Paleolithic & Neolithic PeriodsTHE STONE AGE

Paleolithic or Old Stone Age dates from the first stone tool makers (approx. 2 million BCE to about 10,000 BCE).

Archaeological evidence indicates that the first humans came from Africa

This evidence was provided by Mary and Louis Leaky & Donald Johanson

The Stone Age refers to the materials used to make man-made tools. In the Stone Age, man made tools out of stone. “Handy Man” was one of the first hominids to use stone tools.

The oldest human footprints in the world were unearthed at

Laetoli, near Olduvai Gorge, in Tanzania. These footprints led Owen Lovejoy to conclude that

even these early hominids walked with an upright, striding gait just

as modern humans do.

Lucy - is one of the oldest and most complete skeletons of human ancestry. She was discovered in Ethiopia's Afar Triangle (AFRICA). Lucy lived about 3 million years ago.

Very Early Man Old Stone Age: people were hunter-

gatherers. Early humans were hominids. Hominids

are the family of mankind and his or her relatives. Lucy was a hominid. Hominids appeared more than 3 million years ago.

We know about early man because scientists have found fossils and artifacts.

Fossils: the remains of living things (plants, animals, people)---not things that were made by hand.

Artifacts: remains of things that were made by hand, not the remains of living things (like pottery or tools, etc.)

Homo Erectus  "Upright Man"

It took man another 200,000 years to grow up. Homo erectus man was about the same size as modern humans, although they only had two-thirds the size of our brains. Their tool-making skills were considerably improved. Their weapons included stone axes and knives.. 

Neanderthal The Neanderthal were

discovered in the Neander Valley in Düsseldorf, Germany in 1856

The Neanderthal man was believed to have lived 40,000 years ago, and died out 28,000 years ago.

They inhabited Europe and Western Asia.

Otzi, the oldest mummy ever unearthed, was found in the Italian Alps in 1991. Scientists were thrilled to find he had remained frozen, and almost perfectly preserved, for thousands of years.

http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/ancient/AncientRepublish_924421.htm

Otzi…..The Ice Man He wore clothing made from leather and grasses and

carried a copper axe, a bow and arrows. Speculation immediately began about who he was and why he died where he did, but it was hard to do too much checking without damaging his body.

Later, an arrowhead was found in his left shoulder, suggesting Otzi did not simply freeze to death while climbing the high mountains, but was shot by a fellow hunter.

After studying the corpse's intestines, Italian researcher Professor Franco Rollo, an archaeologist at the Universita di Camerino in Italy concluded last year that the iceman's final meals consisted of venison and ibex meat.

http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/ancient/AncientRepublish_924421.htm

Characteristics of the Paleolithic Period

The people were hunters and gatherers They lived in small groups of about 20-30 people Men mostly hunted. Women gathered plants. They were nomadic. Nomads are people who

move often from place to place. Developed simple tools from stone, bone or wood Invented clothing, created cave paintings, and

performed religious rituals.

In a handful of pierced seashells found in a South African cave, scientists believe that they have discovered the world’s oldest known jewelry and the earliest reliable evidence of creative symbolic thought at work. The 41 tiny shells, unearthed at Blombos Cave, were strung as beads more than 75,000 years ago, making them at least 30,000 years older than any other reliably dated personal ornaments….

http://www.krsh.com/morningshow/blindedarchive/JewelryEverAppropriate.htm

Neolithic Period Approx. 10,000 years ago, humans began

to farm. Life became more sedentary and

permanent villages developed Seed planting and animal domestication

begins. They are no longer dependent on hunting and gathering.

Neolithic people became food producers Farming leads to growth in population

Out of Africa

Characteristics of the Neolithic Period

Councils of elders began making decisions Individuals accumulated more personal

property Some type of calendar invented Animals were used in field work These innovations led to the emergence of

civilizations

Skara BraeAn early Neolithic village