Neolithic period
1. What does “lush” mean? a) full and healthy b) empty and healthy c) empty and sick d) full and sick 2. What does "civilization" mean? a) a group of animals that are similar b) a group of people that are similar c) a group of buildings that are similar
d) a group of foods that are similar 3. What does "structures" mean? a) people b) animals a) writings b) buildings 4. Egypt was _______ most powerful country in the world. a) a b) the c) an d) that 5. The ancient Egyptians _______ very influential and had a big impact on how the worlddeveloped.
a) are b) were c) have been
d) will be 6. The Sphinx were built _______ the pyramids as guards for the tombs of the Pharaohs. a) in front of b) at d) under
UNIT I HISTORY __________________________________________________________ The British Isles in the Period of Ancient History Ancient Britain (part I) Introduction Apart from a few short references in classical literature knowledge of Britain before the Roman conquest (begun AD 43) is derived entirely from archaeological research. It is thus lacking in detail, for archaeology can rarely identify personalities, motives or exact dates. All that is available, is a picture of successive cultures and some knowledge of economic development. But even in Roman times Britain lay on the periphery of the civilized world and Roman historians, for the most part, provide for that period only a framework, into which the results of archaeological research can be fitted. Britain truly emerged into the light of history only after the Saxon settlements in the 5th century AD. Until late in the Mesolithic1 period Britain formed part of the continental landmass and was easily accessible to migrating hunters. The cutting of the land bridge, c. 6000-5000 BC, had important effects: migration became more difficult and remained for long impossible to large numbers. Thus, Britain developed insular characteristics, absorbing and adapting rather than fully participating in successive continental cultures. And within the island geography worked to a similar end; the fertile southeast was more receptive of influence from the adjacent continent than were the less-accessible hill areas of the west and north. Yet, in certain periods the use of sea routes brought these too within the ambit of the continent. From the end of the Ice Age2 (c. 11,000 BC) there was a gradual amelioration of climate, leading to the replacement of tundra by forest and of reindeer hunting by that of red deer and elk. Valuable insight on contemporary conditions was gained by the excavation of a lakeside settlement at Star Carr, North Yorkshire, which was occupied for about 20 successive winters by hunting people in the 8th millennium BC. Anglesey, Isle of 3 Anglesey island is known for its ancient history and its prehistoric and Celtic remains. It is low and fertile, in contrast to the mountainous North Wales mainland, and, hence, it was an early grain-growing and stock-raising centre. Seafaring and fishing were also significant. Trading contacts with Ireland were established early and the island lay on a prehistoric sea route, linking the Mediterranean with northern countries. Megalithic4 burial chambers and standing stones indicate late Neolithic5 and early Bronze Age6habitation. By 100 BCE7 the islanders had adopted Celtic language and culture. Anglesey became a famous Druid8 centre and a stronghold of resistance to the Romans. Early Celtic Christian churches and monasteries on Anglesey include Penmon Priory, founded by St. Seiriol in the 6th century. Aberffraw, on the southwest coast, was the capital of the Gwynedd princes from the 7th to the 13th century. Highly exposed to invasion from the sea, the island was attacked by Irish, Saxon, Viking and Norman venturers. It was finally subdued by the English king Edward I, who built the castle at Beaumaris (begun 1295). Isle of Anglesey county remains predominantly agricultural, but tourism has become important. The market town of Llangefni, on Anglesey island, serves as the administrative centre for the county.
Pre-Roman Britain Neolithic period A major change occurred c. 4000 BC with the introduction of agriculture by Neolithic immigrants from the coasts of western and possibly northwestern Europe. They were pastoralists as well as tillers of the soil. Tools were commonly of flint won by mining, but axes of volcanic rock were also traded by prospectors, exploiting distant outcrops. The dead were buried in communal graves of two main kinds: in the west tombs were built out of stone and concealed under mounds of rubble; in the stoneless eastern areas the dead were buried under long barrows (mounds of earth), which normally contained timber structures. Other evidence of religion comes from enclosures (e.g., Windmill Hill, Wiltshire), which are now believed to have been centres of ritual and of seasonal tribal feasting. From them developed, late in the 3rd millennium, more clearly ceremonial ditch-enclosed earthworks, known as henge monuments. Some, like Durrington Walls, Wiltshire, are of great size and enclose subsidiary timber circles. British Neolithic culture, thus, developed its own individuality.
From Encyclopedia Britannica by Sheppard Sunderland Frere, 2004
Notes: 1 Mesolithic ["mesəu'liθik] – a period relating to or denoting the middle part of the Stone Age, between the Paleolithic and Neolithic. 2 Ice Age – an "ice age" or, more precisely, "glacial age" is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. 3 Anglesey, Isle of ['aŋg(ə)lsi] – an island and county off the northwest coast of Wales, with a predominantly Welsh-speaking population. 4 Megalithic ["megə'liθik] – structures made of large stones utilizing an interlocking system without the use of mortar or cement. The word 'megalith' comes from the Ancient Greek meaning “ great stone”. 5 Neolithic ["ni:ə(u)'liθik] – Neolithic Era or Period or New Stone Age was a period in the development of human technology beginning about 9500 BC in the Middle East, that is traditionally considered the last part of the Stone Age. 6 Bronze Age – an archaeological era corresponding to various time periods, whenever a culture has discovered the manufacture of bronze. It is regarded as the second part of a three-age system for prehistoric societies. 7 BCE – Before the Christian Era 8 Druids – members of the priestly class in Britain, Ireland and Gaul and possibly other parts of Celtic western Europe during the Iron Age.
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