History Midterm (intro) Flashcards
what is “history”?
the time since there has been writing which can give us access to what people in the past were thinking.
what is qualified as “pre-history”?
Before writing was invented
who first created writing
Iraq
How are historians able to study the past?
Thanks to primary sources (documents)
when was writing invented
3400 BCE
whats the age of the universe
13.7 billion yrs old
how old is the earth
4.5 billion yrs old
how long has there been life on earth
3.8 billion yrs
when did homosapien’s arrive
200 000 yrs ago
when did agriculture begin
10 000 yrs ago
when did civilization become
5000 yrs ago
what is geographical determinations and give examples
Our physical environment and resources that are available to human groups matter to their development!
-The availability of useful plants and animals.
-There are only a few domesticable animals; cows, horses, pigs, camels, chickens, dogs… and useful plants for agriculture (Wheat, Potatoes, Corn, Rice, Millet, etc…)
What orientation makes the travelling of information easier
East-west (eurasia) because you are staying in the same climate
what orientation is it harder for info to travel and why
North-South (The Americas) because its harder to travel through changing climates and terrains
why do diseases affect human societies differently
agricultural societies with animals were subjected to many more diseases but also developed a resistance to them over generations.
where did homosapiens start?
Homo sapiens started in central/Eastern Africa and over a period of several millennia spread to every continent (except Antarctic)
what are the main types of lifestyles?
- Hunting/gathering (foraging)
- Farming
- Cities
what is the original way of supporting life
Hunting and gathering
explain the hunting/gathering lifestyle
- Over time human groups walked far away seeking ressources, ex: edible plants, followed herd animals, etc…
- They lived in relatively small groups (most of the time).
- Societies are relatively egalitarian
- Foragers are nomadic (which means they move around)
- Men and women have similar status but there is a sexual division of labor.
- Usually women are in charge of raising children and in general the family group. -Women are also usually the gatherers of food. (This food is only eaten by the family).
Men in charge of warfare/inter-group violence, hunting (food is usually shared within the group)
explain the farming lifestyle
- instead of gathering resources from nature, attempting to cultivate them.
–To plant useful plants deliberately.
–To raise domesticable animals. - Some groups (very gradually) gave up the foraging lifestyle and became sedentary (stay in one place) farmers and pastoralists.
- This process was made possible by a change in the climate, it became warmer, and the glaciers disappeared from a large part of America and Eurasia.
- Farming won as a lifestyle because farming groups became bigger: more people, bigger armies…
- Farmers settle into villages… and eventually become big enough to be called cities.
explain the city lifestyle
- A city is a settlement big enough that some people are strangers.
- The first cities arose in the fertile crescent in the middle east, in the very places where agriculture was first discovered.
- In cities, there is also a diversification of jobs: not everyone is engaged in food prediction…
What is a civilization?
A large complex agrarian
what are the 6 elements of cities
- Cities
- States: gov. (people in charge politically, usually also means there’s an army)
- Economic inequality (rich/poor)
- Organized religion
- Writing
- Monumental art
