Living in the Stone Age

Examining History: Prehistory PRE-HISTORY- period before written history Approximately 1.75 million years ago, the earliest people first began using small pieces of rock as tools Oldowan stone tools - earliest known

Homo Habilis – the Tool Maker Lived 2 million years ago Upright walking Made stone tools No clothes, no fire Brain about 2/3 size of modern

Homo Erectus – Fire and Travel Larger brain than Habilis Walked upright Used fire to cook Ate animals – scavenging or hunting? More complex tools First human to leave Africa - spread to Mediterranean, Asia Homo Erectus Family Acheulean Hand Axe

Homo Sapiens – The Thinker Lived 250 000 y.a. Includes us today Had art rituals complex tools language complex society Cave painting Early Homo Sapiens Tools Homo Habilis Latin for “handy man” Discoveries in 1930s by Louis and Mary Leakey Lived in eastern Africa > spread north to Asia fossilized human bones found with stone tools and animal fossils Skulls – humans had a flatter head with a brain only 2/3 size; approximately 1.5 m tall Built shelters of braches and collected bird eggs and wild berries for food; hunted wild pigs Tools / weapons = rocks, braches, sharp stones No clothes Did not know how to use fire

Who Were the Neanderthals? Variety of early Modern Humans Large brains DNA suggests they intermarried with other modern humans Lived in Ice Age Europe Reconstruction of a Neanderthal woman - National Geographic Really did live in caves Had complex tools Mousterian tool kit

Neanderthal Man Discovered in the Neander Valley in Germany. Thought to have lived between 100,000 and 30,000 years ago; they lived in Europe and Turkey. They used stone tools, and buried their dead. It is thought they had some primitive religious beliefs. Some believe that they were killed off by Cro-Magnon, while others suggest that there was some genetic mixing between Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon.

Cro-Magnon Man Believed to have appeared in Africa between 150,000-200,000 years ago Began to migrate outside of Africa 100,000 years ago. Believed by many to have replaced the Neanderthals by 30,000 B.C.. By 10,000 B.C. Homo Sapiens Sapiens could be found throughout the world due to migration.

The Great Leap Forward 35 000 years ago Two Fundamental Changes Development of modern anatomy Beginning of innovative behaviour More complex tools and more sophisticated weapons Trade for raw materials and ornaments Art, sculptures, paintings and crafted objects for beauty and religion Paleolithic Bone tools Cave Art

“Lithos” = stone Paleolithic Age Greek “paleo” means “old” Upper Paleolithic age was 50 000 – 10 000 years ago Neolithic Age Greek “neo” means “new” Neolithic Revolution occurred between 9000 – 4000 BCE

Comparing Stone Ages PALEOLITHIC (Older) Small groups of 5-10 families Nomadic to semi-nomadic Probably egalitarian Scottish neolithic house NEOLITHIC (Newer) People began farming Crops planted Animals domesticated More complex tools & weapons Stratification begins Paleolithic- 1) People lived in small groups of 5-10 families 2) Nomadic to semi-nomadic (hunting and gathering) 3) close relationships between bands of people ie. Cro-Magnon society NEOLITHIC 1) People abandoned semi-nomadic life and began farming Paleolithic dwelling at Gönnersdorf

Social Structure: Neolithic Age Factors influencing the start of agriculture End of the Ice Age 9500 BCE Population growth (cause or consequence?) Permanent towns and cities first city was Jericho, in Mesopotamia between 8000 – 7000 BCE Trade by barter system obsidian – most valued traded material traded for farm produce Development of hierarchical class system, occupations Increasing knowledge of plants and animals allowed more control of food supply End of Ice Age brought a warmer, wetter climate which brought new wild grasses and grains As population grew, so did the competition for land Shift from semi-nomadic to the building of permanent towns and cities (first city was Jericho, in Mesopotamia between 8000 – 7000 BCE) Trade by barter system was a crucial factor in the origin of cities (obsidian – a volcanic glass was one of the most valued traded materials (tools, weapons, art) would be traded for farm produce Development of hierarchical class system Domestication animals (cattle, sheep, goats, pigs) More occupations emerged with more permanent cities and towns The earliest agricultural sites

Religion & Art in Paleolithic Age The Paleolithic Age was the first to develop fine art – drawing and sculpture Cultural explosion more tools, jewellery, and sculptures/ figurines of clay, ivory and stone emerged Spiritual practices – graves found jewellery and spears made of mammoth tusks suggests a ritual burial with a view of an afterlife The Paleolithic Age (Cro-Magnon) was the first to develop fine art as drawings Over 100 European caves showcase CAVE PAINTINGS of deer, horses and animals which are now extinct Beginnings of cultural explosion in art as more tools, pendants, jewellery, and sculptures/ figurines of clay, ivory and stone emerged More advanced spiritual practices emerged as graves were found containing beads, ivory jewellery and spears made of mammoth tusks buried with bodies = this suggests a ritual burial with a view of an afterlife

Prehistoric Cave Art Painting at Lascaux Caves France 15 000 BCE Painters used irregularities in cave walls to add a 3-D effect to figures Clay bison found 900m from entrance of cave at Tuc d'Audoubert, Ariege

Religious beliefs? The cave is large and the paintings are very far back. In many caves, the original passageways were only 3 or 4 feet high, forcing artists to crawl through. There is no outside light, and since many animals are overlain

Venus of Willendorf Figures similar to this are common at Paleolithic sites 30 000 years old Fertility and goddess worship?

STONEHENGE Stonehenge is located on Salisbury Plain in England Created 2800-1500 BCE Stonehenge is an example of a Neolithic megalith (megalith = Greek for “big stones”) Exact purpose is unknown: religious rituals, agricultural markers or astronomical observatories?

Mystery of Stonehenge Built in 3 major stages over 1300 years Tribal, Beaker, Battle Axe folk people Megaliths stones 45 tons and Heel Stone is 31 tons Understanding of astronomy and mathematics sunrise, eclipses of sun and moon Show changing seasons for agriculture? Religious ritual?

Major Innovations of the Stone Age More complex human societies from semi-nomadic to permanent cities; domestication of animals; leisure time Development of social hierarchies Development of alliances and cooperation Marriage customs Development of trade goods and routes Religious rituals Refined sense of artistic beauty

All these lead to: The first Civilizations