The Origin of Humans

“Theories on prehistory and early man constantly change as new evidence

comes to light.”

- Louis Leakey, British paleoanthropologist

Getting the Big Picture

4.4 billion years agoEarth is formed

3.5 billion years agoFirst single-cell life appears

3 billion years ago

2 billion years ago

1 billion years ago40,000 years ago- Cro-Magnons emerge200,000 years ago- Neanderthals appear

4 million years ago- Australopithecines appear

65 million years ago- Dinosaurs disappear; first mammals appear

240 millions years ago- First dinosaurs appear

Present

The Paleolithic Age2.5 Million B.C. to 10,000 B.C.

• Paleo = Old + Lithic = Stone ….. Old Stone Age• Made first stone tools and simple weapons• Found food by hunting (men) and gathering (women). • Lived in small bands of 20-30 humans (clans)• Nomadic - Moved from place to place searching for food• Learned how to make and use fire• Developed oral language• Created cave art

Paleolithic PeoplesTools Located Time on Earth Characteristics

Homo Habilis(Man of Skills)

Stone tools

East Africa 2.5 Million to 1.5 Mil. B.C.

Lived in clans,developed oral

language

Homo Erectus(Upright Human)

Larger and more

varied

First to travel to Europe and Asia

1.6 Million – 30,000 B.C.

First to use fire (500,000 B.C.)

Neanderthal(Homo-Sapiens)

(Wise Human Being)

Made clothing

from skins

Neander Valley,

Germany

200,000 – 30,000 B.C.

First to bury dead,Lived in caves and

tents

Cro-Magnon(Homo-Sapiens)

(Wise Human Being)

More advanced

Throughout Europe and

Asia

40,000 – 8,000 B.C.

First early modern humans, replaced

Neanderthals

Only 400,000 B.C. kids will get it

The Growth of Man

Homo Homo Neanderthal Cro- Habilis Erectus Magnon

Migration of Paleolithic Humans

Paleolithic Life• Small, tight communities that migrated in

search of food, better climates, and water.• Everything created by hand from nature.• Found shelter in caves.• Paintings left behind show values of life.

Culture: shared traits of a community that are learned through

direct contact and imitation

Culture

Beliefs Values Practices

ExampleCulture:

Jeannette Jayhawks

Beliefs: Values:

Practices:

Practical PracticeCulture:

Paleolithic

Beliefs: Values: Practices:

The Neolithic Age10,000 B.C. – 4,000 B.C.

Neo = New + Lithic = Stone … New Stone Age

Paleolithic:- Migrated in small clans- Hunted and gathered- All time spent finding food- Small populations - Low food sources

Neolithic:- Settled into towns/cities- Farmed- Domesticated animals- More Food = More People- Time left over to invent

Gradually shifting from

to

The Neolithic Age• Societies during the Neolithic Era:

– Developed agriculture (domesticated plants)– Domesticated animals– Used advanced tools– Made pottery– Developed weaving skills

Agricultural Revolution• Purposefully growing crops and keeping

animals to supply you with continual food• Agriculture developed independently in

different parts of the world.

Middle East India Central America China Southeast Asia

8,000 BC 7,000 BC 6,500 BC 6,000 BC 5,000 BC

• 9,000 B.C: Jarmo (northern Iraq) became the earliest agricultural settlement

Other Early Cities• 8,000 B.C.: Largest Early Settlement at Çatal Hüyük

(Modern Turkey) with 6,000 inhabitants• Twelve cultivated crops• Division of labor• Engaged in trade• Organized religion• Small military

Why Farming Matters

Growth of crops

Stable food

supply

Larger population

s

People can do other things

(job specialization!

)

More permanent housing

Settled communities emerge

Someone has to be a leader

(government!)

More Food = More PeopleMore People = More Hands, More Time,

More need to organize!

• From clans to communities

• Allowed for organization• Work cooperatively• More leisure time• Safer communities =

population growth• Labor divided – people

train for a certain job (artisan, weaver, mason)

• From nomadic to permanent shelter

• Walls strengthened by mud, stones, and sticks.

• Contained several rooms

Changes in Shelter Changes in Community

Trade• Brings new resources

• Traveled hundreds of miles for new items

• More diverse resources now available

Cultural Diffusion

What Else is Out There?

Obsidian Trade Route

Ideas spreading from place to place as people come in contact with one another. New technologies, theories, and cultures “rub off” on one another.

Characteristics of a Civilization

Specialized Workers

Record Keeping

Advanced Technology

Advanced Cities

Complex Institutions

Government and Religion

Sewers and Grid Streets

Bronze Weapons and Tools

Written Languages

Artisans and Masons

Archaeologists…think Indiana Jones!

• Study past cultures by locating and analyzing human remains, settlements, fossils, and artifacts.

• Apply scientific tests, such as carbon dating, to analyze fossils and artifacts.

Built in England, begun in Neolithic Age completed

during Bronze Age.

Ongoing research = new discoveries = changing theories!

Jericho, ancient city in fertile crescent

Aleppo, Syria modern city prevents

excavation

Settlements – Things Early Man Wanted…..

• Imagine you are looking for a new home during the Neolithic period. What geographic factors would you consider most important. Remember, you are planning to be a farmer……

Describe in detail what those environments would look like.

Here’s What I Want…..– Stable water supply.– Ability of soil to grow crops.– Abundant sunshine – and not a too cool climate.

(Warm to hot is good!)– Natural protection from other clans/tribes/

settlements.

Woohoo! We’ve got four historical winners!

• Nile River – Flows NORTH from Lake Victoria to the Mediterranean Sea in Egypt

• Tigris and Euphrates Rivers – Flow through Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) to the Persian Sea

• Indus River – Flows out of the Himalayan Mountains down to the western coast of India before ending in the Indian Ocean

• Huang (Yellow) River – Flows through central China before emptying into the Pacific Ocean

BIG PICTURE! What did these places develop??

River Valleys:Cradle of Civilization

Development of Economics

• Increasing trade along rivers and by sea – Phoenicians

• Development of the world’s first cities– Mesopotamia

• Slavery begins. Gives the rich free time.– Has NOTHING to do with race

• Agriculture– Bigger and Better!

• Use of metal (bronze, iron) tools and weapons• Better tools, plows, irrigation • More Food = Settlements, trade, stability

– River Valley farming required irrigation:• Canals, water rights, boundaries• Community enterprise

– Leads to…GOVERNMENT!

Development of Political Patterns• World’s first states

– City-states: self-governing cities in an area that share a similar culture (Mesopotamia)

– Kingdoms: a group of cities in one area controlled by one supreme ruler (Egypt)

– Empires: many different regions, people, and cultures controlled by one supreme ruler (Hittites)

• Centralized government, often based on religious authority– Pharaohs – (Egypt)– Dynasties – (China)

• Written law codes – Code of Hammurabi – (Mesopotamia)– Ten Commandments – (Hebrews)

Development of Social Patterns• Hereditary rulers: Passed down through family

– Dynasties of kings/emperors – (China, Mesopotamia)– Pharaohs – (Egypt)

• Rigid class system– Specialized workers and artisans valued over

agricultural workers– Slavery accepted – based on conquest

• (Hebrews in Egypt)

Social Pyramid in Ancient Egypt

Development of Written Language

Pictograms: Earliest written symbols

Cuneiform: Mesopotamia

Hieroglyphics: Egypt

Alphabet: Phoenician

Development of Religious Traditions• Polytheism

– Hundreds of gods– Explained nature, human

characteristics, and events– Practiced by most early civilizations

• Monotheism – Belief in one God– Hebrews

When and where did civilization first develop?• Mesopotamia - Tigris and Euphrates Rivers

• c. 3,000 B.C.