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.