Download Chapter 1: The First Humans

Chapter 1: The First Humans
Prehistory- 3500 B.C.
Do Now
What
is civilization?
Archaeology &
Anthropology


Archaeology: study of past societies through analysis of what people left
behind.

Dig up artifacts: objects made by humans

May be tools, weapons, art and buildings
Anthropology: study of human life and culture

Culture includes what people wear, how they organize society and what they
value

Archaeologist and Anthropologists have developed scientific methods to
carry out their work.

Examination and analysis of remains gives them a better understanding
of ancient societies.
Examples of Examination

Examining pottery, tools
and weapons can help
scientists learn about the
social and military
structures

Analyzing bones, skins
and plant seeds can help
scientists piece together
the diet and activities of
early people
Dating Artifacts & Fossils

Dating human fossils and artifacts help scientists to understand when
and where first humans lived

3 methods:

Radiocarbon dating: Measuring the amount of radioactive carbon left in an
object. BUT only accurate for objects no more than 50,000 years old

Thermoluminescence: Measuring the light given off by electrons trapped in
the soil surrounding fossils and artifacts. Relatively precise for items dating
back 200,000 years

DNA: Analyzing blood, hairs and plant tissue left on tools and weapons can
tell more about humans, their tools, the animals they killed and human
evolution in general
Hominids to Homo
Sapiens

Hominid: humanlike creature
that walked upright

Earliest hominids lived in
Africa 4 million years ago and
slowly changed over time

Paleoanthropologists Louis
and Mary Leakey discovered
the oldest hominid (1.8 million
years old) in 1959 at Olduvai
Gorge in East Africa
Lucy

For decades scientists
assumed hominids must have
used tools

In 1974 Donald Johnson
challenged this when he found
‘Lucy’ in Ethiopia

Johnson suggested she was the
common ancestor for several
types of early human life

‘Lucy’ is a Australopithecus or
‘southern ape’
Homo habilis & Homo
erectus


Homo habilis

2.5-1.6 million years ago a more advanced hominid developed with a larger
brain

Homo habilis means “handy human” because they may have used stone tools

Earliest remains were discovered near Olduvai Gorge
Homo erectus

“upright human” existed from 1.8 million to 100,000 years ago

It had arms and legs in modern human proportions

Remains in Asia show that Homo erectus was probably the first hominid to
leave Africa
Homo sapiens &
Neanderthals

Homo sapiens

200,000 years ago

Homo sapiens means “wise humans”

Showed rapid brain growth and mastered fire

2 kinds of humans descended from Homo sapiens: Neanderthals and
Homo sapiens sapiens

Neanderthal

Come from the Neanderthal- a valley in Germany

Probably lived between 100,000 B.C. and 300,000 B.C.

Used stone tools and made clothes from animal skins

First early people to bury their dead
Homo sapiens sapiens

“Wise wise humans”-first to have an anatomy similar to today

Appeared in Africa between 150,000-200,000 years ago

Probably spread out of Africa about 100,000 years ago and replaced
populations of earlier hominids in Asia and Europe (“out of Africa”
theory)

By 30,000 B.C. Homo sapiens sapiens replaced Neanderthals


Neanderthals eventually died out- possibly due to conflicts with Homo
sapiens sapiens
Homo sapiens sapiens spread across the globe looking for food and new
hunting grounds
Do Now
What
important developments
took place in the Paleolithic Age?
Paleolithic Age
 The
early period
of human history
in which humans
used simple stone
tools.
 2,500,000
B.C. to
10,000 B.C.
Hunting and Gathering
 Paleolithic
peoples had close relationship
with their environment
 Learned
what plants to eat and animals to
hunt
 Gathered
 Ate
 In
wild nuts, berries, fruit and grains
buffalo, horses, bison and reindeer
costal areas- fish and shellfish
Paleolithic Way of Life

Used stone to make tools- hand axes the most common




Wooden poles with spear points helped hunt large animals
Tools like bow and arrow, harpoon and fishhooks made
hunting easier
Used tools to dig and cut branches for shelter
Needles for nets, baskets and clothing

Followed animal migrations and vegetation cycles- nomads

Lived in small groups of 20-30
Roles of Men and Women
Men
Women
Find food- hunt far from camp
Find food-gathered & trap small animals
Raise children
Bear and raise children close to camp
Teach children
Women, Children &
Families
Adapting to Survive

Groups in cold climates
found shelter in caves

Built simple structureswood poles or sticks
covered with animal
hides

Fire made it possible to
provide light and heat
Use of Fire

As hominids moved to colder
climates- needed fire (Ice
Age)

Piles of ashes found in caves

Warmth, kept animals away,
cooking tool

Cooked food better-lasted
longer and easier to digest

Not sure how hominids
started fire- most likely
friction
Creating Art

Lascaux Caves-France (1940)

Altamira, Spain (1879)- scientist discovered not all paintings made at
same time- gradual

Scientists date art based on pigments

1994 Jean Marie Chauvet discovered paintings in Southern Francenearly twice as old as Lascaux & Altamira but more advanced drawings

Painted with fingers, twigs and blew through hollow reeds

Mixed minerals with animal fat to make colors

Few humans appear-only stick figures
Chauvet Cave
Do Now
How
does agriculture affect
our legacy?
Neolithic Revolution
What is the Neolithic
Revolution?

End of the last Ice Age- 8000 B.C.

Shift from the hunting of animals and the gathering of food to the
keeping of animals

Systematic agriculture: growing of food on a regular basis

Domestication of animals- reliable source of meat milk and wool

Animals also used for work

Humans had more control over their life because more food- gave up
nomadic ways and could settle down

Some believe this revolution was the single most important development
in human history
The Growing of Crops
8000 B.C.-5000 B.C.

Southwest Asia


Southeastern Europe


By 4000 B.C farming was well established in central Europe and costal regions of
the Mediterranean
Central Africa


Wheat and barley & domesticating pigs, cows, goats and sheep
Root and tree crops
Mesoamericans (Mexico and Central America)

Beans, squash and maize

5000 B.C- rice in Southeast Asia and then spread to China

6000 B.C.- wheat and barley had spread into the Nile Valley and other parts
of Africa
Neolithic Farming Villages

Growing crops on a regular basis gave rise to permanent
settlements

Not all citizens needed to farm so some became artisansmaking goods to trade with neighboring people

Beginning of traditional economy based on agriculture and
limited trade

Shrines with figures also discovered-points to growing role
of religion
Effects of Neolithic
Revolution

People began to see the need to build walls for protection
and storehouses for goods

Artisans became more skilled-made more refined tools

Men vs. women
 Farming and hunting took men away from the settlementmore responsibility meant more dominant role in society
 Women remained behind- cared for children, wove
clothing
End of Neolithic Age

Before 4000 B.C. craftspeople discovered that heating metalbearing rocks could turn metal into liquid and poured into
molds for tools

Copper first metal used in making tools

After 4000 B.C- Asian artisans discovered that combining
copper and tin created bronze

Bronze Age 3000 B.C.- 1200 B.C to Iron Age (after 1000 B.C.)
Overall
Set
the stage for major changes
to come
As
people mastered farming,
villages developed more
complex and wealthier societies