human prehistory paleolithic & neolithic ages. origins of early man
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HUMAN PREHISTORYHUMAN PREHISTORYPALEOLITHIC & NEOLITHIC AGESPALEOLITHIC & NEOLITHIC AGES
Origins of Early Man
The Paleolithic Age• Prehistory
– period before written records• Anthropologists
– study human culture, reconstructing their lives so we can understand them better
• Archaeologists– dig to search for objects so we can develop a better
understanding of the past• The Paleolithic Age
– Also known as the “Old Stone Age”– 2.5 million BCE – 8,000 BCE
• The “Ice Age”
Historical Overview
• Human beings first emerge in East Africa
• As they evolve, they develop complex technology and spread over most of the world
• In some areas, people develop agriculture and settled villages, some of which eventually grow into complex cities and develop the five traits of civilization
1,600,000 B.C. Homo erectus appears.
4,000,000
BCE
2,500
BCE
4,000,000 B.C. First hominids appear in Africa.
2,500,000 B.C. Paleolithic Age begins.
8000 B.C. Neolithic Age begins; first agriculture takes place.
40,000 B.C. Cro-Magnons appear
2600 B.C. City of Ur flourishes in Sumer
3000 B.C. Bronze Age begins in Mesopotamia.
Human Origins in Africa
•The first hominids emerge in East Africa about 3.6 million years ago
•They gradually develop large brains and learn to make tools and use fire, which allows them to spread over the earth.
Major Discoveries
• Leakey family– family of
paleontologists (fossil experts)
– discovered that there were humanoids as much as 5 million years ago in Eastern Africa
• Donald Johanson– Lucy
• first complete hominid discovered
Early Hominids
Evolution of Hominids
Homo HabilisBrain Size increases
Some tooth reduction
Use of first stone tools, Gathering, Scavenging
Homo ErectusBody size more like modern humans
Homo ErgasterBrain continues to grow
Use of hand axes, possible use of fire, gathering, scavenging, some big game hunting
Archaic Homo SapiensBrain size more like modern humans
Teeth still large
NeanderthalsLarger teethExpanded nasal cavity
Cave shelters, somewhat settled groups, big game hunting, intentional burials, certain use of fire
Modern Humans
Blades and spear points highly refined, huts, hearths, art, settlements, spoken language, gathering, hunting, fishing, use of bone tools
Famous “Caveman” Personalities
Evolution of Prehistoric Man• Australopithecine
– “Southern Ape”– Walked upright– Smaller brain than modern
human
• Homo Habilis– “Handy Man”– Began using crude stone tools for
chopping and scraping – Brain was half that of modern
humans
• Homo Erectus– “Upright Man”– Used tools for digging, scraping &
cutting– First hominids to migrate– Used fire– Used broken language
• Neanderthals– Powerfully built– Developed religious beliefs– Performed rituals– Exceptional survival & hunting skills– Used early stone tools
• hand ax– Learned to control fire and migrated
out of Africa
• Cro-Magnons– Structurally identical to modern
humans– Planned hunts– Advanced languages– “Beat-out” Neanderthals for survival– Migrated around the world– Used a variety of tools, learned to
create fire, likely the first to develop language
HOMO SAPIENS
Paleolithic Lifestyle
• Hunting and Gathering– Use wild animals
and plants for food– Migrate seasonally– Live in family or
tribal groups - Clans
Hunting & Gathering
Advantages• The land supplies
whatever is needed.• Movement is easier when
food is scarce.• Life encourages
cooperation and language skills.
• Special weapons and tools develop for hunting and digging up plants.
Disadvantages
• People are always searching for new food sources.
• It is more difficult to store food.
• People must carry everything along when traveling.
• Only simple social organization was possible.
Early Homo Sapiens• Simple Tools
– Sharpened rocks or tools fashioned from wood, plant fibers, animal skin, hair and bone.
– Invented spears for easier hunting.
– Other tools included the bow and arrow, fishing hooks, canoes, needles for sewing
• People were hunter-gatherers– Dependent on resources and
conditions provided by their environment.
– Pack mentality – survival of the group necessitated sharing the products produced and resources with all the group members.
Early Neolithic “Civility”• The need for food, clothing and shelter
controlled the actions of the group.– Most groups were probably nomadic, following
seasonal migrations of their prey• Groups based on extended families which
combined into clans and tribes (30-50 members).
• Gender specialization – Male hunted and made tools– Women gathered food, made fabric and utensils,
tended the camp (fire) and were responsible for rearing the children
• Burial sites with offerings show the development of a belief system that believed in the afterlife.
• Cave paintings show belief in magic that could be used to influence fertility and availability of food.
• Competition likely existed between hunting/gathering groups
Evolution of Paleolithic ToolsHomo Habilis Tools
Homo Egaster Tools
Homo Neanderthalensis Tools
Homo Sapiens Tools
Upper Paleolithic Era
90,000 BC (Africa)
40,000 BC – 12,000 BC elsewhere
Migration & SettlementBERINGIA
Early Migration
• Early human ancestors began to migrate around 1.6 million years ago.
• Due to long periods of freezing temperatures, ice sheets covered the land and lowered the ocean’s level (Ice Ages)– These ice sheets created land
bridges– Eventually early hominids
died out and humans began to migrate, peopling all the continents by 9000 BC (except Antarctica).
Clovis Sites• Some of the earliest people
to inhabit the Americas.• Clovis sites are name
because of the Clovis tools found at the archeological sites
• Spear points are fluted which allows for easier attachment to a wooden shaft
• Clovis people were probably proficient hunters though they also gathered roots, seeds and berries.
Thought Question
Which of the following skills – toolmaking, the use of fire, or the development of language – do you think gave hominids the most control over their environment?
Things to think about…•the kinds of tools early humans developed•the various uses of fire•the benefits of language
•Toolmaking, because it enabled hominids to hunt game and build shelters. •Fire, because it allowed hominids to survive in cold climates. •Language, because it helped hominids coordinate hunts and other tasks.
Extinction of the Megafauna• Why did the megafauna disappear?
– Inability to adjust to major climatic changes…though they had adjusted in the past
– Appearance of humans who hunted animals to extinction
• Animals had not coevolved with humans (as they did in Africa and places in Asia). This prevented them from developing significant fear of humans.
• Humans in some places could just walk up to animals and kill them.
Evolving Lifestyles – Paleolithic Era to the Neolithic Era
• Neolithic Lifestyle: Settled Communities– Raise herds of tame
animals– Plant seeds and
raise crops– Live in permanent
settlements
How this all changes…
People gradually give up hunting and gathering and learn to cultivate crops, domesticate animals, and live in settled villages. Some villages grow and prosper, developing complex social and economic systems that set the stage for the development of civilization.
New methods for obtaining food and the development of technology laid the foundations for modern civilizations.
Neolithic Tool Making•USING TOOLS TO MAKE TOOLS
•Blades and spear points become highly refined
•Use of bone tools
Neolithic Innovations
• Simple homes built from available materials
• Simple pottery with or without decorative artwork
• Beads and other forms of jewelry
• Artifacts representing gods or spirits
More Neolithic Innovations
Skara Brae
[Scotland Neolithic site]
Early Kilns
Early Weaving
Kallanish Stones – Isle of Lewis
Built to commemorate the dead or builders
Often have links to astronomical events
Settled Communities
Advantages• Crops provide a
reliable food supply.
• Population grows as life becomes more complex.
• Societies become more complex.
• Trade increases and commerce develops.
• Division of labor allows workers to specialize.
Disadvantages• Crop failures due
to weather or pests cause famines.
• Floods, fire, or even raiders could destroy villages.
• Disease spreads easily when people live together.
Farming• Occurred in a number of
places at the same time– Americas, Middle East,
China, West Africa• Began about the same
time the last ice age ended– Barley and wheat appeared
with warmer weather– As the population
increased, people required more food.
– Experimentation with planting seeds and selective breeding
– Animals such as dogs, cattle, goats, pigs and sheep were domesticated early
Farming Impacts
• Increases standard of living– better diet– more resources– sharing of skills/jobs– leads to threat of
invasion– must continue to
organize and specialize to defend against threats
Foundations for Civilizations• More food could be raised in
an area– Surpluses lead to …
• Increased carrying capacity of a region– Sustainable population
• Both human and animal
• Farming led to settlement and creation of early towns and villages.– Hunting and gathering was
replaced– Domestication & first civilizations
arose
Direct Impact of Agriculture
Increase in Availability
of Food
Development of New Farm Tools
Growth of Stable Communities
New Cultural Developments
Increase in Population
Growth of Farm Villages
Development of Agriculture
Five Characteristics of Civilizations
Advanced Cities
Specialized Workers
Complex Institutions
Record Keeping
Advanced Technology
What makes a civilization?
Advanced Cities• Became the political,
economic, and cultural centers for surrounding areas
• Begin around river valleys in ancient civilizations– Ur and Uruk near the Tigris
and Euphrates rivers– Memphis on the Nile River– Mohenjo Daro on the Indus
River– Anyang near the Huang He
Advanced Technology • Many ancient civilizations
faced natural & foreign adversity– Irrigation needs, flooding
prevention, lack of natural barriers, unpredictable weather patterns, lack of natural resources, etc.
• Growing population demanded a need to “improvise” and “invent” new ways for the society to survive– “Necessity is the mother of all
invention”– Societies that adapted and
invented survived• Earthen walls, irrigation ditches,
raised fields, terrace farming, aqueducts
Complex Institutions• Government, Religion, Social
Class Systems– Building large irrigation
systems and feeding a growing population required planning, decision making, and cooperation
– Supervise food production and building projects
– Social order based on people’s occupations, wealth, and influence
• Rulers, priests, and nobles had the most power and ranked highest in the social order
• Merchants and artisans usually ranked next
• Farmers and unskilled workers, who made up the majority of the people, ranked next
• Enslaved people at bottom of the society
• Formal religious institutions that included ceremonies, rituals, and other forms of worship– People built large temples
and participated in various ceremonies to “please the gods”
– Religious leaders often interpreted the will of the gods
• Priests became powerful figures
• Competed for power
Specialized Workers• As cities became more
complex, the division of labor increased and many new jobs developed– Officials gathered taxes,
engineers planned irrigation systems, soldiers defended city walls, farmers raised crops, laborers built large public works, such as temples and roads
Record Keeping• As life in early cities grew increasingly complex, people needed ways to keep permanent
records– Merchants needed to keep records of trade goods– Officials needed to track tax payments
• Sumer used clay tokens and pouches to keep records. • The Inca used knotted colored strings
• Systems of writing began to develop about 5,000 years ago– First writing used pictographs, or picture symbols, to represent objects or ideas– More advanced writing systems invented that used abstract symbols to express a wider range of ideas– Early civilizations began to create a written record of their society
• Provide historians with a wealth of information about early civilizations– Calendars
• People needed to track the changing of the seasons and when it was time to plant or harvest• Early river valley civilizations also needed to know when yearly floods would occur• Based on the phases of the moon, which were easy for early people to see and track
– Were inaccurate because the lunar year is many days shorter than the solar year
Thought Question
Why do you think the development of agriculture occurred around the same time in several different places?
Think about…•the migrations of early peoples•changes in the earth’s climate•a rise in human population
Global warming trends resulted in longer growing seasons; a rich supply of grain helped support a population boom. A rise in population placed pressure on hunter-gatherers, who had migrated throughout the world, to find new sources of food.
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