Early HumansWorld History

Mrs. Minks

Warm-up: On an index card write your answer to the following:

Describe how you think early humans might have spent their days.

Before History

Prehistory means the period before writing was developed

Story of early humans relies on archaeological and biological information

Archaeology and Anthropology

Archaeology is the study of past societies through an analysis of what people left behind (e.g. fossils, weapons, tools, pottery, etc.) These things that the archaeologists study are called artifacts.

Anthropology is the study of human life and culture. Anthropologists also use artifacts to determine how people lived their lives.

Dating artifacts and fossils Radiocarbon dating – accurate for dating objects that are no more than

about 50,000 years old

Dating artifacts and fossils Thermoluminescense dating – enable scientists to make relatively

accurate measurements back to 200,000 years

DNA gives insight into ancient civilizations

DNA is providing new information on human evolution which gives us even more insight into the lives of early peoples.

Early stages of development: From hominids to homo sapiens

Earliest humanlike creatures lived in Africa three to four million years ago and were called australopithecines.

Australopithecines were the first hominids (humans and other creatures that walk upright) to make simple stone tools.

Second stage in human development: Homo erectus which used larger and more varied tools (about 1.5 million years ago).

Third stage in human development: Homo sapiens (250,000 years ago). There were two subgroups of Homo sapiens:

Neanderthals

Homo sapiens sapiens

Neanderthals First found in the Neander Valley in Germany, more found in Europe &

Southeast Asia

Remains dated between 100,000 and 30,000 BCE

Relied on stone tools

First early people to bury dead

Made clothes from skins of animals that they killed for food

Homo sapiens sapiens First anatomically modern humans (CET65R8Vople who looked like us)

Appeared in Africa between 150,000 and 200,000 years ago, spread out around 100,000 years ago

By 30,000 BCE Homo sapiens sapiens had replaced Neanderthals who had largely died out, possible due to conflict between the two groups

By 10,000 BCE Homo sapiens sapiens could be found throughout the world

All humans today belong to the same

subgroups of human beings.

The Stone Ages

Paleolithic Era(Old Stone Age) Mesolithic Era(Middle Stone Age) Neolithic Era (New Stone Age)

Paleolithic Era: people lived as nomads, in small hunting and food gathering groups.

Nomadic Simple tools and

weapons out of stone, bone, or wood

Caves and rocky overhangs for shelter

Cave paintings Learned to build fire for

warmth, cooking, and signals

Tools used for hunting, protection, fishing, and shelter

Had spoken language Lived in groups of two to

three dozen people Men did the hunting Women gathered fruit,

berries, roots, grasses

The Neolithic Agricultural Revolution

Neolithic Agricultural Revolution was the change from nomadic to farming life. This led to the development of civilization.

People Before Relied on hunting and

gathering Nomads lived in small

hunting and food-gathering groups

Waited for migrating animals to return each year

People After Learned to farm and

produce own food Settled into permanent

villages Learned to domesticate

(tame) wild animals, providing a dependable source of meat

The End of the Neolithic Age

Between 4000 and 3000 BCE, the use of metals emerged

Copper was first metal to be used in making tools

After 4000 BCE copper and tin were combined, making bronze

As people mastered art of farming complex societies developed

By the beginning of Bronze Age large numbers of people were concentrated in Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, and China.

Welcome to the Bronze Age

Exit Ticket: On the back of your index card answer this question:

What important and dramatic developments took place during the Neolithic Age?