1. The Stone Age and Early Cultures
Chapter Two
The Stone Age and Early Cultures

2. 1. Define Prehistory
This was the time before writing

3. 2. Define Hominid
An early ancestor of humans

4. 3. Define ancestor
A relative who lived in the past

5. 4. Describe “homo habilis” and “homo erectus”.
Homo-habilis- means “handy man”, appeared in Africa 2.4 million years ago, stone tools for chopping and scraping, brains ½ size of modern humans
Homo-erectus- means “upright man”, appeared in Africa million years ago, stone tools like the hand ax, controlled fire, migrated to Asia and Europe

6. 5. Define “tool”
Any hand held object that has been modified to help a person accomplish a task

7. 6. When was the Paleolithic Era and what did people do during this time?
This was the first part of the Stone Age to about 10,000 years ago
During this time people used stone tools to cut, chop or scrape roots, bones or meat, used for about 2 million years
Then came better stone tools from mineral flint, this made hand axes and could break tree limbs, could dig, and to cut animal hides
Next they added wood to the stone tools and came up with the spear, used to hunt larger animals (deer, horses, bison and mammoths)

8. 7. Define society A community of people who share a common culture
These societies develop cultures with languages, religions and art

9. 8. Define hunter-gatherers
People who hunt animals and gather wild plants, seeds, fruits and nuts to survive
Most hunters in the Stone Age were men, they hunted in groups and chased herds over cliffs
Women were the gatherers and collected plants to eat and took care of children

10. 9. How did early humans express themselves?
Language- historians are unsure why is started though
Art- people carved figures out of stone, ivory and bone and painted and carved images of people and animals on cave walls, unsure why, it could be to teach others to hunt or had religious meanings

11. 10. Define migrate
To move to new places, they did this because climate changes and geography was changing

12. 11. Define land bridge
A strip of land connecting two continents

13. 12. How did the ice ages influence migration?
It allowed people to cross to the Americas on a land bridge

14. 13. When was the Mesolithic Era and what happened during this time?
This was the “Middle Stone Age” that lasted 10,000 years ago to about 5,000 years ago
During this time people found new uses for bone and invented hooks and fishing spears
Invented bow and arrows
Canoes from hallowed out logs
Kept dogs for pets and protections
Mammoth bone houses

15. 14. When was the Neolithic Era and what happened during this time?
This was the “New Stone Age” from about 10,000 years ago to about 5,000 years ago depending on where you were
People learned to polish stones and make saws and drills
Controlled fire better
The biggest change was how people learned to produce food

16. 15. Define domestication
The process of changing plants or animals to make them more useful to humans
This is what happened during the “New Stone Age” and changed people from being hunters and gatherers to farmers

17. 16. What was one effect of the switch to farming (agriculture)?
People stopped moving around to find food
Population grew with better control of food production
Towns developed in some areas

18. 17. Define megaliths
Huge stones used as monuments or as sites for religious gatherings
Early religion was a belief in gods and goddesses associated with the four elements (air, water, fire and earth) some prayed to their ancestors

19. 18. How did farming contribute to the growth of towns?
Because people stayed in one place to control food production so towns developed