Power Point 1 Slides--Early Man

Question 1

What is History?

Answer 1

History is the study of Human Actions

Question 2

What is essential to the study of History?

Answer 2

FACTS

TRUTH FROM TRUSTWORTHY SOURCES

Question 3

What are the two types of sources used in History?

Answer 3

1. Primary–created close to the event Examples: fossils, diaries, etc. Static–do not change Must be timely, ideally should be verifiable (does it match other accounts)
2. Secondary–created later–should be based on primary sources but not written by an eyewitness to the event. Fluid–change over time. Ex. books written now about events from long ago May find more sources, interpret primary sources differently, etc.

Question 4

What is the historical context?

Answer 4

Must put our mindset in the times when events happened. Cannot judge them by our modern standards.

Question 5

What is Ad Fontes?

Answer 5

To the sources….good history is based on sources as close to the event as possible. Helps us recreate the context of history.

Question 6

What is another name for the Paleolithic Era?

Answer 6

Old Stone Age

Question 7

How would you describe the lifestyle of humans during the Paleolithic Era?

Answer 7

Using tools for the first time
Nomadic (on the move)  
Hunting (men) and gathering(women)
Small bands of 20-30 humans working together
Shelters mostly caves

Question 8

What is a good example of primary sources from the Paleolithic Era?

Answer 8

Cave paintings

Question 9

What is a common image in cave paintings and why?

Answer 9

Bull–“Cult of the Bull” symbol of power

Question 10

What can we learn about the world in the Paleolithic Era from the cave paintings?

Answer 10

We can learn about climate and the environment from plants and the animals depicted.
We can learn that early men, like us, could conceptualize ideas and express them.

Question 11

What purpose did the cave paintings serve?

Answer 11

There are many possible reasons why the paintings were made (document hunting, trying to prepare for a good hunting outing??). Professor Eagen mentioned one other purpose–humans documenting that they were there.

Question 12

What are the two important migration theories?

Answer 12

Radiation–“out of Africa” human life started there and Home sapiens moved out into the rest of the world
Parallel migration–Homo sapiens originated in around 10-11 different places including Africa, Europe, Asia, etc. (not as much evidence to support this)

Question 13

What was Homo erectus?

Answer 13

Upright man

Question 14

Who were the Neanderthals?

Answer 14

(Note: While they evolved from Home erectus they are their own species: Homo neanderthalis.) Estimates of when they lived vary. The slide says 2,000,000 to 30,000 BCE. While Homo erectus did go back as far as 2,000,000 BCE, Ch. 1 in your text says Neanderthals were estimated to have started 150,000 BCE and to have died out around 30,000 BCE. They had sturdy bodies but brains were not as developed as Homo sapiens. They lived in Europe and Asia.

Question 15

What does Home sapiens mean?

Answer 15

Wise human being

Question 16

Who were the Cro-Magnon men?

Answer 16

A type of Homo sapiens that lived from 250,000 to 10,000 BCE–according to your professor’s slide. They competed with and interbred with Neanderthals in Europe.

Question 17

When was the Last Ice Age?

Answer 17

70,000 BCE - 10,000 BCE

Question 18

What came out of the “evolutionary bottleneck” of the Last Ice Age?

Answer 18

Neanderthals disappeared as a separate type of human. At the end of the Ice Age we start to see human civilizations developing.

Question 19

What is the Neolithic Age and when was it?

Answer 19

Means New Stone Age, approximately 10,000 BCE to 4000 BCE.

Question 20

What are important differences between the Neolithic and the Paleolithic Eras?

Answer 20

Neolithic–more stationary lifestyle–less nomadic
larger groups live together
Agricultural Revolution
domestication of animals

Question 21

What did your professor mean by “critical mass”?

Answer 21

When populations grew, and more people lived together, they came up with revolutionary ideas.

Question 22

How did humans domesticate animals?

Answer 22

An example of primitive genetic engineering. They kept animals who had the characteristics they wanted–larger, more gentle, etc.

Question 23

Approximately when did the Agricultural Revolution take place?

Answer 23

8000-5000 BCE

Question 24

Where did agriculture develop?

Answer 24

It developed independently in several areas of the world. Middle East was earliest, then India, Central America, China, and then SE Asia.

Question 25

What is subsistence farming?

Answer 25

It means only growing enough food to feed yourself and get through the year.

Question 26

What is an example of a technique which led to increased crop yields?

Answer 26

Crop rotation.

Question 27

What happened when there were more food surpluses?

Answer 27

More food to feed people leads to more people.