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Early Man

A Journey Through Time

By Katharine Lanzim

(click on the watch to continue) 

  Before you begin your journey get the Scavenger Hunt. Everyone must complete it.   After you finish your journey choose a project. Everyone must choose one.  Fun activities to try  ! http://www.allexperts.com/el/654-9/Archaeology/Got a question? Ask John Shea, an expert archaeologist.

Start the journey   

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Welcome and Hello! My name is Creb and I will be your guide. You are about to go back through time about 2 million years on a virtual field trip. You will explore the world of prehistoric man. When you are finished you will know the answers to these questions: Who were our ancient ancestors? Where did they live? What was their world like? What did they eat? What did they wear? How did man change over time?What helped him change? How do we know so much about these first men?   

   

   The very first men lived in a time called prehistory or

prehistoric times. It was so long ago that there were no written documents; nobody had invented writing. No one was writing down what was happening in the world so people who

were born in lateryears could read about how people in the past had lived.

Scientists called archaeologists dig in the earth for clues to use to try to figure out the

answers to all of these questions. They are detectives.

What kinds of clues do archaeologists use? They look for fossils and artifacts to help them tell the stories of the people who lived during prehistoric times. A fossil is what is left of something that was once living, like plants and animals. Bones, seeds, and rocks with plant or animal impressions are examples of fossils. Artifacts are things that were made by people. Pottery, artwork, and tools are examples of artifacts. These fossils and artifacts left behind by ancient people give archaeologists the clues and information they need to be able to piece together much about the world of our ancestors.

Click the footsteps to go on (teachline.ls.huj.ac.il)

OK! Now, let's meet the hominids and get to know them. Click on the names to visit each ancestor.

World wide web fizyka.umk.pl/~duch/wyklady/kog01.htm

  THE OLD STONE AGE Meet The Hominids The scientific name for the first true man is hominid. Hominids were not big and strong, and had no claws, or sharp teeth. Hominids had to depend on their brains and intelligence to survive in the prehistoric world. They learned to use technology to make weapons and tools from stone. Early man was soon a feared hunter and the time he lived came to be known as the Stone Ages. There was the OLD STONE AGE called the PALEOLITHIC, and the NEW STONE AGE called the NEOLITHIC.

Homo habilis- "Handy Man” ◊Home Homo erectus- "Upright man" Homo sapiens neanderthalensis- Neanderthal Homo sapiens sapiens - "Wise man"

(world wide web klimaundmensch.de/picpopup.php4?popuppic)

Homo habilis was the first human. He lived about 2 million years ago in Africa during the Paleolithic (Old Stone Age). The oldest human fossils have been found in Olduvai Gorge in theCountry of Tanzania.

Skull of old man, Homo habilis, found at Olduvai Gorge. This is an example of a fossil. (Wikipedia)

Click to see map Back to Meet The Hominids What did Homo habilis eat?

This is Homo habilis - "Handy Man"

Can you find Tanzania? It is on the east coast. Back to This is Homo habilis What did Homo habilis eat? 

 

Homo habilis lived in Africa where the climate was warm. They did not live in caves or houses. They were hunters and gatherers. This means they hunted animals for food and also ate berries, nuts, and other plants. They moved from place to place. When the plants and animals in one place were getting scarce, they moved to a new place where there were lots of things to eat. When the seasons changed and food was getting hard to find, they moved again. Homo habilis probably hunted small animals like birds and rabbits. They ate larger animals, but did not hunt them. The tools they had were not good enough to hunt a mammoth or rhinoceros. Homo habilis were scavengers. This meant they waited for the larger animals to fight and kill each other. Then they would get what meat they could when the winner was finished eating. Archaeologists know this because there were bones of large animals found at Homo habilis campsites. Often these bones had the teeth marks of large predators on them.

Homo habilis tools Back to Meet The Hominids

 

Homo habilis made simple tools from stone, especially flint. He would take one stone called a hammer stone and hit it against another called the core chopper. Flakes, or pieces would chip off leaving sharp edges. He used these stone tools for cutting up animals and for scraping the fur and skin.

These tools were found at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania.

These are examples of artifacts.

On to Homo erectus Back to Meet The Hominids

Introducing Homo erectus Upright Man!

Homo erectus lived in the Old Stone Age about 1-1.5 million years ago. He lived in Africa, Asia and southern Europe. Like Homo habilis, Homo erectus was a hunter/gatherer and moved from place to place in search of food.

Upright Man was a very good toolmaker. He was smarter than Homo habilis. He used stone, bone and wood to make hand axes, spears, knives, shovels and other useful tools.

What changed life forever? Back to Meet the Hominids

Control of FIRE Changes Life Forever!

Homo erectus was the first to learn how to make fire. How did it change their lives? Food could be cooked. It was easier to eat and had more nutrients. As a result man's brain grew larger.Fire protected man from dangerous animals.Fire kept men warm. He could now live in places with colder weather. He began to move out of Africa.Fire gave men light so they could explore dark caves.Men became more social around the light of the campfire.

More about Upright Man the hunter Back to Meet The Hominids

Homo erectus hunted large, dangerous animals. They worked together when they hunted and used fiery torches to drive these huge animals into deep pits with stakes at the bottom. They then used their tools to kill, butcher and skin these animals. Better weapons and learning to work together meant not everyone had to hunt. Some were hunters, others gathered berries and plants, and some took care of children. Everyone had a different job and cooperated to help the group survive. This is called division of labor

(World Wide Web geog.pmf.hr/ledena_doba/ledena_doba.html) 

(Prehistoric Life Encyclopedia by Mark Lambert for Rand McNally & Co.)

Look at maps of prehistoric world On to the Neanderthals Back to Meet The Hominids

During the time early man lived, ice covered some of the land humans now live on. The northern ocean waters were frozen and the seas were much lower. Men were able to walk out of Africa to all parts of the world on land bridges.

On to the Neanderthals Back to Meet The Hominids

Worldwide ancient Land

World Wide Web global-greenhouse-warming.com) 

Homo sapiens neanderthalensis Neanderthal Man

The Neanderthals lived in Ice Age Europe between 135,000 and 30,000 years ago. They were strong hunters and fought fierce animals. Neanderthals lived in caves. They used animal skins to keep warm in the cold climate

(World Wide Web msu.rdu/~robin400/neanderthalensis.html)

More about Neanderthals See iceman mummy http://wilderdom.com/evolution/OtziIcemanAlpsPictures.htm

Read more about Otzi Back to Meet The Hominids

(World Wide Web holoscience.com)

The Neanderthals worshipped the cave bear. They thought the spirits of animals protected people. Archaeologists have found the skeletons of sick and wounded people who lived to be old. This tells them that Neanderthals cared about all of the people in the group and took care of those who were weak. They could probably say some sounds, but could not talk the way we do. They used signs and gestures to communicate.

Neanderthals buried their dead. Graves have been found with skeletons curled up and covered with skins, flowers, and herbs. Weapons, tools and food were buried with the bodies.

Homo sapiens sapiens Back to Meet The Hominids

(World Wide Web dk.images. (World Wide Weballrefer.com)

Homo sapiens sapiens "Wise Man”

Learn about Cro-Magnon artists Back to Meet The Hominids 

Early Homo sapiens sapiens were called Cro-Magnon man. Bones were found in Border Cave in South Africa more than 35,000 years ago. This man is the first of modern human beings. They were still hunter/gatherers, but lived in caves or built shelters using animal skins, mammoth bones, wood, and grasses.

(Prehistoric Life Encyclopedia by Mark Lambert for Rand McNally & Co.)(World Wide Web angelfire.com/games2/warpspawn/CroM.html)

How do we know what Cro-Magnon man saw everyday? He How do we know what Cro-Magnon man saw everyday? He showed us!showed us!

Cro-Magnons were artists. They left many drawings deep inside caves that tell us about their lives. Pictures were painted with animal hair brushes, moss, and sticks. They used animal fat and moss wicks in stone bowls to make light. They built ladders to reach the high spots.

Explore a cave Return to Meet The Hominids 

(World Wide Web chdmuseum.nicin/history_museum/index.html)

Before you enter the cave look at these animals that lived with Stone Age Man. How many can you find in the cave

You will NOTNOT find a dinosaur! Dinosaurs were extinct many,many years before man lived.

Enter the cave http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/arcnat/lascaux/en/index.html On to the New Stone Age See more cave art Back to Meet The Hominids

Horse

Mammoth Rhino Lion

Bison Hyena

Panther

Neolithic-The New Stone Age

About 12,000 years ago the ice sheets began to melt and man moved into every part of the world. About 9,000 years ago Neolithic Man appeared in Jericho in the Middle East.

(World Wide Web oliver,net/filer/files/spreading_homo_sapiens.jpg)

 

Click to continue

Why is it called the NEW Stone Age? What was new and different?  

AGRICULTURE and DOMESTICATED ANIMALS!

Neolithic man had learned to grow his own food and to raise animals for food.  

SEE A NEOLITHIC FARM

Man grew and ate crops like  

See farm animals Back to Meet The Hominids

Wheat millet Spelt

(World Wide Web answers.com)World Wide Web vurv.cz)

Neolithic Man domesticated animals. This meant the animals lived with men, not out in the wild. Men raised the animals for food. They did not have to hunt for all their food.

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This "Neolithic Revolution" was a very important change in the way men would live. Now people did not need to move from place to place in search of food. What happened?        People began to do different jobs. This is called specialization of labor.         More people lived in one place. They built villages, towns and cities.        They made laws and started governments.        They traded for goods with other towns.        People began to own land and other things.        Great civilizations appeared CatalHoyuk in Turkey is said to be one of the very first ancient villages.  

Goats pigs

sheep

Visit CatalHoyuk http://www.smm.org/catal/

Back to Meet The Hominids Back to Home

Ötzi the Iceman

Ötzi the Iceman (also spelled Oetzi) is the modern nickname of a well-preserved natural mummy of a man from about 3300 BC, found in 1991 in a glacier of the Ötztaler Alps, near the border between Austria and Italy. The nickname comes from the valley of discovery. It rivals Egyptian "Ginger" as the oldest known human mummy, and has offered an unprecedented view on the habits of Neolithic Europeans.

Ötzi was found by a couple of German tourists on September 19, 1991. The body has been extensively examined, measured, x-rayed, and dated. Tissues and gut contents were examined microscopically, as was the pollen found on his gear.At the time of his death, Ötzi was a 30-to-45-year old man,approximately 160 cm tall. Analysis of pollen and dust grains and the isotopic composition of his teeth's enamel indicate that he spent his childhood near the present village of Feldthurns, north of Bolzano, but later went to live invalleys about 50 km further north. Continue

He had 57 tattoos, some of which seem to correspond to acupuncture points that coincide with the modern points that would be used to treat symptoms of diseases that Ötzi would seem to have suffered from (digestive parasites and degenerative bone disease).His clothes, including a woven grass cloak and leather vest and shoes, were quite sophisticated. The shoes were waterproof and wide, seemingly designed for walking across the snow; they were constructed using bearskin for the soles, deer hide for top panels, and a netting made of tree bark. Soft grass went around the foot and in the shoe and functioned like warm socks. Other items found with the Iceman were a copper axe with a yew handle, a flint knife with an ash handle, a quiver full of arrows with viburnum and cornus shafts and flint heads, and an unfinished yew longbow that was taller than him.Among Ötzi's possessions were two species of polypore mushrooms. One of these (the birch fungus) is known to have antibacterial properties, and was likely used for medical purposes. The other was a type of tinder fungus, included with part of what appeared to be a complex fire starting kit. The kit featured pieces of over a dozen different plants, in addition to flint and pyrite for creating sparks. . Continue

Analysis of Ötzi's gut contents showed two meals, one of ibex meat, the second of red deer meat, both consumed with some grain. Pollen in the first meal showed that it had been consumed in a mid-altitude conifer forest.DNA analysis revealed traces of blood from four other people on his gear: one from his knife, two from the same arrowhead, and a third from his coat. A CAT scan revealed that Ötzi had what appeared to be an arrowhead lodged in one shoulder when he died, matching a small tear on his coat. The arrow shaft had been removed, apparently by a companion. He also had bruises and cuts on his hands, wrists, and chest.From such evidence, and an examination of his weapons, molecular biologist Thomas Loy from the University of Queensland believes that Ötzi and one or two companions were hunters who engaged in a skirmish with a rival group. The fight lasted about a day or two, during which time Ötzi killed at least two enemies with his bow, and recovered the arrow each time. At some point, he may have carried (or been carried by) a companion. Weakened by blood loss, Ötzi apparently put down his equipment neatly against a rock, lay down and expired.  

Back to Neanderthals

More Cave Paintings

Continue

Back to Explore a Cave 

Stone Age Scavenger Hunt

Archaeologists need to dig carefully and patiently to find the clues that tell them stories about the past. Now it is your chance. Be alert and find the clues that will answer these questions. Good Luck!1. What does prehistoric mean?2. Scientists who look for clues about how men lived long ago are called ____________________.3. Which hominid live with the dinosaurs?4. Artifact or Fossil?

* mammoth bone * animal skin* cave drawings * flowers in a grave* stone tool * pottery* spear thrower

5. Which hominid:+ first learned to make fire+ was a scavenger+ painted animals and people in caves+ made very simple tools+ lived in ice age Europe+ buried their dead+ learned to grow food and raise animals+ were hunter/gatherers+ built villages

6. How did the ability to make fire change the lives of Stone Age man?7. What kinds of tools did Homo erectus make?8. What animals did Neanderthals hunt?9. What was the name of the first human village? Where was it?10. What was the Neolithic Revolution? Name 5 ways it forever changed the way men lived.

Home

Project Choices:Choose one of these projects to complete when you have finished the Early

Man Virtual Field Trip. You may choose to work alone, or with one partner. You must be sure you include evidence of at least 10 things you have learned about Stone Age Man. Include a list of the 10 things with your project. Be Creative!

1. Make up a character and write a story or play about Homo habilis, Homo erectus, Homo sapiens neanderthalensis or Homo sapiens sapiens. Give your character a name; tell where he/she lives; include details about his/her life.  2. Make a detailed drawing or painting of a scene from the Paleolithic or Neolithic. 3. Choose something that you learned during the Virtual Field Trip that you want to know more about. Research and make a presentation to the class. 4. Make a model or 3-D project of something that interested you. 5. Make a game or puzzle. Teach the class to play. 6. Choose and make a chart comparing the Stone Age men. Include modern men. You might compare the climate, technology, food, houses, clothes, animals…

7. Create a computer presentation. ◊Home8. Got another idea? Talk to your teacher.  

Fun Activities. Go to the following websites and try some of the activities. 

◊ Home

 http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/arcnat/lascaux/en/index.html Go to Learn, then Challenge and try your hand at the puzzles! http://earlyhumans.mrdonn.org/games.html Lots of different things to explore! http://www.dmns.org/main/minisites/iceage/ia_giants/coloringpages.pdf Print out pictures of ice age giant animals to color! http://www.quia.com/ba/37988.html Play an Early Human battleship game http://www.becominghuman.org/ Watch an interactive movie about human evolution and the archaeologists who study it. http://www.smm.org/catal/Explore CatalHoyuk. Play games and try some activities.