1. Early Man and the Neolithic Revolution

2. Neolithic Age – New Stone Age
Discovery of farming (agriculture)
Domestication of animals (animals are trained for human use)
Settled communities (no more nomads)

3. Early Humans 1
Evidence suggests that the earliest humans originated in East Africa.
Then people migrated (Move from one place to another) over land for thousands of years.
About 1 million years ago early man begin to migrate out of Africa in search of food and resources.
As humans evolved they developed better technology that allowed them to travel more easily (i.e. Fire)
According to theory humans migrated to the Americas by way of a land bridge connecting Asia and the Americas.

4. Early Humans 2
Hominids are the first humans to walk upright and were capable of making and using tools. This enabled them to exert greater control over the environment.
“Lucy” is the skeleton of an adult female hominid discovered in East Africa. She is important because she is the oldest hominid found to date.
Early people did not use writing so in order to study them we rely on ARTIFACTS and FOSSILS.

5. Turning Point – An event that causes everything that follows to be different
Examples: ???

6. The Neolithic Revolution
Paleo = OLD
Neo = NEW
Lithic = STONE
Neolithic Revolution – People change from food gathering to food producing
1) Planting Seeds
- People learned that from seeds they could cultivate crops
2) Domesticating Animals
- Animals provide a source of protein

7. Life in the Paleolithic Age
Life in the Neolithic Age
Nomads
Hunters and Gatherers
Polytheistic/Afterlife
Little to No Possessions
Live in family groups
Sedentary Farmers
Animal Domestication
Live in Villages
Political Structures
Polytheistic/Afterlife

8. Example: Skara Brae – “A Neolithic Village”
Orkney Island, North of Scotland
5,000 years ago
Small in size: about 3 classrooms
All houses equal in size  Equal social status
Village workshop
Houses consisted of
Fireplace
Shelves
Sleeping area
Families were dependent on one another
Buried dead