Populating the Earth

1. Populating the Earth Social Studies Chapter 1 Section 3

2. Standards • H-SS 6.1.2 Identify the locations of human communities that populated the major regions of the world and describe how humans adapted to a variety of environments. • E-LA Reading 6.2.1 Identify the structural features of popular media (e.g. newspapers, magazines, online information) and use the features to obtain information.

3. Anticipatory Set

4. Objective • To learn how humans populated the major regions of the world. • To learn how people adapted to new environments and to climate change.

5. Input • Key Terms of this Chapter • Populate • Migration • Environment • Adapt

6. Input • Over thousands of years humans spread out to populate, or become inhabitants of every region of the world. • Most scientists agree Homo sapiens walked the Earth for only about 100,000 years. • They do not agree with where modern humans came from or how the spread around the world. • Scientists continue to study both fossils and genetic information, or the qualities one generation passes from one to the next.

7. Input • The scientists that believe Homo sapiens originated in Africa argue that from there they began a long migration to other regions of the world. • Migration • The movement of people from their homeland to other places. • Other scientists disagree. They believed that large-brained groups of humans originated from all over the world. • They believe that these different groups mixed together and eventually became one group, the Homo sapiens.

8. Input • Wherever they originated from, about 30,000 years ago the modern humans were in • Africa • Asia • Europe • Australia • 12,500 years ago they reached North and South America.

9. Input • Adapting to Varied Environments • As modern humans migrated, they settled in various environments, or surroundings. • Each environment had its own climate, plants, and animals. • With each move, the people had to adapt, or change their way of life. • They had to figure out what plants they could eat, how to hunt different animals, and how to find new materials for tools and shelters.

10. Input • A Changing Climate • People had to also adapt to the changes in the Earth’s climate. • Over the past two million years there were four long ice ages. The last one was 70,000 years ago before the modern humans appeared. • During this age thick sheets of ice called glaciers spread across the Earth. • Glaciers covered the northern parts of Europe, Asia, and North America. Parts of the Southern Hemisphere were also under ice.

11. Input • Since the Earth’s water was in the form of glaciers, rainfall decreased. • Areas that once had water became deserts. • Sea levels dropped exposing “land bridges” • These changes allowed animals to migrate to find food. • Since people depended on those animals for food, they had to follow them.

12. Input • Staying Warm • Ice Age hunter-gatherers adapted to climate in many ways. • As winters became longer they learned to use whatever materials they could find to build warm shelters. • Eastern Europe • Built huts out of mammoth bones (mammoths were huge furry elephants) • The huts were covered with animal skins to keep out wind and snow.

13. Input • People also used bone needles to sew snug clothing from animal skins and furs. • They also kept fires burning in their hearths day and night. • Forming Larger Communities • Some groups adapted by forming large communities. • Hunters could work together to kill animals such as mammoths. • They could better defend their communities from attack.

14. Input • Developing Complex Cultures • Over the years communities became more complex (having many parts to connect with each other). • Europe • Produced early examples of arts. • Painted walls and ceiling of caves in present-day Spain and France • Meanings of these painting are not known, they might have painted things such as animals to give them power over that animal while hunting.

15. Input • Carved small statues of animals and pregnant women. • May have been created to bring luck to hunters or women about to give birth. • Burials also became more complex • A grave found in present-day Russia had bodies of two children, a boy (13 years old), and a girl (8 years old). • Both children were covered with thousands of ivory beads. • The boy wore a ivory pendant looking like a mammoth on his chest. • The girl wore a bead cap and ivory pin around her throat.

16. Input • Overall these discoveries suggest: • Modern humans may have been trying to explain mysteries such as birth and death. • They may have developed ideas about powerful beings that humans could not see. • Their beliefs would represent the beginnings of religion.

17. Check for Understanding • 1. In which regions did modern humans appear? • A. Europe • B. Asia • C. North America • D. All of the continents. • Answer • D

18. Check for Understanding • 2. Populate means to • A. Spread • B. Come together • C. Become inhabitants • D. Number of people • Answer • C

19. Check for Understanding • 3. How did the people adapt to the changing conditions of the last Ice Age? • A. Hunt for mammoth. • B. Use mammoth for food, clothing, and shelter. • C. Form large groups for hunt, trade, and defense. • D. All of the above. • Answer • D

20. Check for Understanding • 4. What is one way in which the culture of the Ice Age people grew more complex? • A. The painted the walls and ceilings of caves. • B. They began to hunt. • C. They became friends with the mammoths. • D. None of the above. • Answer • A

21. Guided Practice & Independent Practice • Check Your Progress pg. 23 • #1 both a) and b) • Complete sentences. • When done place pencil in the air • If Ms. Graham gives you a stamp, move onto Independent Practice. • Independent Practice • #3 and #4 • Complete Sentences. • Placed finished work on the top tray in the back of the room.