HISTORICAL & CULTURAL TERMS

Beginnings of History About 5,000 years ago, groups of people in different parts of the world began keeping written records This is the beginning of recorded history Prehistory -The long period of time before people invented writing.

Historians History- The study of things past. Historians- Scholars who study and write about the historical past. Historians study artifacts -objects made by humans Jobs of a historian: evaluate evidence, draw conclusions, interpret and present findings. What three skills of historians does he identify?

Fossils versus Artifacts Fossil ◦ The remains of living things-plants, animals, or people. Artifact The remains of things that were made by people

Anthropology Anthropology -Study of the origins and developments of people and their societies Emic-From the perspective of the people being studied Etic-From the perspective of the anthropologist Archaeology -Study of past peoples and cultures through their material remains Culture -The way of life of a society, including beliefs, values, and practices. What are some topics an anthropologist might study?

Other Important Terms ◦ Ethnicity/Ethnic Group-A group of people who identify with each other based on a common background and culture. ◦ Ethnography-Study of ethnicity and culture ◦ Nationality-The country which a person identifies with. ◦ Religion-Organized collection of beliefs and worldviews. ◦ Language-Complex system of human verbal communication. Paul Rusesabagina’s ethnicity is Hutu. His nationality is Rwandan. His religion is Christianity. His language is Kinyarwanda.

TIME

Important Terms ◦ BC-Before Christ, the years before the birth of Christ in the Christian calendar. ◦ AD-Anno Domini, the years after the birth of Christ, beginning with the year 1. ◦ BCE-Before Common Era, non-religious form of BC. ◦ CE-Common Era, non religious form of AD.

Christian Calendar Begins with the birth of Christ Originally based on the Julian Calendar Replaced in 1582 by the Gregorian Calendar, a slight correction Actually four years off- Christ was born in 4 BC

Hebrew Calendar Year 1=“The Year of Creation,” 3761 BCE Days go from sunset to sunset New Year=Rosh Hashanah Upcoming year will be 5775

Islamic Calendar Begins with Muhammad leaving Mecca for Medina- the Hijrah (622 AD) Lunar calendar Next year will be 1436 AH (In the year of the Hijrah)

Measures of Time ◦ Decade-A period of ten years. ◦ Century-A period of 100 years. ◦ Millennium-A period of 1000 years. ◦ There is no year 0. ◦ Centuries and millennia, AD begin in years ending in “1” and end in years ending in “0” ◦ Centuries and millennia, BC begin in years ending in “0” and end in years ending in “1”

Century Rules ◦ The first century began in the year 1 AD and lasted until the last minute of the year 100 AD. ◦ The second century began in the year 101 AD and lasted until the last minute of the year 200 AD. ◦ The first century, BC began in the year 100 BC and lasted until the last minute of the year 1, BC. ◦ The second century, BC began in the year 200 BC and lasted until the last minute of the year 101 BC.

How to calculate the time span between dates ◦ When both dates are in AD or both dates are in BC, subtract one from the other. ◦ Example: From 2000 to 2014 is 14 years. ◦ Example: From 100 BC to 90 BC is 10 years. ◦ When one date is in AD and one date is in BC, add them, and subtract 1 (since there was no year 0) ◦ Example: From 100 BC to 100 AD is 199 years. ◦ From 1 BC to 2014 AD is 2014 years.