Prehistoric times
Prehistoric times ............................................................................................................................................. 1
The first men ..................................................................................................................................................... 2
The origins of modern humans ...............................................................................................................................2
The life of the first modern humans ......................................................................................................................2
The way of life of early man......................................................................................................................................2
The evolution of weapons and tools of prehistory .............................................................................. 3
The physical evolution of men .................................................................................................................... 4
Of homo erectus to homo sapiens .............................................................................................................. 5
Physical appearance ...................................................................................................................................................5
Lifestyle............................................................................................................................................................................5
Use of tools......................................................................................................................................................................5
Use of fire ........................................................................................................................................................................5
Physical appearance ...................................................................................................................................................5
Lifestyle............................................................................................................................................................................5
Use of tools......................................................................................................................................................................5
Use of fire ........................................................................................................................................................................5
Arts and beliefs of prehistory...................................................................................................................... 6
Arts and beliefs of prehistory...................................................................................................................... 7
Cave paintings ................................................................................................................................................... 8
The cut stone stone polished ....................................................................................................................... 9
Some documents ............................................................................................................................................10
The first men
The origins of modern humans
Prehistory began with the first man, Homo habilis (skillful
man). It appears in Africa, about three million years ago.
It walks upright, lives in groups, manufactures coarse
tools, employees year articulated language and is
omnivorous. The man turns gradually: Homo erectus
(upright man) is more right than its predecessor; It has
more advanced tools and knows how to fire; found its
mark not only in Africa, but in Europe and Asia.
Homo sapiens (learned man) has a brain larger than
Homo erectus and it buries its dead. Modern man, or
Homo sapiens sapiens (very learned man), appears
about 40,000 years ago. It is the first man to make works
of art. It spreads all over the world.
The life of the first modern humans
To 40 000 BC, the climate is colder than today ' hui.
Game is abundant and varied: reindeer, bison, horses,
Mammoths, ibex... Not many, between 3 and 5 million
men live especially of the hunting group, fishing and
gathering.
Men have no. fixed habitat because they follow the
game that moves: they are nomadic. They shelter in
tents of hides, under rocks or at the entrance to the
caves. To make their weapons and their tools, they use
bone and Horn of animals hunted or cut Flint that they
emmanchent on pieces of wood. To protect themselves
from the cold, they are covered with skins. The men
buried their dead in tombs, often with objects: they
believe in a life after death. They manufacture of
statuettes and decorate the caves paintings or
engravings which may have religious or magical
significance.
The way of life of early man
-The first men lived gathering, hunting and fishing. They began to cultivate the land
much later.
-Their habitat is a temporary habitat (caves or rudimentary huts) because they are
nomads who followed the movement of the herds of game.
-Acquisitions come change their way of life: the use of fire, roll on the formidable
biface, burial of the dead. Later, they used the early metals (bronze...).
The evolution of weapons and tools of prehistory
The physical evolution of men
Homo habilis to Homo sapiens sapiens
Of homo erectus to homo sapiens
400 000 years ago: homo erectus
Physical appearance
Homo erectus had a receding forehead, an important bead above the orbits, a
massive jaw. The skeleton of the members is almost similar to ours; It has almost our
size.
Lifestyle
Homo erectus lived in small groups. He moved his camp when plants and game
resources are no longer sufficient to feed him.
We found some traces of its habitat: he knew to make shacks in branches or shelters
in caves for protection from the cold.
Use of tools
Homo erectus made from Flint, tools for cutting meat and dig up the roots. He
invented the first symmetric object: the biface. It has been used for more than a
million years.
Use of fire
Homo erectus landscape homes protected from the wind by stones. The earliest
evidence for the domestication of fire dates to 460,000 years approximately.
He uses fire to warm up and cook its food.
100,000 years ago: Homo sapiens
Physical appearance
Homo sapiens from Homo erectus, has a straighter front. The seam above the orbits is
barely marked, less massive jaw and underdeveloped teeth. It is almost similar to us.
Lifestyle
Homo sapiens lived in small groups that roam large areas to find food.
Their camp is made of tent of skins sewn, easy to disassemble. Women working the
skin, make dry meat, they are also certainly responsible to collect plants and berries.
Men make weapons and go hunting.
Use of tools
Homo sapiens used reindeer bone manufacture points spear, harpoons to fish and
needles to sew clothes.
He decorates and sculpted these objects some of which are true works of art. Like its
ancestors, it size Flint for tools suited to all kinds of use. Thanks to the diversity of its
tools, it becomes a formidable fighter.
Use of fire
For a long time, men have mastered the fire. They serve to protect themselves from
the cold, the climate of Europe was harsh at this time. He cooked his food,
sometimes smokes them to keep.
Arts and beliefs of prehistory
Prehistoric men had early beliefs and religious practices. At the end of the
Paleolithic era, priests and sorcerers paint, carve or sculpt animals (horses and bison
more often but also mammoths) on the walls and ceilings of caves, sometimes on
bones. These works recall the importance of hunting.
The Neolithic time, men, more likely, stand of megaliths, menhirs (= elongated
stones) or dolmens (stone tables =). The dolmens are used as tombs. Earthenware,
painted or decorated, ground pottery are very varied.
The menhirs of Carnac.
(France, Morbihan, to 2000 BC)
-The Carnac region has
approximately 3 000 menhirs,
most aligned.
A dolmen (Fontanaccia,
Corsica, to 2000 BC)
Shortly after the advent of agriculture, Europe covers made impressive
monuments large stones: the megaliths. We know wrong meanings, but we know
that they are religious monuments. The dolmens, often covered with earth or small
stones are sometimes used as tombs. The menhirs are perhaps intended to honour
the Sun.
The construction of each megalith certainly required the work of hundreds of
people, under the direction of conductors: it shows that men of this time are
ingenious and well organized.
Arts and beliefs of prehistory
1 : Bison injured from the cave of Niaux (Ariège)
2 : Bison and horses (Santimamiñe - Spain)
3 : The Lady of Brassempouy (cro-magnon era)
4 : The mammoths of the grotte de Rouffignac (Périgord)
5 : Dolmen
Cave paintings
Paintings of the cave of Niaux (Anege, to 12,000 BC)
Paintings of the cave of Lascaux (Dordogne, to 14 000 BC)
Paintings of the cave of Lascaux (Dordogne, to 14 000 BC)
The cut stone stone polished
STAGE N ° 1
Reconstruction of the village of Pincevent in Seine-et-Marne
(France, to 10,000 BC)
STAGE N ° 2
Reconstruction of the village of Cuiry-les-Chaudardes in Aisne
(France, to 4,000 b.c.)
Some documents
Grotte Chauvet discovery in 1995 (Ardèche - France)
Grotte Chauvet discovery in 1995 (Ardèche - France)
Cave of Lascaux discovered in 1966 (Dordogne - France)
Cave of Lascaux discovered in 1966 (Dordogne - France)
Cave of Lascaux discovered in 1966 (Dordogne - France)
Reconstruction of a dinosaur skeleton
Use of reindeer