EARLY HUMANS

The Discovery of LUCY

• Australopithecus afarensis, the earliest ancestors of human beings

• They walked upright but were quite short

• Lived 2.9 to 3.5 million years ago

Homo habilis, skillful human

• Lived 1.5 to 2.4 million years ago

• Also called “Handy Man”

• Used stones as simple tools and ate a variety of foods

Homo Erectus, upright human

• Lived 300,000 to 1.6 million years ago

• Used fire• Made stone axes and

chopping tools

Homo sapiens, wise human

• Lived 30,000 to 230,000 years ago

• Could speak• Made more

complicated tools• Also called

Neanderthals

Homo sapiens sapiens, modern human

• Have been around for 120,000 years

• Became more advanced about 40,000 years ago

• This is what we call “people” today

Human Movement Across the Globe• All Early Humans developed in Africa• Homo erectus spread throughout Africa, Asia and Europe• Approximately 15,000 years ago, Homo sapiens sapiens

had spread throughout the ENTIRE world

Early Human Culture• No writing, no written records, prehistory• Prehistoric humans lived during the Ice Age, which ended

10,000 yrs. ago• Left behind many tools made of stone• These years of prehistory are called the Stone Age

Early Human Culture• Early humans lived in small groups of adults and children• Their main job was gathering foods to eat• They hunted animals for meat• They banded together for protection• Nomadic - moved around looking for food

Early Human Culture• Early humans found shelter in caves• Drew pictures on the walls of their homes• Buried their dead in graves, adding food, tools, pottery

and flowers suggesting a belief in an afterlife

Cave Paintings found in Lascaux, France dating from 15,000 – 10,000 years ago