Thursday, January 30, 2020

Early Human Life

Taking Notes: Hominids walk upright, like humans or australopithecines.  
Australopithecines was a species of hominids from Southern and Eastern Africa   like Lucy, that were able to spot threatening animals and carry food and children.  This species had an opposable thumb. They came into existence around 4 million B.C. to 1 million B.C.
Homo Habilis was another species of hominids from East Africa, their name means "man of skill".  They used tools made of lava rocks, the tools are believed to have been used for meat cutting and breaking things open.  Their brains were 200 cm cubed bigger than the australopithecines'.  Homo Habilis came into existence around 2.5 million B.C. to 1.5 million B.C. 

Around 1.6 million B.C. to 30,000 B.C. came the Homo Erectus.  Their brains were 300 cm cubed bigger than the Homo Habilis' and they were also more adaptable.  They became skillful hunters and developed sophisticated technology for things like  digging, scraping, and cutting.  They were the first hominids to finally migrate from Africa into Asia,  India, China, Southeast Asia, and Europe. They also developed a spoken language.  
Neanderthals were around from 200,000- 30,000 B.C. in Europe and Southeast Asia.  Their brains were 450 cm cubed bigger than Homo Erectus'. They survived Ice Age winters by living in caves or temporary shelters made of wood and animal skins.  They made stone blades, scrapers, and other tools for cutting and skinning meat.  
The Cro-Magnon's were from Europe from about 40,000 B.C. to 8000 B.C..  Their remains are identical to modern humans and about 5 and a half feet tall.  

Analyzing Key Concepts: During the Old Stone Age was when species of hominids were figuring out how to live and survive and learning how the world works.  The New Stone Age is us humans putting all that work to use with our modern day economic system, farming, and working.  

Drawing Conclusions: The work of the anthropologists, archeologists, and paleontologists was really about learning our history and where we really came from and what makes our lives and main focuses the way they are.  The Leakey's discovered the first fossil.  Johnson discovered "Lucy" who was the first female skeletal fossil which was important because it led to the eventual discoveries of all the historical hominid species.  

1. Artifacts are human-made objects, such as tools and jewelry.
Anthropologists study culture, or a people’s unique way of life. Anthropologists examine the     artifacts at archaeological digs.
Humans and other creatures that walk upright, such as australopithecines, are called hominids.
The earlier and longer part of the Stone Age, called the Old Stone Age or Paleolithic Age, lasted from about 2.5 million to 8000 B.C. 
The old- est stone chopping tools date back to this era. The New Stone Age, or Neolithic Age, began about 8000 B.C. and ended as early as 3000 B.C. in some areas.
Homo erectus people used intelligence to develop technology—ways of applying knowledge, tools, and inventions to meet their needs.
Many scientists believe Homo erectus eventually developed into Homo sapiens— the species name for modern humans.

2. I think the Homo Erectus had the biggest advance because they went from just cutting and breaking stuff to finding more sophisticated ways for everything they did.

3. The bones give clues that hominids have been in existence for longer then we knew and expected and we've been growing for millions of years now. 

4. Major achievements during the Old Stone Age was hunting, making tools, and developing spoken language.  


5. Neanderthals and Cro-Magons were more sophisticated and maturely developed than the earlier species because they had more advanced technology, better hunting and a spoken language.

Monday, January 27, 2020

What is Economic Liberalism?

1. Define Economic Liberalism
2. Identify characteristics of capitalism
3. Compare capitalism to other economic systems - (Communism, Socialism)

*Thinking Historically: The Wealth of Nations


Economic Liberalism(also known as capitalism) is an economic system where the people get to make decisions on what to do with their money rather than the government telling them what to do. Characteristics of capitalism include: competitive markets, wage labor, private property, and capital accumulation. Capitalism is different from Communism and Socialism because Communism is where you don't have a choice of what to do with your money because there government decides. Socialism is also different because you have to pay more to the government in exchange for things like free healthcare or college. Capitalism allows the individual to accumulate capital and increase the size of the economy.

Tuesday, January 21, 2020

What is Western Civilization?

1. Define Western Civilization
2. Identifying and locating "The West"
3. Describe characteristics of the modern Western World

Thinking Historically: Characteristics of the Modern Western World


  1. Liberal Democracy  
  2. Economic Liberalism
  3. Christianity
  4. Separation of Church and State
  5. Progress
  6. Human rights and guaranteed civil liberties

Western civilization is a term used to describe the many cultures of European heritage that share common cultural ideas, philosophical foundations, and ancestral beliefs. "The West" does not particularly mean the direction west. The West is civilizations that have been significantly influenced by European culture. Characteristics include things like democracy, being able to choose what you do with your money, the spread of Christianity, the separation of Church and State, the continual progress the world is working with, and human rights. All the countries in "The West" have these 6 things in common.