vocab Geography, prehistory

Equator

An imaginary circle around the middle of the earth, halfway between the North Pole and the South Pole

Prime meridian

0 degrees longitude

carbon dating

a scientific method used to determine the age of an artifact

hemispheres

Halves of the globe divided by the equator and prime meridian

climate

Overall weather in an area over a long period of time

plateau

A large area of flat land elevated high above sea level

peninsula

A piece of land that is surrounded by water on three sides.

archipelago

A group of islands

region

an area of Earth distinguished by a distinctive combination of cultural and physical features

continent vs island

Islands are small pieces of land surrounded by water from all sides, Continent is the term given to huge continuous landmasses

ocean vs sea

Seas are smaller than oceans and are usually located where the land and ocean meet.

river and delta

The end of a river where rich deposits of silt build up. This is important to human habitation due to the excellent source of good farmland.

artifacts

object made by human beings, either hand

culture

Beliefs, customs, and traditions of a specific group of people.

hominids

A species on the human branch of the evolutionary tree; a member of the family Hominidae, including Homo sapiens and our ancestors

australopithecines

Any hominid that walked upright.

paleolithic age

(750,000 BCE

homo habilis

(man of skill) first to make stone tools, handyman, extinct species of upright east African hominid having some advanced humanlike characteristics.

homo erectus

"Upright man" these hominids became skillful hunters and invented more sophisticated tools for digging, scraping and cutting. They also became the first hominids to migrate from Africa. Also were the first to use fire.

homo sapiens

A species of the creatures Hominid who have larger brains and to which humans belong, dependent of language and usage of tools. Modern humans

neanderthals

In Europe, another human species lived and adapted to life in the cold climates of the last Ice Age.

Cro magnons

fully modern humans; found in Europe in 40,000-8,000 B.C., prehistorical, similar bone structure, closely resembled modern humans

archeologists

scientists who study human artifacts to learn about past cultures.

anthropologists

People who study the artifacts and remains of humans in order to learn about the cultures of these people.

paleontologists

Scientists who studies fossils

Neolithic Age

"New Stone Age"; About 10,000 years ago marked by advances in the production of stone tools. Shift from hunting and gathering to agriculture

technology

The application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes

hunter

gatherers

"Out of Africa" Theory

also called the replacement theory; this theory refers to when Homo sapiens sapiens began spreading out of Africa to other parts of the world about 100,000 years ago and replacing populations of earlier hominids in Europe and Asia

Lascaux Cave

A cave discovered in 1940 and containing exceptionally fine Paleolithic wall paintings and engravings

Stonehenge

a structure found by scientists in England is believed to have been built in the Neolithic Age and Bronze Age, 2500

nomads

people who wander from place to place

neolithic revolution

The switch from nomadic lifestyles to a settled agricultural lifestyle is this revolution. turning point in the stone age when humans began farming (10,000

slash-and-burn farming

a farming method in which people clear fields by cutting and burning trees and grasses, the ashes of which serve to fertilize the soil

domestication

the taming of animals for human use, such as work or as food

fertile crescent

A geographical area of fertile land in the Middle East stretching in a broad semicircle from the Nile to the Tigris and Euphrates

Jarmo

- Zagros/Zargos mountains in northeastern Iraq are apart of Jarmo and is the birthplace of agriculture
- People here and other places were pioneering a new way of life.
- Villagers such as Jarmo marked the beginning of a new era and laid the foundation for modern life.

CATAL HUYUK

Fertile plain in south-central Turkey

- Showed benefits of settled life

- Wheat, barley, peas, sheep, cattle

- Many skilled workers

- Obsidian

- Wall paintings of animals and hunting

- Shrines dedicated to mother goddess (thought she controlled grain supply

- Drawbacks: floods, fire, drought, & other natural disasters that destroyed the village

- Jealous neighbors and nomadic bands might attack wealthy looking village

- Some early villages expanded into cities that would become the setting for more complex cultures

artisans

a worker in a skilled trade, especially one that involves making things by hand.

bronze age

a period of human culture between the Stone Age and the Iron Age, characterized by the use of weapons and implements made of bronze, around 3000 BC

latitude

Distance north or south of the equator

longitude

Distance east or west of the prime meridian

compass rose

A tool on a map showing cardinal (N,E,S,W) and intermediate (NE,SE,NW,SW) directions.

scale

the relationship between the portion of Earth being studied and Earth as a whole