Study Guide: Prehistory/Stone Age; Preview of the Beginnings of Civilizations

Students in all class will take a test in class on Tuesday.  This will count as the final grade for the first marking period.  Students should find the following information useful as they prepare for assessment.

Key Terms:

1. History:  Written and other recorded events of people.
2. Prehistory:  The time before writing was invented.
3. Archaeologist:  A scientist who examines objects to learn about the human past.
4. Oral Traditions:  Stories passed down by word of mouth.
5. Geography:  The study of the Earth's surface and the processes that shape it.
6. Hominid:  A modern human or a member of an earlier group that may have included ancestors to relatives of modern humans.
7. Stone Age:  A period of time during which hominids made lasting tools and weapons mainly from the earliest known period of prehistoric culture.  The Stone Age is often divided into three categories:  Old, Middle, and New.
8. Nomad:  A person who has no settled home - usually on the move in search of food/water.
9. Domesticate:  To adapt wild plants or tame wild animals to breed them for human use.
10. Forensic:  Relating to the use of science or technology in the investigation and establishment of facts or evidence in a court of law.  Forensic anthropologists use forensics to unlock mysteries from the past.
11. Anthropologist:  A scientist who deals with the origins, physical and cultural development, biological characteristics, and social customs and beliefs of humankind
12. Proposition:  A statement which is argued in a debate.  (HONORS ONLY)
13. Affirmation:  An argument which supports the proposition in a debate.  (HONORS ONLY)
14. Opposition:  An argument which counters a proposition in a debate.  (HONORS ONLY)

People:

• Otzi (Ice Man)

• Kennewick Man

Important Questions:

1. How are geography and history related?  Understanding geography can help us understand why historical events took place.  Weather patterns, the water supply, and the landscape of a place also have an impact on history.
2. What 'invention' impacted the change from prehistory to history?  Written Language
3. How do we learn about prehistoric times?  Through oral traditions and/or examining evidence left behind.
4. During the Stone Age, how did hominids feed themselves?  Hunting and Gathering
5. How did the invention of farming change the lives of people?  They were able to settle and stay in one place.
6. How did plant selection impact the lives of people?  They were able to grow better crops.

Students who are familiar with the above-mentioned terms and questions will have no problem succeeding on the test. 

Last week, we continued to discuss prehistory and the Stone Age.  

During the upcoming week, we will take a look at the beginnings of civilization.  The five components of civilization will be reviewed.  It should be noted that those components will be the pillars of this course and will be referred back to as we move through the year.  Students should be very familiar with these components by this point.  From there, we will begin to focus on the Fertile Crescent and the Empires of the ancient Middle East.

Upcoming vocabulary words are:

1. Irrigation
2. Surplus
3. Shortage
4. Artisan
5. Civilization*
6. Social Classes*

*These are terms which students should already be familiar with.