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
  the Stone Age.
• The earliest part of the Stone Age is called the
  Paleolithic period.
• Paleolithic people were nomads, traveling from
  place to place 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 wooden poles.
• 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.