Early Man

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Early Man

• Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic

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Earliest Humans

• 2.5 Million Years ago, earliest humans in
  Ethiopia
• 240,000 Years ago, Homo Sapiens Sapiens
• 100,000 Years ago, developed speech
• Humans

• Pros
• Opposable thumb
• Regular sex drive aids reproduction
• Omnivores
• Speech and facial expression

• Cons
• Violent against species
• Dependant babies
• Back problems
• Knowledge of imminent death

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Hunters and Gatherers

• Benefits
• Worked 7 hours every 3 days
• Men and women equal
• Little warfare
• Downside
• No stable food supply
• 2.5 miles per person, so limited number of people

Earliest known blog post
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Stone Ages

• Paleolithic (Old Stone Age) 1 million 12,000
  BCE
• Use of Fire
• Simple stone and wood tools
• Erect, bigger brain
• Rituals, cave paintings, goddesses
• Spread over much of earth
• Around 25,000 BCE People went over Bering Land
  Bridge to Americas
• Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) 12,000 8000 BCE
• Shaped stone and bone tools needles, fishhooks,
  awls
• Rafts, canoes
• Pots, baskets
• Domesticated cow
• Growth of population more wars
• Neolithic (New Stone Age) 8000 4000 BCE
• Agriculture
• Cities

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Bering Land Bridge, 25,000 years Ago
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Neolithic Revolution 8000 BCE

• End of last Ice Age 10,000 BCE
• Population increases
• Retreat of big game, must feed more on smaller
  game
• Needed better food supply
• Developed agriculture
• Developed independently in China, Middle East,
  and Americas
• Led to end of Hunting and Gathering because
• Cleared forests
• People in citied developed immunity to disease,
  HG did not

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Changes and Continuities of Agriculture

• Changes
• Higher birth rate HG babies breast fed until 4
  or 5, Farm babies until 18 months
• Reduced migration, sedentary instead of nomadic
• Specialization leads to social inequality and
  hierarchy
• Larger groups lead to disease
• Continuities
• Slow to change people afraid of new ways
• Challenge of hunt valued
• Agriculture makes men take on traditionally
  feminine roles begin to claim superiority to
  women

Time World Population
10,000 BCE 4 Million
5,000 BCE 5 Million
3,000 BCE 14 Million
2,000 BCE 27 Million
1,000 BCE 50 Million
500 BCE 100 Million
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Bronze Age

• Around 4000 BCE discovery of metal tools in
  Middle East
• First copper then bronze (copper and tin)
• By 3000 BCE no more stone tools in Middle East
• Benefits
• Work the ground easier
• Better weapons
• Earliest Civilizations
• Yellow River, Nile River, Indus River,
  Mesopotamia, Andes