Survivor: The First Humans
In groups of 4, agree upon a solution to the following scenarios. Be prepared to discuss your solutions with the class.
Scenario 1
Your group is a clan or small group of people living and working together at the beginning of time. You are a nomadic
clan, meaning you move from place to place. Your clan is new to its current surroundings. What do you need to do to
survive?
Scenario 2
Your clan has settled into its new surroundings but is threatened by a nearby clan who continually hunts in your
territory. How do you plan to survive?
Scenario 3
Your clan has suddenly grown in size and is continuing to do so. You can no longer hunt or gather enough food to feed
your population. How do you plan to survive?
Scenario 4
New technologies have lead to surpluses in food. How will your clan adapt to this situation?
Scenario 5
Your clan is growing rapidly and is now a sprawling settlement. How will your clan adapt to this situation? What will
you need to survive?
Discussion:
The purpose of this assignment is to get students thinking about the evolution of man from hunter/gatherers to farmers.
I generally use this activity at the beginning of the unit as an introduction. Students have a good time deciding where
their clan will go and how they plan to adapt. When discussing as a class, I generally read each scenario out loud and
have each group explain their answers. At the end not all groups will have reached cities or civilizations, it is important
for students to understand there were many paths for early man to take. I have also had students save these and
revisit them at the end of the unit.