Chapter One

1. Chapter One The March to Civilization p. 22-51

2. What is History?

3. “When does human history begin?” • Did it begin when the first cities were built over 5000 years go? • Did it begin when the first hunter-gatherer societies that did not leave written records? • Does it begin with the arrival of the first fully human beings about 50 000 years ago? • Human beings populated the earth between 50 000 BCE and 10 000 BCE

4. In Search of Our Ancestors • The earliest hominid biped ancestor (primate walking upright on two feet) lived about 4 million years ago • Homo erectus replaced Australopithecus about 1.7 million years ago • By 1.2 million years ago, all hominids except Homo erectus had become extinct

5. Homo erectus • Continued to evolve into modern human by developing a larger brain and rounder skull • Still had thicker skull and brow ridges • By 400,000 years ago, the changes were significant enough to reclassified from Homo erectus to Homo sapiens (“wise man”)

6. Homo sapiens 100 000 years ago • Humans had settled into three distinct populations • In Europe and Near East = Neanderthals (Homo sapiens neanderthalensis) • Africa = modern humans (Homo sapiens sapiens) • Invasion of Homo sapiens sapiens led to the assimilation, if not extinction, of the Neanderthals • Homo sapiens sapiens inhabited all parts of the world, including Australia (40 000 years ago), the Americas (12 000 years ago), the Arctic (10 000 years ago), and the Pacific Islands (2 000 years ago) • Another group in Asia, but not enough fossils to get a clear definition

7. The Neanderthals • Lived in between 100 000 and 40 000 years ago during the last great ice age • Were named after the Neander Valley in Germany where the first skeleton was found in 1856

8. Neanderthal appearance • Heavy-set people • Average height of 160 cm • Weight of 73 kg • Arms and legs stubby as forearms and lower legs are shorter than ours • Heavily muscled, especially in neck and shoulders • Eyebrows were on prominently bulging, bony ridges • Nose, jaws, and teeth protruded forward • Lower jaw sloped back so there was almost no chin • Eyes were sunken in deep sockets • Large and powerful hands

9. The Stones and Bones of Mary Leakey • Mary Leakey was a world renowned archaeologist, paleoanthropologist, author, and artist • Set the standard for the excavation and documentation of Paleolithic finds • Began working on archaeological digs at the age of 17 – for Dorothy Liddell • Met Louis Leakey, archaeologist, and married him in 1936

10. Mary Leakey continued • Until 1959, Mary and Louis worked in Kenya and Tanzania • Discovered that Africa was the site of human evolution (not Asia as assumed) • 1948 – located the first fossil ape ever found • Between 16-20 million years old • Not the missing link between humans and apes, though

11. Mary Leakey continued • 1959 – discovered the skull of a 1.75 million-year-old hominid in Olduvai Gorge • First of its species • Oldest hominid ever found • 1978 – found hominid foot prints hardened in volcanic ash about 3.6 million years ago • Absence of tools led her to postulate that bipedalism (two-footedness) came before the use of tools • Believed that archaeologists should spend more time looking for concrete evidence and less time making hypotheses

12. Neanderthal Society? • Not certain if there was any formal social relationship • Life was lived on a day-to-day survival basis • Small groups thinly spread over the earth • Hunting and scavenging in small groups • No permanent relationships between men and women, and no real family units

13. Neanderthal life • No formal leadership, no rules or laws • Primitive religion with few rituals • Very short lives with little organization • Wore wraps to keep warm, and probably no jewelry • Society – a system of human organizations that generations distinctive cultural patterns and usually provides protection, security, and continuity for its members • Did Neanderthals have a society?

14. Big Game Hunters? • Hunted big-game such as woolly mammoth and woolly rhinoceros • Scavenged for food – often taking bits left over from big predators • Were opportunistic hunters and scavengers • Women and children stayed close to home preparing food gathered from plants as well as food from the hunts • The gathering of food by women and children was critical to survival

15. Neanderthal religion • The discovery of burial sites has led scientists to believe that Neanderthals had some sort of primitive spiritual beliefs • Absence of grave goods makes it seem that there were no rituals associated with death

16. Neanderthal life • Most lives short and brutal • Infant mortality high • Life expectancy around 40 years of age (80%) • Used physical strength to do tasks, rather than develop ways to make their lives easier • Homes were simple • Food source was not stable

17. What happened to the Neanderthals? • Homo sapiens sapiens had better weapons and tools and probably wiped out the Neanderthals • After 60 000 years, became extinct because of disease, displacement, and killing by Homo sapiens sapiens – within 2 000 years • No fossil evidence of inter breeding • Neanderthals had a 12-month pregnancy

18. The Great Leap Forward: Complex Societies • Occurred 35 000 years ago • Two fundamental changes: • Development of modern anatomy • Beginning of innovative behaviour

19. Advancements made • Tools made of thin stone blades • Spears • Needles and awls for making clothing • Mortars and pestles for preparing food • Axes for cutting wood • Water craft

20. Weapons developed • Barbed harpoons • Darts • Spear throwers • Bows and arrows • Allowed the hunting of large animals like: • Wild pigs • Reindeers • Horses • bison

21. Development of trade and aesthetic appreciation • Long distance trade was not only for raw materials, but also for ornaments • Personal ornaments appeared • Sculpture and painting appears • Evidence of the appreciation of beauty

22. Daily Life in the Upper Paleolithic Age • Paleo - old • Lithos - stone • “Old Stone Age” • During this time, human societies would develop: • Social hierarchies • Alliances • Marriage customs • Religious rituals • Sense of artistic beauty

23. Roles in Paleolithic Society

24. Upper Paleolithic Period • 50 000 to 10 000 years ago • Lived in small groups about 5-10 families • Nomadic or semi-nomadic • Hunter/gatherers • Depended on one another to survive

25. Cro-Magnons (Europe) • Had relationships with other bands over hundreds of kilometres • Would usually meet in the summer or early fall • Would arrange marriages, trade goods, and have initiation rituals • Marriages were necessary to avoid inter-marriage of bands • Trade items would include sharks teeth, shells, amber, raw materials, weapons, clothing • Would spend winter in protected valleys where they had stored food and had some protection against the cold

26. Paleolithic society • Leadership evolved • Social hierarchy evident in variations in Paleolithic graves • Personal adornment is determined by status • Hierarchy based on gender, age, and experience (old men had more control) • Also wisdom and knowledge

27. Role of Women and Men in Paleolithic Societies • Better hunting strategies because of cooperation, improved speech, and better weapons • Did not need to scavenge any more • Planned ahead for the winter and stored food • Better weapons and better tools for skinning and preparing food, scraping skins, and making clothing that fit

28. Paleolithic Men hunted • In Europe: • Mammoths • Aurochs • Bison • Reindeer • Wild cattle • Horses • Red deer • In South America: • Llama • Giant sloth • Rhea • In Australia: • Emu • Wallabies • Kangaroos • Large marsupials

29. Paleolithic Hunting • Men drove the animals into a natural enclosure • Drove the animals over a cliff, or into marshes or tar pits • Development of bow and arrow about 20 000 BCE allowed hunters freedom to stalk animals

30. Paleolithic Women • Food gathered by women and children accounted for 60-70% of the food eaten • Had far more success gathering food than hunting for food • Bulk of diet was vegetables • Gathered: • Roots • Potatoes • Fruits • Sweet berries • Honey • Shellfish

31. Roles of Women • Made clothing • Raised children • Older women would advise younger women and pass on stories and wisdom • Also hunted small game such as reptiles, birds, and insects • Accompanied men on big hunting trips and helped by driving animals from the bushes or paddling the canoes

32. Art, Ideas, and Beliefs in the Paleolithic Age • Tools were made to be both beautiful and useful • Jewelry was made out of a variety of materials • Fertility statues were made

33. Cave Paintings • Cave paintings were created • Most famous in the Lascaux Caves in France • Date back to 15 000 BCE • Often used irregularities in the cave walls to add a 3D effect • Shows beauty and strength of the animals, as well as movement and depth

34. Religion • Paintings show that certain animals were held as sacred • Beginnings of religious beliefs • The Chapel of the Lioness in France may have been a ritual meeting place for Paleolithic hunters • A cave lion engraved on a stalagmite shows signs of being repeatedly struck, as if to kill it symbolically

35. The Neolithic Revolution • Neo - new • New Stone Age – 9 000 BCE • Ground and polished stone tools primarily used • People began to farm • Planted crops and domesticated animals

36. Why/How the Move to Farming? • By the end of the last ice age, people had learned a lot about plants and animals • By observing animals at watering holes or tending for sick animals, people decided to corral some of them • Women may have decided to try to grow some of the wild grains they gathered • People learned they could control the food supply

37. End of the Ice Age • End of the ice age lead a warmer and wetter climate • Abundance of wild grasses • Population increased • Led to competition for land • Hunter/gatherers used 16 km2 but 100 farmers could use the same amount of land

38. Animals Domesticated • Cattle • Sheep • Pigs • Goats • Cattle provided • Meat • Leather • Milk (butter/cheese) • The entire body was used for food

39. Grains Raised • Weeds also harvested and thrown into the soup • Barley was used to make beer • Mead was made from fermented honey and water, flavoured with wild fruit and herbs

40. Agricultural Inventions • The sickle allowed a family to harvest wheat efficiently • Axes helped clear land quicker • The hoe allowed tilling of the soil • Copper used for • Sharper knives • Drinking vessels • Spits • Buckets • Cauldrons

41. Changes in Society • People built permanent towns and cities • Some left agriculture to specialize in various crafts • Society became more hierarchical as people began to have a choice in occupations • As people didn’t need to worry about where their next meal would come from, there was further development of: • Art • Music • Sports • Leisure activities

42. Further Changes to Society • Established more complex religions • Society could now afford a priestly class that made no real material contribution to society • Building of permanent cities and complex religion led to the building of elaborate religious sites and tombs

43. The Urban Revolution • Characterized by large, densely populated settlements that were socially and economically diverse • Specialization in occupations • Ruler • Trader • Metal smith • Scribe • Farmer • Fisher • Herder • Priest

44. Characteristics of a Civilization • Centralized government • Agricultural intensification • Specialization in occupations • Class structure • Merchants and trade • Development of science and writing • State religion

45. Centralized Government • Before centralized government, individuals took it into their own hands to correct a wrong that a family member or clan member had suffered • Warfare was on a small scale – mostly raids

46. Early Governments • Power became concentrated in a small group of people that was recognized as having the right to rule over others • Initially, a citizens’ assembly was guided by a group of elders • Decisions were made on a consensus basis • Majority rule not known • When the society was in crisis, there was usually a dictator • Different types of leadership developed, including • monarchies • Kingships • democracies • Government took on the role of adjudicator of disputes and rectifiers of wrongs • Warfare was an organized response of the sate to external threat • Internal conflicts between citizens were settled by the government

47. Agricultural Intensification • Early governments were involved in such agricultural decisions as: • Planning and coordination of irrigation projects • Building of dikes to reclaim land • Development of a calendar to plan planting and harvesting of crops • All this lead to increased food production • Lead to an increase in leisure time

48. Specialization in Occupations • With a stable, abundant food supply, society was able to support people who did not farm • Specialists were needed for the centralized government, including: • Tax collectors • Record keepers • Judges

49. New Occupations Developed • Weavers • Carpenters • Coppersmiths • Goldsmiths • Tanners • Bakers • Brewers • Teachers • Also people to spend time pursuing the arts • Poets • Artists • musicians

50. Class Structure • With the evolution of centralized government, individuals lost equal access to land • The concept of private ownership of land developed • Led to the desire to own more land • Hire more workers to work on the land • Eventually, slavery was developed to carry out manual labour • Private land ownership led to an uneven distribution of wealth • In early civilizations, there was the no real middle class • The wealthy nobility began to monopolize government positions