1. Early Humans & The Rise of Civilizations
Unit 2
Early Humans
&
The Rise of Civilizations

2. The Paleolithic Era-Early Man
How does archaeology provide knowledge of early human life?
What were the characteristics of life in the Paleolithic Era?

3. Defining the Time Paleolithic Period, also called the Old Stone Age
2,500,000 years ago to 200,000 years ago
Hunter-gatherers
Used chipped stone tools
Lived in family based clans
Nomadic lifestyles
Used a spoken language

5. http://humanorigins. si

6. What’s Been Found Cave Art
Tools & weapons made of stone & bone & probably wood

10. Africa as a Starting Point
Lucy: Found in Ethiopia by Donald Johanson & Maurice Taeib in The remains are 3.2 million years old. She is part of the Australopithecus Afarensis species.

11. The Qesem Cave
Remains (teeth) found at Qesem (in Israel) in 2010 date back 200,000 to 400,000 years ago.
This presents the possibility that man was spreading out faster than first thought OR that man originated from a different area than first thought. No final answers have come from testing yet.

12. The Great Migration
What were the push/pull factors that influenced the movement of people throughout the world?
What factors influenced the location of the earliest civilizations?

13. Climate Change & the Ice Age
About 1.6 million years ago the world starting experiencing long period of freezing weather called ice ages.
This freezing weather cycled; & glaciers expanded & retreated exposing land that is underwater today.
The Bering Strait was transformed into the land bridge called Beringia. This is how early hominids spread around the world.

14. Adapting to New Environments
As humans migrated around the world they adapted to new environments.
The adaptation process caused humans to develop some of the genetic variety that exists today.
Depending upon where they settled the resources they had differed

15. RIVERS!
The development of farming & permanent settlements depended on locating reliable rivers.
Fertile Crescent: The heart of Mesopotamian civilization
Yellow River: The heart of Ancient Chinese civilization
Indus River: The heart of Ancient Indian civilization

17. Neolithic Revolution
What are the characteristics of the Neolithic Revolution?
What did the religions of the early civilizations have in common?
How were most of the early civilizations governed?
How did the Neolithic Revolution improve the lives of humans?

18. Characteristics of the Time
AKA the “New Stone Age.”
10000 years ago
Used polished or grinded hard stone tools
Depended on domesticated plants & animals
Settled in permanent villages
Developed pottery & weaving

19. The Agricultural Revolution
Occurred in Neolithic Period.
Refers to the discovery of farming.
It took most groups 200 to 400 years to fully rely on farming for survival.

20. Effects of the Agr. Rev. Better nutrition, population grew
Perm. villages & domesticated plants
The idea of land ownership evolved & people accumulated material goods
Farmers could trade surplus food for anything else
Codes of law developed
Division & specialization of labor was created
Women were in public more
Land & water was more valuable-so armies were created to conquer & take it

21. Changes in Labor Division of labor: specific jobs for men & women
Specialization of labor: Each person had a specific job-carpenter, farmer, weaver, etc.

22. Metallurgy
Eventually people began to use metal-first copper, then bronze (a mix of copper & tin).
Bronze is stronger than copper.
The Stone Age then lead into the Bronze Age.

23. Religion
Stone Age people may have practiced animism-the belief that all things in nature have spirits.
They may have also believed in life after death, because they buried their dead.
As settlements became permanent people began to come up with creation stories & more organized rituals.

24. Management of Power
Early governments probably formed because managing a growing population took a lot of planning.
Often rulers lead under the belief of Divine Right (having the blessing of the god(s)).