Week 2 Flashcards
Human Evolution
refers to the process that occurred over millions of years by which humans originated from apelike ancestors, leading to the modern human species, Homo Sapiens.
Hominids
refers to the family of great apes, including humans, chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans.
Neanderthals
an extinct species of hominids that were closely related to Homo Sapiens.
Homo Sapiens
the species name for modern humans. Homo Sapiens are characterized by a highly developed brain.
Hunter Gatherer
a term describing human societies that rely on hunting, fishing, and gathering wild plants rather than agriculture.
Ethnographic Analogy
a method used where the behavior of contemporary or historically recorded cultures is used to draw inferences about the behavior and social organization of past societies, particularly prehistoric ones.
Animism
a religious belief system that attributes a spiritual essence or consciousness to animals, plants, inanimate objects, and natural phenomena.
Immediate Return Systems
a term used to describe societies where people consume their food immediately after obtaining it, rather than storing it for future use.
Delayed Return Systems
a term used to describe societies where food and other resources are collected, processed, and stored for future use.
Patrilinear Descent
A system of lineage in which an individual’s family membership and inheritance are traced through the male line, typically from father to son.
Matrilinear Descent
A system of lineage in which an individual’s family membership and inheritance are traced through the female line, typically from mother to daughter.
Hadar, Ethiopia
a key archaeological site where the famous Australopithecus afarensis skeleton known as ‘Lucy,’ dating to around 3.2 million years ago, was discovered, providing crucial evidence for early human evolution.
Turkana Basin, Kenya
an essential region for paleoanthropological research, yielding numerous fossils of early hominins, including Homo habilis and Homo erectus, and shedding light on early human ancestors’ evolution and migration.
Shanidar Cave, Iraq
a significant Neanderthal archaeological site where remains of ten Neanderthals were found, some of which showed evidence of ritual burial, offering insights into Neanderthal culture and behavior.
Mezhirich, Ukraine
an important Upper Paleolithic site where mammoth bone dwellings were discovered, providing evidence of complex prehistoric human habitation and social organization in cold climates around 15,000 years ago.
Beringia
the land bridge that once connected Siberia and Alaska, is crucial for understanding the migration of humans and animals into the Americas during the last Ice Age.
Bering Strait
a waterway between Russia and Alaska, marks the location of the ancient Beringia land bridge, which played a key role in the peopling of the Americas.
Altamira Cave, Spain
renowned for its Upper Paleolithic cave paintings, particularly of bison, which are among the earliest known examples of prehistoric art in Europe, dating to around 36,000 years ago.
Chauvet Cave, France
contains some of the oldest known cave paintings, dating back over 30,000 years, offering a window into the early artistic abilities and symbolic thinking of prehistoric humans.
Lascaux Cave, France
famous for its exceptional Paleolithic cave paintings, dating to around 17,000 years ago, depicting a variety of animals and providing deep insight into the symbolic and artistic expressions of early humans.
Hohlenstein-Stadel
a cave in Germany where one of the oldest known examples of figurative art, the Lion Man, was discovered.
Lion Man
a prehistoric ivory sculpture dating back approximately 40,000 years. It is one of the earliest known representations of a human-animal hybrid.
