Early Humans

Early Humans Sixth Grade Gifted Ed

Overview • Paleolithic people adapted to their environment and invented many tools to help them. • Neolithic people started farming, building communities, producing goods, and trading. • Information for this PowerPoint was taken from World Journey Across Time The Early Ages written by Jackson J. Spielvogel in conjunction with National Geographic. The book was published by McGraw Hill.

Tools of Discovery…or…How Do We Know What We Know?! • Some important definitions • Historians-people who study and write about the human past • Archaeologists-people that hunt for evidence buried in the ground where settlements might once have been • Artifacts-weapons, tools, and other things made by humans that are dug up by archaeologists • Fossils-traces of plants or animals that have been preserved in rock

Definitions (Continued) • Anthropologists-people who focus on human society and study how humans developed and how they related to one another. • Stone Age-Early period of human history. The name comes from the fact that people during this time used stone to make tools and weapons.

Paleolithic • Paleolithic means “old stone” in the Greek language • Paleolithic times began roughly 2.5 million years ago and lasted until around 8000 B.C.

Paleolithic People • Early humans spent most of their time searching for food. • They hunted animals, caught fish, ate insects, and gathered nuts, berries, fruits, grains, and plants. • Because Paleolithic people hunted and gathered they were called nomads because they were always on the move. • Nomads moved from place to place and traveled in bands of 30 or so members because it was safer and made it easier to search for food.

Tasks of Nomadic People • Woman • Stayed close to the campsite which was normally near a stream or other water source • Looked after the children • Searched nearby woods and meadows for berries, nuts, and grains • Men • Hunted animals • They learned the habits of the animals • Made tools for the kill • The used clubs or drove the animals off cliffs • Over time they invented spears, traps and bows & arrows.

Paleolithic People & Climate • Warm Climate-needed little clothing or shelter • Cold Climates-sought protection from the weather in caves. • Eventually, Paleolithic people made shelters from animal hides held up by wooden poles. • It was life-changing when they learned to tame fire. • Fire • Gave warmth • Scared away wild animals • Cooked food

Ice Age • The Ice Ages were periods of extreme cold. • The last Ice Age began about 100,000 B.C. From then until about 8,000 B.C., thick sheets of ice covered parts of Europe, Asia, and North America. • Ice Ages were a threat to human life. • People had to adapt by • Changing their diet • Building sturdier shelters • Using animal furs to make warm clothing • Mastery of fire helped them to survive

Paleolithic Language, Art, and Religion • Development of spoken language • Art • Crushed yellow, black, and red rocks to make powders for paint • Dabbed this on cave walls creating scenes of lions, oxen, panthers, and other animals • Not sure why cave paintings existed but it could have been that early people thought that painting an animal would bring good luck in the hunt

Paleolithic Technology • Paleolithic people were the first to use tools to help humans perform tasks • They used a hard stone called flint to make tools. They would hit it to make sharp edges to make axes or hunting spears. • They eventually made fishhooks and needles made from animal bones. • The Paleolithic people used the needles to make nets and baskets and they used them to sew hides together for clothing.

Neolithic Times • In the Neolithic Age, people started farming, building communities, producing goods, and trading. • After the last Ice Age ended, people changed their way of life. • They began to domesticate, or tame, animals and plants for human use. • Animals provided • Meat • Milk • Wood • Carried goods • Pulled carts • Plants • People learned to grow food • Growing plants allowed people to stay in one place.

The Neolithic Farming Revolution • The farming revolution changed human history • Farming did not begin in one region. People in different parts of the world discovered how to grow crops about the same time. • People no longer had to live nomadic life styles to find food.

Neolithic Villages • Villages started in Europe, India, Egypt, China, and Mexico. • Earliest known communities have been found in the Middle East. • Jericho-it is in the West Bank between what are now Israel and Jordan. This city dates back to about 8,000 B.C. • CatalHüyük-it is in present-day Turkey • It was home to around 6,000 people • They lived in simple mud-brick houses that were packed tightly together and decorated inside with wall paintings • Raised sheep, goats, and ate fish and bird eggs

Benefits of a Settled Life • Brought greater security • Steady food supplies brought about a healthier population • A healthier population created more workers to product a bigger crop. • Used the bigger crop to trade • Specialization-development of one kind of job. • Pottery • Wove mats and cloth • Toolmakers • Metal workers • Mixed copper and tin to form bronze • This period of time became known as the Bronze Age.

Comparing the Neolithic & Paleolithic Ages

Let’s See What you learned! • Paleolithic people adapted to their environment and invented many tools to help them _______________. • Find food when they were hungry • Survive • Hibernate • Estivate

Incorrect • Sorry, your answer is incorrect! • Try again please!

Correct! • Woot! Yipppeee! Good For You! • Move on to the next question please!

Let’s See What you learned! • Archaeologist work to uncover clues about early human life. They dig up and study: • Artifacts • Maps • Fossils • A & B • A & C • B & C

Incorrect! • Sorry your answer is incorrect. • Try again please!

Let’s See What you learned! • What makes an anthropologist different from an archaeologist? • Anthropologists only study human bones to understand the physical appearance of early humans • Archaeologist are paid more than anthropologists • There are no significant differences • Anthropologists focus on human society and how humans developed and relate to each other

Let’s See What you learned! • What does the Greek work Paleolithic mean? • Old Stone • Cave Painting • Nomad • Ice Age

Let’s See What you learned! • People who regularly moved from place to place were called ______________. • Travelers • Bards • Paleontologists • Nomads

Let’s See What you learned! • What was the major factor that impacted how Paleolithic people adapted to their environment? • The types of animals that lived in the area • The climate of the region • The type of shelter the Paleolithic people could find • The plant life that was available in the area

Let’s See What you learned! • Early humans adapted to the Ice Age by: • Changing their diet and building sturdier shelters • Living in caves and using animals for warmth • Building houses out of the ice that are known as modern day igloos • Most early humans did not adapt to the Ice Age

Let’s See What you learned! • Early people expressed themselves through art. What did they use to make paint? • Plants • Blood • Mastodon Poo • Rocks

Let’s See What you learned! • What was considered Paleolithic technology? • Fire • Cave Paintings • Tools • Clothing

Let’s See What you learned! • As the Ice Age ended Neolithic people started: • Growing cotton to make their clothes • Growing plants and no longer hunted so they could end their nomadic life style • Spent the majority of their time making tools • Farming, building communities, producing goods, and trading

Let’s See What you learned! • What revolutionized the way Neolithic man functioned? • Trapping Small Animals • Facial Hair • Marriage • Farming

Let’s See What you learned! • Specialization is • Only knowing how to do one job • Not effective for Neolithic people • Developing different kinds of jobs • What Neolithic people called their medical people

Early Humans

Early Humans

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