Chapter 1 SS Test Flashcards
How many years ago did groups or people in different parts of the world begin to keep written records
5000
The invention and use of writing marked ________________________
The beginning of recorded history
Prehistory
The long period of time before people started writing
Historians
Scholars who study and write about the historical past
Artifacts
Objects made by humans
What kinds of evidence do historians use to study the past?
Artifacts (clothing, coins, artwork, tombstones) and written evidence (letters, tax records)
Anthropology
The study of prehistory, and about the origins and development of people and their societies
Culture
The way of life in a society, including its beliefs, values, and practices
Archaeology
The study of past people and cultures through their material remains
Did prehistoric groups have cities, countries, organized central governments, or complex inventions?
No, which is why clues about them were hard to find
Hominids
A group that include humans and their closest relatives that all walk upright on two feet
What was the turning point in prehistory
The introduction of agriculture
What is the turning point called
The Neolithic Revolution
When was the Old Stone Age or Paleolithic Period
2 million B.C. to about 10,000 B.C.
When was the New Stone Age or Neolithic Period
10,000 B.C. until the end of prehistory
What were early modern people called
Nomads
What is a nomad
Someone who moves from place to place to find food
What did both periods of time use
Stone tools
What happened during the middle of the Old Stone Age
Spoken language was developed
What happened during the end of the Old Stone Age
Beliefs in a spiritual world and afterlife
What is animism
The belief that spirits and forces might reside in animal, objects, or dreams
What did the New Stone Age begin with
Farming
Domesticate meaning
To raise in a controlled way that makes them best suited to human use.
Who were the first humans to domesticate plants and animals.
Early farmers
Where were the earliest villages established
Çatalhüyük and Jericho
What happened when food was scarce
Warfare increased
Elite warriors asserted __________ over others in society
Power
To farm successfully, people had to _______________
develop new technologies.
Why did they need to measure time accurately
To know when to plant and harvest
Cave Lamps
Paleolithic artists creates light in the caves by burning animal in lamps
Where did all the earliest civilizations develop
Near major rivers (Asia and Africa)
Where did the earliest American civilizations develop
Away from river valleys
How did rivers help farming
Floodwaters spread silt.
What is silt
Tiny bits of rock and dirt from the river bottom - across the valleys, renewing the soil and keeping it fertile.
What does a traditional economy rely on
Habit, custom, or ritual and tends not to change over time.
What is the main feature of civilizations
The rise of cities
Civilization
A complex, highly organized social order
Complex
made up of many interrelated parts
Where did civilizations emerge
in the highlands of Peru, Mexico, and Central America, where people learned to farm on the sides of mountains or to fill in swamps with land for farming
Steppe
sparse, dry, grasslands
Major features of all early civilizations:
- Organized governments
- Complex religions
- Job specialization
- Social classes
- Arts and architecture
- Public works
- Writing
Who ruled many of the world’s farming villages
Councils of elders or chiefs
Polytheistic
Believing in many gods
Cities
population centers that are notable larger and more organized than towns or villages and that support the other features of civilizations
Organized Governments
structured governments that coordinate large-scale projects such as food production or construction, establish laws, and organize defense systems
Complex Religions
systems of religious beliefs that usually include rituals and worship of one or more gods and/or goddesses
Job Specialization
System in which there are different types of jobs and each worker focuses on one particular type
Social Classes
ranked groups within society that are determined by job or economic standing
Arts and Architecture
various types of artwork and buildings that express the talents, beliefs, and values of people in a society
Public Works
large-scale and often costly projects that benefit the city and its people
Where is the oldest stone bridge
Jerwan, Iraq
What was the first step towards developing writing
Using pictographs/pictograms
Pictogram
a simple drawing that looks like the object it represents
Cultural diffusion
the spread of ideas or customs from one group to another
What led to the rise of city-states
Ancient rulers gaining more power and conquering territories beyond the boundaries of their cities
What led to the creation of empires
Ambitious rulers conquering many cities and villages
Empire
a group of states or territories controlled by one ruler
What did building empires help do
End war between neighboring communities and created common bonds among people
City-state
An independent city, which has its own government, but shares cultural connections with nearby cities
Turning point in history
A time or an event in which a significant and lasting change occurs
Monotheistic
Believing in one god
Theocracy
Government that is controlled by religious laws and priests. Government and religion are mixed together. Example: The king came from the gods
Role of priests
They are the only one who could talk to the gods, and held a great position of power
Ziggurat
Large Temple in center of City-State. Home of the priests, and there people came to worship their gods.
