Unit 1 Flashcards
Artifact
A human-made object, such as a tool, weapon, or piece of jewelry.
Culture
A people’s unique way of life, as shown by its tools, customs, arts, and ideas.
Hominid
A member of a biological group including human beings and related species that walk upright.
Paleolithic Age
A prehistoric period that lasted from about 2,500,000 to 8000 B.C., during which people made use of crude stone tools and weapons - also called the Old Stone Age.
Neolithic Age
A prehistoric period that began about 8000 B.C. and in some areas ended as early as 3000 B.C., during which people learned to polish stone tools, make pottery, grow crops, and raise animals - also called the New Stone Age.
Technology
The way in which people apply knowledge, tools, and inventions to meet their needs.
Homo Sapiens
The biological species to which modern human beings belong.
Nomad
A member of a group that has no permanent home, wandering from place to place in search of food and water.
Hunter-Gatherer
A member of a nomadic group whose food supply depends on hunting animals and collecting plant foods.
Neolithic Revolution
The major change in human life caused by the beginnings of farming - that is, by people’s shift from food gathering to food producing.
Slash - and - Burn Farming
A farming method in which people clear fields by cutting and burning trees and grasses, the ashes of which serve to fertilize the soil.
Domestication
The taming of animals for human use.
Civilization
A form of culture characterized by cities, specialized workers, complex institutions, record keeping, and advanced technology.
Specialization
The development of skills in a particular kind of work, such as trading or record keeping.
Artisan
A skilled worker, such as a weaver or a potter, who makes goods by hand.
Institution
A long-lasting pattern of organization in a community.
Scribe
One of the professional record keepers in early civilizations.
Cuneiform
A system of writing with wedge-shaped symbols, invented by the Sumerians.
Bronze Age
A period in human history, beginning around 3000 B.C. in some areas, during which people began using bronze, rather than copper or stone, to fashion tools and weapons.
Barter
A form of trade in which people exchange goods and services without the use of money.
Ziggurat
A tiered, pyramid-shaped structure that formed part of a Sumerian temple.
papyrus
Reeds which were used to make a paper for writing in Egypt
pharaoh
The Egyptian god-king
empire
brings together several peoples, places, nations, or previously independent states under the control of one ruler
Polytheism
The belief in more than one god
City-States
Cities with their own government which function independently but that share their culture with surrounding cities
Fertile Crescent
The curved shape rich land that includes land facing the Mediterranean Sea and a plain where Mesopotamia lay.
hieroglyphics
The flexible writing system developed by the ancient Egyptians
pyramid
The immense structure that was the pharaoh’s tomb
delta
A broad, marshy, triangular, area of land formed by deposits of silt at the mouth of the river
Hammurabi
The ruler of the Babylonian Empire who governed when the civilization reached its peak (1792-1750 BC) and he created a single uniform code of law for all people
Dynasty
A series of rulers from a single family
Mesopotamia
region of fertile crescent where the first civilization and empire arose
theocracy
is a form of government in which the ruler is viewed as a divine figure
babylon
a city in Mesopotamia that became an important capital in the first empire of the Mesopotamian region
narmer
the name of the pharaoh given credit for uniting Upper and Lower Egypt into one unified kingdom and civilization.
mummification
process of embalming and drying corpses to prevent them from decaying
nile
river whose flood cycles help build Egyptian civilization
