Early Humans & Paleolithic Age

Bell Work Write down or list any information that you know regarding Early Humans and prehistory (before writing was developed).

Discovering the Past: Archaeology and Anthropology Archaeology: What is it? Anthropology: What is it? Discovery of Early humans painted a picture and provided a theory to human development. How can we determine such events? Radiocarbon Thermal-Luminescence Microscopic and Biological Analyses of Organic Remains Ask what the word theory means in this case? Radiocarbon-All living things absorb carbon and slowly lose it when they die, the measurement to see how much of this carbon is left to determine the age is radiocarbon dating-good for only about 50,000 years old Thermo-Luminesence-200,000 years ago; measures the light given off by electrons in the soil surrounding artifacts and fossils. Organic remains-blood, hairs, and plant tissues left on tools and weapons (can survive millions of years). Then ask: How do we find the tools and weapons? (Archaeology).

Early Humans Scientific development of humans “Out-of-Africa” Theory Hominid (Africa) Australopithecus (Lucy) Homo Habilis (Handy Man) Homo Erectus (First to leave Africa) Homo Sapiens (Neanderthals) Homo Sapiens Sapiens (Most similar to US) “Out-of-Africa” Theory Spread to parts of Europe and Asia & replaced earlier humans Go over each characteristic specific to the 5 types of humans above. Hominid-refers to humans that have slowly changed over time; Australopithecus-what the first hominids evolved into, slightly larger brain and ability to walk-upright; Homo habilis-first to use stone tools and developed a larger brain; Homo erectus-arms and legs in modern proportion; Homo Sapiens-extreme and rapid brain growth and mastered fire. “Out-of-Africa” Theory-Homo Sapiens Sapiens replaced neanderthals and eventually spread out across the world. We ALL belong to the same subgroup of human beings.

Australopithecus Ability to walk upright, larger brain capacity than ancestors.

Homo Habilis First to use stone tools

Homo Erectus-First to leave Africa and learned how to use fire, arms and legs in modern proportion

Homo Sapiens Mastered fire; extreme and rapid brain growth

Paleolithic Age ‘The Old Stone Age’ Ability to make simple stone tools emerged New ways of obtaining food Higher form of society emerged Adaptions to the Environment and the use of fire emerged

Paleolithic Age Hunting and Gathering A common way of obtaining food for hundreds and thousands of years. Found out which animals to hunt and what plants to eat……How? The development of stone tools took place during the Paleolithic Age Provided humans with a more effective way to survive How?: Trial and error; no system developed other than trying and failing Animals: Buffalo, Horses, Bison, and Reindeer Plants: Wild Nuts, Berries, Fruits, Wild Grains, and Green Plants

Paleolithic Age Way of life Stone tools became the essential building block for all ways of life during the ‘Old Stone Age’ By using hard rocks as a saw/chisel/hammer, early humans would develop spears, hand axes, and tools with 1 or more cutting edge Stone tools were also used for gathering The use of fire helped in hardening the spears, which was needed to cut through the tough hides of animals. The bow and arrow became another useful tool; along with harpoons and fish hooks made of bone Gathering: cut up plants, dig up roots, cut branches

Society The roles of men and women became clearly defined in the ‘Old Stone Age’ The main goal was to find food and both men and women worked hard at that task and worked together Women: stayed closer to camp and were primarily gatherers Men: Primarily hunters Skills were passed on from generation to generation to ensure survival Women acquired the berries, tree nuts, roots, and grains, and were responsible for the children at the camp. They trapped small animals as needed and kept the camp safe. The men traveled far from camp to hunt large animals and the only thing sustaining life until they returned with meat was what the women had gathered and killed at the camp. There was a sense of equality between men and women because they each relied on each other to sustain life. Venn Diagram of Roles of men and Women Compare and Contrast the roles of men and women in Paleolithic Society vs. today’s society.

Adaptations to Survive Survival was key, as it remains today, as early humans developed an essential element that we take advantage of today….shelter Natural Shelter Caves were the most common New types of shelter developed Crossed wooden poles covered with animal hides. New shelter: if wood was scarce then they would use the large bones of a mammoth to build frames

Use of Fire Adjusted to colder climate conditions because of weather change and migration Homo erectus first to learn how to make fire Why was it so important?! Warmth, kept animals away, hunting, social aspects, cooking, art/communication, improved life and habits of humans

Art The charcoal and ash from fire was used to create cave paintings This was a form of communication and allowed for archaeologists to uncover the secretive world of early humans. Radiocarbon dating was used to determine the age (pigments used in the painting)

“Panel of Horses”-cave painting from a cave found in France-Chauvet Cave What does the this painting depict? Horses, rhinos, cave bears, and cave lions, mammoth What similarities do you see between animals in the cave art and those of today? They look much the same as their counterparts today.

Ice Age...Death and Rebirth Sheets of ice covered the Earth and caused a massive freeze Many people had to adapt or die because of this Migration (expansion of the population) Changing not only themselves, but the environment (fire), early humans advanced after the Ice Age into a Neolithic people. We’ll talk about the advancement of early humans on Friday, activities tomorrow.