WHI.2 Prehistory: The History Before There Was History
What is Prehistory?
Before we can learn history, first we have to understand Prehistory
Man only learned to write 5,000 years ago
When stuff started to get written down, that's the start of Recorded History
Humans, and their ancestors, lived for hundreds of thousands of years before anything was
written down
The period of time before people started writing things down is called Prehistory
Who Studies History?
Historians
Historians study, write, and teach about the past
Learn about the past from artifacts
Artifacts = stuff made by man
Coin, art, tombstones, newspapers, written records
Try to figure out why stuff happened
Anthropologists
Anthropologists study people and the societies they live in
Some study how people live today, and some study how they lived in the past
Anthropologists study culture (beliefs, values, practices)
Archaeologists
Archaeologists are a type of anthropologist
They too study the culture and societies of people, only they study people no longer around
Since they can't observe their subjects or interview them, archaeologists study the artifacts
they've left behind
1
Artifacts like: tools, weapons, pottery, clothing and jewelry
Better understand how ancient people lived, and what they believed
Let's Talk About Dating!
How do archaeologists know hold old the artifacts they dig up are?
Radio Carbon Dating is a scientific process scientists use to figure out how old organic material
is.
Everything that's alive absorbs a type of radiation from the Sun in the form of an isotope called
Carbon 14.
When something dies, the Carbon 14 begins to break down
We know it takes 5,000 years for Carbon 14 to breakdown, so by measuring how much Carbon
14 is left in an artifact, we can figure out how old it is.
A Brief Look At How We Got Here
Human beings, mankind as we are today, are the product of millions of years of development
and evolution
Our technical name is Homo sapiens sapiens, and we first emerged in eastern Africa sometime
between 100,000 and 400,000 years ago.
There were others before us though, and they helped us become what we are today.
Hominids
Humans, or Homo sapiens, are from a class of animals called Hominids
Hominids are creatures that walk upright on two feet as their way of transportation
There used to be many kinds of hominids on Earth, but now humans are the last and only
The first hominid, or the first animal to walk on two-feet all the time, was Australopithecus
Australopithecus
Australopithecus was the first hominid
2
Emerged in Eastern Africa in an area called the Great Rift Valley, between 3 and 4 million years
ago.
Homo habilis
Type of hominid that lived 2 million years ago
Name means “Handy Man”
Made and used basic tools for cutting, scraping, and chopping materials
From Eastern Africa
Homo erectus
Lived 1.6 million years ago
Walked fully upright
Was able to use fire
More advanced tools like the ax
Africa, Asia, Europe
Neanderthal
Discovered in Germany near the Neander River
From 100,000 to 30,000 years ago.
Found in Europe and Southwest Asia (country of Turkey today)
Lived in cold climates, adapted with shelters and animal skins
Physically, large muscles and bones
Buried their dead = religion
Vanished 30,000 years ago
Homo sapiens
Emerges in East Africa 100,000 to 400,000 years ago
3
Homo sapiens migrated from Africa to Eurasia (Europe and Asia), Australia, and the Americas.
Name means, “wise man”
Cave Paintings
Cro-Magnons = early form of Homo sapiens
Homo sapiens sapiens = us today
Lived alongside Neanderthals until Neanderthals mysteriously vanished 30,000 years ago
Only remaining hominid on Earth
How to Survive the Earth
● Big Idea:
Early humans were hunters and gatherers whose survival depended on the availability of wild
plants and animals.
Follow the herds as they move and keep looking for fresh water and wild plants
Breaking Down Prehistory
Prehistory, the time before man began to write stuff down, is divided into two different eras
Paleolithic Era or Old Stone Age (2 million B.C. To 10,000 B.C.)
Neolithic Era or New Stone Age (10,000 B.C. To 3,000 B.C.)
Paleolithic Era / Old Stone Age
Nomadic people, migrating to hunt and gather food, water, and shelter
Invented the first tools, including simple weapons
Learned how to make and use fire
Lived in clans (20-30 people)
Developed oral language
4
Created “Cave Art”
Began to travel around the world
100,000 years ago began to bury their dead- sign of religion or a belief in the afterlife
Many may have practiced animism- belief that spirits inhabit animals and objects
Cave paintings
Neolithic Era / New Stone Age
The Neolithic Era begins once man begins to farm
No longer a nomad, man can stay in one place and build permanent villages
Domesticate plants and animals
Used advanced tools
Made pottery
Developed weaving skills
All this change is a revolution- Neolithic Revolution!
Domestication
During the Neolithic man begins to domesticate plants and animals
Domesticate = raise something (plant or animal) in a controlled way to suit human uses
Dog is the first animal to be domesticated by man
Others include the goat
Two Ancient Civilizations Being Studied Today
Two of the earliest cities created by man are still being studied by archaeologists today
Both are located in an area called the Fertile Crescent
Their names are Jericho and Aleppo
5
Jericho
One of the first permanent human settlements
Located in the Fertile Crescent
Built between 8,000 and 10,000 B.C.
Size of a few football fields
Surrounded by a huge wall
Site of biblical events
Aleppo
One of the oldest cities in the world still inhabited by people- dates back to 6000 B.C.
Located in present day Syria
Raised hill in center of city for temple
Walled city
Central location of civil war in Syria
Catal Huyuk
Neolithic settlement found in area called Anatolia (today Turkey)
32 acres enclosed, holding 6000 people
Mud-brick houses
Stonehenge
Prehistoric archeological site in England
Started in the Neolithic Era, finished during the Bronze Age
Not completely understood, but gives us an idea of ancient England
Religious? Astronomical?
6