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Chapter 2 : The Stone Age and Early Cultures. Chapter 2 Section 1. Prehistory – the time before there was writing Writing was invented about 5,000 years ago. To study prehistory we rely on the work of archaeologists and anthropologists. Hominid – early ancestor of humans
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Chapter 2 Section 1 • Prehistory – the time before there was writing • Writing was invented about 5,000 years ago. • To study prehistory we rely on the work of archaeologists and anthropologists. • Hominid – early ancestor of humans • 1959 – Mary Leakey found a human bone that dated back more than 1.5 million years ago. It was believed to be of a hominid.
Chapter 2 Section 1 • 1974 – Donald Johanson found “Lucy”. Lucy is believed to have lived more than 3 million years ago. • Johanson could tell that Lucy could walk on 2 legs. This was a key step in human development. • Discoveries of ancient bones give us information about early humans and their ancestors.
Chapter 2 Section 1 Early Humans • Homo habilisor “handy man” – closely related to modern humans, because they had a larger brain (about ½ the size of modern humans). • Homo erectus or “upright man” – used stone tools like the hand ax, and learned to control fire. • Homo sapiens or “wise man” – same as modern humans
Chapter 2 Section 1 Stone Age • The Stone Age was divided into 3 periods based on the kind of tools used at the time. • Tool – any handheld object that has been modified to help a person accomplish a task
Chapter 2 Section 1 • 1st part of the Stone Age was called the Paleolithic Era. • Lasted about 10,000 years. • They used stone tools, mainly to process food. They would make the edge of one side of the rock sharp or jagged. • They would later begin to make tools like a hand ax and a spear for hunting.
Chapter 2 Section 1 Hunting – Gatherer Societies • Society – community of people who share a common culture • Hunter – Gatherers – people who hunted animals and gather wild plants, seeds, fruits, and nuts to survive. • The men hunted and the women gathered. • The women also stayed near the camps to take care of the children.
Chapter 2 Section 1 • The most important development in the early Stone Age was language. • It made it easier to hunt in groups. • It also allowed people to form relationships. • It also allowed people to resolve issues, like how to distribute food.
Chapter 2 Section 1 • Cave paintings were created as a part of a hunting lesson. • Some showed animals near the caves. • These may have been used to teach children to identify what they are hunting. • Cave paintings were away to express themselves, teach hunting and teach religious beliefs.
Chapter 2 Section 1 Otzi the “Iceman” • Otzi was found in 1991 in the Otztal Alps in Italy. • He was over 5,000 years old.
Chapter 2 Section 2 Ice Age • It was a freezing time that ended about 10,000 years ago. • The Ice Age forced people to start moving. • Huge sheets of ice covered most of the earth’s land. • Because of the ice many believe that the ocean levels dropped and exposed land bridges.
Chapter 2 Section 2 • Land bridge – strip of land that connects 2 continents • Most scholars believe that this is how people began to spread all over the earth. • South America was the last place settled by early humans.
Chapter 2 Section 2 • Although fire helped keep people warm in very cold areas, people needed more for protection. • To keep warm, they learned to sew animal skins together to make clothing. • They also began making shelters. • Some made pit houses, which were pits in the ground covered by branches and leaves.
Chapter 2 Section 2 • In Central Asia were wood was a scarce, some early people made their homes out of mammoth bones.
Chapter 2 Section 2 • Mesolithic Era or Middle Stone Age – lasted about 5,000 years • People found new uses for bones and stone tools. • People who lived near water invented hooks and fishing spears. • Other groups invented the bow and arrow. • Tools became more complex.
Chapter 2 Section 3 • Neolithic Era or the New Stone Age – people learned to polish stones to make tools like saws and drills. • People also learn to make fire, before they could only use fire that was started by natural causes such as lightning. • The biggest change came in how people produced food.
Chapter 2 Section 3 • After a warming trend brought an end to the ice ages, new plants began to grow in some areas. • People soon learned that they could plant seeds themselves to grow their own crops. • Neolithic Revolution – shift from food gathering to food producing.
Chapter 2 Section 3 • Domestication – process of changing plants or animals to make them more useful to humans • This led to the development of agriculture or farming. • Learning how to use animals for their own purpose was important. • Farmers could keep sheep and goats for milk, food and wool.
Chapter 2 Section 3 • Farmers could use larger animals like cattle to carry loads or to pull large tools used in farming. • This improved peoples chances of survival. • People also began building permanent settlements.
Chapter 2 Section 3 • Some groups began to perform religious ceremonies. • Megaliths – huge stones used as monuments or as the sites for religious gatherings. • Early people probably believed in gods and goddesses associated with the four elements- air, water, fire, and earth- or animals. • One European group honored a thunder god.
