culture - the beliefs, art, customs, food, etc., of a group or society
custom - a tradition; something that people do over and over again
diffusion - the act or process of spreading out in all directions
economics - the science of how goods and services are made and sold, or any considerations having to do with money
language - a common system of oral or written communication shared by the people of a certain area or group
migration - a movement or change of position, usually of many people or animals
politics - activities having to do with the government
religion - belief in a god or gods, or the set of practices and beliefs associated with worshipping a god or gods
social structure - the set of relationships between a large group of people
tradition - a belief, custom, or usual way of doing things, handed down within families or other groups
Paleolithic Age - Old Stone Age; the age when people had to hunt animals and gather wild plants, seeds, fruits, and nuts to survive
nomadic - wandering from place to place; without a permanent home
migration - movement of people from one place to another
hunter gatherer - people who hunt animals and gather wild plants, seeds, fruits, and nuts to survive
flint - a very hard stone that produces a spark
cave art - prehistoric paintings found in caves
Lascaux Cave - paleolithic cave paintings from 15,000 BCE located in France
Otzi - natural mummy found in Otzal Alps that was radio carbon dated to 3,300 BC
Lucy - the first presumed human remains / bones; they lived around 3.5 million years ago
Ice Age - any period of time during which glaciers covered a large part of the earth's surface
extended family - a family that extends beyond the nuclear family, including grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other relatives
fossil - a trace of an ancient organism that has been preserved in rock
Paleontologist - a scientist who studies fossils to learn about organisms that lived long ago
prehistory - the period of time before written records
evidence - proof
Neolithic Age - 9,000 B.C. - 3,000 B.C. defined by a change from small, nomadic hunter-gatherers to larger, agricultural settlements
rock monuments - as a mode of personal and cultural expression, people craft rock art to convey stories, values, and beliefs
Stonehenge - a Neolithic stone circle monument built 5000 years ago in England possibly for religious and astrological purposes
leisure time - time free from work or duties
surplus - an amount more than what is needed
agriculture - farming
specialization - the development of skills in a specific kind of work
Catalhoyuk - a large Neolithic settlement in Turkey, which existed from approx 7500 BC to 5700 BC, and flourished around 7000 BC
domesticated animals - adapting animals for human use: Milk, meat, wool, and labor
adapt - to change for new situations
archaeologist - an expert who studies the past by examining objects that people have left behind
secondary source - information gathered by someone who did not take part in or witness an event
primary source - original document w/the observations, ideas, and opinions of a person present at the event, diary, oral history, photos
artifact - an object made by a human being, typically an item of cultural or historical interest
culture - behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people from one generation to the next
chronological order - arranged in order of time
Otzi - natural mummy found in Otztal Alps radio carbon dated to 3,300 B.C.
Fertile Crescent - an area in the Middle East centered around the Tigris and Euphrates rivers
Mesopotamia - an area (not a civilization), between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, composed of several city-states (a Greek word that means “between two rivers”)
city-state - an independent state made up of a city and the land around it
irrigation systems - the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops
Epic of Gilgamesh - a poem from ancient Mesopotamia, one of the earliest surviving major works of literature
Euphrates River - a river in the Fertile Crescent that joins to the Tigris River
Tigris River - a river in the Fertile Crescent that joins the Euphrates River
Sumerians - the first people to inhabit Mesopotamia; originally lived in the mountains but moved to the Plain of Shinar near the Persian Gulf
pictographs - a picture symbol for a word or phrase
scribes - professional writers who first drew pictographs on clay tablets using a wedge-shaped instrument
ancient stylus - a wedge-shaped instrument used by scribes who first drew pictographs on clay tablets
cuneiform - writing system which consisted of wedge-shaped characters
ziggurat - a pyramid tower in ancient Mesopotamia, used by the ancient Assyrians, Babylonians, and Sumerians
Akkadians - moved into Sumeria from the Arabian Peninsula; a Semitic people who adopted much of the Sumerian culture
Hammurabi - king of ancient Babylonia famous for his code of laws
Hammurabi's Code - a legal code written by a leader of Babylon; one of the earliest written codes of law
Hanging Gardens of Babylon - decorative gardens planted on the terraces of the ziggurats of ancient Babylon; built by King Nebuchadnezzar for his wife
Babylonia - an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia
astronomy - the study of the universe, including the movement of the stars and planets
astrology - the belief that the positions and movements of the planets and stars can affect or predict life on Earth
Gate of Ishtar - the eighth gate to the inner city of Babylon constructed in 575 BCE by King Nebuchadnezzar II
standing army - composed of soldiers who choose the army as their career (when not fighting, they are still in the army, training to fight)
Anatolia - the home of the Hittites, with rocky land where they could grow grain and graze animals; the ancient name for Asia Minor
smelting - the extraction of metal from its ore by a process involving heating and melting
metallurgy - the branch of science and technology concerned with the properties of metals and their production and purification