1. The Origin of Humans
Theories on prehistory and early man constantly change as new evidence comes to light.” Louis Leakey, British paleoanthropologist

2. Getting The Big Picture
Present
Getting The Big Picture
1 billion years ago
40,000 years ago
- Cro-Magnons emerge
200,000 years ago
- Neanderthals appear
4 million years ago
- Australopithecines appear
65 million years ago
- Dinosaurs disappear; first mammals appear
240 millions years ago
- First dinosaurs appear
2 billion years ago
3 billion years ago
3.5 billion years ago
First single-cell life appears
4.4 billion years ago
Earth is formed

3. The Paleolithic Age 2. 5 Million B. C. to 10,000 B. C
The Paleolithic Age 2.5 Million B.C. to 10,000 B.C. Pre-History: Before written records!
Paleo = Old + Lithic = Stone ….. Old Stone Age
Made first stone tools and simple weapons
Found food by hunting (men) and gathering (women).
Lived in small bands of humans (clans)
Nomadic: moved from place to place searching for food
Learned how to make and use fire
Developed oral language
Created cave art

4. Early Gender Roles Hunters and gatherers divided tasks by gender.
Women cared for the children near campsite.
Men left for long hunting trips as they tracked animals.
Why didn’t men stay home with the kids?
Only women are capable of feeding an infant.
Men could bring back more meat with greater ease.

5. Paleolithic Peoples Tools Located Time on Earth Characteristics
Homo habilis
(Man of Skills)
Stone Tools
East Africa
2.5 Million to 1.5 Million B.C.
Lived in clans
Developed oral language
Homo erectus
(Upright Human)
Larger and more varied
First to go to Europe and Asia
1.6 Million – 30,000 B.C.
First to use fire (500,000 B.C.)
Neanderthal
(Homo-Sapien)
Made clothing from skins
Neander Valley, Germany
200,000 – 30,000 B.C.
First to bury dead
Lived in caves and tents
Cro-Magnon
More sophist-icated
Throughout Europe and Asia
40,000 – 8,000 B.C.
First early modern humans, replaced Neanderthals

6. The Growth of Man
Homo Homo Cro Modern
habilis erectus magnon man

7. Migration of Paleolithic Humans
Early humans originated in East Africa, then migrated to Asia, Europe, and the Americas.

8. Paleolithic Life
Small, tight communities that migrated in search of food, better climates, and water.
Everything created by hand from nature.
Found shelter in caves.
Paintings left behind show values of life.

9. Culture: shared traits of a community that are learned through direct contact and imitation.
Beliefs
Values
Practices

10. Mountain View Wildcats
Example
Culture:
Mountain View Wildcats
Beliefs:
Values:
Practices:

11. Practical Practice
Culture: Cro-Magnon
Beliefs:
Values:
Practices:

12. The Neolithic Age 10,000 B.C. – 4,000 B.C.
Neo = New + Lithic = Stone …
New Stone Age
- Small populations because food sources low
- All time spent finding food
- Hunted and gathered
- Migrated in small clans
Paleolithic:
- Time left over to invent
- More Food = More People
- Farmed and domesticated animals
- Settled into towns and cities
Neolithic:
Gradually shifting from to

13. The Neolithic Age Societies during the Neolithic Age:
Developed agriculture (domesticated plants)
Domesticated animals
Used advanced tools
Made pottery
Developed weaving skills

14. Agricultural Revolution (AKA: Neolithic Revolution)
Purposefully growing crops and keeping animals to supply you with continual food.
Using tools such as plows
Developed technology like irrigation
Agriculture developed independently in different parts of the world.
Middle East India Central America China Southeast Asia
8,000 BC ,000 BC ,500 BC ,000 BC ,000 BC
9,000 B.C: Jarmo (northern Iraq) became the earliest agricultural settlement

15. Other Early Cities
8,000 B.C: Largest Early Settlement at Çatal Hüyük (Modern Turkey ) with 6,000 inhabitants
12 cultivated crops
Division of labor
Engaged in trade
Organized religion
Small military
Engaged in trade

16. Why Farming Matters More Food = More People
Growth of crops
Stable food supply
Larger populations
People can do other things (job specialization!)
More permanent housing
Settled communities emerge
Someone has to be a leader (government!)
More Food = More People
More People = More Hands, More Time, More need to Organize!

17. Changes in Daily Life… Changes in Shelter Changes in Community
From clans to communities
Allowed for organization
Work cooperatively
More leisure time
Safer communities = population growth
Labor divided – people train for a certain job (artisan, weaver, mason)
From nomadic to permanent shelter
Walls strengthened by mud, stones, and sticks.
Contained several rooms

18. What Else is Out There? Cultural Diffusion Trade Brings new resources
Traveled hundreds of miles for new items
More diverse resources now available
Cultural Diffusion
Ideas spreading from place to place as people come in contact with one another. New technologies, theories, and cultures “rub off” on one another.
Obsidian Trade Route
Crash Course History:
Agricultural Revolution

19. Government and Religion Written Languages
Characteristics of a Civilization
Specialized Workers
Record Keeping
Advanced Technology
Advanced Cities
Complex Institutions
Artisans and Masons
Government and Religion
Written Languages
Sewers and Grid Streets
Bronze Weapons and Tools

20. How Do We Know All This? Archaeologists!!
study past cultures by locating and analyzing human remains, settlements, fossils, and artifacts (man-made objects).
Apply scientific tests, such as radio-carbon dating, to analyze fossils and artifacts.

21. Ongoing research = new discoveries = changing theories!
Not A Perfect Science…
Different Types of Agriculture
Stonehenge
Aleppo, also arose in Fertile Crescent (Syria),
modern city prevents excavation
Built in England, begun in Neolithic Age completed during Bronze Age.
Jericho, ancient city in fertile crescent
Ongoing research = new discoveries = changing theories!

22. Settlements – Things Which Early Man Wanted…..
Imagine you are looking for a new home during the Neolithic period. What geographic factors would you consider most important. Remember, you are planning to be a farmer……
Draw or describe in detail what those environments would look like.

23. Here’s What I Want….. Stable water supply.
Ability of soil to grow crops.
Abundant sunshine – and not too cool a climate. (Warm to hot is good!)
Natural protection from other clans/tribes/ settlements.

24. Woohoo! We’ve got four historical winners!
Nile River – flows NORTH from Lake Victoria to the Mediterranean Sea in Egypt.
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers – flow through Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) to the Persian Sea.
Indus River – flows out of the Himalayan Mountains down to the western coast of India before ending in the Indian Ocean.
Huang He (Yellow) River – flows through central China before emptying into the Pacific Ocean.
BIG PICTURE! What did these places develop??