Download The Peopling of the World

The Peopling of the
World
Chapter 1
How do we study life
before the invention of
writing?
Main Ideas
Interaction with the Environment – As humans
spread out over the world, they adapted to each
environment they encountered
 Science and Technology – The earliest peoples
came up with new ideas and inventions in order
to survive
 Economics – Early humans hunted and gathered
wild plant foods for 3-4 million years. About
1,000 years ago they learned to tame animals
and plant crops

Human Origins in Africa
Main Idea

Fossil evidence shows that the earliest
humans originated in Africa in the Great
Rift Valley and spread across the globe
Search for Human
Origins
Archaeology
Archaeologists work 
like detectives to
uncover the story of
prehistoric peoples
 They learn about
early people by
excavating and
studying the traces of
early settlements

Archaeology

Archaeologists analyze evidence such as
bones and artifacts- human made
objects such as jewelry and tools
What kinds of things can
archaeologists learn
from studying bones and
artifacts?
Archaeology
 Bones
 What people looked
like
 How tall they were
 How they died
 Diseases they had
 Food they ate
 How long they lived
 Artifacts
 How people dressed
 How people
worshipped
 Clothes they wore
Anthropology
Anthropologists
study culture
 Culture- people’s
unique way of life
 They use artifacts to
recreate a picture of
early people’s cultural
behaviors
 Elements of culture –

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Paleontology

Paleontologists
study fossils
Early Footprints Found
In 1978,
archaeologist Mary
Leakey led an
expedition in
Tanzania, Africa
where they found
footprints of a
hominid –creatures
that walk upright
 Believed to be 3.6
million years old

Lucy
1974, anthropologist
found the skeleton of
a hominid in Ethiopia
 3.5 million years old

Australopithecines

Walked upright
– Easier to spot threats
– Easier to carry children and food
– Travel distances more easily

Had opposable thumbs
– Able to pick up small objects and make tools
Stone Age
2 parts
 Paleolithic Age

– 2.5 million to 8000 BC
– Stone tools

Neolithic Age
– 8000 BC to 3000 BC
– Polish stone tools,
make pottery, grow
crops, and raise
animals
Homo habilis
Man of skill
East Africa
2.5 million years ago
Believed to have used
tools for cutting meat
and cracking open
bones

Homo erectus

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Upright man
1.6 million years ago
More intelligent and adaptable
Developed technology- ways of applying
knowledge, tools, and inventions to meet their
needs
Skillful hunters
First hominids to migrate from Africa
First to use fire
May have developed spoken language
Dawn of Modern Humans
Homo sapiens – species name for modern
humans, “wise men”
 Much larger brains
 First believed that Neanderthals and CroMagnons were traditionally classified as early
groups of homo sapiens
 Proven that Neanderthals were not related but
may have competed with Cro-Magnons for land
and food

Neanderthals
Slanted brows, well developed muscles,
thick bones
 Tried to explain and control their world
 Developed religious beliefs and performed
rituals
 Used caves or temporary shelters to
survive the harsh winters

Cro-Magnons
About 40,000 years ago
 Skeletal remains are identical to humans
 Strong and about 5 ½ feet tall
 Planned hunts, stalked prey
 Advanced skills in spoken language

New Findings
Ape-like fossils recently discovered in
Chad and Kenya date back 6 to 7 million
years
 May be the earliest hominids
 Researchers in 1996 discovered a
Neanderthal bone flute – suggests they
had musical expression

Humans Try to Control
Nature
Main Idea

Development of agriculture caused an
increase in population and the growth of a
settled way of life
Early Advances in Technology
and Art
For thousands of years people were
nomads – people who moved from place
to place foraging for food
 Hunter-gatherers – groups whose foods
supply depends on hunting animals and
collecting plant foods
 Tools- Cro-Magnons used tools like spears
and digging sticks to increase their food
supply

Artistic Expression in the
Paleolithic Age
Necklaces of seashells, lion teeth, bear
claws
 Beads from mammoth tusks
 Small sculptures of animals
 Cave paintings exist all over the world

Beginnings of Agriculture
About 10,000 years
ago
 Neolithic
Revolution –
agricultural revolution
 Shift from food
gathering to food
producing

What are the causes of
the Neolithic Revolution?
Causes of Neolithic Revolution
Change in climate
 Rising temperatures allowed for longer
growing seasons
 Rich supply of grain led to population
increase
 Farming provided a steady food source for
new larger populations

Early Farming Methods
Slash and burn –
cut trees or grasses
and burn them to
clear a field
 Ashes provide
fertilizer
 Farmers plant for a
year or two then
move on

Domestication of Animals
Domestication –
taming
 Horses, dogs, pigs,
and goats
 Slow process from
hunting animals to
driving them into
enclosures and
taming them

Villages Grow and Prosper
Agriculture allowed
people to settle in one
place and develop
villages
 Benefits-allowed for
support of skilled
workers such as
weavers and potters
 Drawbacks- fire,
disease, floods,
drought, enemies

Civilization
Main Idea

Prosperous farming villages, food
surpluses, and new technology led to the
rise of civilizations
Villages Grow into Cities
As people developed better technology to
control their environment they reaped
larger harvests
 Settlements with plentiful food supplies
could support larger populations

Economic Changes
Food surpluses freed some villagers to
pursue jobs other than farming and
develop new skills
 Craftspeople created valuable new
products such as pottery, metal objects,
and woven cloth
 People also began to trade goods with
each other
 Helped by the invention of the wheel and
the sail

Social Changes
Social classes began to emerge as cities
grew
 People now had different jobs and varying
levels of wealth and power
 Religion became more organized

– Common spiritual values became lasting
traditions
What are the
characteristics of a
civilization?
How civilization develops
Civilization- complex culture with 5
characteristics
 1. advanced cities
 2. specialized workers
 3. complex institutions
 4. record keeping
 5. advanced technology

Advanced Cities
Birthplaces of the first civilizations
 Center of trade for a larger area

Specialized Workers
Specialization- development of skills in a
specific kind of work
 Artisans – skilled workers who make
goods by hand
 Food surpluses allowed people to
become experts at one job

Complex Institutions
Institutions- long-lasting pattern of
organization in a community
 Government, religion, economy

Record keeping
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Record keeping became more necessary as
institutions became more complex
Tax collection, laws, storage of grain
Calendar for religious rituals
Debts and payments
Scribes- professional record keepers
Cuneiform- early system of writing invented in
Sumer
Soon began writing about things other than
records such as dramatic events
Improved Technology
Needed to solve problems that arose when
large groups of people live together
 Using animals to pull plows
 Irrigation to water fields
 Potter’s wheel
 Bronze Age- when people began using
bronze rather than copper or stone
 Began around 3000 BC

Ur in Sumer
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One of the first
civilizations
30,000 people
Flourished around
3000 BC
Well defined social
classes
Abundant trade
What was the Neolithic
Revolution and why was
it important?