Unit 1: Global Prehistory

Question 1

Prehistory

Answer 1

the age before written record

Question 2

Stratigraphy

Answer 2

archaeological technique of deducing information about an object/site by mapping its relative position (oldest things at the bottom, newest at the top)

Question 3

Radiocarbon dating

Answer 3

radioactive carbon (carbon-14) is present in all organisms. The amount of non-decayed carbon-14 left in a sample determines how long it has been since an organism died (useful for bone, antler, shell, and other bio-materials)

Question 4

Contextual evidence

Answer 4

an object’s function, purpose, age, etc. Determined from evidence found in close proximity of the object (its “site”)

Question 5

Homo migration

Answer 5

faciliated by climate change

Question 6

Paleolithic

Answer 6

• old; 40,000-9,000 BCE
• cold climate
• Hunter-gatherer societies
• subjects in art = animals and fertile women

Question 7

Mesolithic

Answer 7

middle; 9,000-8,000 BCE

Question 8

Neolithic

Answer 8

• new; 8,000 - 2,300 BCE
• warmer than Paleolithic
• Neolithic Revolution + Fertlie Crescent
• art involved more narrative scenes, human figures, fixed settlements, and the beginning of architecture

Question 9

Relief sculpture

Answer 9

sculpture where an image projects from the background

Question 10

Neolithic Revolution

Answer 10

plants/animals domesticated (beginning of agriculture) humans begin to settle in permanent homes/buildings

Question 11

Fertile Crescent

Answer 11

“sweet spot” for the first human civilization + permanent settlements. Plenty of water, sun, and natural resources

Question 12

Menhir

Answer 12

Large stone erected on its own/in rows

Question 13

Megalith

Answer 13

rectangular prism-shaped menhir used to construct a complex

Question 14

Post and Lintel

Answer 14

Post stands vertically and lintel lays across post horizontally