•Describe characteristics of
early man
•Explain impact of
geography on human
societies
•Analyze cave art for clues
of technology, religion
•Describe how human
lifestyles changed Neolithic
Era
Objectives
Early Man
Early Man, 1-1, 1-2
How do we know how humans lived thousands
of years ago?
•Archaeologists study
Artifacts (man-made
objects)
•Anthropologists study
culture ( a people’s unique
way of life)
•Paleontologists study
fossils
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.
How did
humans
migrate
from Asia
into the
Americas?
Land/Ice Bridges connected Siberia and
Alaska
Today,
the body of water
that once formed
an ice bridge
between
Russia and
Alaska is
called the Bering
Strait
Early humans were hunters and gatherers who
survived by hunting animals and gathering wild
plants, berries and nuts for food.
They had to
adapt
to their
physical
environment.
How?
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”
Archaeologists
use a scientific
method called
Carbon
Dating to tell
the age of
fossils and
artifacts
Add this to your
notes.
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
As rising sea
levels eliminated
land bridges,
societies
became isolated
in the Americas,
islands, and
Australia.
Aborigines are believed to be
descended from the first
humans who migrated to
Australia during the Paleolithic
era.
Agriculture develops
Seeds scattered at a regular
campsite result in crops the
following season
The agricultural revolution
begins and over the next
several hundred years, many
societies begin to farm.
Agriculture first developed
in the Middle East.
What is a Revolution?
What was revolutionary
about the development
of Agriculture?
It completely changed
The way people lived.
It led to villages,
then cities, then
Civilization.
Societies during the Neolithic Era (New Stone Age)
•Developed agriculture
•Settled in permanent
Settlements – they were
no longer nomadic
•Domesticated animals
•Used advanced tools
•Made pottery
•Developed weaving skills
Growing food instead of hunting and
gathering food requires different skills:
Paleolithic skills
Hunting
Gathering
Following wild herds
Making simple tools
Finding Caves to live in
Neolithic skills
Planting
Harvesting
Herding domesticated animals
Making advanced tools for
farming, weapons, containers
for seed and food storage
Caves? No. Permanent
settlements
Result: A Population explosion
Effects
Causes
Climate Changes
Global warming
Scattering of
seeds led to
crops
Agricultural
Revolution
•People become
sedentary
living in permanent
settlements
•Job specialization
•Population
explosion
Growth of villages
into Cities
Agriculture changed everything – It was a revolution because
it led to:
Advanced
Ad
Technology
RecorKeeping
Record
Civilization
Complex
Co
Institutions
Advanced
Advanced
Cities
Job
J
Specialization
Aleppo and Jericho
Add to notes
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
Stable communities such as these came during
the Neolithic period.
With the development of
agriculture, human no longer
merely adapted to their
environment. They learned to
control their environment.
Example: growing crops,
domesticating animals such as
goats and developing irrigation
systems to control flooding.
Stonehenge, located in England provides a perfect
example of humans controlling their environment.
Talk to your neighbor – write down three
questions you have about Stonehenge.
Photo credits
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Slide 1: http://lh6.ggpht.com/_tiMWwV8fJZU/SSnoK-hxzGI/AAAAAAAAAJU/LUb3awGVWRg/Uplands.jpg
Slide 2: http://www.georgewashingtonwired.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/archaeology.jpg
Slide 5: http://hoopermuseum.earthsci.carleton.ca/beringia/images/bothseasmap.JPG
Slide 11: http://corehealthnutrition.com/files/9912/4361/6306/grain.jpg
Slide 13: http://www.eastchester.k12.ny.us/schools/ms/teachers/stabile/images/fertile1.jpg
Slide 10: http://www.unpo.org/images/M_images/australia-aborigines-460.jpg