Early Human Life
What does the term CULTURE describe?
behaviors, language, art, and other aspects of human life.
What material were many Paleolithic tools made from?
Stone
What does the word migration mean?
Moving from one place to another.
What is a hunter-gatherer?
A person who hunts animals and gathers wild plants and other foods for survival.
What major change took place during the agricultural revolution?
People began farming instead of depending entirely on hunting and gathering.
What were hunter-gathers?
People who survived by hunting animals and gathering wild foods, such as fruits and nuts.
What is one example of Paleolithic technology?
Fire. They began cooking their food with fire and used it for protection.
What continent did early humans migrate from when spreading to other parts of the world?
Africa
What environmental factor caused some Paleolithic people in East Africa to migrate between 100,000 and 75,000 years ago?
An unstable climate.
What is the difference between a nomad and a settled farmer?
A nomad moves from place to place, while a settled farmer lives in one place and grows crops.
What is an artifact?
An object made or used by humans, such as a stone spear point.
What is the difference between an artifact and a fossil?
An artifact is an object made or used by humans, while a fossil is the preserved remains or evidence of an organism from the past.
What was Beringia, and why was it important to early human migration?
Beringia was a land connection between Asia and North America that allowed early humans to migrate into North America.
What does the term megafauna refer to?
Very large animals that roamed the Earth during the Paleolithic age. (Examples: wooly mammoth, saber-toothed cat).
Why was the agricultural revolution a significant turning point in human history?
People became farmers and no longer had to depend entirely on hunting and gathering.
How did hunter-gatherers get much of their food?
By hunting animals and gathering foods such as fruits and nuts.
Why were stone tools important to Paleolithic people?
hey helped people complete everyday tasks and survive, including preparing food and hunting.
According to the migration map, which continent required early humans to travel the greatest distance over water?
Australia
What is one theory about why megafauna became extinct about 11,000 years ago?
The climate and environmental changes associated with the end of the Ice Age affected food and water supplies, contributing to their extinction.
How did the shift from hunting and gathering to farming change the way people got their food?
Instead of relying primarily on finding wild foods and hunting animals, people began producing food by farming.
Why did Paleolithic people generally live in small groups and move from place to place?
They depended on hunting and gathering, so they needed to move to find available food and resources.
A historian discovers a stone spear point at an archaeological site. Explain why this discovery is important to understanding early human societies.
It is an artifact that provides evidence of how early humans lived, what materials they used, and how they developed tools and technology.
Why was migration an important part of early human history? Give two reasons.
Migration allowed humans to find new food and resources, adapt to different environments, and spread into new parts of the world.
Imagine you are living during the Paleolithic Era. Your area experiences a major change in climate, and food becomes harder to find. What are two possible ways your group might respond?
Move to another area (migrate) with better resources or adapt by finding new sources of food.
Compare the Paleolithic and Neolithic ways of life. Describe one major difference in how people obtained food and explain how this changed human societies.
Paleolithic people primarily hunted and gathered food, while Neolithic people increasingly farmed and produced their own food. This change allowed people to settle in one place and develop more permanent communities.