EARLY PEOPLE & TOOLS AND

INVENTIONS OF HUNTER

GATHERER SOCIETIES

EARLY PEOPLE By comparing and analyzing artifacts,

researchers believe that early people lived in parts of East Africa nearly 3.5 million years ago.

Archaeologists believe that humans moved, or MIGRATED, from East Africa to Europe and Asia thousands of years ago.

THE ICE AGE Eleven thousand years ago, Earth was in

an Ice Age. During this time—from about 1.6 million years ago until about 10,000 years ago—huge ice sheets, called GLACIERS, covered great stretches of land.

BERINGIA During parts of the Ice Age, the seas

were lower than they are today. When the seas were lower, a vast area of land, called BERINGIA stretched from Asia to North America.

This is sometimes called a “land bridge.”

Animals and people from either side of the “bridge” were able to migrate between Asia and the Americas.

6th Grade-Unit 2: Hunters, Gatherers, Farmers

6th Grade-Unit 2: Hunters, Gatherers, Farmers

OLD STONE AGE/PALEOLITHIC AGE

The first humans and their ancestors lived during the Stone Age, a time when humans relied primarily on stone tools.

A tool is a handheld object that has been modified to help a person accomplish a task.

OLD STONE AGE/PALEOLITHIC AGE From 3.5 million years ago-10,000 years

ago Humans relied on pebble or stone tools,

as well as hand axes. Rough surfaces and uneven cutting

edges characterize tools made during the Old Stone Age.

6th Grade-Unit 2: Hunters, Gatherers, Farmers

FIRST TOOLS Earliest tools found in East Africa About 2.6 million years old Each stone was hit with another to create a

sharp edge. One unsharpened side could be used as a

handle. Scientists think these first tools were used

mostly to cut and grind food. As the Old Stone Age progressed, humans began

to use wood, horn, antler, and bone tools. Bone was useful for fishhooks and needles.

THE DISCOVERY OF FIRE It is also around this time that fire is

discovered. Think…what benefits would fire bring to

a group of hunter-gatherers?WarmthProtection from predators and insectsCan cook foodStay up later to accomplish tasks

NEW STONE AGE/NEOLITHIC AGE 10,000-5,000 years ago Humans made great improvement in

technology. Polished rock tools.

6th Grade-Unit 2: Hunters, Gatherers, Farmers

LATER TOOLS Improved tools were made out of flint.

People learned how to attach wooden handles to tools.

Because they no longer had to stand next to the animals they were hunting, people were able to kill larger animals from a distance.