World History Unit 1
Human Origins
Mrs. Saunders, Mrs.Toland
And
Mr. SanGivanni
World history is the story of human
experience.
It is a story of how people, ideas, and
goods spread across the earth creating our
past and our present. To help us better
understand this experience, we will divide
history into four main eras:
1.
2.
3.
4.
prehistory,
ancient times,
middle ages, and
modern times.
Our story begins during prehistory in east
Africa where human life began.
Archaeologist



Pre-History is the time before writing.
Archaeologist study these early people by
excavating early settlements (known as a
Dig).
They look for:
• Bones or human remains (to determine what
people looked like),
• Artifacts (man-made objects) and
• Fossils (animal and plant matter that has been
preserved in nature.

Archaeologist use Carbon-dating to tell the
approximate age of a bone, artifact or
fossil.
Anthropologists


Anthropologist study the culture of
early people to get a picture of how
they lived.
Culture is the way in which people
live, including art, science, religion,
government, etc.
Ice Ages – Asia, North America, and Europe
Last one ended about 10,000 years ago.
Ice Ages

Land Bridges formed from lower ocean
levels and humans migrated across
bridges
•
•
•
•
Europe to British Isles
Japan to Korea
Asia to Indonesia
Asia to North America (Bering Strait)
A map showing the
Bering Strait land bridge.
Archaeologists now
believe that two different
groups of Asian peoples
came to North America
at least 40,000 years
ago.
First Humans
Came from
Africa
Why were they nomadic?
(moving from place to place)
•Need for food
•Growth of Groups
•Weather
•Migration of animals
Homo sapiens
migrated from Africa
to Eurasia, Australia,
and the Americas.
Early Humans

Hominids are the earliest humans
(or human-like creatures) to walk
upright.
• Australopithecus (southern ape) was a
hominid that lived 4 to 1 million years
ago and lived in nomadic clans.
A trail of footprints 3 1/2 million
years old found by Mary Leakey,
archaeologist, at Laetoli,
Tanzania. Some of the oldest
hominid evidence found in
Africa, these footprints show
that human-like creatures were
walking upright in East Africa 3
1/2 million years ago.
AUSTRALOPITHECINE



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4 million-1 million
BC
South & East Africa
Brain Size: 500 cm3
First humanlike
creature to walk
upright
Opposable thumb
Early Humans


Oldest hominid found is “Lucy” discovered
by anthropologist Donald Johanson in East
Africa.
Early hominids had opposable thumbs.
Humans Overcome Their Environment

Paleolithic Era (Old Stone Age)
• 2.5 B.C to 8000 B.C.
• Nomadic
• Simple tools (rocks or sticks)
• Learned how to make fire
• Lived in clans
• Developed oral language
• Created cave art
Early Humans
 Homo Habilis (Handy Man) lived 2.5
million year ago and used simple tools.
Homo Habilis




2.5 million- 1.5 million
BC
East Africa
Brain Size: 700 cm3
First to make stone
tools
Early Humans
 Homo Erectus lived from 1.6 million to
250,000 years ago. These people were
more than five feet tall and probably had
oral (spoken) languages for exchanging
ideas (teaching) and team work.
• They used fire for warmth, cooking,
protection and hunting.
• They used tools for cutting, digging and
scraping.
• They used skins for clothing and leather
strips for lacing.
Homo Erectus



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


1.6 million-30,000 BC
Africa, Asia, Europe
Brain Size: 1,000cm3
Developed technology,
such as applying tools
to meet their needs
First to migrate
First to use fire
May have used
language
1.6 million-30,000
BC
Africa, Asia, Europe
Brain Size: 1,000cm3
Developed
technology, such as
applying tools to
meet their needs
First to migrate
First to use fire
May have used
language
Early Humans

Homo Sapiens (Wise Man) emerges in
Africa between 100,000 and 400,000 years
ago in North Africa.
• Neanderthals lived from 100,000 to
35,000 years ago and their burial remains
indicate a belief in an afterlife (grave with
flowers) and medical care of sick
(mended broken bones). They were short
and stocky with thick brows.
NEANDERTHAL





200,000-30,000 BC
Europe and SW Asia
Brain Size: 1,450
cm3
First to have burial
rites
Religious beliefs
Early Humans
Cro-Magnon Man lived from 40,000 to
10,000 years ago, in the late Paleolithic
age, and was similar to modern humans.
They were taller and thinner than
Neanderthals. Cro-Magnon man used
superior hunting strategies and had
advanced language skills. (Our Ancestors!)
CRO-MAGNON







40,000-8,000 BC
Europe
Brain Size: 1,400
cm3
Fully modern
humans
Created art
Planned hunts and
studied animal
habits
Advanced language
Early Humans
The reconstructed skulls of three prehistoric
humans. From left to right: Homo Erectus,
Neanderthal, and Cro-Magnon.
COMPARISON OF BRAIN SIZE
Skull Size
1600
1400
Australopithecine Homo Erectus Homo
Sapiens
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
Australo
pithecine
Homo
Erectus
Modern
Man
Human Migration
From Africa humans spread to Eurasia
(Europe and Asia), to Australia, and
finally to the Americas. Human
migration was one of the great waves
of history.
1. How does the map show human migration?
2. What theory of the origin of humanity does the map present? How do you know?
3. In general, what does the map suggest that populations did when they reached
barriers, such as oceans, that did not allow them to continue in the direction they
were going?
STONE AGE

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
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
Paleolithic or Old Stone Age
Includes Ice Age
Hunters & Gathers
Migrated in search of food, water, and shelter
Invented the first tools and simple weapons
Learned how to make fire
Lived in clans and created cave art
Developed oral language
Neolithic or New Stone Age
Neo means new

Early Human societies, through the
development of culture, began the
process of overcoming the limits set
by the physical environment.
Neolithic Era
During most of history, most humans made
their living by hunting and gathering
(women mostly gathered). By the end of
this time period, Cro-Magnon man had
developed art (Jewelry, sculptures, and cave
paintings) and complex tools.
Some complex tools used were knives,
throwing spears, fish hooks, harpoons and
sewing needle. Because of improved tools,
Cro-Magnon man had improved health and
increased food supply, both of which led to
increased population.
Neolithic Revolution
Then about 10,000 years ago people in the
Middle East learned how to raise a wild wheat
plant, and agriculture (farming and raising
livestock) was born -- another big wave of
history.
Some of the causes of the Neolithic
Revolution, or the start of settled
agriculture, are a warmer climate and
longer growing season. The result is the
development of permanent settlements or
communities.
The Neolithic Revolution

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Early man lived in groups of 2 to 3 dozen people.
Men did the hunting.
Women gathered fruit, berries, roots, and grasses.
The scattering of seeds, about 10,000 years ago, led to the
Revolution, in other words, agriculture.
Neolithic
At first they used slash and burn farming-people cut and burn trees to clear land.
Ashes act as fertilizer. The did not stay in one place for a long time, but moved on
after a few seasons.
Domestication of Plants and
Animals
At about the same time, people began
to domesticate wild animals, raising
them for food and as a source of
power that could pull wagons and
plows.
The dog was the first animal tamed,
followed by the goat, horse and pig.
(Pastoral Nomad – wandering herders
of goats and sheep.)
Agricultural originally developed in Africa, China,
India, Mesopotamia and Americas (Central and
South).
Neolithic Revolution
Agriculture and irrigation began in an
area of the Middle East called the
Fertile Crescent that stretched from
Iraq to Egypt.
Agriculture is believed to have been
started 9000 years ago in Jarmo, an
archeological site in the Zargros
mountains in North East Iraq.
Neolithic Revolution
In the agricultural village of Catal Huyuk
(Catalhoyuk)in south central Turkey there is
evidence of crops (wheat, barley and peas)
and animals (sheep and cattle). The people
of Catal Huyuk believed in a Mother
Goddess who controlled crop yields.
With permanent homes, people could collect
more possessions, which encouraged the
invention of new technologies such as
pottery making and looms for weaving
cloth.
CATAL HUYUK
EXCAVATION
CATAL HUYUK EXCAVATION

Catal Huyuk is an example of a
Neolithic settlement currently under
excavation in Anatolia- Modern day
Turkey
Agricultural Surplus
Because agriculture could support more
people per square mile than hunting and
gathering, human population increased
from about two million people during the
early Stone Age to about 60 million during
the late Stone Age.
Farmers learned to grow more food than
they needed for their own use, resulting in a
surplus. Farmers increased food production
through irrigation which allowed for the
cultivation of more land and technology
such as the plow and potters wheel.
NEOLITHIC REVOLUTION
TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES

PLOW

WHEEL

BRONZE WEAPONS & TOOLS
Technology
Any improvement in farming
technology will always lead to:
1.Improved health
2.Increased population
3.Increased food surplus
4.Increased trade
Specialization of Labor
This food surplus will lead to the
development of cities and civilization.
Agricultural surpluses made it possible to
accumulate wealth, and that led to
specialization of labor because not
everyone had to raise food to make a living.
Some people could specialize in nonagricultural work – (craftsmen or artisans)
like making pottery, or becoming priests or
government officials -- and be supported by
others from the agricultural surplus.
Traders also emerged and with them
came the inventions of the wheel and
the sail.
Transition to Villages
Growing population resulted
in competition for food.
Transition to villages
Economic Changes-Irrigation and other
developments produced crop surplus.
Transition to villages
Social Changes-cooperation was
needed for projects
Social classes began to emerge
Religion became more organized
Jericho (JAIR-uh-koe)
Villages grew near farmlands, and the
world’s first known city developed at
Jericho in Palestine around 8,000 BC.
Walls were built around Jericho to
protect its agricultural surplus from
nomadic raiders. Warfare, too, might
have begun at Jericho.
Jericho
Aleppo

Aleppo is a city located in northern
Syria. It is strategically located
between the Mediterranean Sea and
the Euphrates River- in the Fertile
Crescent
Aleppo
View of the excavations undertaken by
Professor Kay Kohlmeyer and his team on
the Aleppo Citadel.
Civilization
Agriculture made civilization
possible. No longer were humans
constantly on the move searching for
food. People could settle in one place,
build cities, and make inventions like
the plow, wheel, and writing. The
complex societies that resulted are
what we call civilization, another wave
of history and the start of ancient
times.
WHAT IS CIVILIZATION?
Complex culture with five
characteristics
1. Advanced cities-center of trade for a
larger area.
2. Specialized workers-expert at jobs
other than farming
3. Complex institutions-a long lasting
pattern of organization in a
community
Government, religion and economy
became more complex and
organized.
Civilization
Not everything about civilization was
positive. Complex societies usually meant
greater separation of people into classes
based on social position or wealth. Civilized
societies also tended to be more warlike and
more patriarchal (male dominated) than
hunter-gatherer bands in which everyone
helped to supply food that ensured the
group’s survival. Hunting and gathering
declined as agriculture became the way
most humans made their living. Agriculture
became the main source of wealth in most
societies until the industrial age.
Record Keeping-most developed a
system of writing.
Scribes-record keepers
Cuneiform-perhaps the oldest system
of writing
4.
Record Keeping
Writing probably began as a way to
record business dealings, especially
the exchange of agricultural products.
Writing was used to track accounts,
record time or seasons (calendar) and
record laws. Cities and writing are
considered the primary indicators
of civilization. When people started
to write, prehistoric times ended, and
historic times began.
Writing began as
pictographs
which were
symbols of
objects.
Cuneiform
writing developed
in Sumer and was
wedge shaped.
Professional
record keepers
who could read
and write were
known as
Scribes.
Writing
5.
Advanced Technology-new tools
made life easier and work more
productive.
Bronze Age-when people began using
bronze which was harder than
copper or stone tools or weapons.
Social Classes and Religion
Often a wealthy class of aristocrats
controlled the land and collected rents
from poor farmers. Society became
divided between the “haves” and the
“have nots.” People in civilized
societies divided themselves into
unequal social classes with priests and
kings at the top, men came to
dominate women, and slavery became
common.
Religion
Religion became more organized and focused on
many nature and animal spirits. People began to
develop religious rituals.
Ur, located in Sumer (modern Iraq), was
one
of the first civilizations. They built temple
pyramids called ziggurats.
NEOLITHIC REVOLUTION
CIRMCUMSTANCE
 Rising
temperatures
 New farming
methodSlash and burn
 Domestication of
animals
 New advanced
tools
 Made pottery





EFFECTS
Steady source of food
Support more people
Surplus of crops
Developed weaving
skills
Establishment of
villages and permanent
settlements
Humans Overcome Their Environment

Neolithic Era (New Stone Age)
• 8000 B.C. to 3000 B.C.
• Advanced tools (reshaping or combining
of parts)
• Developed agriculture
• Domesticated animals
• Used advanced tools
• Made Pottery
• Developed weaving skills
Bronze Age
The Stone Age was followed by the
Bronze Age when people learned
to make bronze tools, ornaments,
and weapons. Bronze is made by
combining copper with tin, which
produces a harder metal than copper
alone, and it holds an edge much
longer.
The Bronze Age was a time of great
invention; the wheel, plow, writing,
money, cities, armies and chariots all
came into use during the Bronze Age
in Mesopotamia.
KEY TERMS

The time period before written
language
PREHISTORY
KEY TERMS

A person who roams in search of
food, shelter, and water
NOMAD
KEY TERMS

The modern human species that
emerged in Africa between 100,000
and 400,000 years ago.
HOMO SAPIENS
KEY TERMS

The Old Stone Age
Paleolithic Era
KEY TERMS

The New Stone Age
NEOLITHIC ERA
KEY TERMS

Beginning of Permanent Settlements
Settled Agriculture
KEY TERMS

A time when people began to live in
permanent settled locations and
advanced culturally, politically, and
scientifically
Civilization
KEY TERMS

The scientific study of the material
remains of a man’s past
ARCHAEOLOGY
KEY TERMS

Object remaining
from a time
period, such as a
tool or pottery.
Artifact
KEY TERMS

A scientific test to analyze fossils and
artifacts to determine age.
Carbon Dating
HOMO SAPIENS

Homo sapiens migrated from Africa
to Eurasia, Australia, and the
Americas
Hunter Gatherer Societies of the
Paleolithic Era (Old Stone Age)


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Nomadic ( migrated in search of
food, water, and shelter)
Invented the first tools and simple
weapons
Learned how to make fire
Lived in clans and created cave art
Developed oral language
Societies during the Neolithic Era
(New Stone Age)





Developed Agriculture
Domesticated Animals
Used advanced tools
Made pottery
Developed weaving skills
Archaeological Discoveries Are
Changing the present day knowledge
of early peoples.
Archaeologists study past cultures by
locating and analyzing human
remains, fossils, and artifacts.
 Archaeologists apply scientific tests
such as carbon dating to analyze
fossils and artifacts
 Stonehenge is an example of an
archaeological site in England that
was begun during the Neolithic Age
and completed during the Bronze
Age.
Stonehenge
This complex of
megaliths (which
means large stones
of ancient
construction) was
assembled 4000
years ago on the
Salisbury plain in
Wiltshire, England.
Religious belief and
practice inspired its
construction and
dictated its uses.
It was begun
during the Neolithic
period and
completed during
the Bronze Age.