Soc Sci S2 Facts Flashcards
During what epoch did humans have thrive like never before
Holocene
What is the last surviving members of the Homo genus
Homo sapiens
Humans thrived under what conditions
Conditions of the Holocene
What ended at the start of the Holocene
the last ice age
Most of human history took place in what epoch
Pleistocene Epoch
What covered vast portions of the Earth’s surface during the Pleistocene Epoch
glaciers
What characterizes the Pleistocene Epoch
Cycles of glaciers growing or receding and at times, covering vast portions of the Earth’s surface
Parts of Europe that were covered by ice in the Last Glacial Maximum
Scandinavia, the British Isles, and parts of Central Europe
Parts that were covered by ice in the Last Glacial Maximum
Part of Europe including Scandinavia, the British Isles, and parts of Central Europe, and most of North America
Which continent experienced permafrost during the LGM
Asia
What has happened to the ice in the world’s ocean since the LGM
the ice has receded and melted into the ocean, but not evenly over time
Warming caused by what contributed to a major glacial meltwater event that started around 14,000 years ago
solar cycles
What effect did the major glacial meltwater have on the ocean and warming trends
It cooled ocean temperature and reversed warming trends for roughly a millennium
What was the cold millennium (c. 12,900 - 11,700 years ago) known as
Younger Dryas period
Throughout what period does the interglacial period follow a longer pattern of ice growing and receding in cycles
The Quaternary Period
WHat epochs does the Quaternary Period consist of
the Pleistocene and the Holocene
What affects the amount of solar energy the Earth absorbs at different times
Milankovitch cycles
What is the dominant forcing that moves the climate back and forth between ice ages and interglacial warm periods
the differences in solar energy over time
According to the factors that had dominated the Earth’s climate, what should the Earth be doing right now
The Earth would likely be cooling right now
What is the Earth doing instead of cooling
The planet is rapidly warming
Another name for the Early Holocene Subseries/Subepoch
Greenlandian Stage/Age
Another name for the Middle Holocene Subseries/Subepoch
Northgrippian Stage/Age
Another name for the Late Holocene Subseries/Subepoch
Meghalayan Stage/Age
What occurred during the warmest period of the Holocene
The Early Holocene
The ending date of the Early Holocene coincides with what event
A meltwater even in Canada when a glacial ice sheet collapsed
The classification of the Early Holocene as the Greenlandian Stage/Age refers to what
The ice core in Greenland, NGRIP2
What bears evidence of the onset of the Holocene at a depth of 1,492.45 meters into the ice
The ice core in Greenland, NGRIP2
What have humans already done by the start of the Holocene
Humans had already migrated out of Africa
Where did humans migrate at the start of the Holocene
migrated out of Africa across Eurasia to the east and west, to Australia, and to the Americas from the north to south
New research have investigates human practices during the Early Holocene where
The Iberian Peninsula at the western edge of Europe and in Madagascar off the east coast of Africa
In North America, the beginning of the Holocene appears to coincide with
the extinction of dozens of large mammals
During the Early Holocene humans still what
Largely hunted and maintained mobile communities
What practices increased during the Early Holocene
Agricultural practices
What does the Middle Holocene (Northgrippian) refer to
An ice core from the same location in Greenland bearing evidence of cooling temperatures compared to the Early Holocene
Where was the collapse of the glacial Laurentide Ice Sheet
Canada
What did the collapse of the glacial Laurentide Ice Sheet lead to
Accelerated the flow of icy water into the ocean
DEspite the flow of cold water into the ocean, what as the temperature in the Northern Hemisphere
High
Why did temperatures begin to decline around 7,300 years ago, between 5300 and 2700 BCE
Weakened solar energy
What developments were seen in Eurasia during the Middle Holocene
The development of some practices that have traditionally been regarded as key historical markers for humanity
What transition was seen in the later centuries of the Middle Holocene
Stone Age to Bronze Age
What did humans begin to utilize during the transition from Stone Age to Bronze Age
Metal instruments
The most notable socially stratified agricultural society around 5,500 years ago , or 3500 BCE
Mesopotamia civilization
The Holocene Turnover abrupt changes in atmospheric and oceanic conditions led to what
Sudden alterations in weather conditions around the world
Historical narratives of various parts of the world date back to
the start of the Late Holocene or earlier
What is one pitfall in the scholarly fields in climatology
They typically date past events according to how long ago they happened
What do Western scholars and global scholars use to find dates
They use a calendar system that counts down to the year 0, corresponding with the estimated date of the birth of Jesus, and backed up from there
Another pitfall in the scholarly fields in climatology
It’s hard to conceptually grasp the different scales of the historical timelines for each
The whole human history from the start of the Mesopotamia civilization to the present falls within a
tiny sliver of climate history
WHat have humans done starting around 3500 BCE
cultivated some crops
What societies were larger than previous human settlements
New agriculturally based societies
What modifications did humans do in their local environments in the agricultural based societies
building impressive structures
What types of things were developed in early agrarian societies
forms of writing, initially for recordkeeping and were often employed for other purposes as well, including storytelling
If society relied on agriculture, what can be seen in the theme of climate
any climatic impact on crops should mark a direct tie between climate and human society
The complexities of interactions between humans and climate can be seen in what famous early agrarian societies
Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, and the Americas
Location of Mesopotamia
In and around the current national boundaries of Iraq
What was home to Mesopotamia
The most influential empires in Eurasian history
What did the region of Mesopotamia receive more of
rainfall during the establishment of its early societies
Where did the Mesopotamia region get its water supply from
the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
How was the water supply in the Mesopotamia augmented
by human-built irrigation systems
What did the Sumerians in Mesopotamia develop
writing, a priestly class, and planned cities between around 3600 and 3000 BCE
Subsequent powers in the region of Mesopotamia includes
Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians, and Persians
What was the result of the abrupt climate changes in Mesopotamia and nearby regions around 2250 BCE
cooler and drier conditions
Where is the Nile Delta located
Egypt
What did the Egyptians utilize around 3200 BCE and built
their own form of writing and built colossal monuments including the pyramids
The onset of a drought in Egypt is linked to
The collapse of the Old Kingdom
Due to what led scholars to study Egypt for insights into the history of human efforts to protect sustainable farming conditions
well-preserved records of ancient Egyptians’ irrigation practices and manipulations of the Nile River
Where is the Indus Civilization located
In the Indus Valley in modern Pakistan
Was one of the largest and most developed societies in the world
the Indus Civilization
The 3 periods of the Indus
The Early Harappan phase, the Mature Harappan phase, and the Late Harappan phase
What was the Early Harappan characterized by
population growth, new settlements, and urbanization
Which Inca phase saw the most advanced features of the society
Mature Harappan
Advanced features of the Mature Harappan
highly stratified social groups, complex city panning with gridded streets and drainage, and trade between multiple villages and urban centers
What happened during the Late Harappan
Populations moved out of urban centers in favor of smaller village settlements
Where did humans for societies with many of the same features as the early agrarian societies of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and India
the Western Hemisphere of the globe
Where is the Andes Mountains
Along the west coast of South America in modern-day Peru
What culture was included in the Andean civilization
the Chavin culture
What took control of the Andean civilization and the entire region
Inca Empire
Who ruled in Mesoamerica around 1200 - 400 BCE
the Olmec
What other two civilization took control of Mesoamerica
Maya and Aztec
What was the Holocene in the Americas in the Eastern Hemisphere marked by
fluctuating climatic conditions
What was the result of Alexander the Great’s conquests
Established a shared common language, Greek, and shared cultural points of reference throughout all the regions he visited
In 117 CE, the Romans ruled much of
Alexander’s realm to the east and even more land to the west on both the African and European boundaries of the Mediterranean Sea
What did the cooler and wetter areas of the Mediterranean in the 8th - 5th centuries provide
Favorable conditions for farming and population growth
What was featured during the peak of Rome’s power (from around 150 BCE - 250 CE)
Stable conditions and stable rainfall in important portions of the empire
The fall of Rome represents
the transition from antiquity to the Middle Ages or the medieval period
What began at the end of the Middle Ages
the so-called early modern period
The Renaissance is the cultural even that
bridges the transition from the medieval to the early modern period
The Middle Ages have been described as
the Dark Ages
Why were the Middle Ages described as the Dark Ages
Because of supposed decline in culture and technology
What climate event fits the narrative of the fall of Rome
The climate anomaly of 536 CE
WHat serves as the forcing factor that ushered the 536 CE event
Volcanic Eruptions
What resulted from the 536 CE event
several cold summers in the Northern Hemisphere over the next decade and a half
Where is a remarkable collection of human records located
China
Over China’s history, warming periods coincided with
population growth
Scholars who have studied plant growth determined that from 2000 to 1600 BCE agricultural practices and a complex society allowed
people to withstand the stress of a dry spell in China
The most well-known and well-researched climatic event of the Late Holocene
Little Ice Age (LIA)
LIA was a period of
cooler global temperature on average
The cooling of the LIA was not
consistent over the centuries it spanned
During the years of LIA, temperatures were
cooler often enough and cooler in enough places that they brought down global temperatures on average
What did the beginning of LIA witness in the 1300s
the Black Death
The Black Death plague spread via
trade networks spanning Eurasia
The European population grew when
European states made contact with the Western Hemisphere and immediately began a system of colonialism
Why is it hard to divide the LIA into clear sections
LIA is more of a conglomeration of events than one single event
What was the leading cause of the LIA
Volcanic forcings and periods of lower solar activity identified by a lack of sunspots
The minima corresponds to three periods of _______ in ________
of glacial advances in the European Alps
The effects of the cooling in the LIA were notable in the
Northern Hemisphere
European contact with the Americas made the Atlantic Ocean
a route heavily traveled by humans
What attempted route by the Europeans was never materialized
the North Pole
Europeans expected that the whole globe shared the same
climate conditions they experienced around the Mediterranean Sea
The world the Europeans first discovered was
the world during the LIA
The oversea empire Europeans built throughout the 1500s include
the Portuguese, the Spanish, the Dutch, the British, and the French
What interacted with cultural and economic conditions in Spain and England in the 1590s
A cold spell
What did the cold spell in the 1590s encouraged Spanish and English residents to do
impoverished stay in Spain and move to urban center, while English residents were incentivized to move overseas and participate in settler colonialism
Frozen seas to the north blocked
the Dutch Empire in its attempt to find a maritime route to China
One outcome of the LIA for parts of Africa
a decrease in rainfall and a rise in drought conditions
What did the Sahel region in Africa experience during LIA
drying events
Which region in Africa experienced drying events during LIA
Sahel region
What did China experience during LIA
cooler temperatures
What were weather patterns disrupted by in South Asia during LIA
weak monsoon rains
What did China suffer during the 17th century like most other regions in Eurasia
suffered social unrest but managed to diversify its crops and stabilize food prices
What helped equi Native Americans for the LIA much better than the European settlers
Indigenous survival practices
Why were the navies of the Spanish, English, and French repeatedly stymied by the weather
because of their inability to adapt to and anticipate local conditions
Where were the SPanish, English, and French fighting to get a foothold in during LIA
Florida
Cold weather in Florida during the LIA did what
slowed the process of colonialism there but also exacerbated violence against local populations
What did colonists do when the harsh weather during LIA limited available resources
colonists sought to forcibly take food supplies that Indigenous populations had shared
What did colonists do when the harsh weather during LIA limited available resources What did European newcomers on the western side of North America octen become reliant on
They became relient on local populations for survival after venturing out to new regions
What did modern scientific outlook replace during the Scientific Revolution
superstition
