Robert Wade AP World History
Bryan Adams High School

Theories on prehistory and early man constantly change as new evidence comes to light.
- Louis Leakey, British paleo-anthropologist

Paleolithic Age:
( Old Stone Age )
2,500,000 BCE to 8,000 BCE
1. 4,000,000 BCE – 1,000,000 BCE
2. 1,500,000 BCE -- 250,000 BCE
3. 250,000 BCE – 30,000 BCE
4. 30,000 BCE -- 10,000 BCE



“Paleolithic” --> “Old Stone” Age
2,500,000 BCE – 10,000 BCE

Made tools
 hunting ( men ) & gathering ( women )
 small bands of 20-30 humans

NOMADIC (moving from place to place)

4,000,000 BCE – 1,000,000 BCE

Hominids --> any member of the family of two-legged primates that includes all humans.

Australopithecines

An Opposable
Thumb


HOMO HABILIS
( “Man of Skills” )
 found in East Africa.
 created stone tools.


Humans during this period found shelter in caves.

Cave paintings left behind.
Purpose??

1,6000,000 BCE – 30,000 BCE

HOMO ERECTUS
( “Upright Human Being” )

BIPEDALISM

Larger and more varied tools --> primitive technology

First hominid to migrate and leave Africa for Europe and
Asia.

First to use fire ( 500,000 BCE )

200,000 BCE – 10,000 BCE
HOMO SAPIENS
( “Wise Human Being” )
Neanderthals
( 200,000 BCE – 30,000 BCE )
Cro-Magnons
( 40,000 BCE – 10,000 BCE )

NEANDERTHALS:

Neander Valley,
Germany (1856)

First humans to bury their dead.

Made clothes from animal skins.

Lived in caves and tents.

NEANDERTHALS
Early Hut/Tent


Homo sapiens sapiens
( “Wise, wise human” )

By 30,000 BCE they replaced Neanderthals.
WHY???

• Homo sapiens
– The term means "consciously thinking human"
– Evolved as early as 250,000 years ago
– Brain with large frontal regions for conscious and reflective thought
– The advantages of intelligence over other species
• Migrations of Homo sapiens
– Beginning more than 100,000 years ago, spread throughout
Eurasia
– Several ice ages between 120 and 25 thousand years ago
– Land bridges enabled them to populate Indonesia and New
Guinea
– Arrived in Australia between 60,000 and 120,000 years ago
– Between 40,000 and 25,000 years ago, migrated to North
America
• The natural environment
–
Homo sapiens used knives, spears, bows, and arrows
– Brought tremendous pressure on other species

• Neanderthal peoples
–
Named after the site of the Neander valley in S.W. Germany
– Flourished in Europe and S.W. Asia between 100 and 35 thousand years ago
– Careful, deliberate burials-evidence of a capacity for emotion and feelings
• Cro-Magnon peoples
– The first human beings of fully modern type, appeared 40,000 years ago
– Classified as Homo sapiens sapiens
–
A noticeable interest in fashion and artistic production
•
Social Organization
– Small family units, clans of generally no more than 15-20 people
– Organized hunting bands, led by elders with greatest knowledge of hunting, gathering
–
Women could be leaders
• Venus figurines
– Besides jewelry and furniture, there were also Venus figurines and paintings
–
The figurines reflect a deep interest in fertility
• Cave paintings
– Best known are Lascaux in France and Altamira in Spain
–
Subjects: mostly animals; Purposes: aesthetic, "sympathetic magic

70,000 BCE – 10,000 BCE


“Neolithic”  “New Stone” Age

10,000 BCE – 4,000 BCE

Gradual shift from:
Nomadic lifestyle  settled, stationery lifestyle.
Hunting/Gathering  agricultural production and domestication of animals.

• Neolithic era
– "New stone age" - refined tools and agriculture
– Time period: from about 12,000 to 6,000 years ago
– Most likely, Paleolithic women began systematic cultivation of plants
– Paleolithic men began to domesticate animals
– "Agricultural transition" is better than "agricultural revolution"
• Early agriculture
– The earliest evidence found between 10,000 to 8000 B.C.E.
–
Slash-and-burn cultivation involved frequent movement of farmers
– About 5000 B.C.E., agriculture well-established in Asia and
Americas
• The spread of agriculture
– Advantages of cultivation over hunting and gathering
– Developed indigenously in several different cultural hearths
– Agriculture provided a surplus


8,000 BCE – 5,000 BCE

Agriculture developed independently in different parts of the world.
 SLASH-AND-BURN Farming
Middle East India Central America China Southeast Asia
8,000 BCE 7,000 BCE 6,500 BCE 6,000 BCE 5,000 BCE

• Population explosion caused by surplus
• Emergence of villages and towns
– Jericho, earliest known Neolithic village (north of the Dead Sea)
– Agricultural society, supplemented by hunting and limited trade
– Mud huts and defensive walls
• Specialization of labor
– Neolithic site of Çatal Hüyük (south-central Anatolia)
•
Developed into a bustling town with more than 8,000 inhabitants
• Craft industries - pottery, metallurgy, and textile production
– Ruling class, priestly, craftsmen, and merchants were common
• Social distinctions
– Agriculture brought about private land ownership
– Social classes emerged, as seen in Çatal Hüyük site
• Beliefs
– Neolithic peoples celebrated deities associated with life cycle
– Increasing deification, anthropomorphism of nature, seasons
– Increasing masculinization of deities


Growing crops on a regular basis made possible the support of larger populations.

More permanent, settled communities emerged.

9,000 BCE  Earliest Agricultural Settlement at
JARMO ( northern Iraq )  wheat


8,000 BCE  Largest Early Settlement at Çatal Hüyük
( Modern Turkey )  6,000 inhabitants

12 cultivated crops

Division of labor

Engaged in trade

Organized religion

Small military
An obsidian dagger

Çatal Hüyük

• Emergence of cities
– Tended to emerge in hostile environments
– Harsh environments required stronger organization
– Cities were larger and more complex
– Cities influenced life of large regions
• Earliest cities in Southern Mesopotamia
• Other centers of urban civilization
– Indus River Valley
– Nile River Valley
– River Valley of the Huang He
– Coastal Jungles of Mexico

ST
• Five major centers beginning around 4,500 BCE
– Tigris and Euphrates Rivers (Mesopotamia)
– Nile River Valley
– Indus River Valley
– Northern China (Huang He)
– Central America
• Civilizations arose in few areas, spread out
• Often arose around control of water
– Called “hydraulic” (Hydro = water) civilizations
– Irrigation, flood control at center of power, changes
• Ancient period lasts generally to 1000 BCE

• Permanent Institutions
– Religious: Theocracies, priesthoods, polytheism
– Political: Monarchy, aristocracy, militaries
– Social: Rise of classes
– Gender: Patriarchy
• Trade and Commerce
• Systems of Record Keeping
• Intellectual Traditions
– Arts, Architecture
– Literature

Advanced Cities and
Long Distance Trade
Specialization
Of Labor
Complex
Political and Social
Institutions
Advanced Art,
Architecture,
And Literature
A Written Language
And Record Keeping