Transcript What is prehistory? - River Mill Academy

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If history is man’s written record of what
happened…what about what happened before
it was written?
Prehistory is the long period of time before
people invented writing
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Historians are scholars who study and write
about the historical past
Often history is learned from artifacts
Objects made by humans
 Examples: Clothing, coins, artwork, tombstones,
pottery
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Written evidence is even more important
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Examples: tax records, letters, diaries
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The way of life of a society
Including beliefs, values, practices
Handed down from generations through
learning and experience
Vary around the world
What are some aspects of American culture?
North Carolina culture?
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Anthropologists study the time period of
prehistory
Learn about the origins and development of
people and society
Archaeology is the study of past people and
cultures through material remains
This is a specialized branch of anthropology
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Anthropologists in the 1930’s
Searched in a canyon Tanzania called Olduvai
Found ancient tools chipped from stone,
showed evidence of technologies developed
Technology is the skills and tools people use to
meet their basic need and wants
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Found a skull belonging to an early hominid
Hominids: group that includes humans and
closest relatives, all walking on 2 feet
Homo erectus are most recent hominid group
to have disappeared
Homo sapiens are believed to have emerged
between 250,000 and 100,000 yrs. ago
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2 million BCE to about 10,000 BCE
Also known as Paleolithic Period
Most people were nomads
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People who move from place to place to find food
20-30 people lived in small groups
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Early farmers settled the first permeant villages
Transition from nomadic life to settled farming
Dramatic changes took place in way of life
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C. 10,000 BCE until the end of prehistory
Also known as the Neolithic Period
Learned to farm
First humans to domesticate plates and animals
One of the first villages was Çatalhüyük
(modern day Jericho)
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What kind of evidence do historians use to
study the past? Anthropologists?
Archaeologists?
When was the Old Stone Age? New? What is
the other name for each of these?
Define the following terms:
Prehistory
 History
 Artifact
 Culture
 Technology
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Anthropology
Archaeology
Primary source
Secondary source
nomad
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Time period
Geographic setting
Physical description of people
Values: what is important to the people?
Ethics: what is considered right or wrong in the
culture
Symbols: What visual images indicate the
culture’s themes (its values and ethics)
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Early civilizations settled near rivers
Provided regular water supply for crops
Water for animals to drink
Flood waters spread silt and nutrients
renewing and keeping soil fertile
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Due to conditions farmers were able to produce
a surplus of food
Could produce food for large populations,
causing populations to expand and form cities
Provided opportunities to work jobs other than
farming
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A complex highly organized social order
Many formed along river valleys
Early civilizations included:
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Sumner between Tigris and Euphrates
Egypt along Nile River
Indus along Indus River
Shang along Huang River
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Organized government
Complex religions
Job specialization
Social classes
Arts and architecture
Public works
Writing
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Rulers began to conquer territory beyond city
limits
City-states: political unit that included city and
its surrounding lands and villages
Ambitious rulers that conquered many cities
formed the first empires
Empire: group of states or territories controlled
by one ruler
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Explain each of the 7 features of civilization
Define cultural diffusion, polytheistic, artisan,
pictograph, scribe
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Economics-technology, division of labor, trade and money,
transportation
Food, clothing, shelter- food (methods of producing and
domesticated animals), clothing and adornment, shelter and
dwellings
Political Organization-gov't, law enforcement, war & peace
Family and Kin-marriage & type of family grouping, child
training & rites of passage
Attitude Toward Unknown-religious beliefs, religious
practices, death rituals
Communications-language, number systems
Arts and Esthetic values- art, music, dance, drama, literature
Recreation- games & sports, use of leisure time