Human Origins
SOL Review
Early Man during the Paleolithic Era
(Old Stone Age)
•Humans (Homo
Sapiens)
emerged in
Africa between
100,000 and
400,000 years
ago.
Homo Sapiens migrated from Africa to Eurasia, Australia, and the
Americas. (Every continent except Antarctica!)
Land and ice bridges connected the continents.
Early humans were hunters and gatherers who survived by
hunting animals and gathering wild plants, berries and nuts
for food.
Early human societies
(hunter-gatherer societies)
•Were nomadic (migrated in
search of food, water and
shelter)
•Invented the first tools,
including simple weapons
•Learned how to make fire
•Lived in clans
•Developed oral language
•Created “cave art”
Neolithic Age Begins 8000 BCE
The New Stone Age
The Ice Age is ending
and the earth is
warming
Sea levels rise
eliminating land
bridges
Agriculture develops
Seeds scattered at a
regular campsite
result in crops the
following season
The agricultural
revolution begins.
Societies during the Neolithic Era (New Stone Age)
•Developed agriculture
•Domesticated animals
•Used advanced tools
•Made pottery
•Developed weaving skills
Archaeologists study past cultures by locating and analyzing:
•Human remains
•Fossils
•and artifacts
Archaeologists
use a scientific
method called Carbon
Dating to tell the age of
fossils and artifacts
Stonehenge is an example of an archaeological site in England
that was begun during the Neolithic era and completed during
the Bronze Age.
Aleppo and Jericho
Were early cities
in the Fertile
Crescent studied
by archaeologists
Catal Huyuk
is an example
of a Neolithic
settlement
currently
under
excavation in
Anatolia or
Asia Minor
What was a most important step in the
advancement of civilization during the
Neolithic Era?
Permanent Settlements that included
agriculture and the domestication of
animals
Name a scientific test that
archaeologists use to
analyze fossils and
artifacts.
Carbon Dating
The first use of advanced
tools was a part of what
era?
Neolithic Era
What is Eurasia?
Asia and Europe considered as a
whole. Even though neither Asia
nor Europe is entirely surrounded
by water, they are considered
continents.
1. The movement patterns of early
humans were mostly determined by
a.
b.
c.
d.
Tribal wars
Language development
Animal migration
Religious practices
2. Early people stopped roaming with the —
Development of agriculture
b. Building of aqueducts
c. Invention of the wheel
d. Discovery of iron
a.
3. What archaeological site is this?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Chichn Itz
Babylon
Machu Picchu
Stonehenge
4. The first crops likely to have been
planted by Neolithic people were:
a. Berry bushes
b.spices and herbs
c. Fruit trees
d.Grains
5. During the Glacial periods, Old Stone Age people kept
warm by all of the following means EXCEPT by:
a.
b.
c.
d.
Wearing animal skins
Building fires
Wearing woolen clothing
Building shelters
6. Archaeologists learn about
prehistoric cultures by studying all of
the following, EXCEPT:
a. fossils
b. tools and weapons
c. written records
d. pottery
During the New
Stone Age,
permanent
settlements
appeared
in River Valleys
and around the
Fertile Crescent.
Ancient River Valley
Civilizations
River Valleys
provided:
•Rich soil for
crops and
•Protection from
invasion
Source: http://acc6.its.brooklyn.cuny.edu/~phalsall/images/riv-vall.gif
These early civilizations existed
between 3500-500 BC
The first civilization was Sumer in Mesopotamia, which means “Land between two rivers”
Situated between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers.
The second civilization to develop was Egypt along the
Nile River.
http://loellenpark.org/callens/images/stories/Ancient_Egypt_Map.jpg
The Third River Civilization was the Indus River Valley
civilization in India
The Fourth River Valley Civilization was The Huang He River
civilization in China
Source: http://core.ecu.edu/hist/tuckerjo/chinciv.jpg
4. During the Paleolithic Era, early
humans were hunters and gatherers
whose survival depended on the
availability of:
a. Water and cloth
b. Wild plants & animals
c. Cultivated crops and plants
d. Domesticated herds and wild plants
5. During the Old Stone Age, Hunter
gatherer societies had all of the following
characteristics EXCEPT:
a. They were nomadic
b. They had simple tools
c. They had control of fire
d. They had a written language
6. Which improvements in technology helped create
Agricultural surpluses in river valley civilizations
a. Tools, plows and irrigation
b. Silt, domestication and irrigation
c. Bronze, domestication and writing
d. Plows, laws and irrigation
7. Match the ancient river valley civilization with its river
valley
_______ Egyptian
a. Indus River Valley
_______ Mesopotamian b. Huang He Valley
_______ Indian
_______ Chinese
c. Nile River Valley
and Delta
d. Tigris and
Euphrates River Valleys
8. All of the following are necessary for a Neolithic culture
to evolve into a civilization, EXCEPT
a.
The development of a system of public education for the
community
b.
Job specialization with different groups performing
different tasks
c.
The growth of a settlement large enough to be a city
d. A centralized government for the city
9. Neolithic farmers found that the soil along rivers was
especially fertile because
a. They slashed and burned the vegetation along the rivers
b. Annual flooding replenished the land with a layer of topsoil
c. They added fertilizers to the soil
D. Animals deposited their manure more frequently along the
rivers
Sort the following words in the correct columns below.
Caves
advanced tools
pottery
simple tools
New Stone Age
River civilizations
Simple weapons
Paleolithic Era
hunters-gatherers
nomadic
clans
herders
migration
Ice age
permanent settlements
fire
sedentary
irrigation
villages
Africa
oral language
job specialization
domesticated animals
agriculture
weaving
Old Stone Age
food surplus
cave art
Bronze
Neolithic Era