Topic 1 Vocab Review

Topic 1 - Origins of Civilization

Material remains of a society, including tools, weapons, pottery etc.

Artifacts

The study of the origins and development of people and their societies

Anthropology

The study of past people and cultures through artifacts

Archaeology

The site in present day Tanzania (East Africa) where ancient tools and hominid remains were found by archaeologists

Olduvai Gorge

Archaeologists who discovered hominid bones and tools in East Africa in the 1930s to 1950s

Mary & Louis Leakey

These social scientists learn about the past by studying primary and secondary sources, as well as by interpreting artifacts

Historians

The time period before written documentation

Prehistory

The entire way of life of a society (beliefs, values, practices) which is handed down through the generations

Culture

Archaeologist who discovered the remains of an early hominid nicknamed "Lucy" in the 1970s

Donald Johanson

The prehistoric period in which people lived in permanent settlements based on farming

Neolithic Period

People who wander from location to location following food; they do not live in settled societies

Nomads

Prehistoric Era in which people lived as nomadic hunter gatherers

Paleolithic Period

The shift in human behavior from nomadic, hunter gatherer lifestyle to permanent settlements based on farming

Neolithic Revolution

The belief that all things in nature have a spirit

Animism

Having goods leftover after all needs are met

Surplus

To raise plants and animals in a controlled way that makes them best suited for human use.

Domestication

Belief in many gods or goddesses

Polytheism

Economy based only on farming (everybody farms, so no specialized jobs)

Traditional Economy

Craftspeople (potters, sculptors, weavers, metalworkers etc.)

Artisans

A society which features cities, organized gov't, established religion, a complex economy, social classes, public works, arts and architecture, and a writing system

Civilization

Specially trained people who could read and write. Educated in temple schools and kept records.

Scribes

A political unit that includes a city and its surrounding lands and villages; A city that operates like a "little country"

City-State

The spread of ideas, customs, and technologies from one people to another

Cultural Diffusion

Simple symbolic drawings that look like the word they represent

Pictographs

A wide area that includes many cities and villages, all controlled by one ruler

Empire