Pre-history & Early Man [PDF]

Pre-history & Early Man

1. The History of Early Man

2. Theories for Early Human Migration
“Out of Africa Theory”
AllhominidsemergedinAfricaand
migratedoutwardandmodernhumans
mayhaveco-existedwithearlier
hominids.
“Multiregional Thesis”
Proposes that modern humans
descending from earlier hominid groups
that had already left Africa, emerged
simultaneously throughout the world
(held by few scholars).

3. Human Origins in Africa
Scientists Search for Human Origins
Fossil evidence shows that the earliest humans orig inated in Africa and spread
across the globe.
Early Footprints Found in the 1970s
–Louis & Mary Leakey (1903-1972)
–Kenyan archaeologists who began looking for early human remains in East Africa
where they found many tools, bones & other artifacts.
Experts believe the first people were only about
four and a half feet (1.4 meters) tall. They had
large jaws to help grind food. They were
covered with more hair than people now have,
probably to keep warm.

4. Discovery of “Lucy”
While Mary Leakey was working in East Africa, U.S. a nthropologist Donald Johansonand his team was also searching for fossils . They were exploring sites in Ethiopia, about 1,000 miles to the north. In 1974, Johanson’s team made a remarkable find, an unusually complete skeleton of an adult female hominid. They nicknamed her “Lucy” after the song “Lucy in t he Sky with Diamonds.” She had lived around 3.5 million years ago, the old est hominid found to that date.
Anthropologist Donald Johanson
discovered Lucy in 1974.

5. Australopithecus "Southern Ape"
Anthropologists believe the australopithecines (aw stray loh PITH uh seens) were
the first hominids which first appeared in Africa a bout four million years ago.
Scientists base their findings on the age and locat ion of australopithecine fossils.
Standards for Being Human:
1. 90cc skull size
2. Upright vertebrate
3. Thumb for tool making

6. Comparative Hand Structure Between Man and Primates
Manisnottheonlyanimaltopossessopposablethumbs,mostprimates[apes]do.
Whatmakesmanuniqueishowwe canbringouropposablethumbsalltheway
acrossthehand.Thisgivesmanapowerfulgripandexceptionaldexteritytohold andmanipulatetools.
•Human fingers are straight;
chimps and other apes are curved
.
•Man has a much longer thumb
than do apes
.
•Man is more capable of gripping items more precisely
than apes can which allow
man to make and use tools. Note the Following:
Power Grip
: Fingers and thumbs
wrap around the object.

Precision grip
: Forefingers and
thumb hold the object.

Importance
: Man can do finer work
compared to non-human primates.

7. Extended Activity #1-All Thumbs
Extended Activity: In order to understand the differences between human beings and
other animals, try not to use your thumbs for a short time while
performing your everyday activities. What did you discover? How
do those two small digits separate humankind from the rest of the
animalkingdom?

8. Homo Habilis "Handy Man"
•About 2 million BCE
•Scientists named the first humans Homo habilis (HO mo huh BIL us), meaning
"man with ability."
Food is necessary for people to survive. The source of food was very important to the people of the Pa leolithic Age.
Most likely, people were nomadic and grouped themse lves into small bands that followed the animals the y could catch
and eat. They did not have permanent homes.

9. Old Stone Age or Paleolithic Age
The first humans lived in what is called the Paleol ithic (pay le oh LITH ik) Age, or
Old Stone Age, which began over two million years a go and ended about 15,000
years ago. Historians categorize the Paleolithic Er a as prehistory because there was no written languageto record events, names, dat es or places.
•The people of the Paleolithic Age shaped stone by
chipping it.
•Hunting & gathering societies [25-40 individuals]
•Nomads-
People who travel from place to place in
constant search of food and water
•Use of clothes & fire
•Cave paintings found of animals
•Animism- Religion which involves worshipping
spirits in nature
•
Simple tools/weapons made of stone, bone & wood
These early human beings probably used hand axes fo r many tasks,
such as shaping wood or bone and cutting up meat.

10. Homo Erectus "Upright Man"
1.75 million years ago to 400,000 years ago.
As man began to stand and walk, scientists called h umans Homo erectus, which
means "man who walks upright.”
Homo Erectus Brain

11. Nomads
Although caves were too cold and damp to live in, e arly people did build campsites
in front of them or in close proximity to them, for the caves did offer some
protection. Experts believe these people made camps ites and stayed in one place
only until their supply of food was exhausted. Then they moved to a new site to search for more food.

12. Paleolithic Artists
Paleolithic artists used three basic colors: black, red, and yellow. They obtained
these pigments from natural sources including charc oal, clay, and such minerals
as iron. The artists often painted animalson a part of the cave wall where there
was a natural swelling, which created a three-dimen sional effect.

13. Fire
Anotherimprovementinlifestyleresultedwhen humansin thePaleolithicAge
learnedtomakefire.The earliestuseoffirebypeoplewastokeepwarm.They
hadseenfiresstartedbylightning.However,whentheylearnedtheycouldrub
sticksorstonestogethertostartafire,theyhadmorecontrolovertheirlives.
People could now keep warm and have light during darkness. They used burning sticks to frighten animals away.
When they discovered tools that had fallen into fire were hard er and lasted longer, they learned to make better
weapons that would kill larger animals.
People found that food tasted better when it was heated or coo ked. It was also easier to digest. People ate more, and
the size of humans steadily increased.

14. How to Start a Fire

15. Language
Even though scientists believe spoken language was developed very early in human
civilization, humans have not always talked. In the beginning, the language of the
earliest people may have consisted of simple sounds , grunts, or words. As they
began to develop better tools and hunt in larger ar eas, humans developed language
so they could communicate better.

16. Extended Activity #2-Understanding Language
Extended Activity: In order to understand the importance of language in our lives, try
communicating for a short while without using language. Dividing
into small groups, have each memberof the group try to tell a story
orconveyamessagewithoutusinganyformofspeech.

17. Ice Age
[2.6 million years ago]
Early history had long, cold periods of time during which huge sheets of ice
covered most of the earth. These great sheets of ice moved ver y slowly across the earth,carvingriversandvalleysandgivingshapetomanylandforms. Experts believe that there may have been as many as four ice ages, covering
millionsofyears.Duringthistime,peoplebegantolivetogetherinsmallgroups.

18. Ice Age Glaciers

19. Glaciers
Atonetime,glacierscoverednearlyonefourthoftheearthandalternately
advancedandretreatedasmanyas18times.Glaciersmovedasfarsouthas
Kentuckyin theUnitedStates.Becauseofthis,itispossiblethatlandbridges
allowedpeopletofollowherdsofanimalsfromonecontinenttoanother.
Ötzi, the Iceman, was discovered in September 1991, frozen in the Alps and is the oldest human body ev er found
preserved by freezing. His possessions and clothing have given scientists a better look at what life w as like during the
Neolithic Age in Europe.

20. Land Bridge
Many people from Asia crossed the land bridge at th e Bering Strait. These people
eventually spread throughout North America. Eventua lly, these prehistoric people
migrated into Central and South America.
Later, many glaciers melted and the level of the oc eans rose. Many landforms that were once exposed ar e today
covered with water and the land bridges disappeared . People had no way of crossing the water.

21. Use of Tools
Humanssoondiscoveredtheycouldkillmoreanimalsandcutmorefoodtobe
eateniftheyhadtools.Atfirsttheyusedonlywhatwasavailable,usuallysticksor
stonestheycouldthrow.
However,when theydiscoveredtheycouldshapethetoolstohelpthem,theyhad
morefoodtoeat.Theycouldalsoscrapeanimalskinsandwearthemforwarmth.
Theycouldalsocutdowntreesandchopupplants.
Other than stone, what kind of materials do you ima gine were available to work with during the Old Sto ne Age? Most
likely, tools were made from bones or other parts o f animals, or from plants. Stones were beaten and s haped into tools
or weapons.

22. New Stone Age or Neolithic Age
Neolithic Period,also called New Stone Age,was the closing s phase of cultural
evolution among prehistoric humans. It was characte rized by stone tools shaped
by polishing or grinding, dependence on domesticate d plants and animals,
settlement in permanent villages, and the appearanc e of such crafts as pottery and
weaving.

23. Homo Sapiens"Wise Man"
The humans of about 400,000 to 300,000 years ago ca me to be called Homo sapiens, or "man who thinks.” Hominids evolved and developed for millions of year s prior to the arrival of Homo
sapiens on the Earth. This evolution was slow. The development of a new skill or
Tool often took thousands of years. With the arrival of Homo sapiens, this all
changed. The speed of advancements increased dramat ically. Instead of thousands
of years, great progress was made in hundreds or ev en dozens of years.
Because humans could think and
use knowledge to make food better
to eat, their diets improved, and
the size of people gradually
increased. Each improvement in
the lifestyle of humans has
gradually caused the body to
adapt to changes. People today
would be considered giants in
comparison to humans in the
Neolithic Age.

24. Domestication of Animals
Wild animals were also domesticated. Goats were uti lized for their meat and milk, cattle, pigs and chi ckens provided a
steady source of food for the support of a group of humans.

25. Neanderthals [500,000 B.C.]
The first Homo sapiens are believed to have been th e Neanderthals who first
appeared on the Earth around 200,000 years ago in A frica. They migrated from
Africa to the rest of the world around 100,000 year s ago.
The word Neanderthal comes from the Neander Valley near Dusseldorf, Germany
where the first fossils identified as Neanderthal w ere found there in 1856.
Neanderthals were around five to six feet in height . Had
thick sturdy bones, muscular shoulders and necks,
slightly curved limbs, big brow ridges, and powerfu l
teeth.
Neanderthals also
had large brains. In
fact, their brains
were slightly larger
than those of modern
humans.
Neanderthals relied more on
their physical strength than
on the skillful use of their
hands or the inventive use of
tools.
Big brow ridges
(forehead)

26. Neanderthals and Tool Making
Like earlier hominids, Neanderthals made and used t ools. However, the tools
produced by the Neanderthals were much more advanced than those used by their
predecessors.
Neanderthals learned to create specialized cutting and scraping tools by chipping
away at the edge of a rock. They learned to combine different types of stone into a single tool, and they discovered how to use a wide variety of soft and hard stones for specialized tasks.
By sharpening stones
or bones, people
created crude needles
to punch holes in
hides. They laced
strips of hide
together to make
clothing fit better.
Better clothing meant
people were able to
withstand colder
weather. They could
move into cooler,
wetter areas.

28. Neanderthal Shelters
The Neanderthal lived throughout a widely divergent climate and habitat. These
peoples adapted quickly to new environments as they migrated. Some lived in
caves, while others built shelters out of branches and animal skins. Still others dug
pits and covered them with branches, animal skins a nd leaves.

29. Neanderthal Culture
There is strong evidence that the Neanderthal had a belief in the afterlife. Burial
plots have been foundwhere the dead were covered wi th flowers and buried with food along with the tools they would need in the ne xt life.
There is also evidence that Neanderthal cared for t heir sick and injured. Fossil
remains show serious injuries, such as broken legs, which had healed completely.
It is even possible that Neanderthal used medicines .

30. Homo Sapiens Sapiens
It is believed that modern humans like you and I fi rst originated on the Earth
around 50,000 years ago in Africa. These modern hum ans are referred to by
historians as Homo sapiens sapiens. Within just a fe w thousand years these
modern humans had spread to every continent across the entire planet, and onto
many islands.
As Homo sapiens sapiens migrated outward from Afric a, it is believed that they
wiped out Neanderthals, either by absorbing them th rough intermarriage, or by destroying them through war and competition.

31. Cro-Magnons [25,000 BC -10,000 BC]
The earliest Homo sapiens sapienswere the Cro-Magnons. These early modern humans are named after the location of their discov ery in France in the 1860s, but
remains have been found in North America, as well A frica and Asia.
Cro-Magnons were taller than the Neanderthal, but t hey were not as muscular. A
very important advantage is that they had much impr oved technologies, languages and cultures over those of the Neanderthals. Cro-Ma gnons were good toolmakers and was one of the major accomplishments of the Cro -Magnons.

32. Cro-Magnon Social Life
At first, Cro-Magnon life was not all that differen t from the lives of earlier
hominids. They lived in caves or temporary structur es, and spent their lives
hunting and gathering in small groups. As food sour ces increased, humans
settlements became more permanent. Many groups began building homes out of
logs or stone. Smaller groups joined together formi ng larger groups.
As these groups developed, so did the need for orde r. In
order to allow individuals to interact with one ano ther, it
was necessary that these groups developed rules, or
laws. To help enforce these laws, there had to be l eaders
appointed.
Each group or tribe had their own methods for
appointing leaders. Sometimes leaders were selected
through fighting. In other cases they were appointe d
according to religious beliefs or through inheritan ce.

33. The Agricultural Revolution
For hundreds of thousands of years hominids depende d on nature for their
survival. Food came from wild plants and animals. A natural disaster could reduce
the amount of food in the environment which might h ave a devastating effect on
the peoples in nearby regions.
Around 8,000 years ago a new way of providing food emerged. This revolutionary
advancement was that of farming. Instead of hunting and gathering food from the environments where they lived, humans learned to si mply grow their own food.
Grains such as
wheat, barley, rice
and corn were
grown in different
parts of the world.

34. Villages Develop
With the advent of farming and domesticated animals to feed a society, life became
much easier for early humans. As a result, many mor e humans survived the
difficulties of life. The population quickly rose f rom around 2 million humans on
the Earth to more than 90 million.
Farming allowed people to build villages along rive rs, or wherever the ground was
fertile enough for crops to grow. Archeologists hav e found some villages that are
believed to have been built more than 8,000 years a go. Some of these ancient
villages, such as Jericho, still survive to this da y.

35. Precious Metals
The Neolithic ended when people stopped using stone tools and started to use tools
made out of metal. No one really knows how or why p eople started to use metal
tools rather than stone; the inventors of metal too ls didn’t write anything down.
Scientists think people started using copper and go ld for ornaments and jewelry
before they started using metal for tools.

36. Man Learned to Put Down Thoughts in Writing

37. Man Learned to Put Down Thoughts in Writing
(Diagram)

38. Terms to Know:
Australopithecus "Southern Ape"
Lucy
Homo Habilis "Handy Man"
Old Stone Age or Paleolithic Age
Homo Erectus "Upright Man"
Ice Age
Glaciers
Land Bridge
New Stone Age or Neolithic Age
Homo Sapiens "Wise Man"
Domestication of Animals
Neanderthals
Homo Sapiens Sapiens
Cro-Magnons
Agricultural Revolution

39. Concepts to Know:
What are the two “Theories for Early Human Migration?”
•“Multiregional Thesis”
•“Out of Africa Theory”
Compare the hand structure between man and primates
Describe what life was like during the “Old Stone Age or P aleolithic Age” with reference to:
•Shelter
•Paleolithic art
•Fire
•Language
•Use of Tools
Describe the “Ice Age” and the migration of man using the “Land Bridge”
Describe what life was like during the “New Stone Age or N eolithic Age” with reference to:
•Domestication of animals
•Tool Making
•Shelters
•Burials
Describe the Agricultural Revolution?