Understanding our past Chapter 1 Section 1

Geography and History Geography -study of people, their environments, and the resources available to them 5 Themes Location -tells you where something is on surface of Earth -Latitude and Longitude -Relative Location

-Latitude measures distance N&S of Equator -Longitude measures distance E&W of Prime Meridian

Place -Human characteristics Where people live, economics, religion, language -Physical features Landforms, bodies of water, climate, soil, plant and animal life, resources Human-Environment Interaction -using surroundings to advantage or clearing for something more “important”

Movement -of people, goods, and ideas Following herds of animals or moving for a job Region -based on physical location or could be due to political, economic, or cultural features Gulf states of Persian Gulf (physical) but broken down into Arabic speaking and Muslim areas

How Do We Know??? Prehistory -long period of time before people invented systems of writing Anthropology -study of origins and development of societies Culture- way of life in a society that is passed on Archaeology -study of past people and cultures, analyze remains to add to written records Artifacts- objects made by humans

Relative Dating? Using artifacts to determine age Absolute Dating? Using precise methods, chemicals, wood rings, carbon

Technology Computers- store and collect data Photography- patterns of how land used Radioactivity- determine age of certain objects Geologists- date rocks near objects for age Zoologists- examine seeds and animal bones to learn about diets Climatologists- develop possible weather patterns Biologists analyze human bones and bloodstains on stone tools or weapons

Reconstruct the Past Historians -study how people lived in the past Look at artifacts but rely heavily on written works Detection -historian must evaluate evidence to determine if reliable and then interpret -explain the meaning; why something happened -opinions may affect their interpretations

Discussion Questions How do you personally interact with your environment? How do anthropologists and archaeologists learn about the lives of prehistoric people? Why do you think it is important for us to understand our past?

Discoveries in Africa and Beyond Mary and Louis Leakey 1930s, Tanzania in Olduvai Gorge. Bottom layers 1.7 to 2.1 million years old Found tools of stone with decent technology 1959 Mary found skull belonging to Hominid? Group that includes humans and closest relatives that walk upright

1974 Donald Johanson in Ethiopia found hominid skeleton at least 3 million years old Named “Lucy” after a Beatles song Upright walker about 4 feet tall

Number of different hominid groups around over millions of years Australopithecines (aw stray loh pith uh synz)- earliest, in Africa, 7 million years ago, “Lucy” Homo habilis- 2 million years, “handy man”, stone tools for all activities Homo erectus- 2 million years, “upright man”, larger brains, bones, smaller teeth, fire, ax Remains found in Asia and Europe, first to migrate?

250,000 to 100,000 years ago Homo erectus disappeared and new group, Homo sapiens, emerged 2 Theories “Out of Africa”- first lived in Africa and migrated to other parts of world Homo erectus developed into Homo sapiens around same time in different parts of world Either way they eventually evolved into Neanderthals

What types of obstacles do historians have to overcome to give a straightforward account of events? How do you think they might do this? In what ways do archaeologists work with new technologies and other scholars in their work? Describe the story that anthropologists think the bones and tools they have discovered reveal about prehistory. Use these terms in a complete sentence that helps explain what the word means. (prehistory, historian, artifact, anthropology, culture, archaeology, Leakeys, Lucy, Olduvai Gorge)