UNIT 1

THE STONE AGE

• It is the dicipline that studies the past of human beings. A personwho writes history is called historian.

History helps us to understand more about ourselves. It tells us where wecome from, and explains our culture and traditions.

When we talk about the past we need to say when things happened. Our calendar starts with the birth of Christ in year 1. We countbackwards from his birth to say things that happened before Christwas born.

For things that happened before Christ was born, we add BCto the number

For things that happened after Christ we add AD (Anno Domini)

If the date doesn´t say AD or BC, it is always AD

Attention

NOW

|Birth of Christ

B.C A.D

| |||2013 A.D1000 A.D

300 A.D100 B.C1000 B.C

|

500B.C

OLDER NEWER

Timeline

Grouping dates

Historians like to put events that happened at around the same time into groups:

Decade: 10 years Century 100 years Millenium 1000 years An era or age is a long period of time but isn´t a particular number of years

Talking about dates

To say a year we normally split it into two numbers

Example: 1492 Fourteen ninety-two

Not written

• Monuments

• Buildings

• Human or physical remains

• Tools

• Oral testimonies

• Photographs

• Art

Written

• Newspapers

• Books

• Documents( letters, treaties..)

• Inscriptions

• Coins

To study the past it is necessary to observe, interpret and read theremains that human beings have left. These remains are the sourcesthat historians study to reconstruct the history. A source is anythingthat gives us information about the past.

Prehistory:

- Starts with the appearance of the first human beings

- Ends with the invention of writing around 3500 BC

-It is divided into stages:Palaeolithic Age Neolithic Age Metal Age

History

- Starts with the invention of writing and leads up to present time

- It is divided into four stages:

Ancient history : goes up to the fall of the Roman EmpireThe Middle Ages: goes up to the discovery of America The Modern Age: goes up to the French RevolutionThe Contemporary Age: goes up to nowadays.

Attention: in UK, they don´t talk about Contemporary Age

DEFINITION: Long period of time that starts with the appearance of the firsthuman beings ( 4 million?? years ago) and ended with the invention of writing

around 3000 BC.The only data we have about Prehistory are obtained through archaeology and art.

It is divided into stages

THE STONE AGE

Palaeolithic

Neolithic

THE METAL AGE

Copper Age

Bronze Age

Iron Age

4 million B.C to 10.000 B.C

10ooo B.C -3500 BC

Palaeolithic Neolithic

2. ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF HUMAN BEINGS

Characteristics that distinguish hominids from apes are:

More developed brain: think, speak, make toolsBipedalism: long legs, shorter arms, curve spineCranial Changes: chin, vertical forehead, smaller jaw and teethChanges in hands: opposable thumb

AUSTRALOPITHECUS SKULL SAPIENS SKULL

Which of these hominids used tools?

Which of these hominids knew about fire?

Brain not very developed- small

Biped-erect walk but still climbed trees

They used tools but did not make them

Location: Africa

AUSTRALOPITHECUS

LUCY

Autralopithecus footprints

Videos: climb down from trees

• Small brain, but bigger than Australopithecus

• Biped- better adapted to walking upright

• First hominid to make tool- very simple

• Location: Africa

HOMO HABILIS

Video homo hab

Bigger brain

Made fire and more developedtools Bifaces. Wore animal hides

Location: Africa- Asia

HOMO ERECTUS

Biface

Video fire

•Bigger Brain

•Mix of physical features:Some similar to humans ( fine jaw)and other from an older time( protruding eyebrows)

•More developed tools

•Location: Europe Atapuerca Burgos

HOMO ANTECESSOR

“Miguelón and Excalibur”

Bigger Brain- similar to our brain

Strong complexionBig face, protruding eyebrow, sunken forehead, No chin

Buried their dead

Location: Africa, Europe , Asia

HOMO NEANDERTHALENSIS

Spherical skull, straight foreheadProminent chinDeveloped intelligence

Tools made of stone, bone and animal horns

Art

Location: all the continents

HOMO SAPIENS

3. LIFE IN THE PALEOLITHIC AGE : Economy and society

Climate

There were very cold periodsand milder periods

Food

They were predators: they live from hunting, fishing and

gathering

Where did the live?

They were nomads and lived in caves or shelters.

They lived in groups:

hordes tribe

Society

There was a hierarchy: some people were more important

Task were shared: women and men had different tasks.

Beliefs

They had

religious beliefs:

-buried their dead

-deified forces of nature

• First: they didn´t know how to make tools , so they used stones and sticks

• Later: they made very simple tools hitting one stone against another . Tools: Bifaces: (stone axes) and chips

Working with stone

• First: they didn't know how to make fire. They got it from nature.

• Later: They learnt to make it hitting stones

• rubbing two sticks

• Important for cooking, light, heat, chasing away or trapping animals

Making and controlling

fire

• Hides were used as: clothes, shoes, bags,, to sleep on, vessels…

• It was important to look after them to keep them flexible.Animal hides

3. LIFE IN THE PALEOLITHIC AGE : Skills

HOW TO MAKE A TOOL

harpoon

needles

Arrow heads

knives

drill

Why did they paint? 2 theories:

1-They would be able to hunt them( magic effects)

2.They wanted to paint what they had seen ( a way of entertainment)

Characteristics:

1.Painted individually

´2. Realistic paintings

Examples:

Altamira cave ( Cantabria)

Lascaux cave ( Francia)

3. They used: fingers, brushes

4.Painted on protruding rocks to give impression of relief.

Where did they paint?Walls

Ceilings

3. LIFE IN THE PALEOLITHIC AGE : Art

a) CAVE PAINTINGS

ALTAMIRA

LASCAUX

b) PORTABLE ART

PORTABLE ART

VENUS STATUES

Symbols of fertility

Feminine features very exaggerated

Made of:

Ivory Stone Bone

Examples:

Willendorf Venus

BATONS

Pieces of bone or horn

Shape: head of a horse or deer

Venus

Baton