Prehistory and Early Humans Vocabulary Flashcards

Vocabulary terms and essential concepts from the Prehistory and Early Humans Study Guide.

Agricultural Revolution

Large-scale shift from hunting/gathering to farming, which allowed humans to produce large quantities of food

Anthropology

The study of humans and their development, including human culture and human behavior

Bering Strait

A narrow passage of water located between Russia and Alaska, where it is believed that humans crossed a frozen land bridge from Asia to North America during the Ice Ages

Domestication

Planting foods and breeding animals that are useful for humans

Hominids

Early relatives to modern-day humans

Homo sapiens

"Wise man" and the group including modern-day humans, which is believed to be the first hominid to develop language

Hunter-Gatherers

People who hunt animals and gather wild plants to acquire food

Ice Ages

Time periods with consistently freezing temperatures throughout the world

Migration

Movement from one location to another, in order to establish a new permanent settlement

Nomads

Person without a permanent home, either individually or as a community, who move from place to place

Prehistory

The time period before written records

Society

A group of people living together within a community

Stone Ages

Period of time where humans invented and primarily used stone tools

Archaeologists

Scientists who study prehistory based upon what earlier people left behind

Artifact

An object made by humans

Fossil

The remains of something that was once alive

Five Major Hominids

Listed in chronological order: Australopithecus, Homo habilis, Homo erectus, Neanderthals, Homo sapiens

Three Eras of the Stone Ages

Listed in chronological order: Paleolithic Era, Mesolithic Era, Neolithic Era

Order of Human Continent Migration

Excluding Antarctica: Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, South America

Land Bridge

A strip of Earth's surface connecting two continents, which allowed early humans to migrate from Asia to North America when glaciers lowered sea levels

Ötzi

The Iceman studied by researchers to learn about prehistory, specifically the transition from stone to copper weapons in Europe

Paleolithic Era

The Stone Age era during which early humans lived as hunter-gatherers, controlled fire, communicated with language, and made cave paintings

Neolithic Era

The Stone Age era during which early humans started living as farmers, forming communities, and building stone monuments called megaliths

Megaliths

Stone monuments built by early humans during the Neolithic Era

Transition Event between Stone Age Eras

The Agricultural Revolution, which marked the transition between the Paleolithic Era and the Neolithic Era

Global Migration Duration

Approximately 100,000 years - 150,000 years, which is how long it took early humans to migrate around the world