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Published byDana Briggs Modified over 9 years ago
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Pangea
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Culture: way of life of a society that is handed down from one generation to the next by learning and experience Cultural diffusion: the spread of cultural items—such as ideas, styles, religions, technologies, languages etc.—between individuals, whether within a single culture or from one culture to another.culturalideasstylesreligions technologieslanguages
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Chapter 1: Foundations of Civilization (Prehistory-300 B.C.) Section 1: Understanding Our Past Prehistory-the period of time thousands and thousands of years before writing was invented Historians study and write about the past -artifacts -written evidence -photographs and films Historians evaluate all this evidence to judge reliability A major goal of historians is to determine causes of certain events
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Historians are not always accurate: -personal experiences -cultural background -political opinions These biases cause debate among historians Investigating Prehistory The study of Prehistory is known as Anthropology Anthropologists focus on physical and cultural traits of past peoples Archaeology is a branch of Anthropology that studies material remains
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Archaeologists frequently revise theories as new evidence is discovered Archaeologists employ other scientists such as geologists, botanists, zoologists and biologists Modern archeologists are aided by technology such as computers and aerial photographs Discoveries in Africa and Beyond Prehistoric people are mysterious for several reasons: -no cities -no countries -no organized governments -no complex inventions
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Mary and Louis Leakey discovered artifacts thought to be as old as 2.1 million years These artifacts showed that primitive people developed technology In 1959 Mary discovered a Hominid skull By 1974 a full Hominid skeleton had been discovered by Donald Johanson Scientists have concluded that various groups of Hominids have lived over millions of years They also believe that they all originated in Africa Homo sapiens first appeared between 250,000 and 100,000 years ago
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Hominid and Homo Erectus
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Homo Sapiens and Neanderthal
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Geico Cavemen and Human Beings Section 1 vocab pg 4, #3-5 on pg 10
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Section 2: Turning Point The Neolithic Revolution Prehistory is divided into 2 phases: Old Stone Age (Paleolithic) 2 million b.c.-10,000 b.c. New Stone Age (Neolithic) 10,000b.c.-end of prehistory The Neolithic Age is defined by changes in skills and technologies Skills and Beliefs of the Old Stone Age Early humans were nomadic people They live in small groups and hunted and gathered for survival They depended on the environment for food and shelter, and adapted to their surroundings They made advancements in tools, clothing and spoken language
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Old Stone Age people began to develop spiritual beliefs They buried their dead with supplies needed in the after life They believed in spirits and forces in all sorts of objects-animism The New Stone Age Begins With Farming Beginnings of New Stone Age date back to about 10,000 B.C. Nomadic people discovered farming which drastically altered their way of life For the first time people could stay in one place instead of searching for food
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Early farmers were the first to domesticate plants and animals The Neolithic Revolution Brings Dramatic Change This was the greatest change until the Industrial Revolution of the 1700’s Established villages led to advances in culture and technology Jericho is one of the first established villages and still exists today Men dominated most aspect of village life
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The First Village People
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Earliest form of governments were established in these first villages Village people also began to acquire possessions which led difference in wealth or class Villagers also created new technologies such as: -calendar -animals -tools -storage containers Vocab pg 11 #3-5 pg 15
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Section 3: Beginnings of Civilization Civilizations are complex, highly organized social orders Civilizations emerged as villages became cities Cities began along fertile river valleys that produced surpluses of food Rivers provided fertile land and a constant water supply River valley required much cooperation to build dikes, canals and irrigation ditches To organize labor, more complex systems of government were formed
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The first cities were well organized and surrounded by thick walls Civilizations have 8 major features: -cities -organized governments -complex religions (poly and mono-theistic) -job specialization -social classes -arts and architecture -public works -writing As rulers gained more power, city-states began to emerge Rulers forced peasants to grow crops, many of which benefited the government
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As powerful rulers conquered more cities, empires emerged As civilizations grow they experience many changes Cultural diffusion was an important source of change People of different cities began to share and adapt customs Vocab pg 17, #3-5 pg 23
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