Chapter 1 - The Earliest Human Societies Flashcards
- agrarian civilization - anthropology - archaeology - chromosomes - genetic markers - historiography - history - Holocene era - hominid - Homo ergaster - Homo sapiens - matriarchy - natural selection - Neanderthal Man - Neolithic Age - Neolithic (food-producing) Revolution - Paleolithic Age - pastoral civilization
The Paleolithic Age
- An age (time period) dating from around 3.5 million B.C.E. to around 10,000 B.C.E.
- There was a hunter-gatherer culture, where the family was the basic social unit, and had clans of up to 40 people.
How have humans developed during the Paleolithic Age?
The Homo Sapiens were the only ones who survived the last Ice Age.
They became…
- More upright
- Enlarged brain
- Less hairy bodies
- Larynx shifted for speech
What were some developments of the late Paleolithic Age?
Humans made semi-permanent shelters (caves, lean-tos) ad expanded the use of clothing, fire, and tools.
Agricultural Revolution
Humans went from gathering and hunting to livestock breeding and herding, sowing, and harvesting for food production.
Matriarchy
A society in which females are dominant socially and politically.
- First farmers probably women
- Women associated with fertility
- Importance of mother-goddess
What changes were brought about by dependency on agriculture?
- government?
- society (rural, suburban, urban)?
- population?
- needs and technology/
- arts?
- Population swelled dramatically
- Surplus wealth supported more complex societies
- Craft production & trade appeared
- New farming technologies
- Urban life developed
- Ruling elites emerged
- Need to maintain records led to the invention of writing
8 Characteristics of Agrarian Civilizations
- Primarily rural societies, with a few cities.
- Based primarily on peasant agriculture and/or livestock breeding.
- Most people maintained life in balance with their natural environment.
- Religion was based heavily on gods and spirits that controlled their natural environment.
- Religion emphasized ritual and sacrifice as ways to control the deities.
- Society relied on religious specialists to communicate with the gods.
- Believed time to be cyclic.
- Their social values emphasized kinship and the clan.
Name a few river-valley civilizations.
- Tigris and Euphrates (Mesopotamia)
- Nile (Egypt)
- Niger (West Africa)
- Indus (India)
- Yellow and Yangtze (China)
- Valleys in Andes (Peru)
Why were rivers important?
- Provided means of transportation and communication
- Served to extend the power and influence of government
- Interchange of goods and services
- Helped to avoid catastrophic effects of crop failure through the creation of new, supplementary forms of wealth
Trade and migration maintained connections between different societies
What was the first metal used by humans?
Copper. A very soft metal.
Bronze Age
- How strong was bronze, ad how hard was it to produce?
- 7,000 B.C.E. to 1,500 B.C.E.
- Began in Western Asia.
- Suitable for weapons, resistant to weather
- Difficult to make, heavy, expensive
- Could not keep fine edges for cutting
Iron Age
- How strong was iron, ad how hard was it to produce?
- After 1,500 B.C.E.
- Tools and weapons stronger, cheaper, sharper, longer-lasting
- Iron plowshares improved agriculture
Where did the earliest humans originate?
In Eastern, Central Africa.
Homo Species:
- Homo Habilis
- Homo Erectus - Discovered fire
- Neanderthal (Mysteriously died out)
- Homo Sapiens (Dominant after 30,000 B.C.E.)
Neolithic Age (and its development)
- dates?
- labor?
- food?
- settlements?
- Starts from 10,000 B.C.E. and goes to about 4,000 B.C.E., sees the Agricultural Revolution
- “New Stone Age”
- Settlement leads to land cultivation
- These settlements and food surplus lead to specialized occupations
- Cultivation lead to people starting villages and towns
- These settlements and food surplus lead to population growth
Specialization of Labor
