Prehistory is the time before there were written records. WHAT IS PREHISTORY? Prehistory is the time before there were written records. Creation of Earth, 4.5 billion years ago                                  “Age of Fish”, 600 million years ago “Age of Reptiles”, 220 million years ago Early Man, 65 million years ago

Earth Dinosaurs Early Man Stone Age

Australopithecus 1-5 million years ago Earliest forms of HOMINDS: upright, bipedal primate mammals More like apes than humans

Homo Habilis: “Handy Man” First human species about 2 million years ago 30% larger brain than Australopithecus Able to walk upright Use of tools What is the importance of being able to walk upright?

Homo Erectus 400,000-2 million years ago 50% larger brain that homo habilis Used tools First species to use & control fire NOMADIC people Hunters-gatherers Originated in Africa; migrated to Europe & Asia Changes in Homo Erectus

Homo Sapiens Earliest form of modern man Lived 300,000 – 400,000 years ago Found throughout Africa, Asia and Europe

Neanderthal Man (Homo Sapiens) What common misconceptions exist about Neanderthal Man?

Homo Sapiens Sapiens: Modern Human Beings 130,000 years ago - present arrived during the Paleolithic Age (Old Stone Age) Carving of human head, 26,000 years old Improved tools & weapons Cave Art Venus figurines Needles for sewing clothes Compare the skulls of Neanderthal Man (left) and Homo Sapiens Sapiens (right)

Paleolithic Cave Paintings Lascaux, France These were discovered in France by four teenagers and are believed to be roughly 16,000 years old. The caves are in Southwestern France. There are more than 2,000 figures carved on the wall, but most cannot be discerned. Mostly these are paintings of large animals, whose fossils have confirmed there existance in the area at the time of the paintings. Most are too faint to see well. There are various natural and humanmade causes for the deteration of the paintings including: Alternate freezing and thawing, natural and artificial light, circulation of air masses, and rainwater.

Stone Age Venus Figures Gagarino Venus Venus of Willendorf, Circa 28,000 B.C. There are 100 + of these figures which have been found throughout Europe from Siberia (Russia) to Southwest France to Northern Spain. These are considered to be “mobility art” (meaning portable art vs. cave paintings, which are not). There are numerous similarities and correlations that seem to exist between the various figurines, this points to a somewhat universal symbolism and uniformity in views of women throughout Europe. The themes in the Venus figurines include: -women as generators of life and –women as generators of pleasure. These figures were carved from either a soft stone like limestone or bone or ivory or fired clay (earliest examples of ceramics). What do these Venus figures tell us about the role of women in prehistoric societies? Venus of Dolni Vestonice

What was the STONE AGE? Paleolithic Age: “Old Stone Age” Began about 400,000 years ago Nomadic people / hunters-gathers Division of labor / possible equality of men and women Made tools and weapons from stone, wood and bone Use and control of fire Traded with other groups What was the STONE AGE? Neolithic Age: “New Stone Age” Began about 10,000 – 12,000 years ago Agricultural Revolution / domestication of animals WHAT CHANGES MIGHT THIS HAVE HAD ON THE SOCIETY?

The Emergence of Civilization… Neolithic Village Developed agriculture… People no longer needed to “hunt” and “gather” food, so they settled down… Development of cities Formal set of laws Hierarchical system Ability to create large buildings Ability to keep written records… therefore… “HISTORY” begins…