1. Before History
Chapter 1

2. Prehistory refers to the period before writing, while history refers to the era after the invention of writing enabled human communities to record and store information.

3. Australopithecus “The Southern Ape” but not an ape, a hominid
Appeared in east Africa about 4-1 million years ago
Walked upright on two legs; well-developed hands
Stone tools; fire later
Short, hairy and limited intelligence
About 3 feet tall, pounds
Brain size was 500 cubic centimeters

4. Lucy November 1974 Hadar, Ethiopia 25-30 years old 3.5 feet tall
About 55 pounds
One of the most complete and best-preserved skeletons of any early human ancestor
Skull about the size of a grapefruit
Walked upright
3.2 million years ago
Lucy

5. Homo erectus “upright walking human” 2.5 million to 200,000 years ago
East Africa
Large brain (1000cc); sophisticated tools
Fire
Developed language skills in well-coordinated hunts of large animals
Migrated to Asia and Europe; established throughout by 200,000 years ago

6. Homo sapiens “Consciously thinking human”
Evolved as early as 200,000 years ago
Brain with large frontal regions for conscious and reflective thought
Spread throughout Eurasia beginning more than one hundred thousand years ago
Ice age land bridges enabled them to populate other continents
Used knives, spears, bows, and arrows
Brought pressure on other species

7. Paleolithic Society Economic life
Economy and society of hunting and gathering peoples
Economic life
Prevented individuals from accumulating private property
Lived an egalitarian existence
Lived in small bands, about thirty to fifty members in each group
Big game hunting with special tools and tactics
Some permanent Paleolithic settlements, if area rich in resources
Natufians in eastern Mediterranean
Jomon in central Japan
Chinook in Pacific northwest area of North America

8. Paleolithic Culture Neandertal peoples
Europe and southwest Asia, between one hundred thousand and thirty-five thousand years ago
Careful, deliberate burials were evidence of a capacity for emotion and feelings
Cro-Magnon peoples (Homo sapiens sapiens)
The first human beings of fully modern type; appeared forty thousand years ago
Venus figurines--fertility
Cave paintings of animals--sympathetic magic
Better weapons, needles, jewelry, furniture

10. Neolithic Era The origins of agriculture
Neolithic era; new stone age; refined tools and agriculture
From about twelve thousand to six thousand years ago
Neolithic women began systematic cultivation of plants
Neolithic men began to domesticate animals
Early agriculture around 9000 B.C.E.
Agriculture emerged independently in several parts of the world
Merchants, migrants, and travelers spread food knowledge
Slash-and-burn cultivation involved frequent movement of farmers
Agriculture more work than hunting/gathering but steady, large supply of food

11. Neolithic Society
Early agricultural society; population explosion caused by surplus
Emergence of villages and towns
Jericho, earliest known neolithic village
Mud huts and defensive walls
Specialization of labor
Neolithic site of Çatal Hüyük, eight thousand people
Prehistoric craft industries: pottery, metallurgy, and textile production
Social distinctions, due to private land ownership

12. Neolithic Culture
calendars
life cycle deities

13. Urban Life Emergence of cities, larger and more complex than villages
Earliest cities in the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, 4000 to 3500 B.C.E.