hunting and gathering
The killing of wild animals and fish as well as the gathering of fruits, roots, nuts, and other plants for sustenance.
Neolithic Age
latest part of the Stone Age beginning about 10,000 BC in the middle east (but later elsewhere)
culture
A way of life
band
a small group of people
matrilocal
refers to the pattern in which married couples live with or near the wives' parents
Catal Huyuk
a Neolithic villiage in present day Turkey
Bronze Age
a period of human culture between the Stone Age and the Iron Age, characterized by the use of weapons and implements made of bronze
slash and burn agriculture
Another name for shifring cultivation, so named because fields are cleared by slashing the vegetation and burning the debris.
Hammurabi
King of the Babylonian empire; one of the world's oldest codes of law.
Indo Europeans
Group of Asian peoples who migrated to many different places: Ex. Hittites to Turkey; Aryans to India
civilizations
highly developed cultures
nomads
people who wander from place to place
homo sapiens
A species of the creatures Hominid who have larger brains and to which humans belong, dependent of language and usage of tools.
agrarian revolution
change in farming methods in the 1600s that improved the quality and quantity of farm products
matrilineal
tracing descent through the mother
neolithic revolution
the shift from hunting of animals and gathering of food to the keeping of animals and the growing of food on a regular basis around 8,000 BC
domestication
the taming of animals for human use, such as work or as food
babylonians
native group of people to mesopotamia
harappa
A large ancient city of the Indus civilization, created in present-day Pakistan
Mesopotamia
first civilization located between the Tigris & Eurphrates Rivers in present day Iraq; term means "land between the rivers;" Sumerian culture
Paleolithic
The "old" Stone Age, during which humankind produced the first sculptures and paintings.
Neanderthals
In Europe, another human species lived and adapted to life in the cold climates of the last Ice Age.
Natufian complex
pre-agricultural culture; located in present-day Israel, Jordan, and Lebanon; practiced collection of wild barley and wheat to supplement game; large settlement sites.
pastoralism
A type of agricultural activity based on nomadic animal husbandry or the raising of livestock to provide food, clothing, and shelter.
jericho
a village in Jordan near the north end of the Dead Sea
social differentiation
the relative access individuals and groups have to basic material resources, wealth, power, and prestige
ideographs
these words express a country's basic political values.
shang dynasty
the imperial dynasty ruling China from about the 18th to the 12th centuries BC