History Alive!

1. History Alive! The Ancient World Chapter 2 Early Hominids

2. Terms to Know • Hominids: Prehistoric humans. • Capabilities: Skills someone has. • Anthropologist: A scientist who studies human development and culture. • Remains: Dead bodies. • Biped: A two-footed animal. • Migrate: To move from one geographic region to another. • Land Bridge: A piece of land connecting two continents.

3. Introduction • Scientists call prehistoric humans early hominids. There are five major groups of early hominids: • Australopithecus afarensis – 4 million years BCE to 3 million years BCE. • Homo habilis – 2 million years to 1.5 million years BCE • Homo erectus – 2 million years BCE to 1 million years BCE • Homo sapiens neantherdalensis – 1 million years BCE • Homo sapiens sapiens (modern humans) • The earliest hominid was found by an American paleoanthropologist named Donald Johanson in 1974. He nicknamed her “Lucy” while listening to “Lucy in the sky with Diamonds” by the Beatles.

4. Section 2.2 AustalopithecusAfarensis: Lucy and her Relatives

5. Australopithecus afarensis The earliest hominids were found in Africa in the Afar Triangle region. The word Australopithecus means “southern ape” referring to the continent where the first hominid, Lucy, was found. The word Afarensis means “Afar Triangle” which is the specific area where Donald Johanson found Lucy.

6. lucy • Scientists learned a lot about early hominids studying Lucy. By assembling her bones they have a better idea of what she might have looked like. • Lucy was short compared to humans today – only about 3 feet tall. • She was a mixture of human and ape like features. • Her arms were long but her hands and feet were smaller than today’s humans. • Her head was large and her jaw and forehead stuck out from her face.

7. Activity time • Think of a simple problem or challenge you face every day. For example: getting out of bed in the morning for school. • Then think of a tool or machine that might make this problem easier to solve. For example: a robot that automatically lifts you our of bed and carries you into the bathroom might help solve your problem. • On a blank piece of paper, draw a picture of your tool. Under the picture create a name for your tool and write two sentences explaining how this invention will make your life better.

8. Section 2.3 Lucy and her relatives:walking on two feet

9. Walking upright • By studying Lucy’s skeleton, scientists have learned that she was a biped, meaning she walked on two feet. • Being a biped is one way that Lucy and her relatives resemble modern day humans. • Walking on two feet gave early hominids an advantage compared to other animals such as gorillas and chimpanzees. • They could gather and carry food more easily. • They could carry their children in their arms • They could use their hands to defend themselves.

10. Walking upright • Being a biped is how early hominids are like humans today. However, there are many things that are different about Lucy and her relatives than humans today. • Lucy’s brain was only about 1/3 the size of ours. • Scientists have found no tools from Lucy’s time period. • Scientists do not think Lucy or her relatives could talk.

11. Austalopithecusafarensishominid group one

12. Sections 2.4 and 2.5 Homo habilis:the handy man

13. Homo habilis • The second group of early hominids was discovered by Louis and Mary Leakey. They were looking for early hominid bones like the ones discovered by Donald Johanson. • While searching they came across bones scattered among tools. They called these bones Homo habilis, meaning “Handy Man”, because of this hominid’s ability to make tools.

14. The handy man • Homo habilis was like Lucy in that they had human and ape like features. They also walked on two feet. • While Homo habilis was like Lucy in several ways, they were also different. They were taller than Lucy and had more human like features and larger brains.

15. Homo habilisgroup two Scientists have only found homo habilis bones in Africa. They have also found bones from more than one hominid together. This leads scientists to believe homo habilis traveled in groups. • This might help them survive better by working together to protect themselves and collect food over larger areas.

16. The toolmaker • Most of the tools made by these hominids were very simple. • They used rocks as chipping tools. • They used sharp pieces of stone for cutting • They used animal bones as digging sticks. • They used stones to skin animals.

17. Homo habilis tools • The tools found with the Homo habilis hominid were a very important clue into the lives of the second group of early hominids. Making tools showed that Homo habilis was more advanced than Lucy and her relatives. • The ability to make tools helped these hominids live a better life. Cutting tools helped cut meat to eat from dead animals, crushing tools helped crush animal bones to get to the marrow inside and some tools could have been used to dig traps to trap animals for food.

18. Sections 2.6 and 2.7 Homo erectusupright man

19. Homo erectus • The third type of hominids discovered were called homo erectus, meaning “Upright Man.” Discovered by a Dutchman named Eugene Dubios on the island of java in south Asia, Homo erectus was the first hominid to stand straight up. • Eugene Dubois and his team found these bones in 1891, before Lucy and the Handy Man were even discovered.

20. Upright man • Homo habilis, or Upright Man, has been around longer than any other early hominid group, from about 1.8 million to 200,000 BCE. • Scientists believe these hominids were the first to travel out of Africa. • Their remains have been found in both Asia and Europe. Scientists believe that the body structure of Homo erectus helped them to migrate out of Africa. They were taller and thinner, some even reaching the height of modern day humans, and their bones were very strong. This made them good walkers and runners.

21. Upright man • Homo erectus were different than earlier hominids in several ways. Their foreheads were rounder and smoother than earlier hominids. • They were similar in several ways too with a large ridge above their eyes, a thick skull and a jaw that stuck out.

22. Traveling with fire • Like Homo habilis, Homo erectus hominids made tools, however their tools were more complex because their brains were larger. This allowed them to imagine and develop a more complex tool. • Homo erectus also had the ability to use fire. Scientists found burned animal bones near homo erectus bones. They have concluded that Upright Man probably cooked the meat they ate.

23. Upright man’s way of life • Scientists that study Upright Man have pieced together there way of life from bones and tools that have been found. From studying them scientists can caonlude: • They feasted on red deer, elephant, rhinoceros, goat, boar and oysters, using fire to cook meat. • They built oval huts by covering posts with tree branches and kept a fire in the center. • They used animal skins for sitting and sleeping. • They decorated their bodies with yellow mud called ocher. • They migrated from place to place, creating shelters from tools instead of always using caves, allowing them to survive in colder climates.

24. Upright man’s way of life • Scientists believe that Upright man moved around using tools and fire to help them live. They are unsure whether or not they hunted for their food or they ate animals they found dead. They did eat more meat than earlier hominids as evident by the tools they used and teeth studied by scientists. But scientists do know a little about how Upright man lived: • They feasted on red deer, elephant, rhinoceros, goat, boar and oysters. • They built oval huts by covering posts with tree branches and kept a fire in the center. • They used animal skins for sitting and sleeping • They decorated their bodies with yellow mud called ocher.

25. Sections 2.8 and 2.9 Homo spaiensneanderthalensis:neanderthals

26. neanderthalensis • In 1856 mine workers in Germany’s Neander Valley found skeleton bones that had both ape like and human like features. • Scientists consider this to be a specific type of Homo sapien, which means “Wise Man.” They call them Homo sapiens neanderthalensis, meaning “Neanderthal Man.” • Neanderthals lived after Upright Man from about 230,000 to 30,000 years ago. They have been found in Africa, the near East, Europe and parts of Asia. • Neanderthals walked upright, were shorter and heavier than modern humans and much stronger.

27. neanderthals • One of the most important discoveries about Neanderthals is that they had large brains. This resulted in better skills in toolmaking. More than 60 different types of Neanderthal tools have been found, most of which required skills including planning and knowledge of how to use them. • Neanderthals created knives, scrapers, and spear points. • They learned how to make sharp, thin blades by slicing off the top of a rock and then creating sharp, thin pieces from the original piece.

28. A Sense of community Scientists believe that Neanderthals had a sense of community. Members were buried when they dies with their hunting tools and flowers. This showed they cared about each other and used rituals in every day life.

29. A sense of community • When Neanderthals hunted they did so in a group. They surrounded an animal and trapped it, then shared the meat. If a member was injured the others would care for him. Scientists have seen Neanderthal bones that were broken and healed suggesting they cared for their injured members.

30. Neanderthals • Scientists are unsure how Neanderthals are like modern humans. They lives side by side with early humans for almost 10,000 years and then they suddenly disappeared. Non one knows why.

31. Sections 2.10 and 2.11 Homo spaiens sapiens:early modern humans

32. Homo sapiens sapiens • In 1879, Maria, an 8 year old Spanish girl, and her father were exploring caves when they found a cave filled with cave paintings later found to be made by Homo sapiens sapiens. These were the first cave paintings ever found. • Homo sapiens sapiens, meaning “Doubly Wise Man,” are considered the earliest of the modern humans. They lived from about 35,000 to 12,000 BCE and originated from Africa. They have been found in Europe, Asia and Australia, as well as North and South America, probably using land bridges to migrate from one continent to another.

33. Early modern humans • Early modern humans looked more like us then any other early hominid. • They had high, rounded skulls. • They had large brains and small teeth. • They had slender bones. • They did not adapt as well to the cold, but survived better because of their ability to make more complex tools, better shelter and clothing.

34. Tool making and hunting • Homo sapiens sapiens were better tool makers then other hominids. They attached thin blades to bones, antlers and stones to create better hunting tools. They made tools used for engraving and sculpting. They built shelters using Earth and stone. • They were also better hunters than earlier hominids. They made hooks and spears to catch fish to eat, and eventually invented the spear thrower and the bow and arrow. This allowed them to hunt from a farther distance, keeping them safe.

35. the first artists Early modern humans painted on caves leaving scientists with a record of their lives in artwork. They used clay, bone, flint and ivory to create sculptures. They even created some musical instruments. Their cave paintings were of animals they hunted, mythical creatures and patterns of shapes and handprints. Scientists believe early modern humans were painting in caves to express themselves, to teach their children and for religious purposes. They cared about the world they lived in and the people in their communities. They had the ability to imagine, dream and communicate through their cave pictures, ultimately creating the first known “human language.”

36. Activity time! • On a blank piece of paper, create and draw a super hero for one of the hominids you learned about, concentrating on the hominids capabilities. • Make sure your creation includes the following: • The name of your hominid • A drawing of your hominid • Information on when and where your hominid lived • A list of your hominid’s important abilities • Anything else creative that makes your drawing amazing!

37. Chapter summary

38. Chapter 2 summary • In this chapter you learned about the five hominid groups scientists consider the major hominids. You learned how they are alike and how they are different. • You learned how each hominid developed and became more advanced, from creating better tools to walking upright to using fire. • We learned how early hominids developed into the early modern human and the characteristics we share with them.

39. Chapter 3 • Early hominids changed throughout the course of time. They developed and advanced in their skills and lifestyles. • Early hominids gathered and hunted their food. In chapter three we will see what happens when humans discover they can grow their own food.