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The Stone Ages and Early Cultures
Chapter 2 The Stone Ages and Early Cultures 5,000,000 years ago – 5,000 years ago
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The First People Section 1 P
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Prehistory Prehistory - the time before writing
Archaeologists & anthropologists do the research Hominids - early ancestors of humans Ancestors - relatives who lived in the past Mary Leaky (1959) Found bones of a hominid from 1,500,000 years ago In East Africa Donald Johanson (1974) Found bones of a hominid from 3,000,000 years ago Named her “Lucy” Lucy could walk on two legs & stand upright Tim White (1994) Found hominid remains from about 4,400,000 years ago web.rollins.edu/~jsiry/creation.html
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Hominids and Early Humans
Over time, hominids became more like modern humans The four major groups of hominids are: Australopithecus Homo habilis (not included in top picture) Homo erectus Homo sapiens (The following slides will discuss each one)
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Australopithicus Lived 4 million to 2 million years ago
Found in Africa Stood upright Walked on two legs Brain was 1/3 the size of ours Was 4 to 4 ½ feet tall Males could be twice as tall as females planet.uwc.ac.za/.../karen/page_24.htm
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Homo Habilis Homo = man Habilis = handy
Larger brain than autralopithecus About ½ the size of modern human brains Lived in Africa 2,500,000 – 1,600,000 years ago Used simple, stone tools for cutting & scraping Certainly walked on two feet
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Homo Erectus Name means “upright man”
Hominids first lived in Africa, but migrated to Asia & Europe Lived from around 2 million to 500,000 years ago Controlled fire Heat & cooking Used stone tools like the ax
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Homo Sapiens Name means “wise man”
Appeared in Africa around 200,000 years ago People living today are homo sapiens Migrated around the world Could create fire Used a variety of tools Developed language
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The Stone Age Hominids and the first homo sapiens lived during the Stone Age The Stone Age is divided into three periods Based on the tools people used Tools – handheld objects changed so a person can complete a task Paleolithic Era Old Stone Age 2,600, ,000 years ago Mesolithic Era Middle Stone Age 20,000 to 10,000 years ago Neolithic Era New Stone Age 10,000 to 5,000 years ago
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Early Tools Choppers Tools with one sharpened side could be held in a person’s hand 2,600,000 years old Found in Tanzania (East Africa) Used to process food Cutting, chopping Scraping roots, bones or meat Used for 2,000,000 years
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Later Tools Hand ax Wooden handles
Made from flint – easy to shape & could be sharp Used on trees, for digging, and cutting animal hides Wooden handles Could attach to sharp points Spears Could be thrown Could stand farther away Could hunt larger animals Deer, horses, bison, mammoths
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Societies Society – community of people who share a common culture
Have languages, religions, and art Early people lived in small groups Lived in temporary shelters (like caves) & moved to new places when food ran out
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Hunter-Gatherers Hunter-gatherers – people who hunt animals and gather wild plants, seeds, fruit, and nuts to survive Men were hunters Might hunt in groups to chase herds over cliffs Safer and more productive Women were gatherers Stayed near camps and took care of children
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Language May have developed to make hunting easier
May have helped people form relationships May have helped resolve problems May have helped distribute (divide) food
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Art Carving Painting May have taught people how to hunt
Figures were carved from stone, ivory, bone Painting People & animals painted on cave walls May have taught people how to hunt May have had religious meanings
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Religion We know little about early religious beliefs
Graves containing food and artifacts have been found May be proof of religion developing during the Stone Age
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Early Human Migration Chapter 2 Section 2 Pages 36-39
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Ice Ages Stone Age people migrated around because earth’s climate changed Migrate - to move Ice Age - long period of freezing weather Lasted from 1,600,000 to 10,000 years ago Ocean water froze, exposing land that is covered with water today Land Bridge - strip of land connecting two continents Allowed people to travel to new places on foot from Asia to North America
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Settling New Lands Hominids migrated from Africa to Asia before they died out Human migrated all around the world By 9000 BC, humans lived on all continents around the world, except Antarctica They figured out how to cross water and mountains They followed herds of animals and food
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Clothing and Shelter People had to adapt to new climates, land, and food as they migrated For warmth Made fire Sewed animals skins together for clothing Shelter Lived in caves at first Some places didn’t have caves, so they built their own homes Pit houses - Pits in the ground covered with branches and leaves Tents of animal skins Structures of wood, stone, clay, bones
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New Tools and Technology
Developed during the Mesolithic Era (Middle Stone Age) 10,000-5,000 years ago Invention of fishing hooks and fishing spears with hooks made of bone Bow and arrow Canoes hollowed from logs Pottery Keeping pets to help hunt and for protection
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Beginnings of Agriculture
Chapter 2 Section 3 P
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The First Farmers Neolithic Era Learned to polish stones Make fire
New Stone Age Began 10,000 years ago in Asia, but closer to 5,000 in other places Learned to polish stones Saws, drills Make fire People used fire before this, but didn’t know how to MAKE it People learned to farm in the Neolithic Era Neolithic Era ended when Egyptians learned to make tools out of metal How to start a fire:
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Plants The Ice Age ended as Earth warmed up
New plants grew & people settled near the plants Barley, wheat People figured out they could plant seeds and grow the plants they wanted “Neolithic Revolution” First happened in SW Asia Domestication – process of changing plants/animals to make them more useful People picked the largest grains or sweetest-tasting foods Agriculture – farming People produced their own food Changed society
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Animals Domestication of animals cut down on hunting wild animals
Sheep & goats were used for milk, meat, wool Large animals could pull heavy loads Cattle Improved survival
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Farming Changes Socieites
Neolithic Revolution brought changes People could do other things, besides finding food Cloth/clothes made from wool or animal skin or plant fibers People stayed in one place to tend their crops Population grew Towns developed People performed religious ceremonies bogomip.net/scotland/ Skara Brae, Scotland
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Neolithic Religion Megaliths – huge stones used as monuments or places for religious gatherings Probably believed in gods/goddesses connected to: Air, water, fire, earth Examples: Thunder God Worship of certain animals Some people prayed to their ancestors Worship ideas of early people are still held by some modern cultures Easter Island Megaliths were built over 1000 years later
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