Today’s Standard
SSWH1 The student will analyze the origins,
structures, and interactions of complex societies in the
ancient Eastern Mediterranean from 3500 BCE to 500
BCE.
Essential Question: How and where did humans
originate the concept of civilization?
The Earliest Humans
Outcome: Human Migration & Beginning of Agriculture
Human Migration &
Beginning of Agriculture
1.
Setting the Stage: Who are we?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Evidence suggests humans could be much older than originally thought
Scientists use artifacts to search for answers
Artifact: human made objects like tools and jewelry
Unfortunately, prehistory can leave more questions than answers
Prehistory: time before the invention of writing
Human Migration &
Beginning of Agriculture
f. Important: The story is not complete and there are many questions left to answer
g. Two prevailing ideas (you will not be forced to pick a side):
i. Creation: Idea that a higher power put humans on earth
ii. Evolution: Theory that humans evolved from another being
Human Migration &
Beginning of Agriculture
2. Interesting Evidence Found in Africa
a.
Anthropologists (people who study culture) and paleontologists (people who
study fossils) attempt to use artifacts and fossils to understand early human’s
culture
b.
Culture: a people’s unique way of life
Lucy
Human Migration &
Beginning of Agriculture
c. Lucy
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
Unusually complete skeleton of female hominid
Hominid: being that walks upright on two legs
Discovered by Donald Johanson in 1974 in Africa
Named after Beatles song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”
Dated to be 3.5 million years old
Laetoli Footprints
Human Migration &
Beginning of Agriculture
d. Laetoli Footprints
i. Two hominid footprints preserved in volcanic ash in Africa
ii. Found by anthropologist Mary Leaky in 1978
iii. Dated to be 3.6 million years old
Human Migration &
Beginning of Agriculture
e. Neither Lucy nor the Laetoli footprints were made by actual humans
f.
Other beings such as Cro-Magnons, homo erectus, & Neatherthals
walked the earth before we did
g. No link to these beings has been made; “missing link”
Migration out of Africa
Human Migration &
Beginning of Agriculture
3. Humans Migrate
a.
Humans are known as homo sapiens which means “wise men” due to brain size
b. Eventually homo erectus & homo sapiens migrated out of Africa
c. Early humans were nomads or highly mobile people who move
from place to place foraging, or searching for new sources of food
d. All early humans were also hunter-gatherers
e.
Hunter-gatherers: those whose food supply depended on hunting animals
and collecting plant foods
f.
Estimates show they started leaving Africa around 125,000 years ago
Human Migration &
Beginning of Agriculture
g. Settled in Europe 33,000 years ago, China 67,000 years ago, Australia
38,000 years ago, North America 12,000 years ago, and South America
12- 33,000 years ago
h. We know this due to similar stone tool artifacts found in different
regions that date to roughly the same time period
i.
Shows that early humans used technology: applying knowledge, tools, and
inventions to meet their needs
Human Migration &
Beginning of Agriculture
j.
Why did they leave Africa?
i. Competition with other humans
ii. Following animal herds
iii. Human curiosity
Human Migration &
Beginning of Agriculture
4. Agriculture Changes Everything!
a. Early nomadic humans lived in bands of 25-70 people
b. Around 10,000 years ago, the Neolithic Revolution began: the
beginning of farming
c. It started accidentally when some women scattered seeds near a
campsite and noticed crops growing there when they came back next season
d. Rising temperatures worldwide provided longer growing seasons
e. Farming produces more food than hunting or gathering
Human Migration &
Beginning of Agriculture
f.
More food means a higher population, thus more labor
g.
Due to labor and farming methods, permanent settlements developed
h.
Permanent settlements turn into villages, villages turn into cities,
cities turn into civilizations
i.
Once you reach a certain population, you can begin specialization
j.
Specialization: the development of skills in a specific kind of work
(other than farming)
Human Migration &
Beginning of Agriculture
k.
Slash & burn farming was used (cut a field and burn it for nutrients)
l.
Domestication or taming of animals began as well
Coming Up Next…!
m. Eventually all of this led to the creation of the first civilization on Earth in
Mesopotamia called Sumer
Characteristics of
Civilizations
1.
Organized governments
2.
Religion
3.
Jobs
4.
Social Classes
5.
Art and Architecture
6.
Public Works
7.
Writing