Ancient History Activators Brief, Engaging Historical Experiences

History began about 5,000 years ago with the invention of writing. The many thousands of years that people lived before that is known as prehistory. Prehistoric people had no cities, countries, organized central governments, or organized religion. With no written records, we learn about these people through the artifacts they left. Artifacts include weapons, pottery, clothing, and jewelry.

Archeology

is the study of these artifacts to determine how prehistoric people lived. Since we have no direct written records from the people themselves, archaeologists have to make educated guesses concerning their lives.

For 2.5 million years, humans lived nomadic lives of hunters and gatherers. This era of human existence was one of continual scarcity. All human energy had to be devoted to daily securing the food necessary to survival. All members of the hunting and gathering community had to be involved in this all-consuming task. Under these conditions, human civilization could not emerge. Before civilization could be created, human beings had to discover a way to secure food in a way that would not require all of their energy. Only on this foundation could civilization be started.

Paleolithic people. Humans who lived just prior to the discovery of civilization.

Paleolithic people They lived in small tribes of usually 20–30 people. They had minimal possessions since, they were constantly on the move hunting and gathering food. All the people in the tribe participated in finding food. They had little time for anything else.

Paleolithic people Paleolithic people did develop spoken language and expressed themselves through art, which may have had religious meaning. During this time, humans created tools such as spears and hand axes using stones called flint.

In hunting and gathering tribes, all the members knew one another and had daily face-to-face contact for communication. Their laws, called customs, were based on shared understandings about what was allowed and what wasn’t allowed. These customs were maintained through the close, daily interaction of the members of the tribe or community and did not need to be written down.

The leaders of these tribes could direct their members The laws of the tribe or community were easily maintained by the fact that all of its members were very familiar with one another. The leaders of these tribes could direct their members through verbal communication. They had no real need for written language. p. 24 #7