B.C. People who lived during this learned to polish stone tools, make pottery, grow crops, and raise animals.
Speech Gene	What enabled our early anscestors to communicate better(beyond the sounds and gestures common to a number of animal groups), developed about 70,000 years earlier.
5 minutes before midnight	The amount of time that humans have been on land if you set it relative to a 24 hour day. Approximate time is about 2.5 million years on earh as a species out of 4.56 billion.
Paleolithic Age	The old stone age perio ending in 12,000 BCE, typified by the use of CRUDE stone tools and hunting and gathering for subsistence. Takes the majority of the 2 million plus years during which are species has existed. Homo Erctus first developed during this age.
Homo Erectus	The humanoid species that developed a larger brain capacity, erect stance(leading to better tool use) emerging between 500,000 and 750,000 ears ago. First developed a nd spread in Africa, then to Asia and Europe, reaching a population size of perhaps 1.5 million 100,000 years ago. Now Extinct
Domestication	The conscious manipulation of plant and animal species by humans in order to sustain themselves. Along with agriculture it effectively changed the roles and relationships between men and women and patterns of childbearing , leading to social stratification, political organizations, expression, and larger more lethal war.
Homo Sapiens	The newest human breed, which emerged as the most successful(and therefore survived), and of which ALL humans in the world are descendants.
Cultures	Systems of belief that help explain the environment and set up rules for various kinds of social behavior. Emerged in the late Paleolithic and was also accompioned by the rapid spread of speech(languages)
Java Man	A homo erectus discovered by Dutch physician and anatomist Eugene Dubois in 1891 in JAVA Indonesia,
Eugene Dubois	He uncovered what he believed to be the remains of a human ancestor. He named his find Homo erectus, meaning human who stands upright. It was nicknamed Java Man
Mesolithic Age	The Middle Stone Age.12,000-8,000 BCE; ability to fashion stone tools & such improved greatly; made better weapons & cutting edges; had increased population growth accelerated producing more conflicts & wars;(Large amount of bone breaks and skull fractures.
Agriculture	The purposeful tending of crops and livestock in order to produce food and fiber, this is what MOST clearly moved the human species, led to the massive explosion in population, was triggered by the end of an ice age.
Neolithic Revolution	This social revolution was also known as the New Stone Age where people changed from hunting and gathering food to domesticating animals and cultivating land as farmers. (Was actually very slow)
hunting and gathering	The process of living that involves hunting for meat, gathering edible produce, and traveling frequently.
Bronze Age	A period of human culture between the Stone Age and the Iron Age, characterized by the use of weapons and implements made of BRONZE. From 4000 BCE to 1500 BCE when Iron replaced it.
Copper	The first metal that people learned to use and work with, soon replaced by the stronger bronze. An early example of humans(and civilizations) impact on the enviroment is exhibited when the large scale production of copper along the Danube Valley led to extensive deforestation that ended up depleting the fuel supply, and the industry collapsed around 3000 BCE.
Civilization	Socities distinguised by a reliance on sedentary agriculture, ability to produce food surpluses, and the existence of non- farming elites, as well as merchant and manufacturing groups. Also involves the formation of formal political ties or states , as opposed to a dependence on family or tribal ties.
Cuneiform	a system of writing used in ancient Mesopotamia(around 3500 BCE) , in which wedge-shaped characters were produced b pressing a stylus into a soft clay tablet, which was then baked or otherwise hardened. Early writing such as this enabled socities to tax more efficently, make contracts, treaties, and generate an intellectual climate which promoted "rationality"
Catal Huyuk	One of the world's first Neolithic cities(founded in 7000 BCE, the remains of this large city were found in 1958 in modern Turkey. Houses were largely made of mub brick set in timber frames. Worship of a "Mother Goddess". Was actually larger in population than Jericho and had a greater degree of social stratification.
Skara Brae	A late Neolithic village in Northern Scotland(Orkeny Islands) discovered by archaeologists in the 1800s, Dates back to 1500 BCE. Special Storage areas for grain, sturdy housed, better conditions lead to higher birth rates and lower mortality rates at least when crop yeilds were high.
Slash and burn agriculture	Another name for shifting cultivation, so named because fields are cleared by slashing the vegetation and burning the debris. Used by non sedentary peoples who would farm for a couple of years and then leeave for a couple decades before codming back.
Nomads	cattle- and sheep-herding societies normally found on the fringes of civilized societies; commonly referred to as "barbarian" by civilized societies.
Barbarian	A term coined by the ancient greek to disparage those that did not speak their language, throughout history it has changed from being a cultural construct( Greeks, Romans) to a social and racial one (Nazi Germany, Dark Age Europe) etc etc.
Mesopotamia	First civilization located between the Tigris & Eurphrates Rivers in present day Iraq; term means "land between the rivers;" Sumerian culture, was WAY more fertile back then.
Sumerians	People who migrated into Mesopotamia ca. 4000 B.C.E.; created the first civilization within region; organized area into city-states. Also developed the cuneiform alphabet, the FIRST known case of human writing. Devloped a system of numbers based on 10, 60 , and 360, founded Astronomy and built massive Ziggurats.
Ziggurats	Massive towers usually associated with Mesopotamian temple complexes. Each city had a patron god that they prayed to and professional priests operated theses temples.
City-state	An independent, self-governing city; a form of political organization typical of Mesopotamian civilizations; consisted of agricultural hinterlands ruled by an urban-based king.
Babylonian Empire	Unified all of Mesopotamia circa 1,800 BCE; collapsed due to foreign invasion circa 1,600 BCE
Hammurabi	Amorite ruler of Babylon (r. 1792-1750 B.C.E.). He conquered many city-states in southern and northern Mesopotamia and is best known for a code of laws, inscribed on a black stone pillar, illustrating the principles to be used in legal cases. Boasted that " to promot the welfar of the people, I Hammurabi, the devout, god fearing prince, cause justice to prevail in the land by destroying the wicked and eveil, that the strong might not opress the weak"
Pharaoh	A kng of ancient Egypt, considered a god as well as a political and military leader.
Pyramids	Monumental architecture typical of Old Kingdom Egypt; used as burial sites for pharaohs.
Akkadians	this civilization included Semitic people living north of Sumeria; conquered Sumeria; united city-states of Mesopotamia; first empire in history; established by Sargon the Great
Sargon of Akkad	A ancient Mesopotamian ruler who reigned approximately 2334-2279 BC, and was one of the earliest of the world's great empire builders, conquering all of southern Mesopotamia as well as parts of Syria, Anatolia, and Elam (western Iran). He established the region's first Semitic dynasty and was considered the founder of the Mesopotamian military tradition.
Kush	An African state that developed along the upper reaches of the Nile c. 1000B.C.E.; conquered Egypt and ruled it for several centuries.
Harappa	Site of one of the great cities of the Indus Valley civilization of the third millennium B.C.E. It was located on the northwest frontier of the zone of cultivation , and may have been a center for the acquisition of raw materials. Was laid out on a planned grid pattern.Language of the civilization has NOT been deciphered. Part of Indus River Valley Civilization
Mohenjo Daro	Along with Harappa, major urban complex of the Harappan civilization; laid out on planned grid pattern. Even had houses with running water.Language of the civilization has NOT been deciphered.
Indus River Valley	located in modern Pakistan; also known as Harappan Culture (including Mohenjo-Daro); highly advanced organized: sewer system, grid streets, uniform building construction, all examples of centralized government, home of dravidians., Language of the civilization has NOT been deciphered.
Dravidians	one of the main groups of people in India; probably descended from the Indus River culture that flourished at the dawn of Indian civilization over 4,000 yrs. ago
Harappan Culture	Existed three millennia ago in the age of bronze and copper. Advanced and developed for its time. Traded with the Persian Gulf and Mesopotamia. Believed in life after death but there was no concept of reincarnation. Also known as the Indus Valley Civilization.
Yellow River	River in China at a high plateau in Tibet. Loess soil carried by the river, gave river it's name, very fertile. "China's sorrow" when it had extensive flooding.The majority of ancient Chinese civilizations originated here.
P'an Ku	Mythic ancestor which ancient chinese said was their creator.
Shang	1st Dynasty in China had oracle bones, bronze casting, ancestor obsessed. Followed Xia
Ideographic	Pictographic characters grouped together to create new concepts; typical of Chinese writing.
Oracles	Shamans or priests in Chinese society who foretold the future through interpretations of animal bones cracked by heat; inscriptions on bone led to Chinese writing.
Anyang	Shang's oldest and most important building; one of the capitals; built of wood; located in forest, wa also the capital.
Monotheism	Belief in a single divine entity. The Israelite worship of Yahweh developed into an exclusive belief in one god, and this concept passed into Christianity and Islam.

Flickr Creative Commons Images

Some images used in this set are licensed under the Creative Commons through Flickr.com. Click to see the original works with their full license.

• "Peking Man" image
• "Mastodons" image
• "Back Problems" image
• "Neolithic Age" image
• "Paleolithic Age" image
• "Homo Erectus" image
• "Domestication" image
• "Cultures" image
• "Java Man" image
• "Agriculture" image
• "Bronze Age" image
• "Copper" image
• "Civilization" image
• "Cuneiform" image
• "Skara Brae" image
• "Slash and burn agriculture" image
• "Nomads" image
• "Barbarian" image
• "Mesopotamia" image
• "Sumerians" image
• "Ziggurats" image
• "Hammurabi" image
• "Pharaoh" image
• "Pyramids" image
• "Akkadians" image
• "Sargon of Akkad" image
• "Harappa" image
• "Mohenjo Daro" image
• "Indus River Valley" image
• "Dravidians" image
• "Yellow River" image
• "P'an Ku" image
• "Anyang" image

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