Early Humans

Before History

• Historians rely mostly on documents, or written records, to create their pictures of the past.

• In fact, prehistory means the period before writing was developed.

• Archaeology is the study of past societies through an analysis of what people have left behind.

  • Archaeologists dig up and examine artifacts—tools, pottery, paintings, weapons, buildings, and household items — of early peoples.

• Anthropology is the study of human life and culture.

  • Anthropologists use artifacts and the remains of humans — human fossils—to determine how people lived their lives.

  • By analyzing bones, skins, and plant seeds, they are able to piece together the diet and activities of early people.

• One of the most important and difficult jobs of both archaeologists and anthropologists is dating their finds

• How, then, do archaeologists and anthropologists determine the ages of the artifacts and fossils they find? One valuable method is radiocarbon dating.

  • Radiocarbon dating, however, is only accurate for dating objects that are no more than about 50,000 years old.

• Microscopic and biological analyses of organic remains — such as blood, hairs, and plant tissues left on rocks, tools, and weapons — give scientists still more information.

Early Stages of Development

• The earliest humanlike creatures lived in Africa as long as three to four million years ago.

  • Called australopithecines, or “southern apes,” by their discoverer, Donald Johanson, they flourished in eastern and southern Africa.

  • They were the first hominids (humans and other creatures that walk upright) to make simple stone tools.

• Recently, however, archaeologists in Kenya have discovered a skull that they believe is from yet another form of hominid.

  • They have called it Kenyanthropus platyops—the flat-faced man of Kenya—and think that it is about 3.5 million years old.

• A second stage in early human development occurred with the appearance of Homo erectus (“upright human being”), a species that emerged around 1.5 million years ago.

• Around 250,000 years ago, a third—and crucial—stage in human development began with the emergence of a new species, Homo sapiens (“wise human being”).

• Neanderthals were first found in the Neander Valley in Germany.

• The first anatomically modern humans (people who looked like us), known as Homo sapiens sapiens (“wise, wise human being”), appeared in Africa between 150,000 and 200,000 years ago.

  • By 30,000 B.C., Homo sapiens sapiens had replaced the Neanderthals, who had largely died out, possibly as a result of conflict between the two groups.

  • The spread of these first modern humans was a slow process.

  • Groups of people, probably in search of food, moved beyond their old hunting grounds at a rate of only two to three miles per generation.

  • By 10,000 B.C., members of the Homo sapiens sapiens subgroup of the species Homo sapiens could be found throughout the world.

The Hunter-Gatherers of the Old Stone Age

• One of the basic distinguishing features of the human species is the ability to make tools.

  • The earliest tools were made of stone.

• The term Paleolithic Age is used to designate the early period of human history (approximately 2,500,000 to 10,000 B.C.) in which humans used simple stone tools. Paleolithic is Greek for “old stone,” and the Paleolithic Age is sometimes called the Old Stone Age.

• For hundreds of thousands of years, humans relied on hunting and gathering for their daily food.

• Over the years, Paleolithic hunters developed better tools.

  • The invention of the spear, and later the bow and arrow, made hunting much easier.

• The hunting of animals and the gathering of wild food no doubt led to certain patterns of living.

• Paleolithic people were nomads (people who moved from place to place), because they had no choice but to follow animal migrations and vegetation cycles.

  • It is probable that both men and women were responsible for finding food — the chief work of Paleolithic peoples.

  • Because both men and women played important roles in providing for the group’s survival, some scientists have argued that a rough equality existed between men and women.

• Paleolithic peoples, especially those who lived in cold climates, found shelter in caves.

• As early hominids moved from the tropics into colder regions, they needed to adjust to new, often harsh, conditions.

  • Fire gave warmth and undoubtedly fostered a sense of community for the groups of people gathered around it.

  • Scholars believe that different groups of early people discovered ways to start fires independently throughout the world.

  • Having fire to create a source of heat was especially important when Ice Age conditions descended on the Paleolithic world.

• Ice Age conditions posed a serious threat to human life, and the ability to adapt was crucial to human survival.

• The importance of art to human life is evident in one basic fact: art existed even in pre- history among the hunters and gatherers of the Paleolithic Age.

• The cave paintings of large animals found at Lascaux in southwestern France and at Altamira in northern Spain are evidence of this cultural activity.

  • All of the caves were underground and in complete darkness, but Paleolithic artists used stone lamps filled with animal fat to light their surroundings.

  • Many of these cave paintings show animals in remarkably realistic forms.

The Neolithic Revolution and the Rise of Civilization

The Neolithic Revolution

• The end of the last Ice Age, around 8000 B.C., was followed by what is called the Neolithic Revolution—that is, the revolution that occurred in the Neolithic Age, the period of human history from 8000 to 4000 B.C.

  • The word neolithic is Greek for “new stone.”

  • The name New Stone Age, however, is somewhat misleading.

  • The real change in the Neolithic Revolution was the shift from the hunting of animals and the gathering of food to the keeping of animals and the growing of food on a regular basis—what we call systematic agriculture.

• The planting of grains and vegetables provided a regular supply of food.

• The domestication (adaptation for human use) of animals added a steady source of meat, milk, and wool.

  • Between 8000 and 5000 B.C., systematic agriculture developed in different areas of the world.

  • The cultivation of wheat and barley had spread from southwestern Asia into the Nile Valley of Egypt by 6000 B.C.

  • By 5000 B.C., rice was being grown in Southeast Asia.

• Mesoamericans (inhabitants of present-day Mexico and Central America) grew beans, squash, and maize (corn) between 7000 and 5000 B.C.

  • They also domesticated dogs and fowl during this period.

• The growing of crops on a regular basis gave rise to more permanent settlements

  • For example, Jericho, in Palestine near the Dead Sea, was in existence by 8000 B.C.

  • Çatal Hüyük, located in modern-day Turkey, was an even larger community.

• Archaeologists have found 12 products that were grown in this community, including fruits, nuts, and three kinds of wheat.

  • As a result of this food production, people often had more food than they needed right away.

  • In turn, food surpluses made it possible for people to do things other than farming.

• Some people became artisans. These skilled workers made products such as weapons and jewelry that were traded with neigh- boring peoples.

• Special buildings in Çatal Hüyük were shrines containing figures of gods and goddesses.

• The Neolithic agricultural revolution had far-reaching consequences.

• The change to systematic agriculture in the Neolithic Age also had consequences for the relationship between men and women.

  • Men became more active in farming and herding animals, jobs that took them away from the home settlement.

  • Women remained behind, caring for children and taking responsibility for weaving cloth, turning milk into cheese, and performing other tasks that required much labor in one place

• Between 4000 and 3000 B.C., new developments began to affect Neolithic towns in some areas.

• Copper was the first metal to be used in making tool

• Nevertheless, the widespread use of bronze has led historians to speak of a Bronze Age from around 3000 to 1200 B.C.

The Emergence of Civilization

• In general terms, the culture of a people is the way of life that they follow.

• A civilization is a complex culture in which large numbers of human beings share a number of common elements.

  • Cities are one of the chief features of civilizations.

• Growing numbers of people, the need to maintain the food supply, and the need to build walls for defense soon led to the growth of governments.

  • They also provide for smooth interaction between individuals and groups.

  • In the first civilizations, governments were led by rulers—usually monarchs (kings or queens who rule a kingdom)—who organized armies to protect their populations and made laws to regulate their subjects’ lives.

• Important religious developments also characterized the new urban civilizations.

  • All of them developed religions to explain the workings of the forces of nature and the fact of their own existence.

  • To win their favor, priests supervised rituals aimed at pleasing them.

• A new social structure based on economic power also arose.

  • Rulers and an upper class of priests, government officials, and warriors dominated society.

• Abundant food supplies created new opportunities, enabling some people to work in occupations other than farming.

• By and large, however, the early river valley civilizations developed independently.

• Writing was an important feature in the life of these new civilizations.

• Above all, rulers, priests, merchants, and artisans used writing to keep accurate records.

• Significant artistic activity was another feature of the new civilizations.

• Temples and pyramids were built as places for worship or sacrifice, or for the burial of kings and other important people.