Ch. 1
Sec. 1
Outline Notes
I.
II.
III.
Early Humans A. History – the story of humans in the past.
1. History began about 5,500 years ago, when people first began to
write.
2. The story of people really begins in prehistory – before writing.
B. Discovering History –
1. Archaeologists – hunt for evidence buried in the ground.
a. They study artifacts – weapons, tools, and other things
made by humans.
b. They also look at fossils – traces of plants or animals that
have been preserved in rock.
2. Anthropologists – focus on human society.
a. They study how humans developed and how they related to
one another.
Stone Age – early period of human history. Paleolithic and Neolithic Times.
Paleolithic Age – old stone age, 2.5 million years ago till 8,000 B.C.
A. Hunter/Gatherers – people spent most of their time looking for food.
1. Nomads – people who move from place to place; traveled in
groups of 30 or more to help trap food.
2. Women – gathered berries, nuts, and grains; stayed close to the
campsite and looked after the children.
3. Men – hunted, sometimes far from camp. First used clubs and
drove animals off cliffs, but later developed spears and traps.
4. Can answer a question only with the information available at the
time.
B. Environment –
1. How Paleolithic people lived depended on their environment.
a. People in cold climates made shelter in caves.
b. Warm climates used animal hides with poles has shelter.
2. Fire – the most important discovery and tool for early humans.
a. Provided warmth, helped in hunting and cooking, and made
travel at night easier.
3. Ice Ages – fire made it possible for Paleolithic people to survive
the Ice Ages.
a. The Ice Ages were periods of extreme cold that lasted from
100,000 B.C. until 8,000 B.C, thick sheets of ice covered
parts of Europe, Asia, and North America.
C. Language, Art, and Religion –
1. Language made it easier to communicate and pass on knowledge.
IV.
V.
2. Art was used to pass on stories – by using crushed yellow, black,
and red rocks they made powder for paint. No one knows for sure
why they painted animals on cave walls, maybe for luck in a hunt.
D. Tools – Paleolithic people were the first to use technology.
Neolithic Times – New Stone Age, 8,000 B.C. until about 4,000 B.C.; after the last Ice
Age people began to change their way of life.
A. Domesticate – tame animals and plants for human use.
1. Grew food instead of gathering wild plants.
2. Farming - did not begin in one region and spread, people began
farming in different parts of the world at about the same time.
a. Asia – grew wheat, barley, rice, soybeans, and a grain
called millet.
b. Mexico – grew corn, squash, and potatoes.
c. Africa - grew millet and a grain called sorghum.
B. Villages – farming allowed people to settle in one place.
1. During the Neolithic Age villages were started in Europe, India,
Egypt, China, and Mexico.
2. Jericho – one of the earliest known communities found in the
Middle East, located in the West Bank between what is now Israel
and Jordan. Dates back to about 8,000 B.C.
3. Catal Huyuk – located in present day Turkey, home to some 6,000
people between 6700 B.C. and 5700 B.C.
C. Benefits of a Settled Life – Steady food, healthy population.
1. Because villagers produced more than enough to eat, they began to
trade with other villages.
2. Specialization – the development of different kinds of jobs.
a. Craftsmen – made special items.
b. Toolmakers – created better farm tools
Bronze Age – 3000 B.C. to 1200 B.C.
A. Copper – at first people used copper to make tools, they heated the copper then
poured it into molds.
B. Copper and Tin – western Asia began mixing copper and tin to form bronze.
1. Bronze is harder and longer lasting than copper.