Prehistoric People

I. Prehistory A. Exploring Prehistory Hominids- skeletons of any animals or humans scientists called anthropologists study this archaeologists dig for the settlements of the hominids the objects that archaeologists looking for are tools, clothing, works of art, weapons and toys Artifacts- objects that archaeologists are looking for looking at the artifacts we can see how people lived and their culture

Culture- is the set of beliefs , knowledge, and patterns of living group of people develops Limited evidence- artifact that has little information about it scientists have to make educated guess on some of the artifacts they find scientists found human like skeleton which is million years ago Donald Johanson lead the team that find a hominids skeleton in 1974 Mary Leakey found parts of a skeleton dating back to 3.7 million years in the late 1970’s

these scientists think they were also like creature and walked upright like humans the period of prehistory that begins with development of stone tools is called the Stone Age it started about 2.5 million years ago most of the artifacts found from this period are made of stone oldest part of the stone age is called Paleolithic Age and it lasted for more than 2 million years until about 12,000 years ago II. Early Humans A. First People scientists disagree on the first people because there is very little evidence of them

anthropologists can describe the first humans look like the first humans had powerful jaws, receding chins, low foreheads and heavy eyebrow ridges they possible used caves and shelters they also probably ate seeds, fruits, nuts, and other plants, they also eventually hunted first small and then big animals to hunt they had to make tolls, and work together and communicate B. Ice Age earth has had several periods of cold weather

each cold period lasted from 20,000 to about 140,000 years Scientists believe we live in a warm era that started about 10,000 years ago, this is when the Ice Age ended during this cold period ice covered a large portion of the Earth’s surface sea levels dropped because much seawater was locked in large ice caps, some of the ridges that were underwater were uncovered and made land bridges were humans and animals could migrated over some the land bridges when prehistoric people learned to make fire and clothing they can live in colder climates

C. Neanderthal People these people were found in caves in Europe and Southwest Asia Homo sapiens- know as Neanderthals these people lived about 35,000 to 130,000 years ago this is during the Stone Age these people dressed in animal skins and use fire to keep warm and cook food, they also buried there people different than the hominids these people believe in life after death these people disappear like the hominids and don’t know what happen to them

D. Cro-Magnon People these people appeared about 35,000 years ago in Europe these people made better tools and weapons than the another people have made before scientists know these people from their art work there was paintings of the animals they hunted on the cave walls in Spain and southern France the appearance of these people look like the people today E. Agricultural Revolution Middle and New stone Ages followed the old Stone age

Middle Stone Age lasted about 10,00o years ago New Stone Age lasted about 4,000 years ago each age is marked by new level of tools and other artifacts Middle Stone Age is also called the Mesolithic Age during this time the bow and arrow, fish hooks , fish spears and harpoons made from bones and antlers was widespread they also tamed dogs that help them hunt smaller animals Humans also use logs to make canoes

New Stone Age is also called the Neolithic Age during this age technology continue to improve at this time people started to polished and grind stone for tools and weapons Nomads- wondering from place to place some of these people started settling in permanent villages agriculture- raising of crops for food domestication- taming of animals such as cattle, goats, sheep and pigs with this changed the way people lived

some of the crops they learned to farm were wheat, barley, rice and millet between the years of 9000 BC and about 5000 BC many hunting-gathering settlements turned to farming II. Foundations of Civilization A. Characteristics of a Civilization not all people established settlements by the end of the New Stone Age because they live in climates unsuitable for farming there are four settlements in specific regions that help for later human development and they are

1. the Nile River Valley in Africa 2 1. the Nile River Valley in Africa 2. the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in southwestern Asia 3. the Indus River valley in southern Asia 4. the Huang or Yellow River valley in eastern Asia Tigris four river valleys , civilizations first developed Civilization- a complex culture that has at least three characteristics 1. people are able to produce surplus or extra food 2. people establish large towns or cities with a form of government

3. People perform different jobs, instead of each person doing all kinds of work B. Surplus food and Irrigation most the river valleys have a heavy rain period but they don’t get very much rain these places had to irrigate Irrigation- to dig ditches or canals to move water the farmers also built dikes to keep the river within the banks C. Cities, government and labor a large number of people in the cities provide labor to build buildings the techniques that farmers used had somewhat flood control system

there were different forms of leadership formed to help societies to run these were the first governments the governments made the rules to guide peoples behavior with these rules help people plan, direct, and regulate work government leaders made and enforced the rules Division of Labor- different types of work Artisans- class of skilled workers Culture Diffusion- spread of ideas and other aspects of culture from one area to another

C. Other Characteristics the other two important parts of civilizations that were invented was a calendar and form of writing D. River Valley Civilizations they developed family roles and religious beliefs that related to there farming based cultures more than 6000 years ago , people on the Nile and Tigris-Euphrates river valleys started using copper to make tools and jewelry in time they use bronze which is a mixture of copper and tin

Women would manage the family Women would manage the family. They cared children, prepared food, made clothing and probably invented pottery and weaving. When agriculture developed women did most the farming At this time people believed in many gods and goddesses and in unseen forces of nature. This control all aspects of life.