| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
Origins of Humankind | |
- | Humans belong to the primate order which includes monkeys and apes. The apes split into two ranches- the tree dwelling apes and ground dwelling apes |
- | Over time the ground dwelling apes, known as hominids, began to walk upright. They were considered to be pre humans. The brain of this species increased in size causing the development of thinking men or home sapiens. The very first relative of homo sapiens was found in Tanzania at a place called Olduvai Gorge. This relative was considered to be 1.75 million years old. |
- | In Ethiopia, a female skeleton was located and dated to be 3 to 3.8 million years old. |
- | Lastly, a skeleton in South Africa was found to be at least 3.5 million years old. |
- | Other later descendants of homo sapiens include homo habilus who walked erect and developed a hand that allowed the making of tools. |
- | Homo erectus- He stood upright, learned to utilize fire and perfected the use of an all-purpose axe. |
Preliterate Cultures (before writing) | |
Paleolithic Age/Stone Age (characteristics) | |
- | The Paleolithic Age is characterized by the making and use of stone tools, also bows and arrows and spears were made. |
- | Paleolithic people were hunter gatherers. Men hunted and fished while women gathered fruits, picked wild plants, and prepared food. This culture is known for its cave arts of animals such as bison, reindeer, and horses. |
Neolithic Age | |
- | This age was characterized by an age of food production and domestication of sheep, goats, and pigs. |
- | The people were able to plant wild grains of wheat and barley and use it for everyday nourishment. At some of the neolithic sites, we find mud-brick homes, woven textiles, and pottery. The people here were able to drill holes into stones—to make stone bowls for storage and use stones for grinding grain. |
Preliterate Society and Religion | |
- | The basic family unit was the extended family (cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents). |
- | A clan was a group of extended families that could trace their existence to a common ancestor, usually the first person to do something significant such as killing a large animal. |
- | Clans were identified by a totem |
- | A tribe is a collection of clans. |
Religious Beliefs | |
- | Preliterate believed that life existed in the objects of nature such as animals, trees, and |
- | stones. There was also the belief in spirits that were distinct from material body. |
- | In neolithic society, there was the veneration/worship of the Earth goddess or the goddess of fertility. His goddess was responsible for giving life to humans and providing for foods planted in the ground. |
The Incredible Human Journey- Out of Africa | |
1. | What is the date of the skeletons of Homo sapiens? 195,000 years ago |
2. | What group in Namibia are the closest to our ancestors? Bushmen of the Kalahari. |
3. | The oldest language used these kinds of sounds? Click languages |
4. | What were some stone blades in South Africa caves used for? Handle to make compound tools such as knives, hunting weapons- These weapons could be lethal. -A series of small blades mounted into a handle for cutting weapons. The bladelets my have mounted as barbs on weapons, which would prevent the tip from pulling out and inflict greater injury. |
5. | How was the remainder of the world populated? A single band of people/pioneers that left Africa. |
6. | What route did African populations take to leave the continent? Crossing the Gate of Grief at the mouth of the Red Sea before following a route of freshwater springs along the Arabian Coastline. |
7. | What was the size of the group that left Africa? A few hundred people. |
Egypt- Predynastic Period- 4500 B.C.E. | |
Communities settled around the fertile Nile Valley and grew a number of food stuffs. To insulate themselves from plagues, floods, and other natural disasters. | |
- | Farmers banded together to form chiefdoms. |
- | This period ended when King Menes united lower an upper Egypt into a new kingdom with its capital at Memphis. |
Pyramid Age- 2200 B.C.E. | |
- | During this period, the Egyptian King owned large plots of land that was worked by private people with the king receiving the surplus produced from the crop. |
- | The surplus supported artisans, administrators, priests, scribes and merchants- those who worked in the service of the pharaoh. |
- | Since the king was deemed to be divine, pyramids were built to preserve his embalmed body. The process of mummification was supposed to bring energy and activity to the dead king. The building of the pyramids was mostly provided by farmers who performed those tasks when the Nile flooded, and they could no longer farm. This was not drudge work rather Egyptians did it to support belief in the God/King. |
Egyptian Society and Economy | |
- | Most Egyptians were peasants who paid taxes to the landowners, nobles and pharaohs. |
- | Men could advance in society if they attended school at the hand of the scribe, they would learn to read and write, learn mathematics, and building skills. They wrote on clay tablets then later papyrus scrolls. |
- | Scribes could be teachers, engineers, priests, or doctors. |
Egyptian Women | |
- | Egyptian women wen compared with other earlier civilizations enjoyed a large number of rights in a generally paternalistic culture. (culture dominated and controlled by men) |
- | They could become musicians, farmers, gardeners, bakers, and even priestesses. |
- | Women had the capacity to purchase, sell, and inherit property. |
- | They could negotiate settlements to engage in business deals, testify in court, make wills, and initiate litigation (sue somebody). |
- | During divorce settlements, a woman could retain property brought into the marriage and also retain 1/3 of a couple’s communities’ property. |
Egyptian Religion | |
- | Life in Egypt was centered around the acts of gods. |
- | Personal illnesses floods, and droughts were attributed to the gods. |
- | There were male and female gods. Make gods were represented as kings and creators while goddesses were seen as nurturers, magicians, and sexual figures. |
- | People made sacrifices to local gods to protect their wellbeing and possessions. |
- | The most popular religious cult in Egypt was devoted to Osiris, who is the fertility God of the Nile. His death and resurrection are compared to the planting of grain and is sprouting. |
- | There is a myth associated with Osiris in regard to fertility and life after death. |
It seems that Osiris was cut into many pieces by his jealous brother, Seth. The pieces were spread throughout Egypt. Isis, the wife of Osiris, gathered all the pieces, wrapped them in a cloth, this act resurrected Osiris long enough to become the father of Horus. At the birth of Horus, crops sprouted and the Nile floods resumed. Seth is said to be the god of disorder and violence. While Osiris rules the Dead in the next world. Every mummified Egyptian was capable of becoming another Osiris, having the ability to be resurrected from the dead and have a blessed eternal life. Isis raised Horus by herself, to protect him from his evil uncle, Seth, who wanted to murder him. As an adult, Horus avenged his father’s murder. Horis became the god of order and Justice. Each pharaoh is considered to be the embodiment of Horis. | |
The Hatshepsut Story | |
When Thutmose I died, his third son took control of the throne His son was Thutmose II, Thutmose I had several wives including the mother of Thutmose II. The mother of Thutmose II was his minor queen. To unite the kingdom, Thutmose II married the daughter of his father’s principal queen. He married his half-sister. They were unable to produce a male heir. So, Thutmose II eventually produced a male heir with a concubine (sidepiece). When Thutmose II died, Thutmose III (his son) was still a young boy. Only sons can claim the Egyptian throne, however Hatshepsut declared that she was the successor to Thutmose I (his daughter). She also proclaimed that an oracle (wise man/wise person) had designated her as the daughter of Amon (named Amen or Amon- Ra) who is the King of all Egyptian Gods. Hatshepsut became the ruler of Egypt and was responsible for building many temples and palaces. And promoted trade in many of the countries’ largest cities. She ruled for 20 years. Thutmose III erased Hatshepsut’s name from the statues and destroyed many images of her. | |
Hatshepsut: Successful Female Pharaohs | |
1. | Who is the narrator of this piece and what has been given to Hatshepsut? Amon and all the lands and foreign countries. |
2. | What is meant by the Two-lands? Upper and lower Egypt. |
3. | Amen in this story becomes whom? King Thutmose I/ Thutmose I. |
4. | Why wasn’t the inscription erased from Hatshepsut’s tomb? Because it came from the God of all Gods-Amon. |