Early Humans

1. Early Humans Chapter 1 Section 1

2. Early Humans: Key Terms • History is the story of humans in the past, and historians are the people who study and write about humans of the past. • Anthropologists study how humans developed and related to each other. • Archaeologists hunt for evidence buried in the ground. • They study artifacts: weapons, tools, and other things made by humans. • They look for fossils: traces of plants or animals that are preserved in rock. • The prehistoric period of human history is called theStone Age. • The earliest part of the Stone Age is called the Paleolithic period. • Paleolithic people were nomads, traveling from place toplace to hunt and search for food.

3. Early Humans: Famous People • Louis, Mary, and Richard Leakey are the most famous archaeologists. • They found many fossils of hominids, which are creatures that walk on two legs. • Mary discovered the skull of a hominid that was nearly 2 million years old. • Donald Johanson was an anthropologist who discovered a female hominid that was nearly 3 million years old. • Lucy! • This told us that humans began walking on 2 legs before they used tools.

4. Early Humans: Notes • Paleolithic women: cared for children and gathered berries, nuts, and grains. • Paleolithic men: hunted animals using clubs, spears, traps, and bows and arrows. • Paleolithic people adapted to their environment. • Those in warm climates wore little clothing and had little need for shelter. • Those in cold climates used caves for shelter. • Over time, they learned to create shelters from animal hides and woodenpoles. • Paleolithic people discovered fire, which kept them warm, lit the darkness, and cooked. • Long periods of extreme cold are called the Ice Ages. • Thick sheets of ice covered Europe, Asia, and North America. • Paleolithic people developed spoken language and expressed themselves through art, which may have had religious meaning. • During this time, humans first used technology. • They created tools such as spears and hand axes using stone called flint.

5. Discussion Question • How did spoken language help the Paleolithic people? • Language made it easier for people to work together and pass on knowledge.

6. Agricultural Revolution • In the Mesolithic Age, people began to domesticate, or tame, animals. • Domesticated animals carried goods and provided meat, milk, and wool. • People in different parts of the world began growing crops about the same time. • Farmers need to stay close to their fields, so they built permanent homes in villages. • This marked the beginning of the Neolithic Age. • Historians call the changes made in the Neolithic Age the agricultural revolution. • A revolution refers to changes that greatly affect other areas of life.

7. Agricultural Revolution • Permanent villages provided people with security and steady food. • Surplus food led to a larger population. • Villages also made it easier for diseases to spread among people. • One of the oldest villages is Jericho. • Located between present-day Israel and Jordan. • Another Neolithic village is Catal Huyuk. • Located in present-day Turkey. • Not all people in a village were farmers. • Some made pottery, mats, and cloth. • They traded these goods for things they did not have. • The food surplus allowed people to practice these specializations: different kinds of jobs. • People continued to create new technology. • They created better farming tools and began working with metal, copper, and tin. • They also began working with bronze.

8. Discussion Question • Why was farming important to the Neolithic people? • Farming allowed people to settle in one place, and it provided a steady food supply. • They were no longer hunter-gatherers or nomads.

9. Did You Know? • Scientists believe early humans made tools from other materials besides stone. • They probably used wooden sticks to dig holes and used bark from trees to make containers. • Unlike stone, these organic materials decay, so remnants from the early humans are unavailable. • Therefore, this is based on assumption and theory.