Early Civilizations
a record and
explanation of
what people
have thought,
said, and done
• Pre-history = the period before writing had been invented;
any period before 5,500 years ago
• Most people were nomads who had few possessions
Paleolithic Period
(Old Stone Age)
• Began 2.5 million years ago and ended ~ 12,000 B.C.E.
• Named because they used stone tools
• Foraging = hunting and gathering (females gathered fruits,
nuts, and seeds; males were hunters)
• By 50,000 B.C.E. developed speech
Stone Tools
Old Stone Age Areas of Europe
Would you survive as a
Hunter-Gatherer?
Which fungus would you pick?
Common
Ink Cap
Turban Fungus
Shaggy Ink
cap
Leaves and Flowers
Scottish Lovage
Scurvy Grass
Foxglove
Crocus
Nuts and Berries
Horse
Chestnut
Yew
Goose
berry
Neanderthals
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•
•
•
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200,000 years ago
Nomads
Used fire for cooking
Skillful crafting of stone knives, spear heads, bone tools
Lived in small groups of around 35-50
What do you think were some of
the limitations of the nomadic
lifestyle?
Neolithic Period
(New Stone Age)
Neolithic Revolution (Agricultural Rev.)—began 10,000 years
ago
– Shift from gathering food to producing food
– More reliable food supply
– Slash and burn agriculture—slashing the bark on trees & later
burning dead ones, the ashes enriched the soil for years
– Grew crops like: wheat, barley, rice, potatoes
– Domesticated animals- cattle, pigs, sheep, chickens, dogs
Neolithic Period Life
• People lived longer because they could produce
food
• People settled in communities
• Technological advances
– Invented the plow
– Fertilized their fields
– Looms for weaving
– Baked clay bricks for construction
– Hammered metals to make weapons and
jewelry
– created calendars (to measure seasons)
– Worshipped deities
Growth of Agriculture
Jericho
House in Jericho, in present-day
Palestine
Characteristics of Civilization
• Civilization = comes from the Latin word “city”
CHARACTERISTIC
SIGNIFICANCE
Organized
government
- Makes and enforces laws
- Exercises authority over organized state
- Standardizes money systems
Organized
religion
- Offers guidance in questions of life, death,
and nature
- Selects clergy
- Encourages trade and development of new
technology
- Promotes a system of social classes
- Defines a person’s place in society
- Reflects the distribution of wealth
Division of labor
Class structure
System of
writing
- Provides a way to keep accurate records
- Serves as a way to pass on knowledge