1. History Assignment
Term 1

2. Contents What is Pangaea?
Why is it an important part of Ancient History?
Pangaea diagram
Timeline showing Migration out of Africa BC to BC
Glossary
Bibliography

3. What is Pangaea?
Pangaea was a hypothetical supercontinent that existed during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras, that formed approximately 300 million years ago. The name Pangaea is from Ancient Greek Pan meaning “entire” and Gaia meaning “mother earth”. The ocean that surrounded Pangaea was named Panthalassa.

4. Why is Pangaea an important part of Ancient History?
According to the theory of plate tectonics, Pangaea later broke up into two supercontinents, Laurasia and Gondwanaland, in the Triassic period 200 million years ago. These two supercontinents slowly broke away further during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods to eventually form the continents we know today. This is also referred to as Continental Drift. The mountain ranges and plant and animal fossils found in different parts of the world is evidence that Continental Drift occurred. Hence why Pangaea is an important part of Ancient History as it explains where our current continents originated from.

5. Pangaea Diagrams Pangaea
The separation of the continents in order, Perman, Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous and present day.

6. Migration out of Africa Timeline
160,000 – 135,000BC: Four groups of hunter-gatherers travelled 1. south to the Cape of Good Hope 2. south west to the Congo Basin and 3. west to the Ivory Coast. Along with them they carried the first generation of mtDNA gene types.
135,000 – 115,000BC: 125,000 years ago a group travelled across the Green Sahara, through the open northern gate, up the Nile to the Levant.
115,000m – 90,000BC: the branch that reached the Levant eventually died out by 90,000 years BC because a global freeze-up turned the area and north Africa into extreme desert. Neanderthal Man reoccupied this region later on.

7. 90,000 – 85,000BC: a group crossed the mouth of the Red sea-the Gates of Grief- Prior to travelling along the southern coast of the Arabian Peninsula toward India. All non-African people were moved down from this group.
85,000 – 75,000BC: From India they went to Sri Lanka and continued along the Indian Ocean coastlines to western Indonesia. Still following there path they moved around Borneo to South China.
74,000BC Mt Toba: The super-eruption of Mt Toba in Sumatra occurred which caused a 6 year nuclear winter and instant 1000 year ice-age. The population crashed to less than 10,000 adults. Volcanic ash from the eruption covered India and Pakistan up to 5m deep.

8. 74,000 – 65,000BC: following the devastation of the eruption, re-population took place. Groups travelled to Australia from Timor and New Guinea from Borneo, by boat.
65,000 – 52,000BC: warming of the climate meant that groups were finally able to move up north to the Fertile Crescent returning to the Levant. Then they moved into Europe via the Bosporus.
52,000 – 45,000BC: a mini ice-age occurred. The Aurigracian Upper Paleolithic culture moved from Turkey to Bulgaria and the new style of stone tools moved up the Danube into Hungary and the Austria.

9. 45,000 – 40,000BC: groups from the East Asia coast moved through to the Central Asia Steppes towards North East Asia, from Pakistan into Central Asia and from Indo-China through Tibet into the Qinghai plateau.
40,000 – 25,000BC: the central Asians moved towards eastern Europe, north into the arctic circle and then joined the East Asians to start spreading into northeast Eurasia. The beginning of spectacular artwork occurred in this period, including the Chauvet cave in France.
25,000 – 22,000BC: the ancestors of the Native Americans who crossed the Bering land bridge that connected Siberia to Alaska, either passed through the ice corridor that reached Meadowcroft before the LGM took place, or took the coastal route.

10. 22,000 – 19,000BC: Northern Europe, Asia and North America de-populated during the last ice-age, with the surviving groups locked up in refuges. The ice-corridor froze and the coastal route froze in North America.
19,000 – 15,000BC: in North America groups continued to develop diversity in language, culture and genes while they crossed into South America. The LGM occurred and Australian rock art was discovered.
15, ,500BC: the global climate continued to improve. It is thought that there was quick colonisation of South America via the coastal route. In Chile radio-carbon dating suggests human habitation from 11,790 to 13,565.

11. 12,500 – 10,000BC: they went back into North America from south of the ice going north. People moved out from the Beringean refuge to become Eskimos in the sub-arctic.
10, ,000BC: agriculture started at the end of the final ice age. The Sahara desert was thought to be grassland because of the life-sized prehistoric giraffe rock drawings in Niger. Britain and Scandinavia recolonised.

12. Glossary
Hypothetical: something hypothetical is a made up scenario Supercontinent: one large continent Palaeozoic: the earliest of three geological eras Mesozoic: an interval of geological time Plate tectonics: the theory of movement of earths crust plates mtDNA: an abbreviation for mitochondrial DNA LGM: an abbreviation for last glacial maximum Agriculture: the production of crops, livestock or poultry Continental Drift: the movement of the continents Prehistoric: something prehistoric is something before recorded history Qinghai Plateau: a province of the Peoples Republic of China located in the northwest Nuclear: Winter: a period of abnormal cold and darkness caused by a layer of smoke and dust in the atmosphere blocking sunlight Neanderthal: extinct human of Middle Paleolithic era in Europe and Western Asia

13. Bibliography