Early%20Humans

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Early Humans

• Ch. 1 Sec. 1 Outline
• World Studies

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Before History

• The time before the written word is called
  prehistory.
• It is difficult for historians to know what
  happened before writing because there wasnt a
  conscious effort to save it.
• A lot of what we know about prehistory are based
  on theories developed by looking at artifacts.

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How we know about prehistory?

• Archaelology

• Studying the objects left by humans to determine
  how they lived.
• Dig in the earth to uncover artifacts like tools,
  weapons, art and housing

• Anthropology

• Studying human life and culture by studying
  fossils (surviving biological remains) in order
  to create a picture of their daily lives.

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How do they do it?

• To locate artifacts and fossils, archaeologists
  and anthropologist excavate at historical sites
  around the world to uncover fossil remains,
  buildings, burial grounds, and any other object
  that can inform them of life and society of that
  time.

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• Social and Military

• Bones, skin, plant seeds

pottery, tools, and weapons

• Tells how people lived

• Tells how people ate

Pottery and other cooking tools
Seeds found in ancient toilet
Hand Axe 250,000 years old
Flute 35,000 years old
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If you were an archaeologist or anthropologist

• If you discovered this, what would it tell you?

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How do they date the artifacts?

• Knowing when something is from is vital to
  understand history. If you date it incorrectly,
  it could have a major impact on history.
• RADIOCARBON DATING all living things absorb
  radioactive carbon (C-14) from the atmosphere.
  When it dies, it slowly loses C-14. By measuring
  the amount left in an object, you can determine
  its age (up to 50,000 years old) AKA Carbon
  Dating

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Dating older objects

• If an object is older than 50,000 years,
  scientist can make a relatively precise
  measurement using thermo luminescence. In this
  technique, scientist measure the soil around a
  fossil and measure the amount of light given off
  by the electrons trapped.
• Used with pottery, stones, gems, etc

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Additional ways to acquire info

• Microscopic and biological analysis of organic
  remains, left on items can give scientist even
  more information. For example, blood found on a
  tool can tell us what type of animals were alive
  and provide DNA for humans. Organic remains on a
  dinosaur tooth can tell you what the dino ate.

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Early Development

• Hominids were humanlike creatures. They walked
  upright and changed slowly over time. They
  existed millions of years ago

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Early Hominids

• Lucy - Australopithecus
• The earliest hominid discovered was Lucy.
• About 3.5 million years old
• Small head (small brain cavity)
• No evidence of use of tools

• Homo Habilis Handy Human
• 2.5 to 1.6 million years ago
• May have used tools (handy)

• Homo Erectus Upright Human
• 1.8 million to 100,000 years ago
• Arms and legs in modern human proportion
• Probably the first to leave Africa

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Homo Sapiens

• Around 200,000 years ago, Homo Sapiens, or wise
  human roamed the earth
• Charateristics of Homo Sapiens
• Larger brain
• Mastered fire
• Two early humans came from Homo Sapiens

• Neanderthals
• German orgins
• Lived between 100,000 and 30,000 B.C.
• Located in Turkey and other European countries
• Made clothes

• Homo Sapiens Sapiens
• wise, wise human
• First to have an anatomy similar to people today
• First appeared in Africa between 150,000 to
  200,000 years ago.
• Out-of-Africa theory has Homo Sapiens Sapiens
  moving to other parts of the world

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How did people get here?

• Out-of-Africa theory about 100,000 years ago,
  Homo Sapiens Sapiens left Africa for other parts
  of the world. They replaced the previous
  populations that are no longer around. AKA
  Replacement Theory
• Multiregional model development from earlier
  hominids to anatomically (physically) modern
  humans in different locations in Africa, Asia,
  and Europe.

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Homo Sapiens Sapiens replace Neanderthals

• 30,000 B.C., Neanderthals had been replaced by
  Homo Sapiens Sapiens (possibly due to conflict).
• Homo Sapiens Sapiens begin to move about the
  world, populating, and establishing roots for our
  existance.
• All human beings today belong to the same
  subgroup of humans. Whether you are European,
  Asian, Austrailian, African, or Aboriginies
  (original inhabitants) we all come from the same
  orgins.

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The Paleolithic Age

• One of the basic features that distinguishes
  humans from other species is the ability to make
  tools.
• The term Paleolithic Age is used to designate the
  early period of human history (approximately
  2,500,000 B.C. to 10,000 B.C.) in which humans
  used simple stone tools.

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Survival

• People survived on hunting and gathering for
  their daily food.
• Because of this, they had a close relationship
  with their environment and understood what
  animals to hunt and plants to eat.

• Plants
• Wild Nuts
• Berries
• Fruits
• Wild Grains
• Green Plants

• Animals
• Buffalo
• Horses
• Bison
• Reindeer
• Fish
• Shellfish

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Life in the Paleolithic Age

• Using stone tools allowed for early humans to
  survive.
• They used hard stones, like flint, to chip away
  at another stone, to shape it for use. Hand axes
  were the most common.
• Early humans also figured out how to attach a
  wooden handle to a stone to make it easier to
  use.
• They also attached poles to spear points, that
  placed in fire to make harder, to make weapons
  that could kill large animals.

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Improved Technology

• As more and more generations passed, Paleolithic
  hunters developed better tools.
• The invention of the spear, and later the bow and
  arrow, made hunting much easier.
• Harpoons and fishhooks, made of bone, increased
  the catch of fish.
• Sharp tools could be used to cut up plants, dig
  roots, and cut branches to build simple
  shelters.
• They used tools to scrape the hides of animals
  for clothing and shelter.
• There is evidence that by the end of the
  Paleolithic Era, bone needles were used to create
  nets, sew hides, and weave baskets.

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Nomads

• Since the humans in the Paleolithic Age were
  hunters and gatherers, they had to always find
  food (they didnt grow food). They followed the
  food (animal migrations and vegetation cycles).
• They were nomads (didnt have a set home moved
  from place to place to survive).

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Roles of Men and Women in Paleolithic Age

• The main job of both men and women was to find
  food.
• Women gathered nuts, berries, roots, and grains.
• Women bore and raised the children. Teaching the
  children what was edible.
• Women trapped small animals and kept the camp
  safe.
• Men were the hunters, going far distances looking
  for game to kill.
• It is believed that both men and women held equal
  responsibility for survival.
• It is likely they made joint decisions.

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Adapting to Survive

• To avoid cold, many Paleolithic humans found
  shelter in caves.
• Others learned how to make simple structures made
  of wood and animal hide.
• If wood was scarce, they might use large mammoth
  bones as the structure support.

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Fire, Fire, Fire!!!

• The use of fire provided light, heat, and
  protection.
• Homo Erectus were the first people who learned
  how to make fire (500,000 years ago).
• Fire was also used to hunt, scaring wild animals
  to run towards the hunters.
• Fire allowed for food to be cooked. Cooked food
  tasted better, lasted longer, and was easier to
  chew and digest.
• Because of fire, and cooked food, nutrition
  improved.

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Fire and Ice!!!

• The ability to make fire became crucial to
  survival during the Ice Age.
• About 100,000 B.C. started the most recent Ice
  Age, ending about 8,000 B.C.
• Sheets of thick ice covered large parts of
  Europe, Asia, and North America.
• Sea levels lowered and people were able to cross
  land bridges to other continents.

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Cave Art

• Art is everywhere.
• Paleolithic humans depicted art scenes on cave
  walls. They would burn animal fat to see in the
  dark caves.
• Lascaux, France, Altamira, Spain, southern France
  are some of the most famous examples of Cave Art.
• Artist painted with their fingers and twigs.
  They also blew paint through hollow reeds.
• Mixed mineral ores with animal fats to make red,
  yellow, and black paint.
• Very few humans appear in the cave art, mostly
  animals. When humans do appear, they usually
  appear as stick figures.
• Some believe cave art was to help appease the
  gods and help in the hunt. Others think they were
  just for pleasure.

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Examples of Cave Art
Southern France

• Lascaux, France

• In 1994, Jean-Marie Chauvet, and his friends,
  discovered paintings in a cave
• There paintings were nearly twice as old as the
  others and more advanced

• Discovered in 1940
• A storm uprooted a tree that revealed a cave
• Children playing nearby discovered the paintings
  inside

• Altamira, Spain

• A little girl discovered a cave on her
  grandfathers farm in 1879
• Evidence that the paintings were done at
  different times
• Earlier art was crude and the later are more
  detailed

• A little girl discovered a cave on her
  grandfathers farm in 1879
• Evidence that the paintings were done at
  different times
• Earlier art was crude and the later are more
  detailed

• A little girl discovered a cave on her
  grandfathers farm in 1879
• Evidence that the paintings were done at
  different times
• Earlier art was crude and the later are more
  detailed