Introduction to History and Prehistory

Flashcards covering key vocabulary from the lecture notes on the introduction to history and prehistory.

History

The study of past human events, from the origin of man.

Herodotus

Considered the father of history; wrote about the Greco-Persian Wars.

Thucydides

An accurate historian who critiqued sources and documented the Peloponnesian Wars.

Heuristics

The process of gathering historical sources.

Critique in historiography

Verifying the authenticity and credibility of historical sources.

Interpretation

The study and analysis of historical sources.

Synthesis

Summarizing and concluding historical research.

Paleography

The study of ancient writing systems and the deciphering of historic manuscripts.

Chronology

The science of arranging events in their order of occurrence.

Archaeology

The study of human history through excavation and analysis of artifacts.

Genealogy

The study of family ancestries and histories.

Anthropology

The study of the development of human societies and cultures.

Metrology

The science of measurement.

Numismatics

The study of coins and currency.

Diplomatics

The study of historical documents.

Demography

The statistical study of populations.

Epigraphy

The study of inscriptions.

Sphragistics

The study of seals and signets.

Prehistory

The period before written records.

Neolithic Revolution

The transition from nomadic hunting and gathering to agriculture.

Domestication

The process of adapting wild plants and animals for human use.

Bronze Age

The period characterized by the use of bronze, a mixture of copper and tin.

Iron Age

The period marked by the widespread use of iron for tools and weaponry.

Hominization

The evolutionary process leading to modern humans.

Australopithecus

An early ancestor of humans, existing 3 million years ago.

Homo habilis

Known as 'handy man', dated to about 2.5 million years ago.

Homo erectus

The upright man, existing around 1.5 million years ago.

Homo sapiens

Modern humans, appearing about 300,000 to 40,000 years ago.

Paleolithic

The Old Stone Age, characterized by the use of stone tools.

Mesolithic

The Middle Stone Age, marked by climatic changes and new subsistence strategies.

Neolithic

The New Stone Age, characterized by the advent of agriculture and settled communities.