Early Humans and Civilization: Key Concepts and Discoveries

1. Chapter 1 Review BINGO! As each answer is revealed, mark your Bingo card with an X if you have the term. Five X’s in a row and you have BINGO = Bonus points!

2. Believed to be a totally different hominid species when first discovered in the 1850s, today DNA evidence suggests this Hominid has passed on some of its DNA, to modern humans. Neanderthals

3. Early humans’ culture centered around this economic system Hunting & Gathering Hunting for wild game and gathering naturally growing plants was the only way of life for early peoples before agriculture / farming.

4. The exchange of ideas between cultures happens through trade and war, what is this exchange of culture called? Cultural Diffusion

5. One of the key developments that happened due to specialization was Social Classes / Hierarchy

6. One of the most important discoveries of early human ancestors Discovery of FIRE Mastery over fire and use of fire are different. Early humans like Homo Erectus groups used fire as early a 1 million B.C., but it was groups like Neanderthals and Homo Sapiens that mastered fire and used it to modify their environment to make more advanced tools & weapons

7. People skilled in specific kinds of work such as government officials, soldiers, priests, artisans, or scribes. Specialized Workers

8. Agriculture helped develop civilization because it provided a more secure Food Surplus With extra food people could begin to specialize into specific jobs.

9. Between 8,000 B.C. and 3,000 B.C., this “New” Stone Age is characterized by people using advanced stone tools, domesticated animals, and farming. Neolithic Age

10. The exchange of goods without money Barter Money as we know it today is a solution to the old barter economies of the ancient world.

11. Evidence of thinking symbolically, linked to the first writing. Paleolithic Art Can be used as a window into the culture and environment of Prehistoric Peoples. Writing is key to passing on the knowledge and accomplishments of each generation.

12. The time period before written records. Prehistory Prehistoric times ended about 5,000 years ago with the development of the first writing approximately 3,000 B.C. in Sumer.

13. A human made object Artifact Artifacts are the chief means through which anthropologist discover details about cultures in prehistory

14. A person/group of people who have no permanent home, traveling from place to place in search of food or grazing lands for their animals Nomad

15. A long lasting pattern of organization in a society. Complex Institution Examples of organizing something complex in a civilization include Political system (government), religion, and economic system.

16. A physical adaptation that allows humans to firmly grasp objects, leading to advanced tool making. Opposable Thumb Walking Upright, the Opposable Thumb, Stereoscopic vision and larger brain sizes are all physical adaptations that allowed early humans to adapt and survive hostile envirionments.

17. One of the first written languages invented by Sumer which used wedge shaped symbols. Cuneiform Cuneiform started out with pictograms at first and evolved into the complex wedge shaped writing.

18. Early Civilizations around the Tigris and Euphrates river valleys had to use this method of bringing water to their crops during the dry season. Irrigation The first cities developed in river valleys like the Tigris and Euphrates due to the access to fresh water and potential for irrigation & expansion of farm lands.

19. Occurred between 2.5 million and 8,000 B.C., when early human ancestors used simple stone tools. THE OLD STONE AGE! Paleolithic Age

20. A people’s unique way of life, generally characterized by their language, religion, and geographic location. Culture

21. A period of time used to describe an era in which humans used a metal alloy of copper and tin to make weapons and tools. Bronze Age The Bronze Age began with the first age of Civilization, around 3,000 B.C.!

22. Animals that have been tamed and raised for human benefit. Domesticated Animals

23. Ways of applying knowledge, tools, and inventions to meet our needs. Technology

24. A person who is very skilled at a specific type of work / A skilled worker. Artisan Examples include carpenters, metal smiths, and weavers

25. A complex culture with 5 Key characteristics? Civilization The 5 Keys: Advanced Cities, Technology, Complex Institutions, Record Keeping, and Job Specialization

26. Natural features on the earth such as mountains, rivers, deserts, & plains Geographic Feature

27. A way of trading goods without the use of money. Barter

28. A professional record keeper, invented Cuneiform in Sumer to keep track of important events and taxes. Scribe Scribes in training needed to study much like young people today and would be considered “college” educated when ready to work as a scribe.

29. A term used to describe the “big change” from hunter-gatherer lifestyles to farming. Neolithic Revolution Occurred due to population pressures all over the world between 8,000 and 3,000 B.C., it started first in river valleys.

30. A method by which early Neolithic farmers cleared land for farming. Slash and Burn

31. A time of in which the Global temperature on earth was much colder than today and Ice sheets miles deep covered the Northern Hemisphere? Ice Age It was climate change brought about possibly by a shift in the earth’s axis by just a few degrees that ended the last Ice Age about 10,000 years ago and made the Neolithic Revolution possible.

32. When people begin to focus on one line of work. Specialization Specialization includes all occupations needed in a civilization except farmers (farmers are the MOST important). Examples include artisans, merchants, government workers, soldiers, priests.