Prehistory time before recorded or written history *Written record begins approx 5,ooo yrs ago Anthropologists scientists who study early humans Hominids any species of humans Archeologists Scientists who recover physical evidence of early humans Archeologists working on a dig Artifact Any object produced by Humans *Exs. - Culture All aspects of any human society Exs. - Radiocarbon Dating One of many methods used to date artifacts found, this process measures the amount of carbon in the artifact Great Rift Valley Geologic feature in East Africa where many early hominid remains have been found Donald Johanson Noted anthropologist who found hominid remains in The Rift Valley Australopithecus >Southern Ape >Considered one of earliest primates that are hominids or humans Lucy An Australopithecus specimen found in the Rift Valley *Named after - Neanderthals A Hominid species, the remains of which were first found in the Neander Valley of Germany Cro-Magnon Man This term relates to a cave in France, but Cro-Magnon is modern man or us *(Homo Sapiens) *The scientific community today doesnt use the term Cro-Magnon anymore. They now use the term or phrase Early Modern Human or EMH Homo Sapiens Thinking Man Term referring to modern man Paleolithic Age (Old Stone Age) From earliest hominids to about 10,000 years ago > Tools of stone, bone, antler, control of fire, clothing, etc. >Nomadic hunter-gatherers > Spoken languages, religion, art, etc. Ice Ages Polar ice caps grew, ocean levels dropped, and glaciers covered much of the earth Last ice age ended approximately 10,000 12,000 years ago > Evidence shows we experienced 4 separate ice ages Asian-North American Land Bridge Generally accepted theory as to how the Americas became populated Neolithic Age Era following Ice Ages was marked by increased technology, the development of agriculture, and permanent settlements Domestication To tame or train for human use *Animals or plants Neolithic Revolution The development of Agriculture and the establishment of permanent settlements *Also called the Agricultural Revolution River Valley Civilizations Nile River Tigris & Euphrates Rivers Indus River Yellow River *In todays Pakistan *In Egypt *Largely in todays Iraq *In China *Oldest advanced civilizations In the world Characteristics of Civilization include: >Technology >Government >Division of Labor Copper First metal to be worked Bronze An alloy of copper and tin *Led to the era known as the Bronze Age Iron A metal more durable than bronze, leading to the Iron Age Forge A furnace used to work metal Bellows Artisan Any Skilled Craftsman Cultural Diffusion The spreading of aspects of one culture to another culture Exs. military technology, foods, Clothing styles, music, govt, etc. Calendar Method of measuring in writing the passage of time and the seasons either lunar(moon) or solar(sun) based Egyptian CalendarMaya Pictograms The Development of Writing A picture represents a thing Ideograms A picture represents an idea or concept Phonogram A picture represents a sound Piltdown Man Hoax An orangutan jaw bone was placed in a dig site to intentionally mislead archeologists into thinking the connection between man and apes (the missing link) had been found * Discovered in 1912 Fully disproved in 1953 Salted Dig Intentionally placing something in a dig that didnt belong there Mandible A lower jaw bone Charles Darwin British scientist who promotes the theory of Natural Selection (Evolution) in mid 1800s *VERY controversial On the Origin of Species Darwins book which suggested that species are competing to exist and that the fittest survive while others become extinct i.e. Natural Selection or evolution Atlatl Device used to throw a dart an improvement over the simpler and heavier spear