Prehistory Vocabulary List PDF

Prehistory Vocabulary List Prehistory: the time period before written records Anthropology: the study of humans and their development, including human culture and human behavior Hominid: early relatives to modern-day humans Ancestor: relatives or family members who lived in the past Australopith...

Prehistory Vocabulary List Prehistory: the time period before written records Anthropology: the study of humans and their development, including human culture and human behavior Hominid: early relatives to modern-day humans Ancestor: relatives or family members who lived in the past Australopithecus: “southern ape” and believed to be one of the first hominids capable of walking on two feet Homo habilis: “handy man” and believed to be one of the first hominids to create stone tools Homo erectus: “upright man” and believed to be the first hominid to walk on two feet full time, learn to control fire, and migrate outside of Africa Homo sapiens: “wise man” and the group including modern-day humans, which is believed to be the first hominid to develop language Neanderthals: the closest extinct hominid to humans who lived across Europe and central Asia, and believed to be the first hominid to bury their dead Lucy: Australopithecus whose remains are more than 3 million years old Otzi the Iceman: Homo sapiens from the Stone Ages who was discovered frozen in a glacier and is one of the oldest mummies in human history Technology: the application of science and engineering to create tools that improve quality of life Tool: a handheld object that is designed to help complete a specific task Stone Ages: period of time where humans invented and primarily used stone tools Paleolithic Era: Old Stone Age, which occurred circa 2.6 million years-10,000 years ago Neolithic Era: New Stone Age, which occurred circa 10,000 years ago and is most associated with the shift from hunting and gathering to agriculture Society: a group of people living together within a community Hunter-Gatherers: people who hunt animals and gather wild plants to acquire food Nomads: people without a permanent home, either individually or as a community, who move from place to place Migration: movement from one location to another, in order to establish a new permanent settlement Population: the total number of people within a specific area, such as a city, state, or country Ice Ages: time periods with consistently freezing temperatures throughout the world Glacier: a large mass of ice that covers a section of land Bering Strait: a narrow passage of water located between Russia and Alaska, where it is believed that humans crossed a frozen land bridge from Asia to North America during the Ice Ages Domestication: planting foods and breeding animals that are useful for humans Agriculture: the process of farming Agricultural Revolution: the large-scale shift from hunting/gathering to farming, which allowed humans to produce large quantities of food Jericho: prehistoric and current city near the Jordan River and Dead Sea, with its famous wall surrounding the area Catal Huyuk: prehistoric city located in modern-day Turkey, which is famous for its art and religious practices Stonehenge: a prehistoric monument in England, with purposes that are still unclear to historians today