Vocabulary
prehistory
civilization
migrate
bands
home territory
domesticated
specialization
Notes
Time when people first appeared through when writing developed � prehistory
Time after writing developed � beginning of civilization
900,000 years ago people inhabited the grasslands of eastern and southern Africa.
The earth�s climate grew colder and huge glaciers formed lowering sea levels.
The new lower sea levels showed land that was once under water.
A land bridge was one of the new land areas revealed.
It connected Africa to Europe and Asia.
People migrated using the land bridges.
The first age in which people lived � Paleolithic Age
Food was obtained by hunting and gathering.
People lived in bands.
They shared food, lived, and worked together.
Bands searched for food in their home territory.
Bands stayed in their home territory until the food supply was exhausted.
Men hunted meat while women and children gathered berries, nuts, and fruit.
Hunting was done with bare hands or with sticks and stones.
Tools made life easier for the people.
They learned to make tools from sticks and stones found on the ground.
Stones could be shaped to cut meat.
Olduvan Pebble Tools are the earliest shaped stone tools that have been discovered by archeologists.
These type of tools were first found in the Olduvan Gorge in Africa.
During the Paleolithic Age, people learned to make fire by rubbing sticks or stones together.
They used fire to cook food, as a weapon, and to keep warm and dry.
Early people dug pits in the ground or used an overhanging rock for shelter.
Later many people lived in caves.
For clothing, people living in the Paleolithic Age used animal skins to keep themselves warm.
They wrapped them around themselves like blankets.
Later, they learned how to fasten skins together to make clothing allowing them to move to areas in a variety of climates.
Early people made sounds and hand signals to communicate.
Gradually they developed a language to communicate.
This was the greatest human achievement, allowing people to work together and share ideas.
First people on earth � Homo habilis (skillful man)
Second type of human to develop � Homo erectus (man who walks upright)
Third type of human to develop � Homo sapiens (man who thinks)
Two types of Homo sapiens- Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon
The oldest human skeleton was discovered by archeologists in 1974.
The skeleton was named �Lucy� by the scientists that discovered the skeleton, Johanson and Gray.
�Lucy� was found in Ethopia, Africa.
Neanderthals
� remains found in Europe, Asia, and Africa
� good hunters
� used traps to catch animals
� made houses using bones and animal skins
� first to bury their dead
Cro-Magnons
� remains found in North Africa, Asia, and Europe
� considered the first modern people
� skillful toolmakers
� invented a chisel-type of tool
� made spear throwers that made them better hunters
� invented the axe
� made canoes and rafts
� wonderful artists making statues and cave paintings that told stories
� bands cooperated with each other to share hunting information
Neolithic Age started when people changed from food gatherers to food producers.
Beginning of farming is called Neolithic Revolution.
The revolution came about because of two discoveries-learning to grow food and learning to herd animals.
Learning to grow food began when people realized that seeds from wild grains could be planted and harvested.
Learning to herd animals began when people realized they could enclose a herd of wild animals in a fence they had built.
Soon the fenced animals became domesticated.
The Neolithic Revolution increased the food supply and lead to population growth.
As a result of producing their own food, people were able to settle in one area.
They built permanent shelters in villages where there were a good supply of water and fertile soil.
Specialization was another result of the Neolithic Revolution.
Some people were free to do other jobs as a result of an abundant food supply.
They made goods which were exchanged for food.
Pottery was made and aided in cooking a variety of new foods.
Cloth was woven from wool and helped make new clothing and textiles.
Jewelry and weapons were made from metal work.
Government was needed once people settled in villages.
A chief was the head of the village.
The chief was also the priest of the village.
People prayed to the forces of nature to deliver their needs.
Later they created gods and goddesses.
The most important goddess was Earth Mother.
The earliest villages found by archeologist are:
� Jericho in Israel
� Abu Hureyra in Syria
� Catal Huyuk in Turkey
Archeologist know much about Catal Huyuk because of a fire in the village that preserved many arifacts.
From Catal Huyuk, archeologists have learned about post-and-lintel architecture that was used to construct early homes.