1. The Early Humans
World History

2. Good morning girls!
Do now: On a sheet of loose-leaf create a chart like the one listed below. Fill out as many characteristics as you can!
What do you think early humans could do?
What can humans do today?

3. Early Humans The earliest humans were called hominids
Lived in Africa about 4 million years ago
The creature walked upright
Called the “southern ape”
Discovered by Donald Johansen
It was a female and the historians named her Lucy

5. Lucy Lucy was discovered in 1974 and was the “first human”
She was discovered in Ethiopia, a country in Africa
She dated back to 3 million years

8. Homo Habilis Homo Habilis – humans from 2 million years ago
“Handy man”
First humans to make stone tools
Used tools for purposes such as cutting, scraping, chopping, or sawing plants, animals, and wood.

9. Homo Erectus Term meaning “upright man”
Larger brains and bones and smaller teeth than other hominids
Homo Sapiens- *First to use fire!*
New stone tool- hand ax
First to migrate out of Africa

10. Out of Africa Theory
“Out of Africa Theory”- around 250,000 years ago a new type of human emerged- homo sapiens
Homo sapiens- “wise human”
Spread from Africa to other parts of the world
This is the group of humans we belong to.

13. Paleolithic Age A time period in history where humans made tools
Used stones to make tools
Paleolithic people were hunters and gatherers
Had to follow animal migrations and vegetation cycles
Nomads- people who moved from place to place to survive.
Usually lived in groups of

14. Paleolithic Age
The main job of Paleolithic peoples was finding enough to eat.
Lasted from 2,500,000 BC to 10,000 BC
Early humans used simple tools
Paleolithic means “old stone” in Greek
Humans hunted and gathered their food daily

15. Ice Age The use of fire during the Ice age was important
Most recent Ice Age occurred around 10,000 BC and ended about 8,000 BC.
During this time, sheets of thick ice covered large parts of Europe, Asia, and North America.
The end of the last Ice Age marks the beginning of the Neolithic Revolution

16. Neolithic Revolution Neolithic means “new stone”
Shift from hunting and gathering to farming
Systematic agriculture- keeping of animals and growing of food on a regular basis
Domestication of animals- adopting animals for human use

17. Revolution Revolution means “to change”
Neolithic Revolution- since there was an abundance of food, people were able to give up their nomadic lifestyle and begin forming communities and eventually civilizations

18. Neolithic Farming Villages
Growing crops on a regular basis gave rise to more permanent settlements called Neolithic farming villages
These villages appeared in Europe, India, Egypt, China, and Mesoamerica
Oldest village- Catalhuyuk
Catalhuyuk has special buildings and shrines

19. Effects of Neolithic Revolution
People began to settle in villages and towns
Built walls for protection
Stored surplus of food
Cloth began to be used

20. Bronze Age
3,000 BC to 1200 BC
People began melting metal to create weapons

21. Civilizations Emerge Culture- the way of life a people follow
When people started settling down, cultures became more complex
Civilization- a complex culture in which large numbers of common elements such as social structure, religion, and art
Six of the most important characteristics are cities, government, religion, social structures, writing, and art

22. Civilizations Emerge
First civilizations developed in river valleys where people could carry on the large-scale farming that was needed to feed a large population
Governments needed to organize and regulate human activity
First governments were led by monarchs who organized military to protect the population

23. Civilizations
Religions were originally created to explain the forces of nature and their roles in the world
Priests- important and powerful people who supervised rituals aimed at pleasing gods and goddesses

24. Social Structure Based on economic power
Top class was reserved for the rulers, upper class, government officials, and warriors
Larger group of people- farmers, artisans, and crafts people
Lowest class- slaves

25. Cultural Diffusion
Cultural diffusion is the transfer of cultural ideas and traded goods among different cultures

26. Writing
Rulers, priests, merchants, and artisans used writing to keep records