Origins of Civilization and Early Cultural Hearths

Apuntes

Key Ideas Chapter 2 Unit 1: Origins of Civilization 1. Cultural hearth is a place from which new ideas, practices, and technology spread. All cultural hearths began to practice new methods of domesticating animals and plants. They lived in settled communities. Geographically, these sites had mild climates, fertile land, and access to rivers. They all developed during the Neolithic period. 2. Four cultural hearths a. Mesoamerica: Oaxaca (Mexico, Central America) Farmers produced corn (maize). It was a very productive crop. Mesoamericans relied on it for their annual food supply. Archaeologists have found prehistoric corncob fragments in the highlands of Oaxaca. b. Faiyum: is an oasis about 50 miles south of Cairo, Egypt. (North Africa) It borrowed its agricultural practices from other areas. Nile River Valley. They grew wheat and barley. c. Catalhoyuk: It was in Southwest Asia. It is one of the world’s oldest permanent settlements. It relied on farming for food. They grew surpluses of food, so they did not depend on hunting and gathering to survive. It is considered an advanced culture because archaeologists have found lead and copper, a sign of metallurgy. People made stronger and ...