Global: Foundations of Civilizations Study

Prehistory

Period of time before people invented writing and kept records. These allow scholars to study the past c 2mil BC - c 300 BC.

Historians

People who study and write about how people lived. They study artifacts, objects made by humans to learn about their past. Their purpose is to explain and interpret what the evidence means that caused certain developments of events.

Anthropology

The study of culture.

Archeology

Study of people and culture through artifacts

Artifacts

Objects made by humans like tools, buildings, weapons, art, pottery, and clothing that are usually found and studied by archaeologists.

Culture

A society’s way of life handed down from one generation to another through learning an experience.

Cultural Universal

The common traits, beliefs, gestures, and other features of human life that ALL cultures share.

Primary Sources

Sources that were created at the time under study. It serves as an original source of info.

Secondary Sources

Source of info created later by someone who didn’t experience first hand or participate in events.

Political Scientists

Study government systems. They measure their effectiveness, stability, justice, wealth peace and public health.

Economists

Study of choice under scarcity. How people use resources, the study of decision making. The economy is the system for coordinating the production and distribution of goods and services.

Technology

Tools created to meet the needs of people. (Metal tools and weapons introduced later on).

Bipedalism

Locomoting on 2 legs (one of the major biological innovations of the human lineage).

Hominids

Group that includes humans and their relatives that walk upright on two feet.

Traditional Economy

• Based on customs, habits, and immediate needs

• Produce what they need (food) on a subsistence level → no surplus

• Labor intensive

• Not equipped to deal with major changes in the natural or social (people) environment

Migration

Learned to travel across water into new places.

Paleolithic Era (Old Stone Age)

The time period from the evolution of the genus “homo,” human-like beings, to around 9,000 BCE when modern day humans started to farm. Modern-day humans evolved around 250,000 BCE, then spread across the world in search of food.

Nomads

People who frequently move from place to place in search of food, never living in one place for very long.

Neolithic Era (New Stone Age)

Period in time in human history that came after the start of agriculture and before the development of the first civilizations during which people started creating and using metal tools (The Bronze Age).

Neolithic Revolution

Transition from nomadic life to settled life through the introduction of agriculture (farming) and domestication.

Domestication

The act of changing a wild plant or animal so it can be grown or raised by humans.

Surplus

Amount of something that is more than needed.

Silt

Bits of rock and dirt from river bottoms.

Animism

Belief that spirits exist in animals, objects, or dreams.

Polytheism

Belief in many Gods.

Monotheism

Belief in one God.

Cultural Diffusion

Spread of ideas, customs, and technology from one person to another. Migration, trade, and warfare caused these to spread.

Ethnocentrism

Belief that one’s race, culture, or nation is superior to all others.

Elements of Civilization

• Organized Governments

• Complex Religion

• Job Specialization

• Establishment of Social Classes

• Arts and Agriculture

• Public Works Projects

• Writing/Language

• Cities

Steppes

Non-fertile land or dry grassland.

Artisans

Skilled Crafts people that specialize in certain jobs.

Pictographs

Simple drawings used to represent words, symbols, or letters.

City-State

A political unit that includes a city and its surrounding lands and villages.

Empire

A group of states or territories controlled by one ruler.

Command Economy

• Totalitarian (gov has total control over nearly every aspect of society)

• Based on gov needs

• Not flexible; slow moving

• Command economies have difficulty adapting to both internal and external changes

• No competition and no choices for customers.

Market Economy

• Free enterprise capitalism

• Decisions are made by individuals and consumers

• They are flexible and constantly changing/adapting

• Business owners decide what to make, how much to make, and how much to charge

• Consumers decide where to buy and from who to buy from

• Business activity fluctuates - sometimes insecure or unstable

Mixed Economy

• Blend of market economy with some government regulation

• Gov regulates industries that have no competitors or who specialize in using natural resources

• Transportation

• Electricity

Positive Impacts of Bipedalism

• Better field of vision

• Free forelimbs

• Energy efficiency

• Faster movements

Negative Impacts of Bipedalism

• Loss of ability of climb trees

• Improper balance

• Back and knee aches

Changes from quadrupedal to bipedal

• Larger heel to support body weight

• Longer legs and smaller hands, shoulders, and rib cage

• Larger hip joints to support body weight

• Increased brain size

• More muscle strength on the legs and less on the hands

What does SCLARGE stand for?

Acronym for culture:

Social organization, customs and traditions, language, art/architecture, religion, government, and economic system

What are the characteristics of the Paleolithic Era

Nomads, Hunters and Gatherers, stone tools, building fires, animals skin for clothing, developed a form of language, migration, cultural diffusion, animism

Why did humans spread around the world?

To follow migrating animal herds and to find areas with more food to gather.

Characteristics of The Neolithic Revolution

Domestication and created a reliable food source - no more moving around.

Interdependence

People working/relying on each other to fulfill a task.

Civilization

(complex and organized social order) were established from the rising number of cities growing from river valleys.