1. Outcome: Human Migration & Beginning of Agriculture
The Earliest Humans
Outcome: Human Migration & Beginning of Agriculture

2. Human Migration & Beginning of Agriculture
 Setting the Stage: Who are we?
Evidence suggests humans could be much older than originally thought
Scientists use artifacts to search for answers
Artifact: human made objects like tools and jewelry
Unfortunately, prehistory can leave more questions than answers
Prehistory: time before the invention of writing

3. Human Migration & Beginning of Agriculture
Important: The story is not complete and there are many questions left to answer
Two prevailing ideas (you will not be forced to pick a side):
Creation: Idea that a higher power put humans on earth
Evolution: Theory that humans evolved from another being

4. Human Migration & Beginning of Agriculture
Interesting Evidence Found in Africa
Anthropologists (people who study culture) and paleontologists (people who study fossils) attempt to use artifacts and fossils to understand early human’s culture
Culture: a people’s unique way of life

5. Lucy

6. Human Migration & Beginning of Agriculture
Lucy
Unusually complete skeleton of female hominid
Hominid: being that walks upright on two legs
Discovered by Donald Johanson in 1974 in Africa
Named after Beatles song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”
Dated to be 3.5 million years old

7. Laetoli Footprints

8. Human Migration & Beginning of Agriculture
Laetoli Footprints
Two hominid footprints preserved in volcanic ash in Africa
Found by anthropologist Mary Leaky in 1978
Dated to be 3.6 million years old

9. Human Migration & Beginning of Agriculture
Neither Lucy nor the Laetoli footprints were made by actual humans
Other beings such as Cro-Magnons, homo erectus, & Neatherthals walked the earth before we did
No link to these beings has been made; “missing link”

10. Migration out of Africa

11. Human Migration & Beginning of Agriculture
Humans Migrate
Humans are known as homo sapiens which means “wise men” due to brain size
Eventually homo erectus & homo sapiens migrated out of Africa
Early humans were nomads or highly mobile people who move from place to place foraging, or searching for new sources of food
All early humans were also hunter-gatherers
Hunter-gatherers: those whose food supply depended on hunting animals and collecting plant foods
Estimates show they started leaving Africa around 125,000 years ago

12. Human Migration & Beginning of Agriculture
Settled in Europe 33,000 years ago, China 67,000 years ago, Australia 38,000 years ago, North America 12,000 years ago, and South America ,000 years ago
We know this due to similar stone tool artifacts found in different regions that date to roughly the same time period
Shows that early humans used technology: applying knowledge, tools, and inventions to meet their needs

13. Human Migration & Beginning of Agriculture
Why did they leave Africa?
Competition with other humans
Following animal herds
Human curiosity

14. Human Migration & Beginning of Agriculture
Agriculture Changes Everything!
Early nomadic humans lived in bands of people
Around 10,000 years ago, the Neolithic Revolution began: the beginning of farming
It started accidentally when some women scattered seeds near a campsite and noticed crops growing there when they came back next season
Rising temperatures worldwide provided longer growing seasons
Farming produces more food than hunting or gathering

15. Human Migration & Beginning of Agriculture
More food means a higher population, thus more labor
Due to labor and farming methods, permanent settlements developed
Permanent settlements turn into villages, villages turn into cities, cities turn into civilizations
Once you reach a certain population, you can begin specialization
Specialization: the development of skills in a specific kind of work (other than farming)

16. Human Migration & Beginning of Agriculture
Slash & burn farming was used (cut a field and burn it for nutrients)
Domestication or taming of animals began as well

17. Coming Up Next…!
Eventually all of this led to the creation of the first civilization on Earth in Mesopotamia called Sumer