NAME ___________________________________
 Unit 2 Prehistory Notes
BLOCK____
 5 Minutes-pre-lesson (Your answers here): __________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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 Exploring Prehistory
 What is Prehistory? ____________________________________________________________________________________________
1. The Role of Archaeology in Prehistory
 Since we have no written records for prehistoric times, how does archaeology provide
knowledge of early human life and its changes?
 Archaeologists study past cultures by locating and analyzing human ____________________________,
____________________________, ____________________________and ____________________________.
 A fossil is any remain, impression, or trace of a ____________________________ thing of a former
geologic age, as a skeleton, footprint, etc.
 An artifact is any object _________________ by human beings, especially one found in excavation.
 They use scientific tests such as ________________________________________________ to analyze fossils
and artifacts.
 They also use stratigraphy, the idea that ___________________ items will be found in
_______________________ layers of earth, to help date artifacts.
2. Prehistoric Peoples
 How did physical geography determine the lives of early humans?
 Homo sapiens, or modern humans emerged in Africa between ____________________________ years
ago.
 Homo sapiens migrated from ___________________ to Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Americas.
3. Paleolithic Society (Old Stone Age)=Hunter-gatherer societies
 Early humans were ________________________________________________________ whose survival
depended on the availability of wild plants and animals. Imagine a life where your daily tasks
were to find, and kill, your food.
 Hunter-gatherers had to be ____________________________ (migrating in search of food, water and
shelter) or they would not survive. This is how the first people groups spread from Africa to
Europe, Asia and Australia.
 Usually the men would hunt animals and women would gather nuts, berries and grains. Why?
4. Early Paleolithic Culture
 Early human societies began the process of overcoming the limits set by the physical environment
through the development of ____________________________ (go back to pre-lesson). What limits were there
in their environment? ____________________________________________________________________________________
 Paleolithic people invented the first _______________, including simple weapons, mostly made of
stone (hence, the Old Stone Age).
 They learned how to make and use __________. Why would this benefit them?
 They lived in ____________(extended family groups). Why?
 They developed early _____________________________.
 They created “_____________________________.”
5. It’s a REVOLUTION!
 The beginning of ___________________________________________________ (including permanent settlements)
was a major step in the advancement of civilization. For the first time, people were able to stay in one
place and not have to be nomadic, all because of the _____________________________ REVOLUTION.
 How did the beginning of agriculture and the domestication of animals (and plants) promote
the rise of settled communities?
 The Neolithic Agricultural Revolution—Answer:
 The shift from food gathering to food producing revolutionized human life.
 Farming created a surplus of food which meant that humans no longer needed to be
_________________________.
 Settlements of farming families eventually developed into the first villages, and then into even
more _____________________________.
 People learned that the items they were __________________________________________________________
back in the ground and would return the following year. Thus, agriculture was developed, also
known as _____________________________of plants. Animals, too, could be trained to stay alongside
people and work for them. Do you know what animal was the first to be domesticated?
 The _____________! Historians believe _________ were domesticated earlier for hunting purposes.
 As people learned to domesticate animals and plants, they needed to develop better, more
advanced, _______________. These were still made of ________________, mostly, so the time became
called, the Neolithic Age (New Stone Age).
 Many crops they grew could be made into fabrics so _____________________________ developed. This
meant that clothing was easier to come by…
 They made _____________________________, too. Many archaeologists believe early humans always
knew how to make pottery, but not worth the effort. Why do you think this is so?
 List 5 characteristics of Neolithic societies:
      How did humans make it from Africa, Asia, Europe and Australia to the Americas? _____________________
6. Accomplishments of the Stone Age
 _____________________________ is an example of an archaeological site in _____________________________ that was
begun during the _____________________________ and completed during the _____________________________ Age.
 _____________________________ continue to find and interpret evidence of early humans and their lives.
 __________________________________________________________ are examples of early cities in the
_____________________________ studied by archaeologists.
 _____________________________ is an example of a Neolithic settlements currently under excavation in
Anatolia (_____________________________).
 Aleppo (______________________)
Jericho (_____________________________, “Israel”)
 Settled Communities….
 …grew into ______________________!
Artifact Analysis:
P/N
Use?
1
2
3
4
Material?
Explanation?
Directions: Fill in the chart by matching the characteristics below with Paleolithic man or Neolithic
man. Draw a picture to illustrate each characteristic.
Fire
Pottery
Cave Art
Temporary Settlements
Weaving
Hunting & Gathering
Houses
Tents/Caves
Paleolithic Man
Domesticated Animals
Wild Plants & Animals
Permanent Settlements
Agriculture (domesticated plants)
Neolithic Man