Unit 2
Name: ________________________
Class Period: ___________
Part 1: History, Fossils and Artifacts
Article 1: Ancient Coins Found
Buried in British Cave
By Kelly Dickerson, Staff Writer | July 11, 2014 12:48pm ET
Digging through a
cave in central Britain,
archaeologists
uncovered 26 ancient
gold and silver coins
belonging to the
Corieltauvi tribe, a
group of people that
lived in Britain before
the Roman conquest.
An excavation at Reynard's Kitchen Cave in the UK
unearthed 26 coins from the Iron Age and Roman
period.
Credit: Richard Davenport Photography
Archaeologists previously found collections of coins like these in other parts
of Britain, but this is the first time they have ever been discovered buried in
a cave. The discovery of the coins was a surprise, because they were found
at a site called Reynard's Kitchen Cave, which is located outside the
Corieltauvi's usual turf.
"It might be that we have a member of the tribe living beyond the boundary
that is more usually associated with the territory," Rachael Hall, an
archaeologist at the National Trust who led the excavation, told Live Science
in an email.
Article 2: Tooth Tales: Prehistoric
Plaque Reveals Early Humans Ate
Weeds
2
By Laura Geggel, Staff Writer | July 16, 2014 02:23pm ET
Researchers studied the dental calculus of skeletons,
such as this one of a young man, found at a
prehistoric gravesite in central Sudan.
Credit: Donatella Usai/Centro Studi Sudanesi and
Sub-Sahariani (CSSeS)
When looking for a meal, prehistoric people in Africa munched on the
tuberous roots of weeds such as the purple nutsedge, according to a new
study of hardened plaque on samples of ancient teeth.
Researchers examined the dental buildup of 14 people buried at Al Khiday,
an archeological site near the Nile River in central Sudan. The skeletons date
back to between about 6,700 B.C., when prehistoric people relied on hunting
and gathering, to agricultural times, at about the beginning of the first
millennium B.C.
The researchers collected samples of the individuals' dental calculus, the
hardened grime that forms when plaque accumulates and mineralizes on
teeth. Such buildup is fairly common in prehistoric skeletons, the researchers
said.
Complete the table below from the information you read in the two articles
on pages 2 & 3.
QUESTION
Article 1
Article 2
What did
3
archaeologists/
researchers
discover?
What was learned
from this
discovery?
What clues were
given to support
the researchers
to come to this
conclusion?
A fossil is a part or imprint of something that was once alive, typically
in some kind of rock or imprinted in material such as amber.
An artifact is an object left behind that was created and used by
humans.
Knowing the difference between fossils and artifacts, which was
found in these articles. Circle the correct answer next to the article.
Article 1
fossils
artifacts
Article 2
fossils
artifacts
MAKE A CONNECTION! How do historians use fossils and
artifacts to tell the stories of ancient people? Write a 3-5 sentence
paragraph. Use examples to better explain your points. You may
refer to the articles if needed.
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
4
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
 PAGES 6 – 11 are taken from the Holt World History text. As
you read—ANNOTATE and INTERACT with the text.
 ASKING QUESTIONS--PRE-READING: Look at headings, captions,
pictures. Predict what the text will tell you.
 UNDERLINE key vocabulary terms and their definitions.
 CIRCLE unfamiliar words.
 SUMMARIZE very important points in the margins.
History vs. Archaeology
CREATE a graphic organizer in the blank space below that
illustrates the difference between HISTORY and
5
ARCHAEOLOGY. You may choose to do a Top Hat, Venn Diagram,
T-Chart, or other visual.
You MUST include what makes each study different, examples of
what they may study, and ways in which they are similar.
From the information on Page 8, we know that studying
history helps us understand THREE things:
1.
6
2.
3.
In what ways does history help us know ourselves?
In what ways does history help us understand others?
In what ways does history help us know our world?
APPLY IT: “Why do I need to study history?” As a young
person studying history, how might you explain to someone
who doesn’t see the value of history why it is important to
understand the events of the past. Make sure to support your
reasoning to make your argument strong!
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
Name ___________________________________ Class Period _______
STUDYING HISTORY FORMATIVE! Remove this sheet
from your packet.
7
Answer the following questions by circling the BEST answer.
1. The tablet shown above with ancient writing is an
example of _______________.
a. a primary source and an artifact
b. a primary source and a fossil
c. a secondary source and an artifact
d. a secondary source and a fossil.
2. Which of the following is the BEST reason to explain why
we study history?
a. We can learn the dates of important events.
b. We can learn interesting facts about famous people.
c. We can learn about ourselves and other people.
d. We can hear stories about strange things.
3. Which of the following would an archaeologist find most
interesting?
a. Writings about a battle during the Civil War
b. An ancient tool used to hunt buffalo
c. Oceans that influence weather patterns
d. The shift of the continents over time
4. Which of the following is an example of a primary
source?
8
a.
b.
c.
d.
A journal entry from a young bride traveling west
An article from a current encyclopedia
Data on weather and climate
A book about the people of ancient China
5. . If a historian writes his or her own opinion, this is an
example of a
a.
b.
c.
d.
A primary source
A secondary source
An encyclopedia article
An artifact
6. How does history help citizens around the world know their
own countries better?
a. It teaches people about their past.
b. It teaches people how their government came into
existence.
c. It acknowledges their triumphs and tragedies.
d. It teaches all of the above.
7. Which of the following would a historian be least interested
in?
a. the bones of a group of people
b. the knowledge of a group of people
c. the beliefs of a group of people
d. the customs of a group of people
PART 2:
9
STONE AGES & EARLY CULTURES
The First People
Lucy - the most complete skeleton
Australopithecus afarensis is known from many fossil finds in Tanzania,
Kenya and Ethiopia, but Lucy is particularly important because she is the
most complete and well-preserved afarensis fossil ever found.
Unearthed in 1974, around 40% of her full skeleton was recovered, making
her the most complete skeleton of an early human relative known at the time.
This relative completeness helped scientists begin to understand how early
human-like species walked on 2 legs (bipedally).
Ape-like characteristics
The brain size of A. afarensis was ape-like, and there is no evidence so far
of tool-making.
A. afarensis was evidently similar to living apes in terms of diet, aspects of
biology, growth and development.
Habitat and way of life
The habitat of A. afarensis was probably a mix of woodland, where they
foraged for food on the ground and in trees, along with more open areas
where they would have walked upright.
Evidence from their teeth suggest that this hominid ate soft fruits and
leaves but was also adapted to eat harder, more brittle foods too.
Australopithecus afarensis fossils are providing us with vital clues as to what
hominid life was like after upright walking emerged and before the use of tools
transformed human evolution.
Based on this article, what do scientists believe Lucy was
able to do? What was she NOT able to do? Make a chart in
the space below.
Lucy lived in the time of known as prehistory. This is the
time before writing existed. Since writing has only been
10
around for 5,000 years, there is much of history that isn’t
recorded.
Lucy is known as a hominid. Scientists believe that
hominids are early ancestors of humans. An ancestor is a
relative who lived in the past.
There are a number of different hominids scientists believe
existed over the course of prehistory. Complete the graphic
organizer below. From the information you read on the
following pages.
Homo habilis
Homo erectus
The First Tools
Homo sapiens
Later Tools
11
DESCRIBE the first tools.
Where were they found?
How were they made?
What material were later
tools made from? Why was
this material used?
For what purposes were
these later tools used?
What do scientists believe
the first tools were used for?
What was the benefit of
adding wooden handles to
later tools? Explain.
12
Read the sections on “Hunter-gatherer Societies” and “Society”
from the text.
From the word bank below, match the term or terms with
the BEST description
[cave] [women] [groups] [food] [society] [seeds] [cliffs]
[collecting] [fruits] [culture] [water] [children] [safer] [nuts]
[plants] [hunter-gatherers] [men]
A _____________________ is a community of people who share a common
_____________________________.
Early humans lived in small groups. In bad weather, they might
have taken shelter in a ________________________ if it was nearby.
If __________________ or ___________________ are hard to find, groups of
people would move to new areas.
Early humans of the Stone Age were _____________________________________.
Hunter-gatherers hunt animals and gather _______________________,
______________________, _______________________, and ___________________________ in
order to survive.
Anthropologists believe that hunters in the Stone Age were
______________. They hunted in _________________________. Sometimes, they
would chase animals off a ______________________! This was much
_________________ than hunting alone.
___________________________ in hunter-gatherer societies probably took
on the role of ________________________________ plants, staying near the
camp, and taking care of ______________________________________.
13
Language, Art, & Religion
List THREE reasons scientists believe language
developed.
1.
2.
3.
ART is another way early people expressed
themselves. What did early people carve figures out
of?
Where would early people paint pictures of people
and animals?
What are two THEORIES scientists have about why
early people made paintings?
1.
2.
What was discovered that would suggest early people
had some kind of religious beliefs?
14
THE PATH OF MIGRATION
Reading “People Move Out Of Africa,” “The Ice Ages,” and
“Settling New Lands.” As you read, complete the chart to
describe the SEQUENCE of events as people moved out of
Africa during the Ice Ages and settled in new areas.
FIRST
THEN
THEN
THEN
THEN
THEN
15
THEN
Adapting to new environments
Complete the bubbles in the space below with
details about how early humans adapted to their
new environments
CLOTHING
SHELTER
NEW TOOLS
TECHNOLOGIES
16
What was the Mesolithic Era? What did people do at this time in
history that defines the Mesolithic Era?
Summarizing “The Beginnings of Agriculture”
For each paragraph, write a one-sentence summary outlining the
most important idea in each paragraph in the boxes provided.
The First
Farmers,
par1
The First
Farmers,
par2
The First
Farmers,
par3
Plants,
paragraph1
Plants,
paragraph2
Plants,
paragraph3
Plants,
paragraph4
Animals,
paragraph1
Animals,
paragraph2
17
Reading
Check 1
What was one EFFECT (result) of the switch to
farming?
Farming
Changes
Societies,
par1
Farming
Changes
Societies,
par2
Farming
Changes
Societies,
par3
Farming
Changes
Societies,
par 4
Farming
Changes
Societies,
par5
Reading
Check
How did farming contribute to the growth of towns?
Use your summarizing notes to answer the following questions.
1. What is domestication of a plant or animal?
18
2. How did early people use domesticated animals?
3. What were gods or goddesses probably associated with in
prehistoric religion?
4. How did the domestication of plants and animals lead to the
development of towns?
5. What caused the need to develop agriculture/farming?
6. List THREE effects of the development of agriculture.
19
Vocabulary
Term
Definition
History
The study of the past
Term
Definition
Culture
The knowledge, beliefs, customs, and
values, of a group of people
Term
Definition
Archaeology
The study of the past based on what
people left behind
Term
Definition
Fossil
A part or imprint of something that was
once alive
Term
Definition
Artifacts
An object created and used by humans
Term
Definition
Primary source
An account of an event by someone who
took part in or witnessed the event
20
Term
Definition
Secondary source
Information gathered by someone who
did not take part in or witness the event
Term
Definition
Prehistory
The time before prehistory
Term
Definition
Hominid
An early ancestor of humans
Term
Definition
Ancestor
A relative who lived in the past
Term
Definition
Tool
An object that has been modified to help
a person accomplish a task
Term
Definition
Paleolithic Era
The first part of the Stone Age (The Old
Stone Age); when people first used stone
tools
Term
Definition
Society
A community of people who share a
common culture
21
Term
Definition
Hunter-gatherers
People who hunt animals and gather
wild plants, seeds, fruits, and nuts to
survive
Term
Definition
Migrate
To move to a new place
Term
Definition
Ice ages
Long periods of freezing weather
Term
Definition
Land bridge
A strip of land connecting two continents
Term
Definition
Mesolithic Era
The middle part of the Stone Age;
marked by the creation of smaller and
more complex tools
Term
Definition
Neolithic Era
The New Stone Age; when people
learned to make fire and tools such as
saws and drills
22
Term
Definition
Domestication
The process of changing plants or
animals to make them more useful to
humans
Term
Definition
Agriculture
Farming
Term
Definition
Megaliths
A huge stone monument
23