 Time before writing was invented  ended 5,000 years ago  around 3200 BC

 Survived on hunting and gathering food  Life was shaped by the physical environment  Depended on the availability of wild plants and animals.

 Study past cultures by locating and analyzing human remains, settlements, fossils, and artifacts.

 Human-made objects that hint at life during the period  Examples: tools, jewelry, and clothes

 scientist sifts through dirt for clues to the past (artifacts & bones)  Fossils – evidence of early life preserved in rock

 method of telling the approximate age of a fossil or artifact

 studies the culture of people  Culture – the way in which people live including art, science, religion, government

 Eastern Africa  1978-found prehistoric footprints in volcanic ash  Hominid – earliest humans and human like creatures to walk upright

 3.5 million years ago  Fairly complete female hominid skeleton  Discovered by Donald Johnson

 Discovered more recently

 Southern ape  Nomadic - constantly looking for food, water, & shelter  Clans - lived in small family groups