Chapter 3
EARLY HUMANS & THE AGRICULTURAL
REVOLUTION
OPENING ACTIVITY
What do I own?
What does it say about me?
What do these objects say about our culture?
What will it say about me
20,000 years from now?
HOW HISTORIANS GET INFORMATION

Archaeology is the study of the past by looking at artifacts
(objects made by people) that have been left behind. They
use these artifacts: tools, pottery, weapons, and jewelry to
learn what life was like in the past.

Paleontology is the study of fossils (the remains of plant and
animal life that have been preserved from an earlier time).

Anthropology is the study of human culture and how it
develops over time. They study artifacts, fossils and they look
for clues about what people valued and believed.
PREHISTORIC ROCK PAINTING
Lascaux, France
17,300 years old
Discovered in 1940 by 4 teenagers rescuing their dog that fell in a ditch.
EARLY HUMANS

Virtual Tour of Lascaux

http://earlyhumans.mrdonn.org/caveart.html
Why were these images created?
What do these images tell about peoples’ lives
back then?
ARCHAEOLOGIST DISCOVERY REPORT
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Date of Discovery:
Location of Discovery:
What colors, shapes, and materials are used in this artwork?
What emotion does this artwork communicate to you?
From your study of the artwork, what hypothesis can you
make about prehistoric humans?
Label details in the image that support your hypothesis.
Explain how these details support your hypothesis?
From your study of the artwork, what questions do you have
about prehistoric humans?
click me!!!
EARLY HUMANS 8000BC-2000BC
STONE AGE
The early part of human history is the STONE
AGE
 People used to make tools and weapons out of
stone
 Started at about 2.5 million years ago

PALEOLITHIC AGE
This is the earliest part of the Stone Age
 Paleolithic=old stone

 So

this this is called “Old Stone Age”
Began 2.5 million years ago until 8000BC
*Draw a time line. Label the entire timeline
“Stone Age” and section a large section
“Paleolithic Age (Old Stone Age)”.
SURVIVING IN THE PALEOLITHIC AGE

Nomads
 People
who move from place to place to survive
Traveled in groups of 20-30 members
 Survived by “hunting and gathering”

 Hunted:
buffalo, bison, wild goats, reindeer, fish
 Gathered: wild nuts, berries, fruits, wild grains, and
green plants
FINDING FOOD

Men hunted large animals
 At
the beginning they used clubs or drove animals
down cliffs to kill them
 Then, they developed tools and weapons to help
them hunt (traps and spears)

Women stayed close to camp (near water)
 Looked
after children
 Gathered berries, nuts, and grains
THE INVENTION OF TOOLS
Hunting and gathering was their culture
 Tools and methods to perform tasks
(technology)

 First
used by Paleolithic people
 Sticks, stones, and tree branches were used before
 Learned about “flint” and creating sharp tools.
THE INVENTION OF TOOLS
“flint” technology was a major breakthrough for
early peoples
 Over time they built

 Spears
 bow
and arrows
 Harpoons
 Sharp tools to cut up
plants
 Scraping tools to clean animal hides
THE INVENTION OF TOOLS

By the end of the Paleolithic Age, humans were
making smaller and sharper tools
 Needles
from animal bones to make nets, baskets,
sew clothing

Influenced farming tools and where humans
settled.
CHANGING TO SURVIVE
Climate affected how people lived
 Shelters

 Caves
 Constructed
tents from animal skins, brush, & wood
 Ice and snow shelters
 Large bones from dead mammoths

Clothing
 From
animal skins
FIRE SPARKS CHANGES

FIRE!
 Provided
warmth
 Provided light
 Scared away predators
 Ambushed animals to kill them
 Sense of community (tell stories around the fire)
 Cooked food (lasted longer and easier to chew)

Learned that friction produces heat/sparks
LANGUAGE AND ARTS

Spoken language
 Before

people communication through gestures
Paleolithic people used words
 To
communicate directions, feelings, and
information
 Was constantly growing and changing
LANGUAGE AND ART

Communicated through art
Found in Spain, France, all over the world
 Made with animal fat and crushed yellow, black, and
red rocks
 Used twigs and their fingers to paint
 Then they used brushes made with animal hair

People painted animals
 Not sure why they painted

Good luck?
 Record history?
 Just to enjoy?

THE ICE AGES
Long periods of extreme cold
 Began around 100,00 years ago
 As ice sheets grew larger, the water level of the
oceans was lowered, exposing land

 This
land connected continents Asia and North
America
 Known as the land bridge
 People were able to migrate from one area to
another
Watch the movie “Ice Man” or read the article
“Otzi the Iceman” available at
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/icemummies/i
ceman.html
 Take two column notes while watching the
movie or reading the article.

WHAT CHANGES CAME WITH THE ICE AGE?

Humans had to adapt to the cold temperatures
 Eating
more fat
 Learned to build stronger shelters
 Made warm clothing out of animal fur
 Used fire to stay warm

The Ice age lasted about 90,000 years

Watch VIDEO about the ICE AGE!
NEOLITHIC AGE
This is the later part of the Stone Age
 Neolithic=new stone


So this this is called “New Stone Age”
Began 8000BC until 4000BC
 Biggest change is from “hunting and gathering” to
“systematic agriculture” (growing food regularly)

Label the section a large section “Neolithic Age (New
Stone Age)”.
WIDESPREAD FARMING
Year
Location
Crops
8000BC
Southwest Asia
wheat, barley
Southeastern
Europe
Nile Valley-Egypt
Central Africa
India
China
Southeast Asia
Southern China
Mexico and
Central America
wheat, barley
yams, bananas
wheat, barley
millet
rice
rice
corn, squash,
potatoes
6000BC
8000BC-5000BC
6000BC
5000BC
7000BC-5000BC
Domesticated
Animals
pigs, cows,
goats, sheep
dogs, pigs
chickens, dogs
EARLY FARMING
LIFE IN THE NEOLITHIC AGE
Settled in permanent homes
 Located villages near fields and water sources
 Oldest community: Jericho

 Present
day Israel and Jordan
 Established by 8000BC
 Sun-dried brick houses with walls several feet thick
LIFE IN THE NEOLITHIC AGE

Another community: Catalhuyuk
 Present
day Turkey
 Established by 6700BC-5700BC
 Mud brick houses close together
 Front doors were on the rooftops
 Decorated their walls with paintings
 Had “shrines” (holy places)=religion was growing
 Images
of gods and goddesses
 Women giving birth
CATALHUYUK CONTINUED…

Grew fruit, nuts, and gains
 stored

it in their homes after growing it themselves
Raised sheep, goats, cattle
 Provided
milk and meat
Ate fish and bird eggs
 Hunted too.

WHAT WERE THE BENEFITS OF SETTLED LIFE?



Security from weather and predatory animals
Steady food supplies=stronger population
More workers=could grow more crops


More crops available for trading
Specialization occurred for the 1st time!
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Artisans (skilled workers)
Make weapons
Make jewelry
Made pottery and baskets to store food
Men worked in the fields and were the protectors
Women made clothes, bore children, prepared meals
WHAT WERE THE BENEFITS OF SETTLED LIFE?

Otzi, a group of Neolithic people
 Iceman
 Wore
a cape made from woven grass fibers
 Traded for goods they didn’t have
WHAT ABOUT DISADVANTAGES TO SETTLED
LIFE?
Some tribes used their wood too quickly.
 It caused desert –like conditions
 People abandoned those areas

LESSON CHECK

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What is a hunter-gatherer society?
What did ancient people gather?
Why did hunter-gatherer societies often have to move?
What technological and agricultural advancements
caused these early people to be able to stay in one
place?
How did the land bridge, which surfaced during the Ice
Age, lead to the migration of early people from Asia to
North and South America?
How did the agriculture revolution, the growing of crops
and domestication of animals, change the lives of the
Neolithic people?
END OF THE NEOLITHIC AGE, START OF BRONZE AGE

Advances
 Toolmakers
created better farming tools
 People began to work with metal (copper)
 These
 People
were better to create and use than stone
in Asia discovered BRONZE!
 Copper
+ tin = BRONZE
 Bronze is stronger than copper
 3000BC-1200BC
 It
more people used bronze
was not cheap, so most people still made stone tools
and weapons
BRONZE AGE

Civilizations emerged around 3000BC:
 Mesopotamia
 Egypt
 India
 China

Built around river valleys because
 Fertile
land grew better crops and fed more people
 Fish and water became available
 Trade became easy through travel
BRONZE AGE

Cities and Government
 Monarchies
 Government
led by a queen or king
 Created armies to keep order
 Government officials were appointed to manage food
supplies and building projects
BRONZE AGE

Religions
 Developed
 Forces
 Gods
to help people explain their lives
of nature and role of humans
were responsible for a community’s survival
 Priests performed religious ceremonies
 Rulers claimed that their own power was based on
the approval of the gods.
BRONZE AGE

Social Structure
 High
Social Class
 Rulers,
priests, government officials, warriors
 Made rules and important decisions
 Free
People
 Farmers,
 Bottom
artisans, and craft people
Class
 Slaves,
captured from enemies of war
BRONZE AGE

Writing
 Used
to pass information
 Symbols in place of letters and words
 Keep accurate records and preserve stories

Art
 Enjoyment
 Portraying
gods and forces of nature
 Designed buildings for worship or tombs for kings