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Prehistory
Overview
(A look at some broad changes over
time)
Hey, where
did my jaw
go?
Who were the ancestors of
modern humans?
 Australopithecus (think of Lucy vs.
 Small brain
 Large Teeth
Hominid
Large brain
Small teeth
 Homo habilis = first human species to use tools
 Homo erectus = first human species to walk upright
 Homo sapiens= first human species to “think” or
plan… our species!
Paleolithic Age
(6,000,000 to 8,000
B.C.)
• During Ice Age
• Food obtained by hunting/ gathering
• Advancements:
Stone tools
Fire
Spoken language
• Two groups active in the Paleolithic Age:
Neantherthals and Cro-Magnons
A reconstructed
Neanderthal skeleton (left)
as compared to a modern
human.
What differences between
the two do you notice?
Image from:
http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Ph
otos/050310/neanderthal.vlarge.
Mesolithic Age
 Ice Age over
 Advancements:
(8,000 to 6,000 B.C.)
I owe it all
to the
Mesolithic
man!
 Fishing (boats, nets, fish hook)
 Wild dogs (jackals) domesticated
 Tools such as harpoons, bows, arrows
The Neolithic Age
(6,000 to 3,000
B.C.)
 FARMING and HERDING are discovered
in the fertile area of Mesopotamia!
 The discovery of FARMING and
HERDING is called the Neolithic
Revolution
Results of the Neolithic
Revolution
 permanent villages (people no longer moving
with food source)
 population grows (more food; grain can be
stored)
 “ownership” of land (due to the fact that
everyone is staying in one place)
 specialization (different jobs) leads to trade
 government (to oversee trade and property
ownership)
 writing (to keep track of trade items)
Done? Explore some of
these websites!
 A museum exhibit on Prehistory
 Daily life in the Stone Age (including
people's food)
 Cro-Magnon cave paintings in France
 Early human skulls
 All these changes led Mesopotamia to
develop into the first “civilization” with
laws and government.