Chapter 2: The Stone Ages and Early Cultures 6 th Grade Social Studies

Section 1 Archaeologists and anthropologists have found bones in Eastern Africa belonging to hominids dating back to 3 1/2 or 4 millions of years ago. Early hominid sites are useful in helping us learn about prehistory, the time before there was writing. Scientists think modern humans, known as homo sapiens or “wise man,” first appeared in Africa about 200,000 years ago.

Archeological Dig Site

First Humans  Nomads (people who travel from place to place in search of food) that lived during the Old Stone Age, or Paleolithic Era  Discovered and used fire to cook food, provide heat, and protect them from animals

Stone Age Tools Early humans invented simple stone tools, such as choppers. As time went on, they began to add wooden handles to tools and make hand axes and spears. These tools allowed people to hunt bigger animals such as mammoths, deer, and bison. The invention of stone tools increased man’s chances of survival.

Stone Age tools were used to cut and chop food, hunt, cut trees, dig, and cut animal hides. Examples of Stone Age tools are choppers, the hand ax, and spears. 1.8 million year old choppers

Hunter-Gatherer Societies Early humans lived in small groups called hunter-gatherer societies. Lived in extended family groups for protection and to divide up the search for food

When food or water became hard to find, they moved to new areas. – No permanent homes, they wandered around following animal herds Women gathered wild plants and cared for the children while men hunted.

The most important development during the Stone Ages was oral language. Language developed as a way to resolve problems and communicate. People also expressed themselves through art, such as cave paintings.

Cave Paintings *Used charcoal, berries, and minerals mixed with water or animal fat as paint *Brushes were made from animal hair tied together with animal hide

Section 2 About 1.6 million years ago, the ice ages began. This forced early people to move out of Africa in search of food and resources. Huge sheets of ice made from ocean water covered most of the earth’s land and oceans during this time.

They used land bridges to migrate from one continent to another, and by 9,000 BC people lived on all continents except Antarctica.

Turn to the map on page 37 of your textbook.

Early people had to adapt to new, colder environments. – They made clothing from animal skins, built shelters, and hunted using new types of tools such as the bow and arrow, fishing hooks and spears. – They developed new technologies, such as canoes and pottery.

Was migration valuable to human development? YES! People made many advancements as a result of having to migrate during the climate changes.

Section 3 The ice ages ended about 10,000 years ago as the earth warmed. New plants began to grow as the earth warmed. People began to depend on these wild crops for food and settle in the places they were growing. Now that they were staying in one place longer, they noticed that seeds sprouted and grew crops.

People soon learned they could plant seeds and grow their own crops. This shift from gathering food to producing food is called the Neolithic Revolution. Eventually, people only planted seeds that would produce the best crops. The process of changing plants or animals for human usage is called domestication.

Domestication of large animals improved people’s ability to farm. – Can you explain why? The nomadic lifestyle of hunter-gatherers came to an end as a result of the development of agriculture. People began to build permanent settlements that grew into towns.

Changes in the Food Supply Paleolithic Age People lived in small groups. People moved in search of food (nomadic). People hunted and gathered their food. Neolithic Age Probably due to a change in climate (warmer weather) Population rises Leads to a steady supply of food which means… – People farm- subsistence farming – People can settle down into permanent communities – People domesticate animals – People have leisure time

Section 1 Vocabulary Prehistory – the time before there was writing Tool – any handheld object that has been modified to help a person accomplish a task Hunter-gatherers – people who hunt animals and gather wild plants, seeds, fruits, and nuts to survive Society – a community of people who share a common culture

Section 2 Vocabulary Ice ages – long periods of freezing weather Migrate – to move to a new place Land bridge – a strip of land connecting two continents

Section 3 vocabulary Domestication – the process of changing plants or animals to make them more useful to humans Agriculture – the development of farming from the domestication of plants

Works Cited World History textbook. Google images