1. PREHISTORY: A VERY LONG PERIOD
From the origin of the human being (5 million years ago ) in Africa.
To the invention of writing ( 6,000 years ago )
Three stages:
Palaeolithic Age 5,000, ,000 years ago
Neolithic Age 10, ,000 years ago
Metal Age 7, ,000 years ago

2. THE FIRST HUMAN BEINGS They made tools of stone.
Australopithecus: 5,000,000 years ago
They walked on two feet.
Homo habilis: ,000,000 years ago
They made tools of stone.
Homo erectus: ,500,000 years ago
They walked upright and discovered fire
Homo sapiens: two subtypes
Homo Neanderthalensis:150,000 years ago
Homo sapiens- sapiens:130,000 years ago

3. CHARACTERISTICS OF HUMAN BEINGS
Biped walk: hands free to work
Opposable thumb: meticulous manual
labours
Great cerebral development
Symbolic language
Long childhood: learning possible

4. The Palaeolithic Age: the stone age
They made tools of stone and also used wood and animal bones for making harpoons, needdles, lances, etc.
They used the hides of the animals to make clothes, shoes, shelters, bags, etc.
They lived on hunting (mammoths, bears, deer, bison) fishing and gathering wild fruits. Predators
They were nomadic: moved from place to place.
They lived in caves, outdoors or in cabins.
They organised themselves into small tribes.
The climate was very cold, diseases very common, no older than 35 years old.
They discovered fire.

5. Palaeolithic: the first tools
They made stone tools knocking two stones together.
They use them to hunt and cut animals’ skins or meat
Chopper Hand-axe (biface) Harpoon

6. Scrapers Arrowhead Bone needle Chips

7. THE FIRST ARTISTS
They decorated their caves’ walls with paintings and made sculptures, among these the so-called Venus.
In Spain Altamira and Lascaux in France are the most famous caves.