Chapter 1
The Beginnings of
Human Society
Section 1 Geography and History
Understanding History /Before and After Writing
1. The first system of writing was developed about ________________ years ago in
__________________________ and ____________________.
2. History then formally began.
3. History- _______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________.
4. Long ago, people lived with no way of recording information or preserving stories.
5. Prehistory - ____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________.
Prehistory: Digging Up the Past
1. When studying Prehistory, Archaeology is a very helpful tool.
2. Archaeologists- _________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
QUESTION: The size of a spear can tell you a lot about the people who used it. What types of things do
you think can be learned?
History: A Record in Writing / A Record of the Spoken Word
1. Studying written records or human life and accomplishments help us understand a society.
2. What examples of written records in our world today? Make a brief list.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
3. Examples – we can learn about ______________________, ____________________________,
and _____________________________.
4. Prior to writing, a system of storytelling existed known as oral tradition.
5. Oral Tradition – _________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Section 2 – Prehistory
Stone Age Hunting and Gathering - Earliest Human Culture
1. By studying tools, we can learn about the development of human culture…How?
2. 2.5 million years ago- early humans begin making tools, which began the Stone Age.
3. Stone Age- _____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
4. Lasted for hundreds of thousands of years, when metal began to be used.
5. In the Old Stone Age, people did not know how to __________________________.
6. Hunter-gatherer culture – _________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
7. __________________________ occurred in the Old Stone Age.
Fire!
1. Between about _________________________________ and ___________________________
years ago, early humans learned how to use fire.
2. Possibly caused by a lightning strike.
3. There were many uses for fire. For example, _________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________.
4. Fully grasped the power of fire when they rubbed two sticks together to create fire at will.
5. People could then travel to colder places to live. Why?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________.
Settling New Areas
1. With tools, people started leaving Africa about 1,000,000 years ago.
2. Prior to this, people were nomads who moved around for food.
o
Nomads – _____________________________________________________________.
3. There is evidence that human ancestors were living in _____________________ and
_______________________________ at least 500,000 years ago.
4. Many scientists believe that modern humans originated more than 100,000 years ago in
___________________________ and then spread to other parts of the world.
5. Humans were few in number, but lived in all types of geographical conditions.
The Beginning of Farming / Early Farmers
1. Middle Stone Age- ______________________________________________________________.
2. New Stone Age- ________________________________________________________________.
3. People could grow their own food. How did this change human life?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Farming Around the World
1. Some places in the world are better for farming than others, often due to quality of fertile soil.
2. Fertile – _______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________.
3. Describe important factors for farming.
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
Plant Selection
1. When people began to plant crops, they chose the biggest, best-tasting ones, and began to
domesticate them.
2. Domesticate – _________________________________________________________________.
3. Humans also began developing techniques for more successful farming.
Terraces – step-like areas dug into steep mountains to plant crops on.
Crop Rotation – planting crops on different fields to keep the soil fresh.
Section 3 THE BEGINNINGS OF CIVILIZATION
1. Irrigation- ______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________.
Advantages of a Settled Life
1. More benefits came from farming compared to hunting and gathering.
o ________________________________________________________________________
o
Surplus- ________________________________________________________________.
The Population Grows
1. Larger families began to appear due to the non-nomadic lifestyle.
2. 10,000 years ago, the world population was about _________________________________.
3. 7,000 years ago, with farming, the population was as much as ___________________________.
Early Towns and Villages
1. Settlements eventually grew into ______________________.
2. Why would surpluses affect families?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
The Growth of Cities
1. Where were cities most likely to grow? Why was this?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
__
The Earliest Cities
1. Most of the first cities formed in ______________________,
__________________________, and ________________________________.
2. What factors make cities different than towns?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
3. In villages, most people were _______________________________. In cities, most people
worked in __________________________ and other new occupations.
Governments Form
1. As populations of cities grew, governments began to form.
2. The purpose of government was ___________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________.
3. Governments also settled __________________________________ and ___________________
__________________________________________________________.
The First Civilizations Form
1. Some of these New Stone Age societies grew into civilizations.
2. Civilization- ____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________.
3. Civilizations also have examples of __________________________, ___________________, and
_____________________________________.
The Bronze Age
1. By 6600 B.C., artisans in Europe and Asia had learned that melting a certain rock at high
temperatures would separate metal copper from rock.
2. By 3000 B.C., artisans had learned to mix tin with copper to make bronze, which marked the
start of the Bronze Age.
3. Why do you think bronze was valuable?
Trade and the Spread of Ideas
1. People began taking goods like _____________________, _______________________,
______________________, _____________________________, ______________________,
and _____________________________ to faraway cities to trade.
2. Merchants- ____________________________________________________________________.
Social Classes Develop
1. Social classes- __________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________.