Theories on prehistory and early
man constantly change as new
evidence comes to light.
- Louis Leakey, British
paleoanthropologist
1. 4,000,000 BCE – 1,000,000 BCE
Paleolithic Age:
( Old Stone Age )
2. 1,500,000 BCE -- 250,000 BCE
2,500,000 BCE
to 8,000 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:
the earliest hominids
and the first to use
simple stone tools


An Apposable
Thumb

HOMO HABILIS

found in East Africa.
( “Man of Skills” )
created flake 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 )
“What benefits does fire
provide?”
• Kills bacteria
• Keeps predators away
• Releases more carbohydrates in food,
which means the food has more energy,
this, is associated with the rising brain
size of hominids.
Are we all Africans “under the skin”????
THE JOURNEY OF MANKIND
http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/journey/
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
CRO-MAGNONs: Homo sapiens sapiens

“Wise, wise human”
 Evolved 20,000 years ago
 By 30,000 BCE they
replaced Neanderthals.
WHY???
70,000 BCE – 10,000 BCE
The San of Southern Africa
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Aka “Busmen” 50-80,000 left
Clicking language
Kalahari Desert
Hunter/gathers with just stone tech.
Poisoned arrows, 28 total tools
Egalitarian
Small bands of 10-30
No formal leaders
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c246fZ-7z1w

“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.
 8,000 BCE – 5,000 BCE
 Agriculture developed independently in
different parts of the world.
 SLASH-AND-BURN Farming
Middle East
8,000 BCE
India
7,000 BCE
Central America
6,500 BCE
China
6,000 BCE
Southeast Asia
5,000 BCE
Why do some
archaeologists believe
that women were the
first farmers?

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
http://www.catalhoyuk.com/
What role did the food
supply play in shaping
the nomadic life of
hunter-gatherers and
the settled life of the
farmers?
Advanced
Advanced
Cities
Technology
Specialized
Record-
Workers
Keeping
Complex
Institutions