1. WHI.2 Early Humans

2. The Stone Age
Historians have applied the name “Stone Age” to prehistoric times.
Prehistory means before writing!
The Stone Age is divided into 3 periods:
Paleolithic- Old Stone Age (2 million years ago to 12,000 BCE)
Mesolithic- Middle Stone Age (12,000-8,000 BCE)
Neolithic- New Stone Age (8,000-5,000 BCE)

3. Human Beginnings
Scientists have traced the existence of the first humanlike creatures to approximately 4.4 million years ago.
Hominids - group of humans and earlier “human-like” creatures.

4. Hominids are believed to have originated in Africa.
The earliest known hominid is Australopithecus afarensis
“Lucy” is a 3.2 million year-old Australopithecus skeleton found in Ethiopia in 1974.

5. Early Human species Homo habilis- man who has ability
Homo erectus- man who walks upright
Homo sapiens- man who thinks

6. Homo sapiens
Homo sapiens emerged in east Africa between 100,000 and 400,000 years ago (approximately 200,000 years ago).
Homo sapiens migrated from Africa to Eurasia, Australia, and the Americas.
Early humans were hunters and gatherers whose survival depended on the availability of wild plants and animals (followed animal herds).

7. Neanderthal man- 1st homo sapiens, first signs of medicine and religion, became extinct
Cro-Magnon man- homo sapiens sapiens, ancestor of modern man

8. environment determined lifestyle
The life of early hunter-gatherer societies was shaped by their physical environment.
With the development of culture, human societies began overcoming the limits set by their physical environment.
(Culture- language, clothing, food, religion, rituals, etc.)

9. Paleolithic Era (Old Stone Age)
Characteristics of Hunter-gatherer societies during the Paleolithic Age:
Nomadic (migrated in search of food, water, shelter- nomad = no home)
Invented the first tools, including simple weapons (spear points)
Learned how to make and use fire
Lived in clans (large family groups)
Developed oral language
Created cave art

10. Neolithic Era (New Stone Age)
Characteristics of societies during the Neolithic Era:
Developed Agriculture - farming, domesticated plants, invented 10,000-8,000 BCE
Domesticated animals - tame/train animals such as sheep, goats, pigs, cattle, dogs)
Used advanced tools (weapons, wheel, hammer)
Made pottery (baked clay bowls)
Developed weaving skills (wove cloth/fabric for clothes)

11. Agriculture (farming) was developed in the Neolithic Era
“Neolithic Revolution”- change from hunter-gatherer, nomadic lifestyle (moving) to permanent, agricultural settlement (stay in one place!)
The beginning of settled agriculture (including permanent settlements) was a major step in the advance of civilization.
Result of agriculture: steady food= more people= larger, settled communities = cities!

12. Early Cities
Archaeologists study past cultures by locating and analyzing human remains, settlements, fossils and artifacts.
Aleppo (Syria) and Jericho (Israel) are examples of early cities in the Fertile Crescent studied by archaeologists.
Catalhoyuk is an example of a Neolithic settlement currently under excavation in Anatolia (Turkey).