Distant Past
What do we call objects made and used by people in the past?
Artifacts
What word means moving from one place to another?
Migration
What word describes a group's shared beliefs, customs, art, and way of life?
Culture or Religion
What major change allowed people to produce their own food?
Farming/agriculture
What is a complex society with organized government, jobs, and culture called?
Civilization
What type of scientist studies artifacts and other evidence to learn about people of the past?
Archaeologist
On which continent did early humans first develop before spreading to other parts of the world?
Africa
What is the process of changing plants or animals so they are useful to humans called?
Domestication
What do we call extra food beyond what people need to survive?
Surplus
Why did many early civilizations develop near rivers?
Rivers provided water, fertile soil, transportation, and resources that supported agriculture and permanent settlements.
Around when did human ancestors leave Africa
60,000-70,000 years ago
Name two ways early humans adapted to colder environments as they migrated.
Answers can include clothing, fire, shelters, improved tools, hunting techniques, or cooperation.
Why would people working together often survive longer?
Answers will change:
- they had more hand to work
- they could communicate
- they Could share information
What happened to settlements when farming produced a dependable food supply?
Settlements became larger and populations increased, eventually developing into towns and cities.
Name two major river valleys where early civilizations developed.
Any two: Nile, Tigris-Euphrates, Indus, Huang He (Yellow River).
Why are artifacts and fossils important when studying prehistory?
They provide evidence about how people lived before written records.
How could complex language have helped early humans survive as they migrated?
It allowed people to communicate, plan hunts, warn others of danger, teach skills, and cooperate.
What can cave paintings and burial practices tell historians about early human cultures?
They provide evidence of people's beliefs, traditions, rituals, artistic abilities, and ideas about life and death
How did a food surplus lead to people having specialized jobs?
Because not everyone had to produce food, some people could become craftspeople, traders, builders, leaders, or other specialists.
Name three features that could show historians that a society had become a civilization.
Answers can include organized government, religion, social classes, specialized workers, cities, writing/record keeping, economy/trade, or public works.
Why must archaeologists use physical evidence to understand the earliest humans?
The earliest humans left no written records, we have to use other evidence
Why was adaptation important?
People had to change to fit thier environment or they would not survive
Explain how domestication helped humans begin changing from hunter-gatherers to settled communities.
Domesticated plants and animals created a more dependable food supply, making farming and permanent settlements possible.
How did Farming lead to trade?
Farming to Surplus
Surplus to Specialization
Specialization to Trade
Explain how geography, agriculture, and organized institutions worked together to help civilizations develop.
Rivers/resources supported agriculture → agriculture produced food and population growth → larger societies required government, economies, social organization, religion, writing, and other institutions.