GLOBAL PREHISTORY VOCAB

30,000-500 BCE

anthropomorphic

anthropomorphic

human-like

art mobiler

small-scale prehistoric art that is moveable, such as the Apollo 11 Cave Stones.

avian

something related to birds

bicephalic

two-headed figures

bovid

the bovidae are the biological family of mammals that includes bison, African buffalo, water buffalo, antelopes, gazelles, sheep, goats, muskoxen, and domestic cattle

camelid

a member of the camelidae family, such as camels, llamas, and alpacas

dentate

something that has a tooth-like or serrated edge

exogenous materials

materials that originated elsewhere

hominids

a primate of family (Hominidae) that includes humans and their fossil ancestors, and also some great apes; humans evolved from an earlier specifics of hominids

homo sapiens

anatomically modern humans who evolved from an earlier species of hominids

maize

also known as corn; first domesticated by Indigenous peoples in what is today Mexico c. 10,000 years ago

Melanesia

\n refers to a region of the western Pacific that includes the islands and island groups of Fiji, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu

Mesoamerica

refers to the diverse civilizations that shared similar cultural characteristics in the geographic areas comprising the modern-day countries of Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica

Micronesia

the region of the western Pacific referred to as Micronesia includes the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Kiribati, Mariana Islands, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, and Wake Island

Middle Stone Age

a period of African prehistory between the Early Stone Age and the Later Stone Age, generally considered to have begun around 280,000 years ago and ended around 50–25,000 years ago

mortars and pestles

a mortar is a bowl and pestle is an object used to grind against the sides of the mortar; they are commonly made of hard material such as stone and are often used to prepare food

Neanderthals

an extinct species of humans named after the site in which their bones were first discovered—the Neander Valley in Germany; they existed between c. 120,000–35,000 years ago

Neolithic period

literally means "New Stone Age," and dates from the 6th–4th millennium B.C.E.

Neolithic Revolution

dates to c. 10,00–3,000 B.C.E, and refers to when humans began to settle into communities, domesticate animals, and grow crops

nomad

an individual who roams about without a fixed residence

oryx

a large grazing antelope

paddle-and-anvil technique

a method of smoothing and finishing the walls of hand-made pottery; the anvil is held against the inner walls while a paddle is used to shape the outer surface

Paleolithic

literally means "Old Stone Age," and dates from c. 2.5 millions years ago–10,000 B.C.E. It predates the Neolithic period

petroglyph

a rock engraving in which an image has been pecked or cut into the rock

Polynesian Triangle

stretches from Hawai'i in the north to Aotearoa (New Zealand) in the south, and Rapa Nui (Easter Island) in the east

potsherds

fragments of pottery

prehistoric

literally means before the invention of writing

sacrum

the large triangular bone at the base of the spine

shaman

a kind of priest or healer with powers involving the ability to communicate with spirits of other worlds

Shang Dynasty

the earliest Chinese dynasty verified by scholars, ruling from c. 1600–1050 B.C.E.

simting bilong tumbuna

literally translates as the “bones of the ancestors”; Enga term for a class of cult objects which were used as powerful ritual mechanisms where ancestors reside

slipped pottery

made up of tiny particles of clay suspended in water and can be colored with iron oxide or other minerals to decorate the surface of a pot

stele

a vertical stone monument or marker often inscribed with text or relief carving

stratigraphic archaeology

the study of stratification, or layers deposited one atop another over time

temper

often sand or other added materials, temper reduces the elasticity of clay (how much it shrinks) and helps to avoid cracking during the firing process

Therianthrope

a supernatural creature that is part animal and part human

trilithon

a pair of upright stones with a lintel stone spanning their tops

twisted perspective

when animal bodies are depicted in profile while we see the horns from a more frontal viewpoint