Humanities Mid term

homo sapiens

Early form of humans that originated in Africa around 250 million years ago. Part of early civilizations that introduced agriculture, hierarchy, tools, art, and writing systems. Significant because they are the creators of the humanities and the subject of study for it.

human migration

Around 100,000-60,000 BCE humans begin to migrate out of Africa. Significant because it paved the roadmap for society and everything we have today globally.

cuneiform

Ancient writing system made in Mesopotamia. The first written language. Made by punching in symbols into clay and letting it dry and harden. Significant because it represents the dawn of recorded human history and literature. Used to preserve human thoughts, societies, and other aspects that would be lost without its use.

norte chico

Oldest known civilization in Peru. Significant because it proves there was actually a civilization older than people knew about.

the paleolithic period

from 3 million years ago to around 10,000 BC. Also known as the “stone age.” A period when human species emerged, prehistory before writing. Emerging from it was the hominid family where we see bipedalism, bigger more sophisticated brains, and hunter-gatherers to forage food. We see the development of tools from hand axes to bone needles. Significant because it is the early origins of humans and we see homo sapiens evolve to eat meat, control fire, and travel overtime.

neolithic revolution

The movement of change from hunter gathering to the agricultural revolution that began 12,000 years ago. People began to settle down and cultivate crops and the early breeding of certain animals for domestication. Significant because it began the development of early urban centers and trade.

fertile crescent

An area surrounding the Tigris and Euphrates river that is todays Iraq, Syria, and borders the Arabian desert. Flooded yearly causing fertile land. Causes innovations in farming, food planning, division of labor and a hierarchy as well as larger populations and settlements. Significant because it is a part of the foundation for everything and what humanity would become and shows how humans are settling down instead of being nomadic.

aristotle

Ancient Greek philosopher and a student of Plato. Examined concepts and principles of psychology and human nature. Made the idea of a mean and virtues. Significant because he provided a lot of the groundwork for philosophy, ethics, science and more.

platos three parts of the soul

An Athenian philosopher and student of Socrates who also founded an Academy in Athens. Said the soul had three parts, the rational, the spirited, and the appetitive. These are the things that make people just and justice can be achieved when all three parts interact. Rational- thinking with reason and calculation Spirited- being courageous, passionate and feel anger Appetites- something pleasurable and wanted, thirst hunger etc. Significant because it influence modern ethics and psychology.

cave art

Art expression made from different materials starting back in the late paleolithic era. Depicts what life looked like back then and what was seen, people, animals, ideas etc. Significant because it shows humans now have time to create, not just survival.

I am I exist/ I think therefore I am

An idea created by French philosopher Rene Descartes around the 1500s. Significant because it marks the shift from the divine to people having their own conscious and free will, and proof of reality comes from inside of people and questioning everything.

ziggurat

Pyramids built of mud brick found in Mesopotamia, that held shrines at the top. Used to worship their god. Significant because Ziggurat had so much wealth and people going to it it caused the first written language to form, cuneiform.

virtue

Rooted in Plato and Aristotle, the good features and things that constitute people like courage, truthfulness, etc. There is an excess, deficiency, and a mean. To be virtuous you strive to be in the mean, the greatness of the soul. Significant because it gives a mode of evaluating human nature, giving reason to why people do what they do and what people value the most.

monotheism

The belief in only one god instead of many. Belief is the ability to combine histories and experiences with imagination to think beyond the here and now. Researchers say ritual aspects began as early as the Paleolithic period. Why? psychological reasons, biological/cognitive reasons and social structure reasons.

Zoroastrianism

Roots in early 2nd millenium BCE in Central Asia. emerges as a formal religion under the Persian empires. Zoroaster is the founder. Has the sacred text “The Avesta” and praise the principle god of Ahuramazda. Significant because it was an important influence in Persian Empire and their ideas find their way into various religions.

Islams golden age

Islam spread eastward under the leadership of a new Muslim dynasty, the Abbasids and the capitol shifted to Baghdad, a city of more than 300,000 people. The city became an international trade center and expansive commercial activity enriched the community. No city could match the amount of educational instruction and boast a library as large as Baghdad. Significant because it bridged the ideas between different places and human knowledge. As well as lay the groundwork for Islam and why it and its people reach so far out in the world.

blood, phlegm, yellow and black bile

An idea by Hippocrates, the most famous of the Greek physicians and so-called father of medicine investigating the influence of diet and environment on general health. The idea that an imbalance among bodily “humors” was the cause of disease. Significant because the separation of the natural from supernatural was an essential to the birth of medical science and laid the groundwork for the rational investigation of the universe.

Kaaba/ Ka’ba

In Islam it is the most prominent religious shrine in the Arabian peninsula at the time, hosting various deities and gods. Significant because it shows how ritual and a sacred space can shape humanity, society and culture.

sexual selection

Idea introduced by Charles Darwin to explain traits that couldn’t be explained by natural selection. Driving the evolution of ornaments or things that would attract mates like peacock feathers. Significant because it links biology to culture and shows how things are effected when looking for a mate.

diseases of women

An excerpt by William Buchan, who was a Scottish physician best known for making disease and treatment accessible to “ordinary” people. His work describes the things that disease or ail women, a dull disposition, strait clothes that are too tight, unwholesome food, and women being confined inside. He argues that even though Nature has made the “order” for men and women that women should still be able to go outside and do things like men do. Significant because he wrote this for “ordinary” people so a lot more people were able to read it and his other works, as well as destigmatizing women’s illnesses.