 This
section describes the world’s
earliest humans and relates their
change from nomadic to farmers.
 Focusing on the Main Ideas
 Paleolithic people adapted to their
environment and invented many tools
to help them survive.
 In the Neolithic Age, people started
farming, building communities,
producing goods, and trading.
Early Humans
Tools of Discovery
Who were Hunters
& Gathers?
Adapting to the
Environment
What were the Ice
Ages?
Language, Art, &
Religion
The Invention of
Tools
So what? What is important to understand about this?
Neolithic Times
Main ideas
Why was
Farming
Important?
The Growth
of Villages
The
Benefits of
a Settled
Life
Facts
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History is the story of humans in the past, and
Historians are the people who study and write
about humans of the past.
History began about 5,500 years ago when people
first began to write.
The story of people begins in prehistory (the time
before writing was developed)
What we know about the earliest people come
from the things they left behind.
Archaeologist hunt for evidence buried in the
ground where settlements might once have been.
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They dig up and study artifacts. Artifacts
are weapons, tools, pottery, or anything
else made by humans.
They also look for fossils which are
traces of plants or animals that have been
preserved in rock.
Anthropologist focus on human society
by studying how humans developed and
related to each other.
The early period of human history is called the
Stone Age.
 The name comes from the fact that people during
this time used stone to make tools and weapons.
 The earliest part of the Stone Age is called the
Paleolithic period. Paleolithic means “old stone” in
Greek. This time period began about 2.5 million
years ago and lasted until around 8000 B.C.
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Paleolithic people were nomads, traveling
from place to place to hunt and search for
food. They traveled in groups of 30 or
more because it was safer and made the
search for food easier.
Men and women had different roles within
the group.
The women cared for the children,
gathered berries, nuts, and grains. The
men hunted animals using clubs, spears,
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Paleolithic people adapted to their
environment. Those in warm climates wore
little clothing and had little need for shelter.
However those in cold climates needed thick
clothing and used caves for shelter. Over
time they learned to create shelter from
animal hides and wooden poles.
Paleolithic people made a life changing
discovery when they learned to create and
tame fire.
Fire gave warmth, lit darkness, and scared
away wild animals.
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Long periods of extreme
cold are called the Ice
Ages. During the Ice
Ages, thick sheets of ice
covered parts of Europe,
Asia, and North America
The last Ice Age began
about 100,000 B.C.
It lasted until about 8,000
B.C.
During this time early
humans had to adapt
their lifestyles.
Paleolithic people developed spoken language
and expressed themselves through art, which may
have had religious meaning.
 Language made it far easier for people to work
together and to pass on knowledge.
 To create art they would crush yellow, black, and
red rocks together to make powders for paint.
They created scenes of lions, oxen, panthers, and
other animals on cave walls.
 Historians are not sure why these painting were
created. They may have religious meaning or they
may be for good luck during a hunt.
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During this time, humans created tools such as
spears and hand axes using a stone called flint.
Technology – tools and methods to help
humans perform tasks.
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DISCUSSION QUESTION: In your groups
turn and talk to answer the following
question.
How did spoken language help the
Paleolithic people?
Language made it easier for people to
work together and pass on knowledge.
In the beginning of the Neolithic Age, people
began to domesticate, or tame, animals.
Domesticated animals carried goods and provided
meat, milk, and wool.
 People in different parts of the world began
growing crops about the same time. Historians
call this change the farming revolution.
 The word revolution refers to changes that greatly
affect many areas of life.
 Because farmers needed to stay close to their
fields, they built permanent homes in villages.
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One of the oldest villages is Jericho in
present day Israel and Jordan. The city dates
back to around 8,000 B.C.
 Another Neolithic village is Catal Huyuk in
present day Turkey. It was some to some
6,000 people between 6700 B.C. and
5700B.C.
 They lived in simple mud brick houses
packed tight together and decorated with wall
paintings.
 They had separate buildings for worship.
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Permanent villages provided people with security
and steady food. The surplus food led to a larger
population.
 Not all people in a village were farmers. People
began to practice specialization or the
development of different kinds of jobs.
 Some made pottery, mats, and cloths.
 They traded these goods for things they did not
have.
 People continued to create new technology. They
created better farming tools and began working
with metal, copper, and tin. They also began
working with bronze.
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DISCUSSION QUESTION: In your groups
turn and talk to answer the following
question.
Why was farming important to the
Neolithic people?
Farming allowed people to settle in one
place, and it provided a steady food
supply.