PART 1: Prehistory and the "firsts"

Question 1

Paleolithic Age

Answer 1

Paleo=old, lithos=stone because stone tools see primary use
Majority of people are hunter-gatherers and nomadic
Predates agricultural, sedentary living (neolithic)

Question 2

Neolithic Age

Answer 2

SURPLUS is the key to the neolithic revolution
People agglomerate into sedentary living and the world experiences mass migration
Agriculture gives time for new technologies and methods of living (specialization and differentiation of labor) that improve civilization
Anthropocene=world changed by humans (atomic bomb)

Question 3

Hominid

Answer 3

Any human like creature
Predated the arrival of homo sapiens
Includes Neanderthals and species such as homo erectus

Question 4

Homo Sapiens

Answer 4

The modern human-the only surviving hominid
They are sentient- conscious of their awareness of life
Should the most modern humans be considered homo sapiens sapiens?

Question 5

Cave art

Answer 5

Greatest example=Lasaux (S France) by Magdalenians
People around the world began this practice at around the same time
Could have been for… (because they didn’t live in them)
-worship/religious
-preservation
-rite of passage (transformative moment in life)

Question 6

Dolmen

Answer 6

The first houses/examples of shelter
Made by rocks leaning up against each other
Great feat because the stones were very heavy

Question 7

Megalith

Answer 7

A large stone that forms a prehistoric monument

Most famous is Stonehenge

Question 8

Clovis culture

Answer 8

Refers to the culture of North America during the stone age-the whole continent used a specific stone spearhead that was unique from the rest of the world

Question 9

7 Cradles of Civilization

Answer 9

Indus=Harrapa 
HuangHe=Ban Po
Nile=Egypt
Mesopotamia=Sumer
Mesoamerica=Mayan, Aztec
Andean=Inca
Niger River=Jenna-Jeno

Question 10

Family > Clan > Tribe

Answer 10

The evolution of how humans group together
Family=parents and their children stay together
Clan=the oldest male is in charge of a larger group of biological relatives that intermarry
Tribe=multiple clans, ->stronger gene pool, ->leader rules with the consent and input from those he ruled

Question 11

Ban Po

Answer 11

Chinese ancient civilization
Pottery is the greatest example of technology
Circular houses (suggest more equality) but one is usually bigger and in the middle of the group
-Doors on the east
-Bury the dead in the NW corner

Question 12

Catal Huyuk

Answer 12

Anatolia
Developed around obsidian
Roofs of the square houses are all connected
People walk on the roof
Prevents invaders (and animals) from getting inside

Question 13

Jericho

Answer 13

Israel
Oldest neolithic village and place where humans have always inhabited
“World’s oldest storehouse of grain” the essential grains
Square houses

Question 14

Animistic

Answer 14

Religious belief that the world is full of lesser spirits that inhabit and govern all aspects of life and nature
->more respect for everything
Advanced abstract thought of afterlife

Question 15

Role of Prehistoric Women

Answer 15

More important because they needed to survive in order for the species to survive
Earliest statues and artifacts reflect this
Idealized natural cycles and fertility-lunar and menstrual cycles

Question 16

Migration

Answer 16

Humans became humans in Africa-knew how to hunt and fish-first animal to migrate all around the world
In order…
Asia: technology and culture emerged
Europe: Adapted to cold weather
North America: Clovis culture
Oceania: Australia and the rest by boat-spread culture

Question 17

Dreamtime

Answer 17

World outlook of Aboriginal people
Belief that their ancestors created the land and spred it between everyone
Everything stemmed from this beginning

Question 18

Ritual

Answer 18

A religious act due to a myth or belief

Question 19

Teo Sinte

Answer 19

Also known as maize, a crop native to mesoamerica

The first time humans mixed crops genetically

Question 20

Sumer

Answer 20

The first empire
Very small in size but is the nexus of trade-this makes them rich because they intersect and can tax the trade routes
Continuous warfare gives it power but depletes resources
Beginning of silk road trade for luxury goods-Egypt and Harrapa

Question 21

First City

Answer 21

Ur, Uruk, Eridu

To big to be described as village and has walls

Question 22

First Emporer

Answer 22

Sargon (Akkadian)

Unified the cities

Question 23

First Law Order

Answer 23

Lex Taleonis-Hammurabi’s code
“An eye for an eye”…if you are of the victim’s same class
Establishing law gives Ham. posthumous power

Question 24

First Library

Answer 24

Ashurbanipal (Assyrian)
Preserving knowledge for the future
He controls who’s books are admitted (power)

Question 25

First Language

Answer 25

Cuneiform=”wedge-shaped writing”
Seen mostly on receipts for products such as beer
Evolved over time

Question 26

First Epic

Answer 26

Gilgamesh (Akkadian)

Question 27

Ziggurat

Answer 27

Inclined plane efficient for building (Tower of Babel)
^Height is determined by area of the base
Axis mundi: the point at which the world turns; the top of the ziggurat is central and closest to God

Question 28

Animal Husbandry

Answer 28

The caring for, and manipulation of, animal species by humans dating from the neolithic period
Dog was the first domesticated animal

Question 29

Cosmogony

Answer 29

The belief of how the universe (cosmos) was created
Every religion has it
Goes from chaos (water)->order

Question 30

Venus

Answer 30

Eurasian Paleolithic figurines that display women with exaggerated sexual features
Reflects the praise of fertility
Were the women respected or objectified?
Ex: Willendorf Venus