Unit 2Early Humans

& The Rise of Civilizations

The Paleolithic Era-Early Man

• How does archaeology provide knowledge of early human life?

• What were the characteristics of life in the Paleolithic Era?

Defining the Time

• Paleolithic Period, also called the Old Stone Age• 2,500,000 years ago to 200,000 years ago• Hunter-gatherers • Used chipped stone tools• Lived in family based clans• Nomadic lifestyles• Used a spoken language

http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/species/homo-sapiens

What’s Been Found

• Cave Art• Tools & weapons made of stone & bone & probably wood

Africa as a Starting Point

• Lucy: Found in Ethiopia by Donald Johanson & Maurice Taeib in 1974. The remains are 3.2 million years old. She is part of the Australopithecus Afarensis species.

The Qesem Cave

• Remains (teeth) found at Qesem (in Israel) in 2010 date back 200,000 to 400,000 years ago.

• This presents the possibility that man was spreading out faster than first thought OR that man originated from a different area than first thought. No final answers have come from testing yet.

The Great Migration

• What were the push/pull factors that influenced the movement of people throughout the world?

• What factors influenced the location of the earliest civilizations?

Climate Change & the Ice Age

• About 1.6 million years ago the world starting experiencing long period of freezing weather called ice ages.

• This freezing weather cycled; & glaciers expanded & retreated exposing land that is underwater today.

• The Bering Strait was transformed into the land bridge called Beringia. This is how early hominids spread around the world.

Adapting to New Environments

• As humans migrated around the world they adapted to new environments.

• The adaptation process caused humans to develop some of the genetic variety that exists today.

• Depending upon where they settled the resources they had differed

RIVERS!

• The development of farming & permanent settlements depended on locating reliable rivers.

• Fertile Crescent: The heart of Mesopotamian civilization• Yellow River: The heart of Ancient Chinese civilization• Indus River: The heart of Ancient Indian civilization

Neolithic Revolution

• What are the characteristics of the Neolithic Revolution?• What did the religions of the early civilizations have in

common?• How were most of the early civilizations governed?• How did the Neolithic Revolution improve the lives of

humans?

Characteristics of the Time

• AKA the “New Stone Age.”• 10000 years ago• Used polished or grinded hard stone tools• Depended on domesticated plants & animals• Settled in permanent villages• Developed pottery & weaving

The Agricultural Revolution

• Occurred in Neolithic Period.• Refers to the discovery of farming. • It took most groups 200 to 400 years to fully rely on

farming for survival.

Effects of the Agr. Rev.• Better nutrition, population grew• Perm. villages & domesticated plants• The idea of land ownership evolved & people accumulated material goods• Farmers could trade surplus food for anything else• Codes of law developed• Division & specialization of labor was created• Women were in public more• Land & water was more valuable-so armies were created to conquer & take it

Changes in Labor

• Division of labor: specific jobs for men & women • Specialization of labor: Each person had a specific job-

carpenter, farmer, weaver, etc.

Metallurgy

• Eventually people began to use metal-first copper, then bronze (a mix of copper & tin).

• Bronze is stronger than copper.• The Stone Age then lead into the Bronze Age.

Religion

• Stone Age people may have practiced animism-the belief that all things in nature have spirits.

• They may have also believed in life after death, because they buried their dead.

• As settlements became permanent people began to come up with creation stories & more organized rituals.

Management of Power

• Early governments probably formed because managing a growing population took a lot of planning.

• Often rulers lead under the belief of Divine Right (having the blessing of the god(s)).