NEW SS: Section 2 Flashcards
When did the Holocene begin?
11,700 years ago
When did the oldest fossil record of Homo sapiens date to?
300,000 years ago
When did the Homo sapiens become the last surviving members of the Homo genus?
40,000 years ago
What genus did the Homo sapiens become the last surviving members of 40,000 years ago?
the Homo genus
What is the current global human population?
over 8 billion
What was the population cap of the Pleistocene?
10 million people
When was the end of the last ice age?
11,700 years ago
When did the Pleistocene epoch start and end?
2.8 million to 11,700 years ago
What does LGM stand for?
Last Glacial Maximum
When was the LGM?
20,000 years ago
During the LGM, what parts of Earth were covered by ice?
Europe, most of North America, and partially Asia
What is permafrost?
perenially frozen ground, or land that is frozen all year
The conclusion of what event marked the beginning of the Holocene?
the Younger Dryas period
When was the Younger Dryas period?
12,900 to 11,700 years ago
What caused the major glacial meltwater event 14,000 years ago?
warming caused by solar cycles
The meltwater event 14,000 years ago caused what?
a cold millennium known as the Younger Dryas period
What was the Younger Dryas period?
a cold millennium that reversed warming trends, with its ending signaling the start of the Holocene
How many periods are in the Holocene?
3
What is the 1st period of the Holocene?
the Early Holocene Subseries or Greendlandian Stage/Age
What is the 2nd period of the Holocene?
the Middle Holocene Subseries or Northgrippian Stage/Age
What is the 3rd period of the Holocene?
the Late Holocene Subseries or Meghalayan Stage/Age
The dates that mark how long ago events occurred, like the starting of the Holocene 11,700 years ago, used what year as the present?
2000 CE, and sometimes 1950 CE
When did the Early Holocene occur?
11,700 to 8,236 years ago
What years did the Early Holocene occur?
9700 to 6200 BCE
When did the Middle Holocene occur?
8,236 to 4,250 years ago
What years did the Middle Holocene occur?
6200 to 2250 BCE
When did the Late Holocene occur?
4,250 years ago to present day
What years did the Late Holocene occur?
2250 BCE to present day
What was the warmest period of the Holocene?
the Early Holocene
What period of the Holocene occurred during the Holocene thermal maximum?
the Early Holocene
When was the Holocene thermal maximum?
11,000 to 7,000 years ago
What is the warmest part of the Holocene called?
the Holocene thermal maximum
What was the Holocene thermal maximum?
the warmest period of the Holocene
Why is the Early Holocene nicknamed the Greenlandian Stage?
because of an ice core in Greenland, NGRIP2, that shows evidence of the start of the Holocene at 1,492 meters
What does the end date of the Early Holocene coincide with?
a meltwater event in Canada, when a glacial ice sheet collapsed
Where were humans after the Pleistocene?
all over the globe
Where is the Iberian Peninsula?
the western edge of Europe
What does the nickname for the Middle Holocene, the Northgrippian Stage, refer to?
an ice core from Greenland that shows evidence of cooler temperatures
What does the beginning date of the Middle Holocene coincide with?
a meltwater event, with the collapse of the Laurentide Ice Sheet in Canada, the same one as what ended the Early Holocene
What is a meltwater event?
the melting or collapsing of a glacial sheet that accelerates the flow of icy water into the ocean
When during the Holocene did temperatures start to decline?
7,300 years ago, between 5300 and 3700 BCE
Why did temperatures in the Holocene begin to decline?
because of weakened solar energy
The period of time when temperatures in the Holocene started to decline is known as what?
the Mid-Holocene Transition
When was the Mid-Holocene Transition?
between 5300 and 3700 BCE
Which ages was the Middle Holocene seen as the transition between?
the Stone Age to the Bronze Age
What date did the Mesopotamian civilization start to emerge?
3500 BCE
How many years ago did the Mesopotamian civilization start to emerge?
5,500 years ago
What does the nickname for the Late Holocene, Meghalayan Stage, refer to?
a cave in northeast India where mineral deposits contain evidence of the new period
When was the Holocene Turnover?
4,250 years ago
What period of the Holocene did the Holocene Turnover occur in?
the Late Holocene
What was the Holocene Turnover?
abrupt changes in atmospheric and oceanic conditions that led to changes in weather
The Holocene began 11,700 years ago using what years as a marker for the present?
2000 CE
What is one pitfall of scholarly fields in climatology?
they typically date past events
What do scholars use as the reference date for the year 0?
the birth of Christ
What does BC stand for?
Before Christ
What does AD stand for?
Anno Domini
What is Anno Domini Latin for?
“In the year of our Lord”
What is the term that equates to AD?
CE
What is the term that equates to BC?
BCE
What does CE stand for?
Common Era
What does BCE stand for?
Before Common Era
How long did the Pleistocene Epoch last?
2.6 million years ago
How long does Earth’s history span?
4 billion years
What is a pitfall of trying to synchronize climate history and human history?
the different scales of historical timelines, human history lasted a minuscule amount of time compared to nature’s vast existence
What 2 dates are commonly used when dating events that occurred thousands of years ago?
1950 CE and 2000 CE
Does it matter if sources use 1950 CE or 2000 CE to date past events from thousands of years ago?
No, 50 years is hardly a margin of error given the amount of time that has passed since it occurred
Why were humans largely unaware of any climatic change that might have happened in their lifetime?
because of the slow rate climate changes at
When did large, agricultural societies begin to emerge?
3500 BCE
What was different about the large, agricultural societies that emerged in 3500 BCE and after?
they were much larger, agriculturally based, and people stayed there for their entire lives
What consisted in the complex social structure of early agricultural societies?
groups called classes, which showed status
What is another word for agrarian?
farming
How were early agrarian communities closely linked with nature?
through their crops and animals they had
Where was Mesopotamia?
present-day Iraq
Mesopotamian water supply came from where?
the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
What enhanced the Mesopotamian water supply?
human-built irrigation systems
When did the Sumerians rule Mesopotamia?
3600 to 3000 BCE
Who was ruling Mesopotamia in 2250 BCE?
the Akkadians, with the Akkadian Empire
2250 BCE marks the boundary between what periods of the Holocene?
the Middle Holocene and Late Holocene
What notable climate-related event happened in 2250 BCE in Mesopotamia?
Abrupt climate changes resulted in cooler and dryer conditions, could possibly be linked to the fall of the Akkadian Empire in 2218 BCE
When was the Akkadian Empire?
2334 to 2218 BCE
What country is the Nile Delta in?
Egypt
What body of water did the Egyptians live near?
the Nile Delta
When did the Egyptians start their form of writing?
3200 BCE
When did the Egyptians build the pyramids by?
2500 BCE