Take a trip and learn about these ice age people. Without electricity or plumbing could you survive?

First Cultures

Early PeopleHistorians, Archaeologist, and anthropologist believe that

human life began in Africa over 2 million years ago.

Early PeopleThousands of years ago, thick sheets of ice covered the

northern part of the world. Animals were huge and covered with long, wooly hair.

Old Stone Age or Paleolithic Era Stone tools were the most common tools used from about 70,000 years ago until about 12,000 years ago. This period of time when

simple stone tools were used is called the Old Stone Age or Paleolithic Era.

Early People

Early PeopleDuring the Old Stone Age, people also learned to make fire. This meant people could cook their food and keep

warm in colder climates.

Primitive Fire Video

Early PeopleA recent discovery in South Africa, at a site called

Blombos Cave, has shown that carved blades were made from animal bones. They were polished and

stained and Archaeologist believe the creators of these blades must have had a sense of beauty.

Early PeopleBorder Cave, another ancient cave in Africa that shows what life may have been like 40,000 years ago. The cave was on a side of a cliff

and overlooked a grassy river valley. Herds of eland moved into the valley each year to graze. Since the cave was high on the cliff, the

hunters could keep watch on the animals’ movement below.

Many clues about the past have been found in the form of artwork left in the caves. Archaeologists believe that the Border Cave people must have enjoyed beauty. They

found see shell beads on a baby skeleton. The cave was 50 miles from the sea. This would have required real

effort.

Early People

Ice Age Animals11,000 years ago huge animals covered in fur roamed the

Earth including the now extinct Mammoth.

Discovery Channel Land of the Mammoth

Painters of the CaveRespected elders or shamans of

the Stone Age pecked, painted, scratched, and smudged on the

walls and ceilings of rock shelters and caves. This art was

produced from about 32,000-11,000 years ago. It has been

found in much of Europe, in northern Africa, Australia,

southeast Asia, the four corners region of the United States and Baja California, Mexico. These

clues left behind help in our understanding of what life was like then since there were no

written records.

Painters of the CaveThe first cave art was found in the 1860’s by French paleontologist

Edouard Lartet in caves of southwestern France. The Aurignac objects were recognized as ancient by their proximity to Stone Age

tools and bones of Ice Age animals. The discoveries triggered a craze for digging in caves and searching for objects but little attention was

paid to the drawings on the walls.

Painters of the CaveCave art most often portrays horses and

bison, although mammoth or deer

dominate at particular sites. Fish

and birds are occasionally found in cave paintings or engravings, but are far more plentiful in

portable art. Representations of insects and plants have been found in only a few portable

objects.

Painters of the Cave

The paintings were drawn with red and yellow ocher, hematite (blackish-red mineral), manganese oxide (green powder), charcoal, and clay. These pigments were mixed with cave water, animal fat or

other liquid to form a paint. Arrows, stone tools, hollowed bones, fingers, sticks, animal hair, feathers or porcupine needles were the

artist tools used. Stone, fat burning lamps provided the light necessary to see inside the caves, and scaffolds were built to reach the high

walls.

Painters of the CaveThe oldest cave paintings were found in Chauvet, France

and were painted about 32,000 years ago. The discovery was in 1994 by three friends who enjoyed spelunking.

Chauvet Cave website

Stone Age TechnologyTechnology of the Stone Age people was wood, stone, or bone tools. These sharpened stones may not look like tools today,

however, they were carefully crafted to make them into weapons or tools.

Stone Age TechnologyEarly people discovered that they could sharpen a rock by

hitting it against another stone called Flaking. Pieces of broken stone flaked off. After flaking, the stone had

sharper edges than rock found in nature.

Stone Age TechnologyPeople developed new skills to improve their lives. They

used fire for warmth and cooking. They also began making permanent shelters from materials in their

environment. Archaeologist have found huts made from mammoth bones and tree branches.

Stone Age TechnologyEarly people made tools for many purposes. Spears and

arrows with stone points were used for hunting. Scrapers were made for cleaning animal hides. Animal parts were also

used for making tools, needles, and thread. Long distance weapons such as the spear and bow made hunting safer.

Stone Age TechnologyIn time, people discovered that they could use

copper to make even stronger tools made of metal.

Stone Age PeopleThe people who lived during this time were able to use their

environment to help them survive.

Stone Age People Website

Beginning of AgricultureAbout 12,000 years ago, the Ice Age began to end. Earth became warmer, the glaciers shrank, and the

levels of the oceans began to rise. People had migrated to most of the continents. Peoples lives had changed.

Melting Ice caps video

Beginning of Agriculture As Earth’s climate warmed, the number of plants and animals increased

dramatically. People began to settle in areas with an abundance of natural resources. This period when people began to settle

permanently in one location is called the Neolithic Era, or the New Stone Age. In this period, about 12,000 to 6,000 years ago, people still used

stone tools, but new tools for specialized purposes were added.

Beginning of AgricultureAgriculture began over a long period of time and in more than

one place. Over time, farming provided a steadier food supply, especially since the big game animals in many areas were

hunted out of existence. People learned to domesticate plants and animals. They planted wheat, barley, peas, and lentils.

They domesticated wild goats, pigs, cattle and sheep. The dog was the first animal domesticated.

Catal HoyukIn 1958, the world’s oldest city was discovered. The oldest

layers of the mound date to around 7500 B.C.E.

Catal Hoyuk Website

Did you survive your trip through

the ice age?