Chapter 1 Human Beginnings

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Chapter 1 Human Beginnings

• Pre-History 1000 B.C.

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Dating Early Artifacts

• How have recent archaeological finds contributed
  to our understanding of human origins?

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Prehistoric Finds in Africa

• In 1992, Gen Suwa, a paleontologist from Japan
  discovers, in East Africa, one of the oldest
  hominid teeth ever found.
• Over the next two years, additional remains were
  uncovered, like arm bones and parts of the skull
  and jaw that belonged to 17 people.
• Just 45 miles away, In 1974, Donald C. Johanson
  and Tom Gray uncovered a 3.2 million-year-old
  skeleton they named Lucy.

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Human Origins

• Scientists do not all agree about the story of
  human beginnings.
• One generally accepted theory is that hominids
  were the first humans, dating back 4.4 million
  years.
• These hominids are known as Australopithecus.

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• Australopithecus spent their lives in the humid
  forests of eastern and southern Africa.
• They ate fruit, leaves, and nuts.
• They were probably nomads, never staying in one
  place for long

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• Homo is a Latin word used by scientists which
  means human.
• They use this word to name later humans as well.

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Scientists divide Homo into 3 categories of
species
Homo habilus - person with ability lived until about 1.5 million years ago
Homo erectus - person who walks upright lived after the previous group of humans
Homo sapiens - person who thinks lived 100,00 to about 200,000 years ago All people today belong to this species
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The Ice Ages

• Changes in climate played an important role in
  the development of early humankind.
• Earth experienced four long periods of cold
  climate between 2 million and 10,000 years ago,
  known as Ice Ages.
• The level of the oceans dropped more than 300 ft.
  as the sheets of ice formed.

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• As a result of this, some areas that are now
  separated by water, were connected by a land
  bridge
• Japan was connected to mainland Korea
• Great Britain Ireland to western Europe
• Malay Peninsula through the Indonesian islands
  almost all the way to Australia
• Asia to North America at the Bering Strait.

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How did early humans react to the environmental
changes of the Ice Ages?

• In Different Ways
• Some people simply moved to warmer places
  (usually the middle latitudes where it was warm
  enough to live)
• Some found strategies for keeping warm by using
  clothes and fire.
• Those who could not adapt died from starvation
  and exposure to the extremes.

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Human Culture

• Culture includes
• the knowledge a group of people have
• the language they speak
• the ways in which they eat and dress
• their religious beliefs
• their achievements in art and music.

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• Toolmaking the use of tools was one of the
  earliest aspects of culture that people formed.
• The Stone Age name used to identify the period
  before writing became established. This name was
  used because of the use of stone tools by these
  early people.

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The Stone Age is divided into 3 shorter periods
Paleolithic or Old Stone Age Earliest Period Began about 2 million years ago until about 12,000 B.C. First toolmaking was by the Homo habilis
Mesolithic or Middle Stone Age Usually dated from about 12,000 B.C. to about 8,000 B.C.
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Neolithic or New Stone Age Lasted from about 8,000 B.C. to 5,000 B.C.
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Paleolithic Hunter-Gatherers

• Homo Habilis lived during first quarter of
  Paleolithic period.
• Oldest hominids known to create tools
• Lived in Africa from about 2.5 to 1.5 million
  years ago
• Lived alongside the Australopithecus

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• Homo Erectus Lived during last part of
  Paleolithic period. There is much more
  information about this group of early humans
• First appeared in Africa lived from 1.6 million
  to about 250,00 years ago.
• Learned to make fire
• Made clothing for themselves

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• Migrations
• Not enough is known about the migrating habits of
  Homo habilis people.
• Scientists do know that Homo erectus people
  migrated from their Native Africa to Europe and
  Asia.
• Skeletal remains prove that they lived in China
  only 460,000 years ago and in Europe 400,000
  years ago.

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• Language
• Instead of just making sounds and signals to show
  emotion and direction, Homo erectus may have been
  talking to each other about 500,000 years ago.
• Language was one of humanitys greatest
  accomplishments.

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What benefits did language offer to humanity?

• Made it possible for people to work together
  (organize duties, give directions)
• Enabled people to exchange ideas about the world
• Provided a way for people to socialize and
  entertain each other (storytelling)
• Most important of all, it allowed people to pass
  history and culture on from one generation to
  another

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Homo Sapiens

• Evidence of early Homo sapiens goes back as far
  as 200,000 years ago.
• Neanderthals - most likely the first Homo sapiens
  
• Neanderthals stood about 5.5 feet tall, their
  brains were slightly larger than modern humans,
  and their bodies were stocky.

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Technological skills of Neanderthals

• Used fire for warmth and cooking
• Skillfully constructed stone knives, spear
  points, and bone tools
• Crafted hide-cleaning and food-preparing tools

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How did they live?

• Most lived in small groups of 35 to 50 people
• Were nomads, therefore did not live in one place
  permanently
• Lived in caves or overhangs from cliffs
• Wore heavy clothing made from animal skins to
  stay warm and protected

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Their culture and beliefs

• Neanderthals cared for their sick and elderly
• May have been the first people to practice
  medicine
• Believed in life after death
• Practiced burial rituals

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Homo sapiens sapiens

• Lived in Africa some 50,000 years ago
• More advanced than Homo sapiens
• Within 20,000 years ago, this modern group had
  migrated to almost every continent of the world
• As these people moved out of Africa, they
  intermarried with Neanderthals

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The Cro-Magnons

• Earliest Homo sapiens sapiens
• Their remains were first found in France around
  1860
• Cro-Magnons were taller and less stocky than
  Neanderthals
• Improved technology development
• More sophisticated culture

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Technology of Cro-Magnons

• Cutting blades were thinner and sharper
• Created fishing devices and needles for sewing
• Invented the stone ax in order to cut down trees
  and make canoes
• Invented the spear-thrower and the bow and arrow
• By 15,000 B.C. human population stood at about 2
  million

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Social Life of Cro-Magnons

• Lived in bands, with many different bands spread
  throughout
• Bands had to work together to hunt
• Rules were developed for people to get along and
  for work to get done
• Leaders were named and placed in charge of
  enforcing rules
• First political organizations formed

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Cave Paintings of Cro-Magnons

• Were accomplished artists
• No one knows for sure why they painted on cave
  walls
• Maybe for educational reasons
• May have been reaching out to spiritual world
• Maybe to relieve boredom monotony
• Clay sculptures have also been found as well as
  figures of ivory and bone

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Neolithic Revolution

• During the Neolithic period and immediately
  after, humanity made a giant leap in culture
• Toward the end of the last Ice Age, forests and
  grasslands began to appear in many areas
• In a period of 5,000 years, people gradually
  moved from hunting gathering to producing food

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• New agricultural methods came about
• This led to massive changes in the way people
  lived!
• Thats why we call this time in history the
  Neolithic Revolution.

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• This revolution took place slowly
• Took place at different times in different parts
  of the world
• The crops that Neolithic people developed varied
  from place to place
• Farming made life easier for people
• Brought a steady food supply
• Allowed them to live in one place longer

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• Farming also allowed people to create villages
  and small societies
• Crude houses were constructed with mud bricks
• Several related families usually lived in one
  house

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Technological Advances

• Neolithic farmers invented the plow and trained
  oxen to pull it.
• Neolithic villagers invented the loom and began
  to weave linen and wool
• They learned how to make jewelry and better
  weapons
• People created calendars to measure the seasons
  determine when to plant crops

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• People began caring about boundary lines and
  rules of inheritance because their food supply
  depended on land ownership.
• As villages began competing for land and water,
  warfare was created.
• Neolithic people believed in deities or gods and
  goddesses

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Emergence of Civilization

• Civilization complex societies
• Some villages evolved into cities
• Cities sprang up at different times in different
  places
• All cities evolved from farming settlements in
  river valleys

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Early River Valley civilizations

• Peoples labor was specialized with different men
  and women doing different jobs
• The civilizations depended on advanced technology
• Each civilization had some form of government to
  make and carry out rules and procedures

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The Economy of a Civilization

• First Irrigation systems allowed farmers to
  produce a surplus of food
• Specialization of labor artisans became
  increasingly productive and creative
• Long distance trade farmers and artisans began
  trading outside of their communities and
  eventually covered longer distances

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Living Together in Cities

• Civilizations slowly grew more prosperous and
  more complex
• Populations steadily grew also. Early cities had
  between 5,000 to 30,000 residents!
• Of course, a population like this could not
  operate the same way that a village of 200 had
  operated.

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Therefore,

• A group of government officials was created to
  oversee the collection, storage, and distribution
  of farming surpluses.
• These officials also organized and directed labor
  forces needed for large-scale construction
  projects.
• Professional soldiers were hired to protect and
  guard the citys territory and trade routes

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• Army, government officials, and priests made up
  what is known as a ruling class.
• This ruling class was usually led by a king
  (ultimate person in charge)
• The first kings ever were probably elected, but
  over time they inherited their positions.

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The Invention of Writing

• Priests began using marks and pictures, called
  pictograms, to represent products.
• Eventually they used the marks and pictures to
  represent abstract ideas and even later, to
  represent sounds.
• Priests kept records of individual men and women
  who were head of households, landowners, and
  merchants.

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• After a time, priests also recorded things like
  the kings battle victories, legal codes, medical
  texts, and observations of the stars.
• Priests also recorded myths (traditional stories
  explaining how the world was formed, how people
  came into being, and what they owed their creator

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• Every civilization had and still has their own
  ideas about creation.
• Because these ideas, beliefs, or myths vary from
  place to place, historians usually examine them
  for clues to a peoples customs and values.