1 Chapter 1 The Beginnings of Human Society Section 1 Geography and History Section 2 Prehistory Section 3 The Beginnings of Civilization Notebook Number Mr. Graver Old World Cultures Name Period
2 Now that you re an official amateur Geographer, you re ready to continue your exploration into the study of Old World Cultures! As we move through this class, you ll soon find that each chapter we study gets better and better! In this chapter, you ll learn about archaeologists and how they do their jobs, what the difference is between pre-history and history, what it was like living as a Neanderthal and Cro- Magnon during a time period called The Stone Age, and why farming was a huge discovery which helped to develop the first civilizations! You ll have Old World Cultures oozing from your brain by the time we finish! Section 1 Geography and History In this section, you ll get official definitions for the terms history, prehistory, and geography. You ll also find out what archaeologists are and how they do their jobs. You could say we re digging into to past in this section! 1. Read the short paragraphs about the Iceman. What were some items found with him? What do those items tell us about his life?
3 Understanding History Before and After Writing 2. How long ago did people develop writing? 3. Define HISTORY 4. Define PREHISTORY 5. What time period is longer: PREHISTORY or HISTORY? Pre-History: Digging up the past 6. What must scientists study if they want to learn about people who lived during Prehistory? 7. Define ARCHAEOLOGIST
4 8. What do we call objects made by humans in the past such as a tool, weapon, pottery or jewelry? 9. What is the difference between an ARTIFACT and a FOSSIL? 10. What can Archaeologists learn about people just by studying the size of the spear points they used? History: A Record In Writing 11. What else do historians study other than objects people left behind? What do these records tell us about people who lived in the past? A Record of the Spoken Word 12. What are ORAL TRADITIONS? What can they tell us about people who lived in the past? 13. What often happens to Oral Traditions when they are told and re-told?
5 14. What s the best was to preserve history? Linking Geography and History 15. Define GEOGRAPHY 16. How can the geography of an area affect history? 17. How did the geography of EGYPT affect the lives of the Ancient Egyptians?
6 Section 2 Prehistory Gosh Those archaeologists have tough jobs, don t they? They find a good spot to dig and dig and dig. Sometimes they find lots of artifacts Sometimes they find absolutely nothing. It s almost like a treasure hunt. In this section, we ll find out what archaeologists have learned about the very first people who lived on earth during prehistory. We ll learn about the Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons who lived during the Stone Age and how farming changed people s lives. 1. How old are the footprints described in the opening paragraphs of this chapter? What do they tell us about the people who lived during that time? Stone Age Hunting and Gathering Earliest Human Culture 2. What did humans begin using almost 2.5 million years ago? What were they made from? 3. Define STONE AGE 4. How do we divide the time period known as The Stone Age?
7 5. What didn t people know how to do during The Old Stone Age? How did they get the food they needed? 6. What two ways do archaeologists use to figure out how old an artifact is? Why aren t these methods always completely accurate? Fire! 7. How did early people probably discover fire? 8. Why was the discovery so important to early people? Settling New Areas 9. Define NOMADS 10. On what continent did humans probably originate? Where did they migrate to from there?
8 The Beginning of Farming 11. What important discovery did people make during the New Stone Age? Early Farming 12. Did people all over the world discover farming at the same time? 13. Who probably discovered farming? Why do we think this? Farming Around the World 14. Define FERTILE 15. How do soil, water, and the length of the growing season affect people s lives? Plant Selection 16. Define DOMESTICATE
9 Raising Animals 17. What type of animal was probably first to be domesticated? How did they help people? 18. How did the domestication of other animals help people? The Challenge of Domestication 19. Why is it sometimes impossible to domesticate certain types of animals?
10 Section 3 The Beginnings of Civilization We re getting to the REALLY big stuff now! In this section, you ll find out how people s lives got better when they settled down to live in one area, how the first cities were created, and how the first civilizations formed and spread! 1. Define IRRIGATION 2. Would people be able to irrigate their land without teamwork? Advantages of a Settled Life 3. Even though farming is sometimes harder than hunting and gathering, why do people still do it? 4. Define SURPLUSS The Population Grows 5. What does having more food than you need do to the size of families?
11 Early Villages and Towns 6. What did some people do when they didn t have to spend all day producing food? The Growth of Cities 7. What was the geography like in the areas where the first cities developed? The Earliest Cities 8. What did the first cities have that smaller villages did not? Government Forms 9. Why did GOVERNMENT develop in the first cities? The First Civilizations 10. What is a CIVILIZATION?
12 The Bronze Age 11. What discovery was made by mixing COPPER and TIN together? How was this discovery probably made? 12. Why was the discovery of BRONZE a valuable discovery? Trade and the Spread of Ideas 13. What did people do to get the things they wanted and needed? 14. Why was the discovery of the WHEEL and AXEL so important? 15. What other way were people able to get goods from one place to another? 16. What happened to groups of people when they traded things back and forth?
13 Social Classes Developed 17. Define SOCIAL CLASS 18. Describe some of the Social Classes that developed in large cities. What jobs did people have in each Social Class?