Lesson 1: Pre-History-The Stone Age-The Rise of Early Civilization
Objectives for this Lesson:
● Students will be able to define several key terms and concepts including: Hunter-gatherer society,
the Stone Age, the Neolithic Era, domestication, agriculture, shaman, etc.
● Students will be able to determine several traits that make a culture “civilized”
● Students will be able to distinguish between the lifestyles of hunter gatherer societies and
agricultural societies.
Bell Ringer:
Students are to answer the following questions:
 What do you think sets us apart from animals?
 Were we born “civilized” or was it a gradual process?
Have students share their answers
Introduction:
As we discussed last class, our society as we know it today did not simply spring up overnight. It has
developed over the course of several thousand years. Our early ancestors did not know the pleasures of
central air, public transportation, or popular music; their life was one of constant movement. This was the
way of the world for thousands of years until man discovered the means to cultivate their own food. This
was the dawn of civilization as we know it.
Lesson Outline:
I) Africa & Prehistoric Humans
The origins of man is a long debated topic and pre 1950, nobody really knew where humans came from.
Scientists believe they may have found the root of human origins on the continent of Africa. From some
dig sites in East Africa, many archeologists can trace the path of human migration and the development of
early society.
● 1930- Louis and Mary Leakey discover a site in Tanzania called Olduvai Gorge
○ The rocks at the bottom of the canyon were dated at nearly 1.7-2 million years old.
● Found stone tools
○ Big deal. Why? Stone tools=technology
○ Technology: skills and tools used by people to meet their daily needs and wants.
●
●
1959-Leakey’s found a skull in the gorge
○ Tests confirmed that it did not belong to a monkey, but a HOMINID
■ Hominids are a genus of animal that are bipedal (walks upright on two legs);
Humans are the last hominid standing.
1974- Donald Johnson found numerous remains in Ethiopia belonging to a hominid that lived
approx. 3 million years ago.
○ Why is this important? It gave scientists a clear picture of what an early hominid may
have looked like; the resemblance between us and hominids was uncanny.
●
Thanks to the Leakey’s and Donald Johnson, scientists have classified several different ancient
hominid groups:
○ Australopithecines- Lucy, lived in Africa, 7 million years ago.
○ Homo-Habilis- “Handy-man”, made the earliest stone tools, lived almost 2 million years
ago.
○ Homo-Erectus- “Upright man”, also appeared (c) 2 million years ago, walked upright
24/7, had larger brains and smaller teeth than other hominids, invented the “hand-axe”
and harnessed fire; Homo-Erectus remains have been found outside of Africa in parts of
Asia and Europe.
○ Homo-Sapiens/Neanderthals- “Modern humans”, developed out of homo-erectus
sometime between 250,000 and 100,000 years ago, remains found the world over
II) Homo Sapiens v. Neanderthals
●
●
Neanderthals○ Shorter than HS
○ Larger brains than HS
○ More muscular than HS
○ Excelled at hunting game and wilderness survival
Homo Sapiens○ Taller than NE
○ Slightly smaller brains than NE
○ Not as muscular as NE
○ Placed value on developing art and culture.
How did Humanity come out on top?
● 50,000 to 30,000 years ago the Ice Age occurred
● Homo Sapiens had developed a sense of community while the Neanderthals had not
● When Europe and Asia were encased in ice, HS banded together to survive while NEs died out in
the cold.
○ Humanity is humanity (and alive) thanks to art, music, and culture.
III) The Nomads
● Early humans were NOMADS.
○ Nomads- People who live on the move; groups who stay in one location for several days
at most before moving on to a new location.
● Their society was a HUNTER-GATHERER SOCIETY
○ Hunter-Gatherer Society- A society that depends largely on the hunting of animals and
the harvesting of their fur, organs, bones, etc. for survival.
○ Harsh existence
■ In constant danger of starvation; “Survivalists”
■ If the hunters could not bring back enough food, the group would go hungry for
the night
■
●
Being in constant motion wore out their bodies; those who lived to be 40 were
considered “elders”
● Those that could not keep up or hindered the group were abandoned or
killed
○ Everyone contributed to the survival of the group
○ Chased the herds of great, Ice Age, mammals across the plains of Asia, Eastern Europe,
and the Americas.
■ Primary food sources: Mammoths, buffalo, ground sloths, etc.
■ Used spears fashioned from tree limbs and pointed pieces of flint
■ Would later utilize DOMESTICATED dogs in their hunts as well as
“controlled” fires.
Around 4500-2000 BCE, nomadic groups began to settle down and plant/grow their own food.
Activity
What is the longest you have ever been in the wilderness/camping? Could you imagine your learning
group living like that 24/7? What things/commodities would you value over others? What would your
priorities be? What would your roles be as a group?
<Share several responses>
IV) The Neolithic Revolution
● When humans stopped following the great herds of mammals, they stopped being nomads and
became farmers. This was the birth of the NEOLITHIC AGE/ERA
○ Neolithic Age- “New Stone Age”; A time defined by the introduction of advanced stone
tools, the rise of privatized farming, and village societies.
● Instead of hunting for food, people began planting edible plants that they would find while they
were out hunting.
○ Led to the cultivation of large areas of land into farmsteads
○ Gave people a definite source of food; nobody would starve unless the harvest was bad.
● Early humans developed new technologies and practices to help them farm
○ DOMESTICATED wild animals to serve as work animals or livestock
■ Domestication- to tame an animal/plant by generations of breeding, to live in
close association with human beings as a pet, work animal, or food source
■ Herding became a way of life for early humans
○ Invented farming tools like the hoe and the plow
■ Greatly improved the productivity of early farms
● The way of life for most early humans changed from small groups that could pick up and leave at
a moment’s notice to larger groups that lived in small communities/villages.
○ By establishing farming, humans could now afford to have larger families
○ This led to a rise in family/tribal cultures
■ Birth of gender roles and “patriarchy”.
■ Villages were led by a central figure, “CHIEFTAIN”
○ Rise in belief in supernatural forces that controlled rainfall, crop yield, fertility, etc.
■ Early religions begin to form
●
Now that their societies were no longer constantly on the move, early humans could begin
devoting their time to other pursuits, aside from surviving day to day.
V) The Rise of Civilization
● With the invention of farming, early humans began to lay the foundations for early
CIVILIZATION
○ Civilization- A combination of three aspects of society: a ceremonial centre, a system of
writing, and a large, urban, population
● Villages began to come together, forming larger settlements.
● What could bring a large number of people together into a settlement?
○ Religious belief
○ Swearing fealty to a powerful clan/tribe leader
○ Conquest
● Larger human settlements began to fortify themselves with walls and gates
● <show images of Jericho and Catalhuyuk>
○ Made people feel “safe”
■ Kept hostile marauders and potential invaders out
■ Ensured that the food stores were secure
○ Set up clearly defined boundaries
● Commerce is born; Cities began to trade with one another to get goods that were not native to
their region/hard to come by
○ Barter system- trading goods for goods.
○ Land was an indicator of wealth and power; land was traded as currency.
○ Made people with access to vast stores and/or supplies of land and/or goods very wealthy
and very powerful
VI) Rulers, Reading & Writing, Technology and Worship
● Rulers
○ Large groups of people need a central figure to lead them/dictate the rules of society
■ Emergence of class stratification
● Division of labor
○ Ruling class and working class
○ Moved societies forward according to their vision, views, and convictions
■ Influenced how society operated
○ What made the ruling class so special?
■ Had access to more goods/resources than others
■ Proclaimed they had a “divine mandate” to rule (aka “the favor of the gods”)
■ Military might and prowess
○ Amassed armed forces both to protect their people as well as conquer others
■ Military personnel and their families were held in high esteem; Officers were
considered part of the ruling class.
● Religion
○ Ancient rulers/cities began adopting religions
■ Shared core of beliefs
○
○
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■ Social control/placated the masses
■ Set up rules of law
■ Reinforced the ruling class’ authority
Cities erected massive religious centres where rituals to appease the gods would be
conducted in full view of the public
■ Priests/Shamans/etc. would commune with the “gods” in order to divine their
will and/or atone for their offenses
■ Gave the population an “understanding” of how the world worked
Gave the priests performing the rituals “power” over the masses
■ Priests considered a part of the ruling class
Writing
○ Cities begin recording information using a set series of characters
■ The birth of reading and writing
○ Recorded major events, proper methods for harvesting crops, and allowed for the spread
of information.
■ Allowed religion to spread
■ Rule of Law
■ Succession of the ruling class
■ Business transactions could be recorded for future records
● Proof of ownership became an actuality
○ Allowed early civilizations an opportunity to learn from their past; but sometimes they
did not pay attention
Closing Activity:
 Assemble in your learning groups and, using your book and notes taken in class, determine what
the most important innovation conceived by man was that made us civilized.
 Present your findings in an attempt to win over Mr. Camey and Mr. Bagley to support your
choice in a well thought out petition using your books as a reference.