Prehistory-Neolithic Era History Club

Lucy Lucy was the first human ancestor that was primarily made up of bones. Lucy is 3.5 million years old. Lucy is 3.5 ft. tall. Kingdom: Animalia (Animals) Phylum: Chordata (Having a spine) Class: Mammalia (Mammals) Order: Primates Family: Hominidae Genus: Australopithecus Species: Australopithecus africanus

Hominids Lucy was an Australopithecus, or Southern Ape. The Australopithecus lives approximately 4-1 million years ago. The Australopithecus walked upright, had thumbs, and was able to construct crude tools.

Homo Erectus (Upright Walking Humans) Homo Erectus lived 2 million-100,000 years ago. The Homo Erectus had double the brain size of a Australopithecus. The Homo Erectus was able to construct better tools, and perhaps most importantly, they could harness fire. This achievement allowed the Homo Erectus species to move out of Africa and into the Fertile Crescent.

Neanderthal The Neanderthal lived 600,000-350,000 years ago. A Neanderthal was capable of making advanced tools, and had developed a language. The Website below gives some intriguing information about how the Neanderthal may have gone extinct. http://news.softpedia.com/news/Neanderthals-were-too-smart-to-survive

The Neanderthal had a larger brain capacity than the modern man.

Homo Sapiens The Homo Sapiens at the time had better tools and a better use of fire, thus allowing for further migrations. The Homo Sapiens were the first plant/animal to inhabit all of the world’s habitable areas. You belong to this species!

Paleolithic Society A Paleolithic Society is a society of Hunter-Gatherers. Paleolithic Societies had: -Relative social equality -Relative gender equality Paleolithic Settlements would: -Follow rivers or the coast -Act as temporary settlements

Paleolithic Culture The Neanderthal: -Discovered in Germany -Buried their dead -Had emotions Homo Sapiens: -Cave Art -Venus Figurines: Solid stone of women who exemplify fertility (similar to idolatry). You will notice that throughout history, things that are idolized or worshiped have some significance to the values of the society. Therefore, the values of the societies at this time were centered around fertility.

Neolithic Era and the Transition of Agriculture Agriculture originated around 10000-4000 BC., and involved the domestication of animals and plants. Women domesticated plants and men domesticated animals. Early Agricultural Society: -Specialization of labor due to the fact that the agricultural revolution allowed individuals to pursue careers that focused on things other than farming. -Social distinctions and social inequality begin. Neolithic Culture -Religious Values that reflected societal values. Emergence of cities

Guns, Germs, and Steel This book does an excellent job at explaining how factors from this time period determined why the European Nations would go on to dominate the world stage.