Quiz for US History Flashcards
What does history mean?
Greek and means “inquiry”, study of past events in historical affairs
How do we study the historical past?
History , Archaeology , Anthropology
What is prehistory?
Period of time before advent of writing
How do historians learn about the past?
Through written material and artifacts (objects made by humans)
Who is Herodotus?
Father of History and wrote about the Persian Wars
Who is Thucydides?
He is considered the greatest historian and wrote about the Peloponnesian Wars
What is Anthropology?
Scholars who study the origins & development of people and societies
What is culture?
way of life of a society
What is Archaeology ?
The scientific study of material remains (ex. Fossils, artifacts and monuments)
Describe Australopithecines?
They were the earliest group of hominids and the females were smaller in stature , low forehead, long ridge over their eyes
Describe Homo Habilis
They were first hominids to make tools , “handy man”, tool increase in technology (skills & tools people use to meet their needs and wants), increase in brain case , decrease in size of teeth and face, flexible diet, broad range of foods
How do archaeologists know they had a flexible diet?
teeth, tools , marked bones = butchery
Describe Homo Erectus
Fully upright walkers, ‘upright man’ , migrated out of Africa to Europe & Asia , lived life on ground , cared for their young & old
When did the first human beings appear in Africa ?
approx 2 mil years ago
What is the “Land Bridge”?
The frozen pathway from Asia to North America
How and Why did the Paleo-Indians adapt to changes in the environment?
because the large mammals became extinct and they hunted smaller game and foraged for wild plants
What was the result of the changing environment?
increased diversification of culture as they adapted to their changing environments and they turned to agriculture (3000 B.C.)
What is Mesoamerica?
the mayans and the aztecs
Teotihuacan Pyramid
Mayans
Aztec City of Tenochtitlan
Aztec
How were North Americas livings less complex societies ?
Existence of clans and kinship networks, didn’t believe in the individual ownership of land, Matrilineal (inheriting or determining descent through the female line ) or Patrilineal ( inheriting or determining descent through the male line), were undermined by their own diversions, European incursions on their lands, economic, dislocation and disease
What are the 2 theories of crossing the Bering Strait ?
1) c.15,000 BC , people crossed via land bridge
2) People crossed using small boats in c.40,000 BC
When did the Ice Age climate warm up and what were the results ?
12,000-10,000 BC , the melting ice and thus oceans rose to current levels and environmental increased in diversity
What is adobe ?
sun dried brick
What are burial mounds?
earthen mounds constructed to bury important leaders and to enact major ceremonies
What is Chiefdom?
hierarchical social organization headed by a chief
What is the Cahokia ?
the largest ceremonial site in ancient NA
What is the Publo Bonito ?
largest residential & ceremonial site
Who were the Paleo-Indians ?
first migrants in NA
What is Clovis Point?
distinctively shaped spearhead used by Paleo-Indians
