1. Early Development

2. Why

3. In recent decades modern science and technology has given us a better understanding and clearer picture of how early humans have developed. That being said there are still gaps in the timeline and uncertainties of how this development occurred.
When new information is gather or discovered scientists have to revise and update our ideas about prehistoric human life.

4. Over time, our skulls have evolved to hold a bigger and better brain
Early Development
Evolution traces the stages of our species from “humanlike” beings to modern human beings.
The first humanlike species were known as hominids.
Hominids are distinguished from apes by two major traits:
Bipedalism (walking on two feet)
Larger brains
Opposable Thumbs
Why would scientists and anthropologists decide to use hominids as a starting point for human development?
Activity: a race between running on two feet vs hands and feet.
Activity: write your name without using your thumbs
Bipedelism- This means to walk on two feet
We have curved spines
We have arched feet
We have angled hips
-We have large brains
Over time, our skulls have evolved to hold a bigger and better brain
-Our thumbs can push against our fingers
This allows us to create and use tools
Australopithecus afarensis, which lived from 3.8 to 2.9 million years ago

5. Homo Habilis AKA: Handyman
The first hominids to develop and use stone tools
Flourished about 2.5 million years ago

6. Homo Erectus Appeared over 2 million years ago
Could walk completely upright
Survived by hunting wild animals and gathering plants for food
Increased skill allowed them to make tools from wood and stone.
First species to use fire
These homo erectus are probably the first hominids to leave Africa.

7. Homo Sapiens Means “man who thinks” or “wise humans”
Formulated language and more sophisticated tools
There are two types of Homo Sapiens:
Neanderthals
Homo Sapiens Sapiens
About 200,000 years ago these hominids first appeared.

8. Neanderthals Lived between 400,000 to 30,000 years ago.
Their bodies were shorter and stockier than ours, another adaptation to living in cold environments. But their brains were just as large as ours and often larger - proportional to their brawnier bodies.
Neanderthals
Lived between 400,000 to 30,000 years ago.
Formidable hunters and gatherers. Hunted small rhinos, elk, bison and mammoths.
Gathered plants, shellfish, and small reptiles for food.
Are our closest extinct human relative.
Their bodies had adapted to colder climates.
These hominids are believed to have buried their dead and decorated graves with flowers which leads many to think that they believed in an afterlife, or at least they respected lost members of their community groups.

9. Homo Sapiens Sapiens…this is us
“Modern Humans” emerged in Europe from Africa approximately 200,000 years ago. By around 30,000 BC they replaced the Neanderthals as the dominate hominid species.
A.K.A. Cro-Magnon people
Skills included making cloth, better shelters, this helped them adapt to the challenges of living in an unstable environment.
This hominid developed ingenious ways to control there surroundings and…here we are today.
For millions of years all humans, early and modern alike, had to find their own food. They spent a large part of each day gathering plants and hunting or scavenging animals. By 164,000 years ago modern humans were collecting and cooking shellfish and by 90,000 years ago modern humans had begun making special fishing tools. Then, within just the past 12,000 years, our species, Homo sapiens, made the transition to producing food and changing our surroundings. Humans found they could control the growth and breeding of certain plants and animals. This discovery led to farming and herding animals, activities that transformed Earth’s natural landscapes—first locally, then globally. As humans invested more time in producing food, they settled down. Villages became towns, and towns became cities. With more food available, the human population began to increase dramatically.

10. Activity THINK – WRITE – COLLABORATE – REPORT
THINK – individually about how you would answer the question.
WRITE – a response in your notebook.
COLLABORATE – share with your group your responses. (You may write theirs too!)
REPORT – sharing with the class what you have discussed. (Answer on chart paper)
Critical Thinking Questions
What are some of the general and physical characteristics of early humans? 
What challenges do you think early humans needed to overcome? Discuss the importance overcoming and mastering these challenges.
If you were a member of an early human tribe, what would you look for geographically to be an ideal location to settle? Why?
When a society grows, what features begin to emerge? What do they start to have?
What is a revolution?