World History Unit 1
The Rise of Civilizations
Chapter 1, Section 1
Discovery of Early Humans in
Africa
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Objective of Lesson 1-1
• Understand how recent
archaeological finds have
contributed to our
understanding of human
origins.
• Understand that the
migrations of prehistoric
peoples resulted in their
spread throughout the
world
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Key Vocabulary
• Hominids: the humans and human-like creatures that
preceded them.
• Anthropologists: the scientific study of hominids using
bones and other remains.
• Paleontologists: the study of fossil remains to determine
the characteristics of prehistoric periods
• Archaeologists: investigate prehistoric life by unearthing
and interpreting the objects left behind by prehistoric
people.
• Artifacts: objects that were shaped by human hands and
other remains of human life such as charcoal.
• Radiocarbon dating: the process of measuring the rate of
decay of radioactive carbon in organic remains.
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People to Meet
•
•
•
•
•
Gen Suwa
Tim D. White
Donald C. Johnson
Louis Leakey
Mary Leakey
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Places to Locate
• Aramis
• Hadar
• Olduvai Gorge
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Discovery of Early Humans in
Africa--Overview
• Prehistoric Finds in
Africa
• Human Origins
• The Ice Ages
• Human Culture
• Dating Early Artifacts
• Paleolithic HunterGatherers
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Dating Early Artifacts
• Archaeologists and
physical
anthropologists face
the problem of
assigning a definite
age to remains.
• Among the
techniques for
determining the age
of remains are
radiocarbon dating
and DNA analysis.
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Dating Early Artifacts
• Radiocarbon dating
– Organic matter includes once living things
– Small amounts of carbons absorbed by living
things is radioactive
– Radioactive carbon decays at a certain rate,
thus indicating when plant or animal dies
– Good only for matter less than 50,000 years
old
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Prehistoric Finds in Africa
• In 1992, paleontologist Gen
Suwa, in Ethiopia, discovered 4.4
million-year-old fossils belonging
to the oldest direct human
ancestor known.
• In 1974, again in Ethiopia, two
scientists uncovered a nearly
complete skeleton of a 3.2 millionyear-old hominid nicknamed
“Lucy”.
• In 1994 a reasonably complete
skull of a Lucy-like hominid
provided evidence that Lucy-like
humanoids could walk upright.
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Prehistoric Finds in Africa
• Discovery of Lucy
– Discovered by Donald C. Johnson and Tom
Gray
– Discovered at Hadar
– Named after popular Beatles song
– Most nearly complete skeleton of upright
walking prehuman found to that time
– A chin bone discovered in Kenya indicated
upright walking at 4 million years ago
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The First Hominids
• Australopithecus, the
first prehuman hominid,
lived in eastern and
southern Africa about
4.4 million years ago.
• Scientists divide
Homo—the genus of
humans—into three
species: Homo habilis,
Homo erectus, and
Homo sapiens.
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The First Hominids
• Australopithecus lived in humid forests of
eastern and southern Africa
– Ate fruit, leaves, and fish
– Nomadic—constant search for food
– No evidence for use of tools
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Hominid Groups
• Scientists used the Latin word Homo—or
human—to name hominids and later
humans
• Scientists still not sure when humans
became human
• Genre of humans divided into three groups
– Somewhat different body structures
– Arrived at different times
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Hominid Groups
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• Homo habilis: “person with
ability,” first of the group of
hominids that lived about 34 million years ago.
• Homo erectus: “person who
walks upright.” Lived about
1.5 million years ago.
• Homo sapien: “person who
thinks.” Lived about
200,000 years ago. All
people today.
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The Ice Ages
• Between 2 million and
10,000 years ago, earth
experienced four periods
called the Ice Ages,
during which only the
middle latitudes were
warm enough to support
human and animal life.
• Early human beings
adapted to the Ice Ages
by migrating to warmer
places or developing
strategies for keeping
warm.
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The Ice Ages
• Many parts of the world fell to below
freezing
• Glaciers spread over several areas
• Only middle latitudes remained warm
enough for animal life
• Between glacial periods, the earth warmed
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The Ice Ages
• As glaciers grew and oceans lowered by
300 feet, land bridges formed
– Japan and Korea
– Great Britain and Ireland
– Malay Peninsula and Indonesia Islands
– Asia and North America
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Migrations
• Homo erectus migrates to Europe and
Asia
• Reached Indonesian Islands 1.6 million
years ago.
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Human Culture
• Culture includes the
knowledge a people have,
the language they speak,
the ways in which they eat
and dress, their religious
beliefs, and their
achievements in art and
music.
• One of the earliest cultural
developments was the use
of stone tools, which has led
historians to apply the name
“Stone Age” to the period
before writing was widely
established.
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The Stone Age
• Three periods based on tool making
techniques
– Paleolithic: Old Stone Age (2 million years
ago to 12,000 B.C.)
– Mesolithic: Middle Stone Age (12,000 to
8,000 B.C.)
– Neolithic: New Stone Age (8,000 to 5,000
B.C.)
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Paleolithic Hunter-Gatherers
• Home habilis, who lived during the Paleolithic, are the
oldest hominids known to have manufactured tools.
• Home erectus, who began as food gatherers but became
hunters by developing weapons, used fire and made
clothing from animal skins.
• Scientists disagree on when prehistoric peoples
migrated out of Africa, but there is general agreement
that Homo erectus was established in China and Europe
by about 400,000 years ago.
• By 50,000 B.C. prehistoric peoples had developed
language, which allowed them to exchange ideas and
pass their knowledge on to the next generation.
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Homo Habilis
• Lived in Africa 2.5 million to 1.5 million
years ago
• Research credited to Louis and Mary
Leakey and later their son, Olduvai Leakey
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Homo Erectus
• From 1.5 million to 250,000 years ago
• From Africa to Europe to Asia
• Women gathered fruits; men scavenged
for “killed” meat
• Men later became hunters using spears
and clubs—about 500,000 years ago
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Homo Erectus
• Learned to make fire
– Protection from animals
– Could live in caves—drove other animals out
with fire
– Cook food
– Keep warm
• Made clothing from animal skins
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Migrations
• Scientists disagree whether Homo Habilis
or Homo Erectus migrated to Europe first
• Homo Erectus reached Asia and Europe
• Bones show Homo Erectus reached Java
about 1.6 to 1.8 million years ago
• Skeletal remains show Homo erectus
clearly established in China 460,000 years
ago
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Language
• Homo Erectus may have been talking to
each other about 500,000 years ago
• Language—one of humanities greatest
achievements
– Exchanging information on how to survive and
pass along cultural
– Continuance of culture
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The Neanderthals
Homo Sapiens Sapiens
The Neolithic Revolution
Section 2: The Appearance of
Homo Sapiens—Overview
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Overview of Section 2
• Homo erectus improved many aspects of life
• Homo sapiens, the first modern human
species, moved the human condition forward
at a faster pace
• Discovery in Zaire, Africa, shows humans
used tools much earlier than thought—
80,000 years ago
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Objective of Lesson Section 2
• Know some of the achievements of the
earliest humans.
• Early humans produced tools and
domesticate animals and crops.
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Key Vocabulary
• Domesticate: Taming an animal for human
purposes.
• Deity: Neolithic peoples believed in many
gods or goddesses
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People to Meet
• Neanderthals
• Cro-magnons
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Places to Locate
•
•
•
•
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Neander Valley
Lascaux
Vallon-Pont-d’Arc
Jericho
Catal Huyuk
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The Neanderthals
• Stood about 5.5 feet tall
• Brains larger than modern humans
• Stocky build—muscular
– Able to adapt to colder climates
• Nomadic hunters and gatherers
• More sophisticated tools
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The Neanderthals
• Neanderthals, probably the first Homo sapiens,
began spreading into Europe and Asia about
100,000 years ago from Africa
• Their tool making ability was more sophisticated
that Homo erectus.
• Most lived in groups of 35-50 people, either in
open-air camps or in non-permanent dwellings
such as caves.
• They were culturally advanced in their care for
the sick and aged and their treatment of the
dead.
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Homo Sapiens Sapiens
• Homo sapiens sapiens moved from Africa
and into Europe and Asia
– Intermarried Neanderthals
– Gradually absorbed them
• Neanderthal became extinct, leaving
Homo sapiens sapiens the only hominids
left on earth
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Homo Sapiens Sapiens
• Most scientists believe that modern humans, or
Homo sapiens sapiens in Europe, originated in
Africa about 50,000 years ago and soon came
to dominate almost every continent.
• The Cro-Magnons, the earliest Homo sapiens
sapiens, brought with them improved
technology and a more sophisticated culture.
• The advances the Cro-Magnons made in tool
making transformed human life by making longdistance travel possible and increasing the
supply of food.
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Homo Sapiens Sapiens
• Cro-Magnons were taller, but not as robust
• Better hunting and gathering techniques—
more group oriented
• Better hunting and then fishing
instruments
• Better stone axes allowed them to make
canoes and travel in them long distances
• Invented long distance weapons—bow
and arrow, etc
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Homo Sapiens Sapiens
• The Cro-Magnons’ increased food supply had
political and social consequences, including the
cooperation of unrelated bands of Cro-Magnons
and the evolution of rule-making and leadership.
• Cro-Magnons at first lived in temporary
structures, but as their hunting methods
advanced, they built permanent communities
• The Cro-Magnons were accomplished cave
painters and sculptors.
• More sophisticated burials
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Homo Sapiens Sapiens
• Cave paintings included accomplished
artistry found in caves in Lascaux and
Vallon-Pont-d’Arc, France
– Historians disagree on painting rationale
• To educate youngsters on the finer hunting points
• Reaching out to the spiritual for help in their
hunting activities
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Homo Sapiens Sapiens
• Better food supply brought higher
population
• By 15,000 B.C., there were two million
people on the earth
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The Neolithic Revolution
• The end of the last Ice Age brings green—
forrests and grasses
• During the Neolithic period—named for its
tremendous changes-- and immediately after,
people gradually shifted from gathering and
hunting food to producing food.
• The Mesolithic period, during which people of
domesticated animals and developed farming
tools, was a forerunner of the Neolithic
Revolution.
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The Neolithic Revolution
• In different parts of the world, the Neolithic
Revolution took place at different times
and involved different crops and animals.
• Farming assured a steady food supply and
enabled people to stay longer in one
place, but it also required harder and
longer work.
• With the development of agriculture,
people began to settle in agricultural
villages instead of wandering as nomads.
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The Neolithic Revolution: The
Dawn of Agriculture
• Neolithic farmers made agricultural work
easier and more productive by inventing
the plow and fertilizing their fields.
• The relatively steady food supply
quickened the pace of technological
advance and led to the development of
calendars, land ownership, and warfare.
• Neolithic people believed in deities with
the power to hurt or help people.
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The Neolithic Revolution: The
Dawn of Agriculture
• Neolithic Revolution built slowly
– Began at different times in different parts of
the world
– Middle East (8000 years ago)
– China (5000 years ago)
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The Neolithic Revolution: The
First Villages
• Food production increases population
– By 4000 B.C., world population is estimated at
90,000,000
• People could settle in communities
– Where soil was fertile and water abundant
– Jericho: one of earliest villages; Israel
occupied West Bank; 8000 B.C.
– Catal Huyuk: early village; Turkey; 6300-7000
B.C.; largest village discovered so far
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The Neolithic Revolution:
Technological Advances
• Invented the plow and trained animals to
pull
• Invented the loom and the wheel
• Baked clay to construct buildings
• Hammered metals for jewelry and
weapons
• The Iceman
• Calendars created to track agriculature
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The Neolithic Revolution:
Technological Advances
• Boundaries became important and warfare
over boundaries was probable
• Believed in deities, gods and goddesses
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River Valley Civilizations
The Economy of a Civilization
The Rise of Cities
Systems of Values
SECTION 3, EMERGENCE OF
CIVILIZATION
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Lesson 1-3 Objectives
• Understand that the earliest civilizations
begin with the evolution of farming
settlements into the first cities.
• Know the kinds of economic, political, and
social changes that resulted from the rise
of cities.
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Key Vocabulary
• Civilization: The term comes from the Latin term
“civitas” meaning “city.” A civilization is a highly
organized society with an advanced knowledge
of farming, trade, government, art and science.
• Economy: The ways in which people use their
environment to meet their material needs.
• Artisan: Workers skilled in a craft. Artisans
usually work with their hands.
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Key Vocabulary
• Cultural diffusion: The exchange of goods
and ideas when cultures come in contact
with one another.
• Myth: Traditional stories about how the
earth was formed, how people came into
being, and what they owed their creator
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River Valley Civilizations
• Many early civilizations arose
from farming settlements in
river valleys.
• Early river valley civilizations
depended on the specialization
of labor, advanced technology,
a government to coordinated
large-scale cooperative efforts,
and a shared system of values
and beliefs.
• Some societies remained as
small agricultural villages or
hunter-and-gatherer bands.
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River Valley Civilizations
• Four river valley civilizations
– The Nile River: northeast Africa, present day
Egypt
– The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers: present day
Iraq
– Indus River: South Asia, present day India
– Huang He: East Asia, present day China
• What gave river valleys the upper hand in
developing into civilizations?
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The Economy of a Civilization
• An economy is the
way people use their
environment to meet
their material needs
• Economy depends on
farmers growing
surplus food
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The Economy of a Civilization: First
Irrigation Systems
• Farmers could
develop a surplus of
crops because early
civilizations built
massive irrigation
systems and dikes
and dams to prevent
flooding.
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The Economy of a Civilization:
Specialized labor
• Workers skilled in a craft, called artisans,
became increasingly productive and
creative.
• The period that follows the Stone Age is
known as the Bronze age because bronze
replaced stone as the chief material for
weapons and tools.
• Expensive, bronze was used by kings,
priests, and soldiers.
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The Economy of a Civilization:
Specialization of Labor
• Jewelry, eating utensils, weapons and
other goods were hammered out of
copper, lead, and gold
• Alloys were made from various metal
mixtures—bronze was the most
important—made from copper and tin
– Weapons
– Tools
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The Economy of a Civilization:
Long-Distance Trade
• At first trading with own communities
• Land routes emerged
• Long-distance trade accompanied the rise
of early civilizations.
• People became adept at handling wind
power and navigating rivers
• Goods and ideas were shared across
cultures world wide: cultural diffusion
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Living Together in Cities:
Planning and Leadership
• As civilizations grew more prosperous and
complex, cities faced the need to
supervise and protect agriculture and
trade. Nomads would raid cities
• Early city dwellers fixed these problems in
two ways: they organized a groups of
government officials to act as supervisors,
and they hired professional soldiers to
guard their territory and trade routes.
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Living Together in Cities:
Planning and Leadership
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Living Together in Cities: Levels
of Social Standing
• Ruling class: government
leaders, military officials,
priests, and often king,
justified its power by
means of religion.
• Archaeological studies
show evidence of levels
of social standing.
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Living Together in Cities:
Invention of Writing
• Many archaeologists
think that writing
originated with the
records that priests
kept of religious
offerings.
• First writings were
pictographs—
combination of marks
and pictures
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Systems of Values
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• Among the materials
recorded by the priesthoods
in early civilizations were
myths—traditional stories-explaining how the world
was formed, how people
came into being, and what
they owed their creator.
• Creation myths, found in
every civilization, are often
examined by historians for
evidence of a people’s
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customs and values.
Systems of Values
• The Sumerians of the
Tigrus and Euphrates
River Valley wrote
their myth of creation
on clay tablets
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In Class Discussion
• List at least four main ideas about the first
civilizations
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