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Populating the World. Prehistory-2500 B.C. The People Who Study History. Prehistory= history before written records. How do we go about finding out what happened before written records? Archaeologists study artifacts. Anthropologists study culture.
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Populating the World Prehistory-2500 B.C.
The People Who Study History • Prehistory= history before written records. • How do we go about finding out what happened before written records? • Archaeologists study artifacts. • Anthropologists study culture. • Paleontologists study fossils and use science to date the bones and rocks. They usually have very small samples to work with.
Terms to Know • History= the study of past events • Geography=the study of physical features of the earth and the atmosphere • Economics=branch of knowledge concerned with production, consumption, and distribution of wealth • Political Science=branch of knowledge that deals with systems of government • Theology=the study of the nature of God and religious belief
Origins of Man • Most scientists agree that early man emerged from eastern and central Africa and spread to other parts of the world over millions of years. • Early man had to adapt to changing conditions and challenges. Earliest ancestors of man date to over 4 million years ago. • Neanderthals will move out of Africa 70,000 years ago. More modern looking humans appear 40-50,000 years ago. • Radiocarbon dating allows scientists to roughly date bones. This gives us a rough idea of how early man evolved.
Important Discoveries • Mary Leakey was an archaeologist who discovered prehistoric footprints that resembled a human footprint in 1978 in Tanzania (East Africa). This demonstrated that early man was walking upright millions of years ago. • Humans and creatures that walk upright are called Hominids. Hominids are split into five separate categories and are thought to have developed around 4 million years ago.
Donald Johanson and “Lucy” • Johanson was an anthropologist who discovered an adult female skeleton in 1974. • Site was 1,000 miles to the North of where Mary Leakey was working. Located in Ethiopia. • 3.5 million years old. • Nicknamed “Lucy” after the Beatles song. • Oldest Hominid found until “Ardi” in 2009 (4.4 million years old). • Walking helped earliest Hominids saved energy, made travel easier, and helped find and escape potential threats. • Opposable thumb was also developed by Hominids. Made it easier to pick up objects and make tools.
Stone Age • Old Stone Age called the Paleolithic Age-2.5 million to 8000 B.C. • Invention of tools, mastery of fire, and the development of language took place in this time. • New Stone Age called the Neolithic Age-8000 B.C. to 3000 B.C. • Polishing stone tools, making pottery, growing crops, and raising animals occurred here.
Cro-Magnons • Emerged around 40,000 years ago. • Neanderthals died out when the Cro-Magnons emerged. • Skeletons are identical to modern humans. • Planned their hunts and used strategy to better survive. • Spoke more advanced language. • Population thus grew faster.
Humans Try to Control Nature • Humans now have a more modern appearance and they begin to develop new technology and skills. • Men and women of the Old Stone Age were Nomads and subsequently, hunter-gatherers. • Used spears to kill game and tools to dig. • Art came about in the Paleolithic Age. Elaborate necklaces made form bones or teeth as well as cave paintings have been discovered.
Neolithic Revolution • This was an agricultural revolution that occurred 10,000 years ago. • Small groups of people had survived for thousands of years on edible plants and small fruits. • People used to be hunter-gatherers (food obtained from fruits, plants, and wild animals. • Crops were planted, probably by accident. • Change in climate provided longer growing seasons and drier land for cultivation. • Farming provided reliable source of food.
Revolution-Continued • Slash-and-burn farming. Cut trees or grass and burned them to clear a field. Ashes fertilized the soil. • Animals like horses, dogs, goats, and pigs became domesticated. They could be kept as a constant source of food. • This revolution occurred many times because many groups of people had to discover the same thing. Not much of a global community then at this time.
Revolution-Continued • Africa-Nile River Valley became important center for wheat, barley, and other crops. • China-Grain called millet was cultivated. Wild rice was later cultivated in the Chang Jiang River Delta. • Mexico and Central America-Corn, beans, and squash. • Peru-Tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and white potatoes.
CatalHuyuk • Agricultural village in central Turkey. • Shows how settled life may have been 8,000 years ago. • Farmed wheat, barley, and peas. Raised sheep and cattle. • Used dark, volcanic rock to make pottery, jewelry, and knives which could be traded. • Art and religious shrines were located here. • This was the beginning of more advanced civilizations.
Civilization-Economic Changes • Agriculture changed how people lived. They came together in larger, more organized communities. • Irrigation systems were built to produce more crops. • Because people had more food, they could pursue other interests like trading, crafting, or inventing things. • Wheel and sail allowed traders to transport more goods over longer distances.
Civilization-Social Changes • More cooperation and labor was required in a large civilization. • As special groups of workers came about, social classes emerged. They had different degrees of wealth, power, and influence. • Religion became more organized. Beliefs centered around nature, animal spirits, and some form of afterlife. Why would they care about nature?
Sumer/Sumeria • One of the first civilizations was in Sumer (4500 B.C.), a region in what is now Iraq. Sumer was located in Mesopotamia. • Civilization must have these characteristics: • Advanced cities • Specialized workers • Complex institutions • Record keeping • Advanced technology
Civilization-Continued • Cities were birthplaces of first civilizations. • City is a center of trade for a larger area. • Specialized workers came about because of a surplus of food and a growing population. • Artisans designed jewelry, weapons, pottery, and tools. • Complex institutions came about because a system of ruling or government became necessary. These helped maintain order. • People begin to see the need to keep records such as taxes, laws, calendars, etc. System of writing began. • Sumerian system of writing was called Cuneiform. Early versions contained pictographs, or symbols of the objects they represented.
Sumer • 3500 B.C. Sumer artisans discovered that by melting copper and tin you could make bronze. Helps to bring about the Bronze Age. • By 2500 B.C. bronze spearheads were being mass produced. • This period is called the Bronze Age because people were using bronze, instead of copper and stone, to make tools and weapons.
Ur • Ur was a city in Sumer. 30,000 people lived here. At its peak in 3,000 B.C. • Excavated between 1922-1934 • Bartering was used when goods and services were traded without money. • Ziggurat was most important building in Ur. It was a pyramid-shaped monument. Means “mountain of god.” Priests conducted rituals here and often sacrificed animals.
