1. The First Civilizations
Chapter 1
The First Civilizations

2. Early Humans What is an Anthropologist?
They study how humans developed & how humans relate to one another

3. Early Humans
Hunt for evidence buried in the ground where settlements might have been
They dig up artifacts & fossils
Artifacts = tools, weapons & other things made by humans
Fossils = traces of plants or animals preserved in rock
2. What is an Archaeologist?

4. Early Humans 3. Who is Lucy?
A hominid fossil found by an American anthropologist named Donald Johnson in 1974
Lucy was found in Ethiopia, a country on the African continent
Lucy’s skeleton is nearly
3 MILLION YEARS OLD!!

5. Early Humans
4. Where do scientists think the first human beings developed?
In East Africa
Early humans first lived in the rain forests & then SLOWLY spread to the plains
Probably spread in search of food & new places to live

6. Early Humans 5. What is the Stone Age?
A time period when people used stone tools & weapons
Began about 2.5 million years ago
Also called Paleolithic period – “Old Stone Age”

7. Early Humans 6. What were Paleolithic people like?
They were hunter-gather nomads
They hunted & gathered food wherever they could find it
Moved around all the time, did not have a regular home

8. Early Humans 7. What was Paleolithic technology?
Technology = tools & methods humans use to perform tasks
Paleolithic technology = using flint (really hard stone) to make other stones into tools

9. Early Humans
8. What discovery changed the lives of Paleolithic people?
Learning how to create & tame fire
Fire helped people stay warm, cook food & scare wild animals away.

10. Early Humans 9. What were the Ice Ages? Long periods of extreme cold
Thick sheets of ice covered parts of Europe, Asia & North America
People began using animals skins as clothing to keep warm

11. Early Humans 10. What was the Neolithic Age?
Began after the last Ice Age ended – around 8,000 B.C.
People began to farm & settle in villages
Began to domesticate animals – tame animals for human use

12. Early Humans 11. Why was farming important?
Allowed more people to be fed & increased the world’s population
Changed the type of food people ate
People began creating villages

13. Early Humans 12. What were some negative effects of farming?
Lots of people close together in one area
Diseases to spread more easily
Water became dirty quicker
Garbage piled up

14. Early Humans 13. What were some of the earliest Neolithic villages?
Catal Huyuk – located in present day Turkey
Jericho – located in present day Israel

15. Early Humans
14. What were some benefits of settled life for early humans?
Steady food supplies
Healthy, larger population
People began to specialize in jobs such as pottery, weaving, farming

16. Summary Questions
What are some difference between the Paleolithic & the Neolithic Ages?
What are some negative & positive effects of farming?
Why was it called the Stone Age?