1
The Peopling of the World, 7 Million Years Ago–
circa 4000 B.C.E.
INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES
After having read the chapter, students should be able to

Understand how the process of human evolution worked and have a basic understanding of the
different stages of that evolution.

Be familiar with some of the basic debates among scientists about the evolution of the human
form and of what kinds of evidence scientists use in those debates.

Understand the relationship between the evolution of the human form and geography.

Understand the connections between geography and the development of human cultures and
societies.

Understand the concept of migration, both of peoples and of ideas.
CHAPTER OUTLINE
I.
The Origins of Humankind
A. The Origins of Humankind
1. Debate over when areas of the world were first peopled
2. Discovery of Kennewick Man in 1996 suggested that the Americas were settled
between 7580 and 7330 B.C.E.
3. Seven million years ago, a common ancestor evolved into two species, hominids (early
humans) and chimpanzees.
a) Hominids left Africa ca. 1.8 million years ago.
b) Hominids evolved until reaching modern form, Homo sapiens sapiens, ca.
150,000 years ago.
B. The First Hominids: Australopithecines
1. Homo sapiens sapiens and chimpanzees share 98.4 percent of their DNA.
2. In the nineteenth century, Charles Darwin suggests that natural selection is the
mechanism that governs evolutionary change.
3. Variations that helped a species to survive were inherited by their offspring, changing
the species gradually over time.
a) Over thousands or millions of years, a new species can evolve from the
inheritable variations.
4. Australopithecines are ancestors of modern humans and were the first to walk upright
on two feet; this is known as bipedalism.
a) Australopithecine remains have been found in several places in Africa, including
Malawi, Chad, South Africa, and Tanzania.
(1) Richard and Mary Leakey excavated australopithecine remains at the
Olduvai Gorge in Northern Tanzania in the 1960s and 1970s, finding the
first footprints of early hominids.
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Chapter 1: The Peopling of the World, 7 Million Years Ago–circa 4000 B.C.E.
(2)
II.
In 1974, the Leakeys discovered Lucy, one of the most complete set of
australopithecine remains.
b) The ability to walk allowed hominids to have a wider range to find food.
(1) Walking hominids were no longer limited to the forests and could search for
food in the grasslands.
(2) Grasslands began to replace forests, and thus the upright hominids had an
advantage over the forest-bound chimpanzees.
C. Homo Erectus and the First Migrations Outside of Africa 2.5–1.8 Million Years Ago
1. Evolutionary changes in hominids are measured by increases in brain size and the
ability to make tools.
2. The Paleolithic period, or Old Stone Age, lasted from 2.5 million years ago to 8000
B.C.E.
a) Paleolithic humans are characterized by shaping their own tools by flaking stone.
b) Shaped stone tools allowed Paleolithic hominids better access to hides and meat.
3. The first Paleolithic hominids were Homo habilis.
a) Homo habilis lived mostly on gathered fruits and vegetables and scavenged for
meat.
b) Homo habilis were smaller than modern humans, less than 5 feet tall.
4. Homo erectus appeared about 1.9 million years ago.
a) Homo erectus had twice the brain size of earlier hominids, almost the same size
as modern humans.
b) Homo erectus left Africa about 1.8 million years ago.
(1) Most Homo erectus migrated into West Asia, but a few migrated into
Eurasia.
(2) European climate was probably too cold for migrating Homo erectus.
(3) Earliest Homo erectus remains found in Europe date to 800,000 years ago.
c) Homo erectus was probably the first hominid to control fire.
(1) Paleontologists debate when Homo erectus first controlled fire, possibly 1.4
million years ago, possibly 790,000 years ago.
(2) Using fire allowed Homo erectus to eat more meat, which further increased
brain size.
D. The Emergence of Homo sapiens sapiens Between 2 Million and 150,000 Years Ago
1. Debate about how Homo sapiens sapiens evolved from Homo erectus
a) Regional continuity paleontologists believe that after 1.9 million years ago,
different hominids from different regions merged into one species, Homo sapiens
sapiens, about 150,000 years ago.
b) Single origin paleontologists believe that Homo sapiens sapiens evolved
separately and migrated out of Africa between 100,000 and 50,000 years ago.
How Modern Humans Populated Eurasia and Australia
A. The First Anatomically Modern Humans Leave Africa.
1. Earliest Homo sapiens sapiens remains date from 160,000 B.C.E., found in Ethiopia.
2. Homo sapiens sapiens began to migrate out of Africa into Eurasia ca.150,000 B.C.E.
3. Another separate strand of hominid development was the Neanderthal.
a) Neanderthals had longer skulls, more protruding faces, and heavier bones than
Homo sapiens sapiens.
b) Neanderthals used tools and fire to cook and painted themselves and their
dwellings.
4. Homo sapiens sapiens developed the capacity for symbolic thinking and speech.
a) Homo sapiens sapiens developed art and religion.
b) Earliest evidence of a religious belief from humans comes from burial of the
dead.
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Chapter 1: The Peopling of the World, 7 Million Years Ago–circa 4000 B.C.E.
c)
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Homo sapiens sapiens developed a larynx around 150,000 B.C.E. and the ability
to speak between 100,000 and 50,000 B.C.E.
B. The Settling of Australia, circa 60,000 B.C.E.
1. Improved hunting skills and the ability to adapt to new environments allowed Homo
sapiens sapiens to migrate as far as Australia.
a) Scientists are unsure how humans first reached Australia.
b) At Mungo, in southeast Australia, paleontologists have found the earliest
evidence of cremation as a burial practice.
C. The Settling of Eurasia, 50,000–30,000 B.C.E.
1. Early humans in Europe organized large hunting parties as early as 50,000 B.C.E.
2. The Upper Paleolithic, or Late Stone Age lasted from 38,000–10,000 B.C.E.
a) Early Eurasian hominids are known as Cro-Magnon.
(1) Cro-Magnon hunted and gathered to acquire food for the present and the
future, revealing a new pattern in thinking about time.
(2) Cro-Magnon humans also painted elaborate scenes in caves at Chauvet and
Lascaux.
3. By 25,000, Homo sapiens sapiens was the only surviving hominid species left.
a) The discovery of Homo floresiensis, on the island of Flores in Indonesia, suggests
that another species of australopithecine survived as late as 13,000 B.C.E.
III. The Settling of the Americas
A. The Settling of the Americas
1. Hominids reached the Americas later than elsewhere, dating from 10,500 B.C.E.
a) All hominids in the Americas are from the Homo sapiens sapiens stage.
2. There are few excavated sites in the Americas, and scientists are unsure of how the
migration took place.
B. Beringia: The Land Bridge from Siberia to the Americas
1. Humans may have crossed into the Americas across Beringia, the land bridge from
Siberia to Alaska.
a) The crossing took place between 14,000 and 10,500 B.C.E.
C. Monte Verde, Chile: How the First Americans Lived, 10,500 B.C.E.
1. The earliest known human site in the Americas is Monte Verde, in Chile.
a) Carbon-14 dating at Monte Verde established human presence as early as 10,500
B.C.E., but tools suggest it may date from 31,000 B.C.E.
2. Structures excavated at Monte Verde include a communal residence and a separate
building that might have been used as an infirmary.
3. Tools found at Monte Verde include a mixture of stone and wood, spears, round stones
for slings or bolos, and atlatls.
D. The Rise of Clovis and Other Regional Traditions, 11,400–10,900 B.C.E.
1. By 11,000 B.C.E., humans had settled across the Americas, and developed new
technologies.
a) Technological differences among peoples in North America show distinct
regional developments.
2. The Clovis technological complex stretched from Oregon to Texas.
a) Clovis sties were large, as many as 60 people.
b) Clovis people also collected finely worked stone points, which seem to have been
chosen as much for looks as utility.
E. The Oldest Americans
1. Few skeletal remains from early humans have been found in the Americas, and most
have been removed from their original locations.
a) Only 38 skeletons have been found in the Americas from before 9000 B.C.E.
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Chapter 1: The Peopling of the World, 7 Million Years Ago–circa 4000 B.C.E.
2.
Scientists use statistical analysis of skull size and shape to compare early humans in
the Americas to determine origins.
a) Comparisons of American skeletons reveal two skull shapes: longer or rounder
heads.
(1) Rounder skulls are probably the ancestors of modern Native Americans.
b) Scientists have suggested two waves of migration into the Americas, the longheaded people first, in about 14,000 B.C.E., and the round-headed people later, in
about 11,000–9000 B.C.E.
3. Scientists debate when humans first reached the Americas but agree that they were
settled by 7000 B.C.E, when the sea levels rose and the Bering Strait flooded.
IV. The Emergence of Agriculture, 12,500–3000 B.C.E.
A. The Domestication of Plants and Animals, ca. 12,500–7000 B.C.E.
1. The first evidence of agriculture comes from the Natufians of Palestine and southern
Syria, ca. 12,500 B.C.E.
a) Natufians first planted wild grains, such as barley and emmer wheat.
b) Natufians are classified as Neolithic, or New Stone Age, because they used tools
that were more advanced than those of earlier humans.
c) The first animal to be domesticated was the dog, about 10,000 B.C.E., to aid in
hunting. Goats, sheep, and cattle were the next to be tamed.
2. Agriculture allowed Natufians to settle in larger groups than hunter-gatherers, as many
as 150–250 people.
a) Natufian burial sites indicate some division by class.
3. Agriculture spread to the eastern Mediterranean, into less fertile land, which required
more innovation in planting and harvesting techniques.
B. The First Larger Settlements, 7000–3000 B.C.E.
1. The largest Neolithic settlement, a Natufian site at Jericho, had as many as 1000 people
by 7500 B.C.E.
a) The people of Jericho grew barley, wheat, figs, and lentils and hunted for meat.
b) Jericho had a ditch and walls about 8 feet high around it for protection.
2. A similarly sized site was located at Ain Ghazal, near Amman, Jordan.
3. By 6000 B.C.E., there was a settlement at Catalhoyuk in Turkey with about five
thousand people.
a) Catalhoyuk had no walls, but their houses were only entered through the roof and
their outside walls formed a perimeter wall around the city.
b) Catalhoyuk houses had paintings inside, some of which may depict religious
beliefs.
c) Catalhoyuk houses also indicate some class divisions.
4. Agriculture developed independently around the world.
a) Western Asia (Syria and Turkey), ca. 12,500 B.C.E.
b) Mesopotamia, ca. 8000 B.C.E.
c) Andes, Peru, ca. 8000 B.C.E.
d) Yangzi Valley, China, ca. 7000 B.C.E.
e) Indus Valley, Pakistan, ca. 6500–5000 B.C.E.
f)
New Guinea, ca. 5000 B.C.E.
g) Sub-Saharan Africa, ca. 2000 B.C.E.
LECTURE TOPICS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1.
Discuss the theory of evolution, how it applies to humans, and how we as humans change.
2.
Discuss the basic geographic features associated with the earliest human developments. Ask the
students to consider how humans and geography shape each other (in the past and today).
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Chapter 1: The Peopling of the World, 7 Million Years Ago–circa 4000 B.C.E.
5
3.
Describe the nomadic lifestyle. Have the students theorize about the possibilities and problems of
being nomadic. Have the students describe their own changes in location (i.e., ask if any of them
have moved from one geographic region to another and what that move meant for their lifestyle).
4.
Discuss what burial practices reveal about early human’s religious beliefs.
5.
Ask the students what difference agriculture made for human development, including the
development of human society. Discuss the advantages and the disadvantages in the switch from a
hunter-gatherer culture to a settled, agricultural society.
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES AND WRITING ASSIGNMENTS
1.
Draw a time line of hominid evolutionary development on the board. Have students pose in
varying degrees of uprightness. Have the students who are posing hold that position and try to
walk around the room, picking up objects. Discuss what changes occur in capabilities,
perspective, and one’s own sense of space as one’s posture changes.
2.
Discuss the creation and use of tools. Show images of primitive stone tools, and also bring in
simple tools (such as an arrowhead or flint) for students to hold and feel. Have the students
discuss their own use of tools, describing what kinds of tools they use and how these tools affect
their ability to perform tasks.
3.
Discuss how even the earliest human societies divided themselves. Ask the students to divide
themselves up into groups, first determining what the criteria of the groups will be and who will
make the determination. What role do gender and class play in those divisions?
4.
Ask the students to write an essay in which they consider why humans need to create culture. Ask
them to provide specific examples of culture created by early humans and for theories as to what
that cultural artifact was used for.
5.
Have the students write an essay in which they consider what role gender played in human
development. Ask them to discuss whether gender roles changed from the earliest human
development to the beginning of settled, agricultural societies.
ANALYZING PRIMARY SOURCES
1.
Display pictures of hominid skulls, illustrating each period of evolutionary development. Describe
the changes in brain size and what this means for the cognitive capabilities of hominids. Compare
skull size and shape between hominids, chimpanzees, and gorillas.
2.
Display images of early human art, such as the cave paintings at Chauvet and Lascaux. Discuss
why humans feel the need to create art, and what that art reveals about early human daily life. Ask
the students to consider if they could only draw one thing, what would they draw and why.
3.
Display images of the Venus of Willendorf and other female figurines from the Paleolithic period.
Ask the students to compare the images, and discuss possible reasons why these figures were
created and what they might have been used for. Use these images as an opportunity to discuss
gender and how cultures depict gender.
4.
Discuss the concept of the migration of ideas, as well as of people. Use the cave paintings, the
Clovis group’s movement of stone tools, or any of the visual images associated with the earliest
humans.
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Chapter 1: The Peopling of the World, 7 Million Years Ago–circa 4000 B.C.E.
ACTIVITIES FOR THE TRAVELER: KENNEWICK MAN
1.
Ask the students why the Kennewick Man’s skeleton is so important to archeologists and
anthropologists. Why is James C. Chatters so intrigued by the shape of the skull, and what does
that shape reveal to him about human settlement in the Americas?
2.
Have the students restate the two competing theories of human settlement in the Americas, as
outlined by James C. Chatters in the Kennewick Man feature. Once you have established that the
students understand the basic premises of the two arguments, divide the class into two groups and
have them debate the sides of the argument, using the Kennewick Man as evidence.
3.
Have the students write a letter to the Umatilla, in which they defend the need for scientists to
keep the Kennewick Man skeleton. Then have the students write a letter in reply from the
Umatilla, outlining their reasons for needing to rebury the skeleton.
MAP ACTIVITY
Using the ouline map of the world provided below, locate the following features, places, and regions:
Antarctica
Africa
Americas
Australia
Eurasia
Atlantic Ocean
Pacific Ocean
Mediterranean Sea
Bering Strait
Siberia
South Africa
Alaska
Ethiopia
Kenya
Chad
Malawi
Lascaux Caves
Turkey
Jericho
Kalahari Desert
Sahara Desert
Sinai Peninsula
Olduvai Gorge
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Chapter 1: The Peopling of the World, 7 Million Years Ago–circa 4000 B.C.E.
Great Rift Valley
Neanderthal, Germany
Kennewick, Washington
Monte Verdi, Chile
Catalhoyuk
On the same map, label the following routes:
Beringia
Western Asian land route from Africa to Eurasia
Land migration from western America to Monte Verde, Chile
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Chapter 1: The Peopling of the World, 7 Million Years Ago–circa 4000 B.C.E.
THE WORLD
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Chapter 1: The Peopling of the World, 7 Million Years Ago–circa 4000 B.C.E.
9
GEOGRAPHY QUESTIONS
Using the maps and information in the textbook, answer the following questions concerning geography:
1.
How did geography shape the human form? What are the connections between geographic
features and human body evolution?
2.
How did living in Europe differ from life in Africa, and what changes did humans have to make to
their lifestyles in order to move from Africa to Europe?
3.
What is the relationship between geography and early religious ideas?
4.
Why did humans reach the Americas later than other land masses? What were the geographic
impediments to settling the Americas?
5.
What role did the Rocky and Andes Mountains play in the settlement of the Americas?
AUDIOVISUAL BIBLIOGRAPHY
1.
Quest for Fire. (100 mins. Color. Belstar Productions, 1981).
2.
The Real Eve. (103 mins. Color. Granadia Media, 2002).
3.
Journey of Man: A Genetic Odyssey. (120 mins. Color. National Geographic, 2003).
4.
NOVA: America’s Stone Age Explores: Where did the First Americans Come From? (60 mins.
Color. WGBH, 2004).
5.
NOVA: Mystery of the First Americans. (60 mins. Color. WGBH, 2000).
6.
Lascaux: The Prehistory of Art. (60 mins. Color. Films Media Group, 2002).
SUGGESTED READING
Backwell, Lucinda, and Francesco d’Errico, eds. From Tools to Symbols: From Early Hominids to
Modern Humans. Johannesburg: Wits University Press, 2006.
Chatters, James. Ancient Encounters: Kennewick Man and the First Americans. New York: Simon &
Schuster, 2002.
Graslund, Bo. Early Humans and Their World. New York: Routledge, 2005.
Johanson, Donald, and Blake Edgar. From Lucy to Language. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996.
Johanson, Donald, and Maitland Edey. Lucy: The Beginnings of Humankind. New York: Simon &
Schuster, 1981.
Jolly, Clifford J., ed. Early Hominids of Africa. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1978.
Koppel, Tom. Lost Worlds: Rewriting Prehistory--How New Science is Tracing America’s Ice Age
Mariners. New York: Atria Books, 2003.
Stringer, Chris, and Peter Andrews. The Complete World of Human Evolution. London: Thames &
Hudson, 2006.
Wells, Spencer. The Journey of Man: A Genetic Odyssey. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press,
2002.
Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
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Chapter 1: The Peopling of the World, 7 Million Years Ago–circa 4000 B.C.E.
INTERNET RESOURCES
1.
Human evolution. (http://www.humanevolution.org)
2.
Human evolution, including links to various articles on the debates about evolution.
(http://www.actionbioscience.org/evolution/index.html)
3.
Lucy and the earliest hominids. (http://www.wsu.edu:8001/wsu/gened/learnmodules/top_longfor/timeline/afarensis/afarensis-a.html)
4.
Lucy and australopithecines. (http://www.asu.edu/clas/iho/lucy.html)
5.
Kennewick Man and the debate over
ownership.(http://time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1169901,00.html)
6.
Early Americans and the Kennewick Man trial. (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/first)
7.
Catalhoyuk. An interactive site. (http://www.smm.org/catal/top.php)
8.
Catalhoyuk. (http://www.catalhoyuk.com)
9.
Lascaux. A virtual tour. (http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/arcnat/lascaux/en)
10. Venus of Willendorf and other Paleolithic art.
(http://www.witcombe.sbc.edu/ARTHprehistoric.html)
11. Jericho. (http://www.imagesofanthropology.com/Ancient_Jericho.html)
Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.