Ancient Civilizations Study Guide Chapter 1 Uncovering the Past

1. Why is it important to study ancient bones? The study of ancient bones gives us information about our human ancestors.

2. Why was the discovery of Lucy in 1974 important 2. Why was the discovery of Lucy in 1974 important? Donald Johanson’s discovery of Lucy in 1974 pointed to a hominid’s ability to walk upright.

3. What do archeologist study 3. What do archeologist study? Archeologist study the past based on what people left behind.

4. What do anthropologist study 4. What do anthropologist study? Anthropologist study humans past and present. They study human origins, and behaviors. They also study the physical, social, and cultural development of human beings.

5. What is a hominid. A hominid is an early ancestor of humans 5. What is a hominid? A hominid is an early ancestor of humans. An ancestor is a relative who lived in the past.

6. What defines Homo erectus? Homo erectus was also know as upright man.

7. Who were Homo sapiens? Homo sapiens are the same species as modern humans. They migrated around the world. They learned to create fire and use a wide variety of tools. They also developed language.

8. What was the earliest skill people developed 8. What was the earliest skill people developed? Early people first developed the skill to craft tools.

9. Why did early people paint in caves 9. Why did early people paint in caves? Early humans began to paint in caves to express themselves, draw maps and to teach hunting practices.

10. Describe the society of Hunter- gathers in the Old Stone Age. Hunter-gather societies in the Old Stone Age had stone tools, fire, and art.

11. Describe how early people migrated out of Africa into new places 11. Describe how early people migrated out of Africa into new places. Early people migrated out of Africa into new places by the use of land bridges.

12. What were the first animals and plants domesticated by humans 12. What were the first animals and plants domesticated by humans? Animals: horses, cattle, sheep, goats wolves Plants: rice, potato, maize, wheat, barley

13. What was the Ice Age? The Ice Ages were freezing times which ended 10,000 years ago.

14. What was the Early Stone Age 14. What was the Early Stone Age? The Paleolithic Era was the first part of the Stone Age when people first used stone tools. It lasted until about 10,000 years ago.

15. What was the Middle Stone Age? The Mesolithic Era was10,000-5000 years ago when people found new uses for bones and stone tools. They invented hooks and spears for fishing, bows and arrows for hunting, canoes, pottery, clothing, and simple shelters.

16. What were the achievements and advancements of the New Stone Age or the Agriculture Revolution? During the Neolithic Era or New Stone Age people began using seeds to grow crops which led to settlements and eventually the development of civilizations.

17. What defines Society? Society is a community of people who have a common culture.

18. What effect did farming have on people in the Stone Age 18. What effect did farming have on people in the Stone Age? Farming allowed people to build permanent settlements.

19. What is a megalith. Draw a picture of a megalith 19. What is a megalith? Draw a picture of a megalith. A megaliths are huge stones used as monuments or as the sites for religious gatherings.

20. What led people of the Neolithic Era/Agriculture Revolution to begin to plant crops and domesticate animals? During the Neolithic Era the climate became warmer. Humans developed new innovations like stone tools and weapons.

21. What is a land bridge? A land bridge is a strip of land connection tow continents.

22. How did land bridges help people migrate around the world 22. How did land bridges help people migrate around the world? Land bridges connected continents, allowing people to leave the freezing weather and move to warmer, drier continents.

23. What continent did early humans first migrate from? Africa 24. When did early humans first reach North America? About 12,000-15,000 years ago early Americans crossed the Bering Land Bridge. 25. What region of the world was probably the last to be occupied by early humans? Early humans did not reach South America until about 10,000-11,000 years ago.

26. How did the development of agriculture bring change to human society? People learned how to plant their own seeds to produce food. They no longer had to follow animal herds and were able to settle in one spot for an extended period of time.

27. The Neolithic Era/Agriculture Revolution was the shift from food gathering to food producing.

In 1959, Archaeologist Mary Leakey discovered bones in East Africa that were more than 1.5 million years old. This tells us that early humans first appeared in East Africa.