Chapter 1
Human Beginnings
Pre-History – 1000 B.C.
Honors World History
Dublin High School
Dr. Susan Thornton
Prehistory
• The course begins with an overview of prehistoric conditions
on earth until about 1,000 B.C.
• We are talking about millions and millions of years in one
unit, so obviously you need to focus on the absolute most
important aspects of the prehistoric period.
• These include the Ice Age, human origins, the evolution of
human culture, human migrations, and the Stone Ages.
• Another important aspect of this unit is to help students
understand how archeologists discover and learn about the
prehistoric past!
Dating Early Artifacts
• How have recent archaeological finds
contributed to our understanding of human
origins?
Prehistoric Finds in Africa
• In 1992, Gen Suwa, a paleontologist from
Japan discovers, in East Africa, one of the
oldest hominid teeth ever found.
• Over the next two years, additional
remains were uncovered, like arm bones
and parts of the skull and jaw that
belonged to 17 people.
• Just 45 miles away, In 1974, Donald C.
Johanson and Tom Gray uncovered a 3.2
million-year-old skeleton they named Lucy.
Human Origins
• Scientists do not all agree about the story
of human beginnings.
• One generally accepted theory is that
hominids were the first humans, dating
back 4.4 million years.
• These hominids are known as
Australopithecus or Australopithecines .
• Australopithecus
spent their lives in
the humid forests of
eastern and
southern Africa.
• They ate fruit,
leaves, and nuts.
• They were probably
nomads, never
staying in one place
for long
• The Latin word used by
scientists which means
“human” is “homo”.
• They use this word to name
later humans as well.
Scientists divide Homo into 3
categories of species:
Homo habilus “person with ability”
 lived until about 1.5 million
years ago
Homo erectus “person who walks
upright”
 lived after the previous
group of humans
Homo sapiens “person who thinks”
 lived 100,00 to about
200,000 years ago
All people today belong to
this species
The Ice Ages
• Changes in climate played an important role in
the development of early humankind.
• Earth experienced four long periods of cold
climate between 2 million and 10,000 years ago,
known as Ice Ages.
• The level of the oceans dropped more than 300
ft. as the sheets of ice formed.
OwlTeacher.com
•
As a result, areas that were separated by
water, became connected by a land bridge:
1) Japan was connected to mainland Korea
2) Great Britain & Ireland to western Europe
3) Malay Peninsula through the Indonesian islands
almost all the way to Australia
4) Asia to North America at the Bering Strait.
How did early humans react to the
environmental changes of the Ice Ages?
In Different Ways:
•
Some people simply moved to warmer places
like the middle latitudes
•
Some found strategies for keeping warm by
using clothes and fire.
•
Those who could not adapt died from
starvation and exposure to the extremes.
Human Culture
Culture is a person’s unique
way of life
This includes:
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Knowledge
Language
Types of food and dress
Religious beliefs
Art and music.
Early Technology
• Toolmaking – the use of tools was one of
the earliest aspects of culture that people
formed.
• The Stone Age – name used to identify the
period before writing became established.
This name was used because of the use
of stone tools by these early people
The Stone Age is divided into 3
shorter periods:
Paleolithic or
Old Stone Age
(Earliest Period)
Began about 2 million years ago &
until about 12,000 B.C.
First toolmaking was by the Homo
habilis
Usually dated from about 12,000
Mesolithic or
B.C. to about 8,000 B.C.
Middle Stone Age
Neolithic or
New Stone Age
Lasted from about 8,000 B.C. to
5,000 B.C.
Paleolithic Hunter-Gatherers
• Homo Habilis – lived during first
quarter of Paleolithic period.
– Oldest hominids known to create tools
– Lived in Africa from about 2.5 to 1.5
million years ago
– Lived alongside the Australopithecus
• Homo Erectus – Lived during last part
of Paleolithic period. There is much
more information about this group of
early humans
– First appeared in Africa & lived from 1.6
million to about 250,00 years ago.
– Learned to make fire
– Made clothing for themselves
• Migrations
– Not enough is known about the migrating
habits of Homo habilis people.
– Scientists do know that Homo erectus people
migrated from their Native Africa to Europe
and Asia.
– Skeletal remains prove that they lived in
China only 460,000 years ago and in Europe
400,000 years ago.
• Language
– Instead of just making sounds and signals to
show emotion and direction, Homo erectus
may have been talking to each other about
500,000 years ago.
– Language was one of humanity’s greatest
accomplishments.
What benefits did language offer to
humanity?
 Made it possible for people to work
together (organize duties, give directions)
 Enabled people to exchange ideas about
the world
 Provided a way for people to socialize and
entertain each other (storytelling)
 Most important of all, it allowed people to
pass history and culture on from one
generation to another
Homo Sapiens
• Evidence of early Homo sapiens
goes back as far as 200,000 years
ago.
• Neanderthals - most likely the first
Homo sapiens
• Neanderthals stood about 5.5 feet
tall, their brains were slightly larger
than modern humans, and their
bodies were stocky.
Technological skills of
Neanderthals:
• Used fire for warmth and cooking
• Skillfully constructed stone knives, spear
points, and bone tools
• Crafted hide-cleaning and food-preparing
tools
How did they live?
• Most lived in small groups of 35 to 50
people
• Were nomads, therefore did not live in one
place permanently
• Lived in caves or overhangs from cliffs
• Wore heavy clothing made from animal
skins to stay warm and protected
Their culture and beliefs:
• Neanderthals cared for their sick and
elderly
• May have been the first people to practice
medicine
• Believed in life after death
• Practiced burial rituals
Homo sapiens
• Lived in Africa some 50,000 years ago
• More advanced than Neanderthals
• Within 20,000 years ago, this modern
group had migrated to almost every
continent of the world
• As these people moved out of Africa, they
intermarried with Neanderthals
The Cro-Magnons
• Earliest Homo sapiens sapiens
• Their remains were first found in France
around 1860
• Cro-Magnons were taller and less stocky
than Neanderthals
• Improved technology development
• More sophisticated culture (created art)
Technology of Cro-Magnons
• Cutting blades were thinner and sharper
• Created fishing devices and needles for
sewing
• Invented the stone ax in order to cut down
trees and make canoes
• Invented the spear-thrower and the bow
and arrow
• By 15,000 B.C. human population stood at
about 2 million
Social Life of Cro-Magnons
• Lived in bands, with many different bands
spread throughout
• Bands had to work together to hunt
• Rules were developed for people to get
along and for work to get done
• Leaders were named and placed in charge
of enforcing rules
• First political organizations formed
Cave Paintings of Cro-Magnons
• Were accomplished artists
• No one knows for sure why they painted on cave
walls
– Maybe for educational reasons
– May have been reaching out to spiritual world
– Maybe to relieve boredom & monotony
• *Clay sculptures have also been found
as well as figures of ivory and bone
Neolithic Revolution
• During the Neolithic period and
immediately after, humanity made a giant
leap in culture
– Toward the end of the last Ice Age, forests
and grasslands began to appear in many
areas
– In a period of 5,000 years, people gradually
moved from hunting & gathering to producing
food
• New agricultural methods came about
• This led to massive changes in the way
people lived!
That’s why we call this time in history the
Neolithic Revolution.
• This revolution took place slowly
• Took place at different times in different
parts of the world
• The crops that Neolithic people developed
varied from place to place
• Farming made life easier for people
– Brought a steady food supply
– Allowed them to live in one place longer
• Farming also allowed people to create
villages and small societies
• Crude houses were constructed with mud
bricks
• Several related families usually lived in
one house
Technological Advances
 Neolithic farmers invented the plow and
trained oxen to pull it.
 Neolithic villagers invented the loom and
began to weave linen and wool
 They learned how to make jewelry and
better weapons
 People created calendars to measure the
seasons & determine when to plant crops
 People began caring about boundary lines
and rules of inheritance because their food
supply depended on land ownership.
 As villages began competing for land and
water, warfare was created.
 Neolithic people believed in deities or gods
and goddesses
Emergence of Civilization
 Civilization – complex societies
 Some villages evolved into cities
 Cities sprang up at different times in
different places
 All cities evolved from farming
settlements in river valleys
Early River Valley civilizations
People’s labor was specialized with
different men and women doing different
jobs
The civilizations depended on advanced
technology
Each civilization had some form of
government to make and carry out rules
and procedures
The Economy of a Civilization
• First Irrigation systems – allowed farmers
to produce a surplus of food
• Specialization of labor – artisans became
increasingly productive and creative
• Long distance trade – farmers and
artisans began trading outside of their
communities and eventually covered
longer distances
Living Together in Cities
• Civilizations slowly grew more prosperous
and more complex
• Populations steadily grew also. Early
cities had between 5,000 to 30,000
residents!
• Of course, a population like this could not
operate the same way that a village of 200
had operated.
Therefore,
• A group of government officials was
created to oversee the collection, storage,
and distribution of farming surpluses.
• These officials also organized and directed
labor forces needed for large-scale
construction projects.
• Professional soldiers were hired to protect
and guard the city’s territory and trade
routes
• Army, government officials, and priests
made up what is known as a ruling class.
• This ruling class was usually led by a king
(ultimate person in charge)
• The first kings ever were probably elected,
but over time they inherited their positions.
The Invention of Writing
• Priests began using marks and pictures,
called pictograms, to represent products.
• Eventually they used the marks and
pictures to represent abstract ideas and
even later, to represent sounds.
• Priests kept records of individual men and
women who were head of households,
landowners, and merchants.
• After a time, priests also recorded things
like the king’s battle victories, legal codes,
medical texts, and observations of the
stars.
• Priests also recorded myths (traditional
stories explaining how the world was
formed, how people came into being, and
what they owed their creator
• Every civilization had and still has
their own ideas about creation.
• Because these ideas, beliefs, or
myths vary from place to place,
historians usually examine them for
clues to a people’s customs and
values.