Chapter 1 History Test

Prehistory

What was the time before writing was invented?

Archaeologist

What was a scientist who studied things people left behind (artifacts, ruins, fossils) to learn about the past?

Stone Age

What was the long period when early humans mainly used stone tools (includes Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic)?

Paleolithic (Old Stone Age)

What was the earliest Stone Age period, where people were mainly hunter-gathers and used simple tools?

Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age)

What was the period between Paleolithic and Neolithic; where people developed improved tools (often small, sharp stone blades) and used new hunting/fishing methods?

Neolithic (New Stone Age)

What was the later Stone Age period when farming began and people formed permanent settlements?

Hunter-gathers

Who were the people who get food by hunting animals and gathering wild plants/food?

Nomadic

What is moving from place to place instead of living in one permanent location called?

Africa

Where did the earliest hominids and Homo sapiens first develop?

To find food and respond to climate/environmental changes

Why did early people migrate?

Bering land bridge

What was the land bridge that went across the Bering Strait that helped some early humans migrate from Asia to North America?

Domestication

What was taming or adapting plants and animals for human use?

Neolithic Agricultural Revolution

What was the major shift when people began farming (leading to permanent villages and more reliable food sources?

Food Surplus

What is it called when you have more food than what is immediately needed?

Farming villages could support larger populations.

What was the effect of food surpluses?

Specialized Labor

What is it called when people focus on one specific job rather than everyone doing everything?

Artisan

What do you call a skilled crafts person who makes goods like pottery, tools, textiles, metalwork, etc.?

Bronze

What is the metal formed by copper and tin?

Advanced Cities

What grew from small villages as populations increased and societies became more complex?

To organize people, make laws, and coordinate large projects (like public works)

Why did government form?

Polytheistic

What do you call the belief in many gods and goddesses?

Public Works

What were large projects built/organized by a government for the community (ex: roads, canals, irrigation systems) called?

Scribes

Who were the people trained to read and write (often kept records, laws, trade information, and religious texts)?

bows and arrows, fishing hooks, nets, harpoons, canoes/boats, improved spears, microliths

Name two mesolithic inventions/tools.

For reliable fresh water, fertile soil from flooding, easier irrigation, transportation/trade routes, and food sources(fish/game)

Why were villages developed near rivers?

irrigation brings water to crops; slash-and-burn clears land and enriches soil temporarily with ash

What was irrigation & slash-and-burn farming used for?

Trade allowed specialization, access to scarce resources, increased wealth, sharing of ideas/technology, and stronger connections between settlements

How did trade between communities help them grow?

cities, organized government, complex religion, job specialization, arts and architecture

Characteristics of civilizations

Caspian Sea

What landmark is an Inland sea North of Iran (between Europe/Asia region)

Persian Gulf

What landmark is a body of water between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula?

Nile River

What landmark is a major river in northeastern Africa flowing north to the Mediterranean Sea?

Tigris River

What landmark is a river in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq); runs generally southeast and pairs with the Euphrates?

Euphrates River

River in Mesopotamia (modern Turkey/Syria/Iraq region); runs generally southeast and pairs with the Tigris