1. Before History

2. Hominids Hominid- human and humanlike species
Australopithecus (“southern ape”)- Originates from Eastern and Southern Africa
Short, hairy, limited intelligence
Walk upright on two legs
Developed hands and arms (opposable thumbs)
Verbal communication
Made tools (for food prep)

3. Hominids Homo erectus- upright walking human
Migrate to North Africa, Eurasia, Asia, Europe
Larger brain
Tools (food prep and protection from predators)
Fires- cook food, light, heat, communication
Hunter-gatherers- organize and communicate

4. Hominids Homo sapiens- consciously thinking human (200,000 years ago)
Conscious, reflective thought
Increased understanding of the world
Developed spoken language
Language and intelligence allows them to adapt to more extreme environments, therefore can migrate further and wider
Interact with other groups
Hut and cave dwellings
Animal and skin clothes
Tools

5. Peopling the Earth
Ice ages lower sea levels- expose land bridges for further migration
15,000 years ago: almost every habitable region was inhabited
Homo sapiens and climate change contribute to large mammal extinction

7. Paleolithic Society Paleolithic Era- “Old Stone Age”
Hunter-gatherers
Stone, wood, and bone tools
Prehistoric- before writing
Egalitarian- personal or family wealth holds no social basis
Social distinctions informed by age, strength, skills, intelligence, fertility, personality

8. Paleolithic Society Gender Equality Men hunt- provide protein
Women and children gather edible plants, roots, nuts, fruit- primary sustenance for the community
Gender interdependence for food production= no domination of one sex

9. Paleolithic Society
Community as focus of social life- small bands (20-30 people)
Cognizant of animal migration patterns and plant life seasons
Sophisticated hunting skills
Knives, spears, bows and arrows
Camouflage with animal skins
Simultaneous attacks

10. Nomadic to Permanent Settlements
Need rich food resources to abandon nomadic lifestyle
Natufian (Israel + Lebanon)- 13,500 BCE
Wild wheat and took antelope from herds
Jomon (central Japan)- 10, BCE
Buckwheat and fishing
Chinook (Pacific Northwest)- 3,000 BCE
Berries, acorns, salmon runs

11. Nomadic to Permanent Settlements
Permanent dwellings- longhouses or individual housing
Supports 100s to 1,000s of people

12. Paleolithic Culture Homo neandertalensis (Europe and Southwest Asia)
Traded and imitated technologies and crafts of homo sapiens
Deliberate burial rituals- bones, tools, flowers, wraps
Recognized significance of life and death, emotions and feelings

13. Paleolithic Culture Homo sapiens communicate with complex language
Pass information/knowledge to younger generations
Eliminates trial and error- develop increasingly effective ways of doing things
Produce stone blades
Shellfish/deep sea fishing
Extensive trade with neighbors
Sewing needles, barbed harpoons
Spear throwers
Beads, necklaces, bracelets
Paintings
Bow and arrow

14. Paleolithic Culture Art
Venus figurines- small sculptures that exaggerate sexual features
Interested in fertility, new life, possible uses in fertility rituals
Cave art (Southern France and Spain)- 34,000-12,000 years ago
Animals (mammoth, bison, reindeer)
Human figures
Beautification, magic/spirituality
Sophisticated process for developing paints and tools
Intellectual evidence

15. Neolithic Era and Agriculture
Neolithic Era- “New Stone Age” (12,000-6,000 years ago)
Polished tools and cultivation
Made possible by receding ice ages- more stable climate conditions
Formation of agricultural economy
Women (as gatherers) most likely began agricultural practices
Men (as hunters) began capturing wild game and domesticating it
Agriculture- the cultivation of crops and the domestication of animals

17. Neolithic Era and Agriculture

18. Neolithic Era and Agriculture
Rapid spread of agriculture
Slash-and-burn cultivation- trees cut and burned down, leaving fertile soil
weeds grow, move to new land
Movement of communities spread techniques and crops