Prehistory, Artifacts, and Early Human Societies: Key Concepts and Timeline

Prehistory

period of time before written record

Artifact

An object made by a human being

Archaeology

Focuses on studying the human past through material remains like artifacts and structures. A subfield of Anthropology, which examines human societies, cultures, languages, and biology in both the past and present.

Paleolithic Age

Time when people had to move according to the weather, make resources, and try to survive. Very hard time.

Hunter-Gatherers

People in the Paleolithic age that had to hunt and farm to survive. In a tribe or group of people, there were hunters (mostly men) and gatherers (farmers).

Nomad/Nomadic

moved from place to place to survive

Primary source

An original document or object created at the time of an event by a person who directly experienced or witnessed it. Examples: Diary, letter, photograph, speeches, original reports

Secondary source

A secondhand account of an event or topic, interpreting or analyzing information from primary sources, not first-hand evidence of an event. Examples: textbooks, biographies, literary criticism, magazine articles

Civilization

a complex culture in which large members of human beings share in a number of common elements.

Neolithic Revolution

a change in human societies from hunting and gathering to a more settled way of life based on agriculture and domestication of animals.

Domestication

adapting animals for human use

Systematic Agriculture

growing food on a regular basis

Fertile crescent

A boomerang shaped region in the Middle East

Centralized Government

All power is concentrated centrally

Decentralized Government

The power is spread out through different city-states and where agents have some powe

Theocracy

form of government in which gods or a god is recognized as the supreme ruling authority

Dynasty

a sequence of rulers from the same family

Bureaucracy

a system of government where most of the decisions are made by officials or leaders to help the pharaoh

Pharaoh

a ruler in ancient Egypt

City-state

A state that has a lot of land around it do it is like a country

Cuneiform

Form a writing used by people in Mesopotamia. Oldest form of writing.