Foundations: 8000-600 BCE Flashcards
What are Hominids?
human-like creatures called primates with thought-processing ability that led to alteration of the natural environment to suit their needs
When and where were Hominids discovered?
they were found in the Great Rift Valley by Mary and Louis Leakey in 1974
When did Hominids live on Earth?
they appeared 3 to 4 million years ago in southern and eastern Africa
What are the differences between Hominids and other primates?
bipedalism –> ability to walk upright sizable brain –> abstract thought and fine motor control larynx –> complex speech
What are homo sapiens?
modern humans
used advanced tools, wore clothing, created semipermanent or permanent dwellings, and organized themselves into social groups
What are other variants of homo sapiens?
Neanderthal –> appeared 100,000 to 250,000 years ago
Cro-Magnon –> appeared during the Paleolithic Age
Where are *homo sapiens *from?
What was the Paleolithic Era?
10,000 to 2,500,000 years ago
“Old Stone Age”
predates agricultural society
What were people like during the Paleolithic Era?
nomadic hunters (men) and gatherers (women)
did not form agricultural society yet
What was the society of Paleolithic people?
expression through art and music
worshipped dieties: gods, goddesses, and spirits
extended family became members –> became tribes with cheifs, leaders, and religious figures
organized warfare (rocks, clubs, knifes, axes, bows, spears, harpoons)
What is the Neolithic Era?
“New Stone Age”
8000-5000 BCE
origins of agricultural society (domesication of animals and crops)
origins of complex society (social classes and patriarchy)
origins of specialized labor (pottery, metallurgy, textiles)
surge in population growth
Where were the first agricultural societies from?
southwest Asia –> India, Europe, and rest of Asia –> Mesoamerica and East Asia
Jericho (modern-day Israel) was one of the first Neolithic villages
Who were the Bantu people?
“segmentary societies”
establised decentralized governments (family and kinship groups led)
villages had 100 people –> groups made districts
conflict led to organized militaries and formal government institutions
What was the Bantu Migration?
3000 BCE - 500 CE
movement of Africans across the African continent
What was the Bronze Age?
metallurgy originated with the use of copper
copper + tin = bronze
bronze first used in Mesoptamia between 4000-3000 BCE
1500-1000 BCE iron was cradted
What was Mesopotamia?
a society that was located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (modern-day Iraq)
city of Sumer established in 5000 BCE
Babylon and Ur were established (world’s first cities)
What did the Sumerians do?
polytheistic –> built ziggurats to please the gods
organized first city-states
public-works projects were built to meet the needs of society
What was the Nile River Civilization?
agricultural settlements built along the Nile River as early as 5500 BCE
Egyptian history begins with the uniting of Upper and Lower Egypt by King Menes
