Chapter 1 World History

What is the umbrella term for the period before the invention of writing, roughly 5,000 years ago?

prehistory

What is the term for human-made objects, such as tools and jewelry, that might provide hints to anthropologists about how people dressed, worked, or worshiped?

artifacts

What type of scientist studies fossils, using complex techniques to date ancient fossil remains or rocks?

paleontologists

What was the name of the archeologist and anthropologist who discovered hominid footprints preserved in ash at a site called Laetoli in Tanzania while leading a scientific expedition in East Africa during the 1970s?

Mary Leakey

What is the term for creatures that walk upright, most famously humans and other related species, such as the australopithecines?

Hominids

 In 1974, an archeological dig led by Donald Johnson in Ethiopia, around the same time as the Leakey expeditions, uncovered an unusually mostly complete adult female hominid skeleton thought to have been from around 3.5 million years ago. This skeleton, an australopithecus africanus (already having developed opposing thumbs), was named what, derived from a popular Beatles song?

Lucy

Some of the most impressive feats of human history, the invention of tools, mastery of fire, and development of language, took place in a long period known as the Stone Age. It is further divided into two parts, the first and longer occurring from around 2.5 million to 8000 B.C.E. during the Ice Age, and the second, which occurred from around 8000 and only up to 3000 B.C.E. in some areas. What were the names of these two eras, whose first “Old Stone Age” dates the oldest chopping stone blocks, and the second “New Stone Age” commenced with the creation of pottery, domestication of animals, and beginnings of agriculture?

Neolithic Age

Paleolithic Age

What is the name for the hominids found in Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, by Mary and Louis Leakey in 1960, meaning “man of skill” due to the lava rock tools found in the area?

Homo habilis

This species of hominid appeared in Africa around 1.6 million years ago, still before Homo habilis left the scene, and is attributed with major developments in being the first to use technology, control fire, and begin language. What was the name of this hominid, which means “upright man”, the first to leave Africa and migrate to other continents?

Homo erectus

What was the name for the species that Homo erectus is thought to have developed into, meaning “wise men” and containing groups like the Cro-Magnons?

Homo sapiens

About 60,000 years ago, members from this group held a funeral for a man in Shanidar Cave, Iraq, pointing to a belief in the afterlife, and a bone flute dated from around 43-82,000 years old suggests less cultural ineptitude than is often thought.. Animal bones found near fossils of this group indicate their ability to hunt in subarctic regions of Europe. What is the name of this group of hominids, named after a German valley, who were outcompeted by the Cro-Magnons 30,000 years ago despite their heavy slanted brows, well developed muscles, and thick bones?

Neanderthals

This group appeared roughly 40,000 years ago, with remains indicating they were decently strong and stood on average around 5’1. Name this group of prehistoric humans, whose superior cooperative hunting strategies, such as planned hunts, allowed them to outcompete other groups, like the Neanderthals.

Cro-Magnons

Who were highly mobile people who moved from place to place, foraging for new sources of food?

nomads

What were nomadic groups whose food supply depended on hunting animals and collecting plant foods called?

hunter-gatherer

What group of people used bone needles to sew clothing made of animal hides? They were frequently used as an example throughout this chapter.

Cro-Magnons

What type of husk would ancient people ground and use as polished decorative beads?

mammoth

What revolution was also known as the agriculture revolution, it changed human life completely from the beginnings of farming?

Neolithic Revolution

What farming process consisted of cutting and burning trees and grass to burn a field, the ashes left over-fertilized the soil, then farmers would plant crops for about two years before moving to a new area to repeat the process?

Slash-and-burn agriculture

A synonym for taming?

domestication

What kind of people moved their animals to new watering places and pastures, tending and domesticating a lot of different farm animals?

pastoral nomads

What mountain range is considered by many archaeologists the birthplace of agriculture?

Zagros Mountains

What river valley in Africa developed into an agricultural center for growing wheat and barley?

Indus River Valley

What grain did farmers along the Huang Ye (Yellow) river cultivate?

millet

What is the direct translation of “Catal Huyuk”?

Forked Mound

What country is Catal Huyuk in?

Turkiye

What kind of rock products was Catel Huyuk known for?

obsidian

The goddess the Catal Huyuk people prayed to was in charge of the supply of what?

grain

As people gradually began to move from village life to urban city life, craftspeople and work specialization developed, along with new valuables like pottery, metals, and woven cloth. In response, people who engaged in trade were able to profit off of these broader range of goods. What two inventions helped these traders the most with commerce over long distances?

the wheel

the sail

What region, located in Mesopotamia, Iraq, is attributed with the first civilizations?

Sumer

What is the term for a complex culture defined by the following five characteristics: advanced cities, specialized workers, complex institutions, record keeping, and advanced technology?

civilization

What is the term for the development of skills in a specific kind of work, which grew in popularity because of food surpluses, and included jobs like traders, government officials, priests, and artisans?

specialization

What is the term for the occupation city dwellers held that entailed skilled workers making goods by hand, a byproduct of specialization and created due to the lack of necessity of more farmers.

artisans

What is the term for a long lasting pattern of organization in a community, whose complex title is one of the main characteristics of a civilization, and includes examples like government, religion, and economy?

institution

What is the term for professional record keepers, who invented cuneiform in Sumer around 3000 B.C.E.?

scribes

Prior to this system, pictographs, or symbols of objects, were used in Sumerian writing. What system of writing for record keeping, meant “wedge shaped” was developed by Sumerian scribes around 3000 B.C.E. and entailed using a stylus to create symbols in moist clay and baking it in the sun?

cuneiform

What is the name of this period, whose titular alloy was made by Sumerian metalworkers mixing copper and tin, and is typified by the use of a new metal, rather than copper or stone, to fashion tools and weapons?

Bronze Age

Known for its well-defined social classes, powerful rulers, and skilled artisans, this city thrived on a sophisticated agricultural economy supported by large-scale irrigation systems that ensured food surpluses. Its bustling marketplace relied on barter for trade, while its religious life centered around a towering ziggurat where priests conducted rituals to honor the city’s god. Excavated by archaeologist Leonard Woolley, this site revealed a highly advanced culture with achievements in governance, trade, and art. Which ancient city, located on the banks of the Euphrates River in what is now southern Iraq, was home to approximately 30,000 people and served as a model of early urban civilization around 3000 B.C.?

Ur

What is the name for the trade of goods and services without using money, and was employed in the bazaars and marketplaces of cities like Ur prior to the invention of coinage?

barter

What is the name for the pyramidal monuments of Sumer, which meant “mountain of god”, most famously the large 100 step mud brick one in Ur?

ziggurat