Early Humans and Beginning of Civilisation

Flashcards covering key concepts from Chapter Notes on Early Humans and Beginning of Civilisation, including human evolution, prehistoric tool ages, and early river valley civilisations.

What is the undeciphered pictographic script of the Sindhu-Sarasvatġ civilisation called?

Sindhu lipi (or Harappan script).

Which ancient script used in southern India and the Ganga Valley was formalised by Emperor Aőhoka in the 3rd century BCE?

Brahmi script.

What proportion of human history occurred before the invention of writing?

More than 99% of human history, spanning from about 3 million years ago to 5000 years ago.

What term describes the gradual physical and genetic changes through which early human ancestors evolved into modern Homo sapiens?

Biological evolution.

Which human ancestor made stone tools such as handaxes and cleavers and was the first hominin to migrate out of Africa around 2 million years ago?

Homo erectus.

Which diagram illustrates the evolutionary sequence of human ancestors leading to modern humans?

The human lineage sequence: Australopithecus afarensis, Homo habilis, Homo erectus, Homo neanderthalensis, and Homo sapiens.

What types of stone tools were made by Homo habilis ('handy man') in Olduvai Gorge between 2 and 6 million years ago?

Chopper stone tools.

What are the key defining features of the Mesolithic period?

Use of microlithic (tiny stone) tools, temporary settlements near rivers and lakes, fishing and gathering aquatic food, and a transitional phase between hunting-gathering and agriculture.

What shift defines the Neolithic Revolution?

The shift from hunting-gathering to agriculture and settled life, domestication of plants and animals, permanent villages, pottery making, and use of polished stone tools.

Which Old Stone Age settlement sites in India are dated to 1.5-1.7 million years ago and 1.2 million years ago respectively?

Attirampakkam in Tamil Nadu (1.5-1.7 million years ago) and Isampur in Karnataka (1.2 million years ago).

Which World Heritage Site in Madhya Pradesh contains hundreds of painted rock shelters from the Mesolithic and earlier periods?

Bhimbetka.

What were the main crops domesticated in West Asia, the Ganga Plains, and West Africa according to the textbook notes?

Wheat and barley in West Asia, rice in the Ganga Plains, and pearl millet in West Africa.

What is Mehrgarh and why is it historically significant in the Indian subcontinent?

Located on the Bolan River in present-day Pakistan, it is the oldest Neolithic site and earliest agricultural village in the Indian subcontinent, dating to about 7000 BCE.

What archaeological evidence at Kalibangan shows double-crop cultivation during the Early Harappan period?

Ploughed fields with horizontal and vertical furrows, similar to seasonal Rabi and Kharif cultivation.

What were gabarbands in the Early Harappan period?

Check dams built across small streams by Early Harappans in Baluchistan and neighbouring regions to improve irrigation.

How did the water-harvesting system at Dholavira in Kachchh operate?

Water from two nearby streams was diverted through dams and canals into interconnected deep tanks made of stone and mud bricks, some cut into bedrock.

Which two rivers drained the land of Mesopotamia?

The Euphrates and Tigris rivers in West Asia.

What was a ziggurat in ancient Sumerian city-states?

A tower-like, stepped, pyramid-shaped temple serving as the holy place for the chief god, royal storehouse, and city treasury.

What is cuneiform writing and how was it recorded?

A writing system developed by Sumerians around 3200 BCE, created by pressing sharp wedge-shaped reeds into damp clay tablets (from Latin 'cuneus' meaning wedge).

In Akkadian king Sargon's cuneiform records, which location is identified with the Sindhu-Sarasvatġ civilisation?

Meluhha.

What was the Code of Hammurabi?

A foundational compilation of rules and regulations for civil and social conduct framed by King Hammurabi of Babylonia from 1792 BCE onwards.

Who deciphered the Egyptian hieroglyphic script in 1822 using the Rosetta Stone?

French linguist Jean-Fran'ois Champollion.

What were the three seasons of the ancient Egyptian calendar?

Inundation (autumn), Peret or growing (winter), and Shemu or harvest (summer).

What was a mastaba and how did it relate to the development of pyramids?

A rectangular structure placed over an underground burial chamber, which evolved into stepped pyramids when stacked on top of one another.

According to ancient Egyptian belief, what was the 'ka'?

A person's spiritual double that lived on after death if the body was preserved through mummification.

Which dynasty was the first imperial dynasty of China, credited with unifying the country from 221 to 206 BCE?

The Qin dynasty (from which the name 'China' probably comes).

What were oracle bones in ancient China and how were they used?

Animal bones and tortoise shells marked with symbols that were heated until they cracked to foretell the future; they serve as the earliest written record of Chinese history.

Why were the earliest sections of the Great Wall of China built around 680 BCE?

They were built by the Zhou and other dynasties to protect against violent raids by nomadic tribes.