Unit 1: Human Origins

Prehistory refers to the period of time...

• after the first civilizations emerged.
• before written language.
• when the first nation-states emerged.
• before humans existed.

How do we learn about prehistoric humans?

• We study their books and writings.

• We dig up and analyze what is left of them and the things they made.

• We study government documents.

• We listen to their music.

​ ​ (a)   study past cultures by locating and analyzing human remains, fossils, and artifacts.

• Archaeologists
• Anthropologists
• Instructors

How do experts determine the age of an organic (once living) item?

• By measuring the amount of carbon-14 (carbon dating)

• By counting the number of rings
• By examining the color
• By weighing the item

Match the following archaeological sites with their image or location.

• Stonehenge

• 
• Çatalhöyük, Turkey

• 
• Located in the Levant (Holy Land)

• Aleppo & Jericho

Aleppo, Jericho, Çatalhöyük, and Stonehenge are all archaeological sites built during the...

• Bronze Age
• Neolithic period
• Iron Age
• Paleolithic period

Click on the map where Çatalhöyük is located.

Click on the map where Aleppo is located.

Click on the map where Jericho is located.

This region is a crescent-shaped area of fertile land where some of the earliest civilizations developed.

• Sahara Desert
• Amazon Rainforest
• Fertile Crescent
• Great Plains