| A | B |
|---|
| Prehistoric Period | Period before any written records |
| Historic Period | Period when man started leaving written records |
| B.C. | Before Christ |
| A.D. | In the year of our Lord |
| Century | Period of 100 years |
| Hominids | Early humans or human like creatures |
| Anthropology | study of past human cultures-tools, writing, etc. |
| Paleontology | Study of fossils |
| Archeology | Digging and searching for artifacts left by early humans |
| Artifacts | Objects made by human hands or the remains of human life |
| Radiocarbon Dating | A test to determine the age of artifacts or fossils |
| Evolution | Theory that all life on Earth started as a single celled animal in water |
| Natural Selection | Idea that animals have to adapt to their environment or they will be extinct |
| Mutation | slow change in gene structure over time (1000's of yrs) |
| Charles Darwin | Developed the theory of evolution in 1800's |
| Creationism | The belief that God created man (Biblical belief that God created Adam and Eve and the Earth in 7 days) |
| Genesis | 1st book in Bible that relates the creation of man...means beginning |
| Race | The physical characteristics of a group of people (skin color, hair texture) genetically determined |
| Culture | The way people live (religion, language, traditions) |
| Environment | Your surroundings (It determines your culture) |
| Homo Habilis | Man with ability -made tools from stones/sticks (1.5 million yrs. ago) |
| Homo Erectus | First to stand & walk on 2 legs - used fire, wore clothes, (1.6 million yrs. ago) |
| Homo Sapiens | "Thinking man" developed ability to reason (200,000 yrs. ago) |
| Technology | Skills & knowlege that let man make tools/weapons to improve his life & survive |
| Ice Age | 2 million yrs ago when glaciers spread from the poles (man traveled b/c earth was colder) |
| Louis and Mary Leakey | Anthropologists who discovered "Lucy", the remains of the 1st human type creature in Africa |
| Stone Age | People made tools from stone (2 million b.c.) |
| Paleolithic | "Old Stone Age" Man used fire and crude tools (2 million to 12,000 B.C.) |
| Mesolithic | "Middle Stone Age" 12,000 - 8,000 B.C.) more advanced tools, weapons, boats |
| Neolithic | "New Stone Age" Man began farming, raising animals due to agricultural revolution. (8,000-5,000 B.C.) |
| Common early metals | copper, lead, gold, bronze, iron |
| Neanderthals | 1st homo sapiens, orig. in Africa, spread to Europe, lived in cavesin community (200,000 B.C. |
| Cro-Magnon | Earliest humans found in Europe-had higher technology & culture |
| Nomads | wanderers - traveled from place to place in search of food |
| Migration | movement from one place to another looking for better living conditions |
| Land Bridges | Formed during the Ice Age and allowed people to travel between continents |
| Agriculture | Farming-growing crops in one region |
| Domesticated Animals | Raising animals for food and money |
| Deities | Gods or goddesses |
| Civilization | Man lives in highly organized societies |
| Civitas | Latin for city (civilization comes from this word |
| Economy | A system for the management of resources and production of goods and services |
| Economics | The way a society uses its resources and enviornment to meet its needs |
| Irrigation | Bringing water to land to grow crops |
| Reclamation | Taking water off the land - Draining marshes and swamps |
| Government | How a society regulates itself (protects individuals) |
| Artisan | A skilled worker- a worker who has a craft such as carpentry |
| Social Classes | Divide a society by birthright (heredity) |
| Myths | Stories a society writes about itself |
| Primary Source | Written by a person who saw an event taking place |
| Secondary Source | What you hear from someone else- ie. books, primary source, etc. |
