FIRST HUMANS:
Prehistory -3500 B.C.
HOW DO WE KNOW?
• The period before history-prehistory-- is the period for
which we have no written records.
• Archaeologists and anthropologists
create theories based on this
information.
ARCHAEOLOGY
• Archaeology studies the structure of
past societies by analyzing the
artifacts--tools, household items,
weapons, buildings, artworks, religious
figures, and any other tangibles that
people have left behind.
• By studying tools and weapons
scientists create theories about the
economic and military structures of a
society.
ANTHROPOLOGY
• Anthropology focuses more human
life and culture by studying
artifacts and human remains-human
fossils.
• Examining bones and hides tells us
about the diet of people.
SCIENTIFIC METHODS
• Archaeologists and anthropologists use
scientific methods to create their
theories.
• One of most important scientific tasks is
dating prehistorical artifacts and fossils.
• Radio carbon dating-accurately measures
up to 50,000 years old
• Thermoluminescence- measures accurately
up to 200,000 years old
• DNA & Blood Molecule- gives information
about the societies of prehistory.
Stages of Early Human Development
AUSTRALOPITHECINES
• Australopithecines (southern apes) were
discovered by Donald Johanson.
• They lived in Africa 3-4 million years ago.
• They made stone tools and were the first
hominids, creatures that walked upright.
Lucy
HOMO ERECTUS
• This species dates from about 1.5 million
years ago (“upright human being”)
– Developed technology:
they became skillful hunters and
invented more sophisticated tools
for digging, scraping and cutting
They might also have developed the
beginnings of spoken language
were the first to move into
parts of Europe and Asia
They could migrate into
colder areas because they
were the first to use fire
deliberately for cooking and to
keep warm.
Turkana boy
HOMO SAPIENS (Neanderthals)
•Homo sapiens (wise human being)
emerged about 200,000 years ago.
•Had larger brain;
•Developed a religious belief –
they buried their dead
•Survived harsh winters by living in
caves or temporary shelters made of
wood and animal skins
Two groups developed from Homo
sapiens: Neanderthals and Homo
sapiens sapiens.
Theories support that the
Neanderthals eventually died out
HOMO SAPIENS SAPIENS
• Homo sapiens sapiens were the first group
of hominids that looked like us; appeared
in Africa between 150,000 and 200,000
years ago; All human beings today belong
to the homo sapiens sapiens subspecies
These early humans lived during the
PALEOLITHIC AGE: (old stone age)
• A basic distinguishing feature of
human beings is making and using tools
(made of stone)
– earliest period of human history.
– 2,500,000 to 10,000 B.C.E.
(Before. Common. Era.)
PALEOLITHIC PEOPLE
Paleolithic people were hunters;
developed better hunting tools
like spears, bows and arrows,
harpoons, and fishhooks.
gathered nuts, berries, fruits, and
wild grains
PALEOLITHIC LIFE
• Paleolithic people were nomads,
they moved from place to place,
following the vegetation cycles and
animal migrations.
• Most of their life was organized
around and devoted to finding food.
EGALITARIAN LIFESTYLE
• Paleolithic men and women were roughly equal
because they both shared the vital responsibility
of finding food
• Both men and women found food, with men
hunting (20% of calories) and women gathering
(80% of calories).
• Women gathered fruits, nuts, berries and other
plants close to camp because of their
responsibility for bearing and raising children.
• Men hunted close to the camp also but were
equally likely to travel a distance in order to
make a kill.
• Both made decisions that affected the group.
TECHNOLOGY
• The word technology refers to what we
make to sustain ourselves and control our
environment.
How were tools made and what were they
used for?
• Stone tools were made by using a harder
stone like flint to create an edge on
another stone (ex: hand axe – later, a
handle was added to the stone axe)
• These tools were used to kill and butcher
animals, cut plants, dig roots, and cut
branches to build shelters.
SHELTERS
Which of the early peoples lived in
caves?
• Later these Paleolithic people
fashioned houses and huts, often
using wood as a frame that was then
covered with hides from animals.
• Sometimes they also used large animal
bones as frames for their houses.
FIRE AND ICE
Why was fire important?
• Paleolithic people used fire systematically
as long ago as 500,000 years.
• Fire gave warmth, it fostered a sense of
community, it scared away wild animals,
flushed out animals for hunting and was
used to cook their food.
• Fire was especially important as a source
of warmth during the Ice Ages, the most
recent of which lasted from about
100,000 to 8,000 B.C.E.
PALEOLITHIC ART
• Paleolithic people created art,
indicating that art is important to the
life of human beings.
• One of the largest discoveries of
Paleolithic art, done between 25,000
and 12,000 B.C.E., is at Lascaux,
France.
PALEOLITHIC CAVE ART
• Most Paleolithic art is found in
underground caves.
• Most of the images are of
animals.
• These paintings were used in
magical or religious rituals to
bring about a successful hunt.
NEOLITHIC REVOLUTION
• Human survival depends on the systematic
growing and storing of food, an
accomplishment of the people of the
Neolithic Age. After the end of the last
Ice Age, around 8000 B.C.E., the
Neolithic Revolution began.
• The real change was a shift from
hunting and gathering to systematic
agriculture.
• WHY THE SHIFT/MOVE?
SYSTEMATIC AGRICULTURE
• Systematic agriculture means planting
crops and domesticating (taming)
animals for food, clothing, and work.
• Some historians believe that this first
agricultural revolution was the single
most important event in human
history.
DEVELOPMENT OF CIVILIZATIONS
• The ability to acquire food regularly
gave humans greater control over
their environment and made it
possible to give up nomadic ways of
life for settling into communities, a
vital step in the development of
civilization.
Activity!
• List the characteristics needed for a successful
civilization 5,000 years ago.
• Now list the characteristics for a successful
civilization today.
• Answer the following questions:
– What do the similarities or differences in these two
lists tell you about the changes that have occurred
over the 5000 years?
– Do you think these changes have been for the
better or worse?
– Do you think you would be more successful in one
civilization than the other?
Create a graphic organizer to report your findings.
MESOAMERICANS
• Systemic agriculture developed all
over the world between 8000 and
5000 B.C.E.
• Mesoamericans are the inhabitants of
present-day Mexico and Central
America.
• They grew beans, squash and maize
(corn), also referred to as the “3
sisters.”
COMPLEX COMMUNITIES
• The Neolithic period brought many
important changes:
– More complex communities were
developed
– Trade caused people to specialize
– A division of labor developed
– Basic crops were first cultivated
– Cloth was first woven.
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INCREASED TRADING
Because of increased food production and
storage, people had more food than they
needed.
These surpluses allowed some people to do
work other than farming.
Artisans made such things as jewelry and
weapons.
The selling of these items fostered
increased trade.
SOCIETAL CHANGES
• Men became more active in farming
and herding, which took them away
from the home.
• Women did more domestic tasks like
weaving.
• As men took on more responsibility
for obtaining food and protecting
settlements, they played a more
dominant role.
BRONZE AGE
• Between 4000 and 3000 B.C.E.,
people learned to use metals.
• First they used copper.
• Then people mixed copper and tin to
make bronze, a more durable metal.
• Historians call the period when bronze
was in widespread use ( 3000 to 1200
B.C.E.) the Bronze Age.
Emergence of Civilization:
What are the six most
important characteristics of a
civilization?
1. Cities
•Culture is a people’s way of live.
•A civilization is a complex
culture.
•The first civilizations and cities
developed in river valleys.
2. Government
• The first governments were led by
monarchs (kings or queens)who
organized armies to protect their
subjects and made laws to regulate their
lives.
3. Religion
• Many rulers claimed their power came
from the gods.
• Some rulers even claimed to be gods
themselves.
4. SOCIAL STRUCTURE
• Social structures developed based on
economic status.
• Rulers, priests, officials, and warriors
were the upper classes
• A class of priests developed to perform
rituals for pleasing the gods.
• Below them was a class of free farmers,
traders, artisans, and crafts people.
• At the very bottom were the slaves and
servants.
5-6. WRITING & ART
• Writing was used to keep records
and for creative expression through
literature.
• Arts such as painting and sculpture
were developed to portray natural
forces or gods and goddesses on
temples and shrines.
QUESTIONS?