Big Era 1: Early Humans and Civilizations

artifact

human-made object

historiography

the art and science of creating a reliable and useful story from bits of information about the past

archaeologist

someone who studies artifacts

anthropologist

someone who studies humans and culture

paleontologist

someone who studies fossil

mitochondrial eve

the single female ancestor of all humans

migration

movement of people from one place to another

hunter-gatherers

people who hunted animals; constantly moving around

adapted

developed characteristics to help someone survive in an environment

Neanderthal

an extinct species of early humans

indigenous

native, as in people

diasporas

migrations of people from an ancestral homeland

cave art

art in caves that depict stories from the people of the Paleolithic Era

culture

the ways of life and knowledge created by a group of human beings

collective learning

accumulation of knowledge over generations

paleolithic era

old stone age, mainly hunting and gathering

neolithic era

new stone age, settled life and agricultural revolution

agriculture

the farming of crops and domestication of animals

natufians

earliest people to plant and raise crops from the Middle East

domestication

the taming of animals for food and a food source

economy

the different jobs and social classes, as well as trading

Mesopotamia

origin of the earliest civilizations

cuneiform

a form of writing in Mesopotamia

sumer/ur

a region and city in Mesopotamia

Himalayas

mountains surrounding Harappan community

Indus and Ganges Rivers

river that ran through the Harappan civilization

sanskrit

language from the Harappans

Harappan

second civilization, originated in India

cities

organized residence for civilization, built on stilts or protected by mud walls

record kepping

job of the scribes, told stories and made tax records

institutions

government buildings, school,

technology

wheel, plow, sailboat, bronze weapons/tools

division of labor

farming, weapon-making, trading, scribing

social classes

priests, scribes, artisans, metalworkers, farmers, slaves