The Peopling of the World
Prehistory – 2500 BCE
Chapter 1
World History 1
Mr. Pawlowski
2010 – 2011
Discovering Prehistory
• Prehistory:
– Period before written history
– Prehistory Periods (Three-Age
System):
• Stone Age
– Paleolithic – Old Stone Age
– Neolithic – New Stone Age
• Copper Age
• Bronze Age
• Iron Age
– (onset of written evidence
varies by culture)
– Essential tools to
understanding this period:
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Archaeology
Paleontology
Anthropology
Geology
• Primary Source:
– First-hand, eyewitness
account (most accurate)
• Artifacts, Human
Remains, Written
Records
• Secondary Source:
– Second-hand source of
information (less
accurate)
• Encyclopedia/Textbook,
Articles that interpret
primary sources
Archaeology
• Study of past societies through an analysis of
what they left behind.
• Artifacts:
Tools and Weapons
Art and Sculpture
Jewelry
Human Remains
Pottery
Buildings &
Monuments
Paleontology
• Study of the evolution and interaction of prehistoric life
and environments
• Fossil:
• Carbon Dating:
– Used to date organic fossils
• All living things possess a radioactive isotope called Carbon 14
(absorbed from the sun)
– Carbon 14 has a half-life of 5000 years
• Measuring the amount of Carbon left allows scientists to date fossils
• Thermoluminescence Dating:
– Measures amount of light given off by the electrons in the soil
surrounding fossils/artifacts
• Can measure up to 200,000 years
Anthropology
• Study of human life and
culture
• Basic Concerns:
– What defines homo sapiens?
– Who are the ancestors of homo
sapiens?
– How do humans behave?
Geology
• Study of the history and
composition of the physical
matter that constitutes Earth
Hominid Discovery
• Hominid:
– Humans and other creatures that walk upright on two feet.
• Australopithecines:
– 1st Hominids; 4 million – 1 million BCE
• Walked upright; Opposable thumb
• Donald Johanson:
– 1974 (‘Lucy’):
• Complete skeleton of an adult female hominid
• Mary Leakey:
– 1978:
• Found footprints that dates walking human ancestors to 3,600,000 years ago
Humans Evolve
• Homo Habilis:
– 2.5 million – 1.5 million BCE
• ‘Man of Skill’
– Used simple tools made of lava
rock
– Location: Eastern Africa
– Olduvai Gorge
» Great Rift Valley (Eastern
Africa)
• Homo Erectus:
– 1.6 million – 30,000 BCE
• ‘Upright Man’
– Developed technology
• Hominid Firsts:
– to migrate from Africa
» India, China, SE Asia, Europe
– to use fire
– to develop a spoken language
• Neanderthals:
– 200,000 – 30,000 BCE
• Location: Europe and SW Asia
– Developed religious beliefs and rituals
• Ex: funerals
– Skills
• Utilized stone tools
• played music
• Homo-Sapiens:
– ‘Wise Men’
• Species of modern men
• Cro-Magnon:
– 40,000 – 8,000 BCE
• Prehistoric humans
– Location: Europe
– Skills:
• created art
• developed hunting strategies
• Advanced spoken language
Early Human Migration
Paleolithic Age
• Old Stone Age
– ‘Paleo’: old
– ‘Lithic’: stone
• Nomadic Clans:
– Groups of 20-30 that wandered from place to place in search of food
• Hunter-gatherers:
– Men hunted and women gathered
• Adaptations:
– Fire:
• Used to keep warm and cook food
– Oral Language:
• Allowed for cooperation (ex: hunting)
– Tools:
• Allowed for increase in food production (ex: spear, digging stick)
– Cave Paintings:
• Depict life, identify animals, communicate information, religious practices
– ‘Sympathetic Magic’
Neolithic Revolution
• New Stone Age
– ‘Neo’: New
• Agricultural Revolution:
– Provided a stable food source
• Systematic Agriculture
– Ushered in the Neolithic Age
– Slash-and-Burn Farming:
• Burned trees/grass to clear a field and provide fertilizer for the soil (ash)
– Jarmo:
• Oldest known agricultural community
• Animal Domestication:
– Tamed horses, dogs, goats and pigs
• Innovations:
– more sophisticated tools
– developed weaving
– created pottery
• Food storage
Villages into Cities
• Innovations:
– Irrigation:
• Consistent water source for crops led to food surplus
– Craftsmen:
• Food surplus allows villagers to develop other skills
– Ex: potters, weavers, jewelers, metal workers, traders
– Wheel/Sail:
• Benefited trade (barter system), movement and communication
• Social Changes:
– Class Systems Develop:
• Groups of different wealth, power and influence
– Religion:
• Become more organized and traditional
Location:
- Ancient Palestine near the Dead Sea
- est. 8,000 BCE
Jericho
Location:
Catal Huyuk
- Anatolia
- est. 7,200 BCE
Civilization
• Advanced Cities:
– Center of trade for an area/region
• Complex Institutions:
– Government, Religion
• Record Keeping:
– Economics, government, and
religion required record keeping
and brought the need for scribes
• Professional record keepers
– Cuneiform (Sumer):
• 1st system of writing
• Specialized Workers:
– Creation of artisans
• Jewelers, Potters, Tool/Weapon
Makers, etc
• Advanced Technology:
– Potter’s Wheel
– Ox-Drawn Plow
– Metal Use:
• Copper (Chalcolitihic/Copper Age):
– 1st metal utilized; natural metal
• Bronze (Bronze Age):
– alloy of bronze and tin
» Harder and more durable