Unit 1 – Migrations and Lifestyles

Unit 1 – Migrations and Lifestyles

Synopsis: In this unit, students will examine the “peopling of the Earth” and assess the ways that humans adapted to their environments.

Key Concepts: • During the Paleolithic era, hunter-gatherers migrated out of Africa into Eurasia, Australia

and the Americas, while adapting their technology and cultures to new climate regions.• About 10,000 years ago, the Neolithic Revolution led to the development of new and more

complex economic and social systems.• Agriculture and pastoralism began to transform human societies

Objectives: Students should be able to: Identify major migration patterns and sequence the peopling of different world regions Describe characteristics of different Paleolithic, or hunter-gatherer (h-g)societies Provide regional descriptions and examples of cultural adaptation and variation Contrast characteristics of hunter-gatherer, pastoral and settled societies Analyze and interpret primary sources

Activities: In teams, complete the following readings and record key info. from each:1. Review and discuss assigned readings.2. Analyze primary sources in class.3. Provide an artistic interpretation from this unit.

Essential Q: Should the Neolithic Revolution be described as “progress”?

Geologic Time Periods

Evolution of Humankind

Descended from gorillas are modern gorilla, chimpanzee and bonobo - “pygmy chimps”.

About 7 mill. years ago, a population of apes in Africa broke into three groups – the gorilla, two species of chimpanzee and the group that evolved (5-6 mill. years ago) into hominids, or modern humans

Australopithecus > 2-3 mill. years ago

Homo habilis > 2.5 – 1.6 mill. years ago

Homo erectus > 1.8 mill. years ago

Homo sapiens Neanderthalensis > 200,000 – 28,000 years ago in Europe and W. Asia

Homo sapiens sapiens > 250,000 – 200,000 yrs. ago; grasslands of e. and s. Africa

An interesting video link – The Bradshaw Foundation Journey of Mankind

Map Source: Wikipedia CommonsChart Source: Strayer Text

The Peopling of the Earth

Early hominid species began to migrate “out of Africa” some 1 million years ago. Homo-sapiens first appeared in the grasslands of e. and s. Africa circa 250,000 years ago, and by 100,000 years ago began their move“ out of Africa”.

Journey of Homo-Sapiens : (BP=Before Present)• 100,000 - 60,000 BP > H-S Out of Africa• 70,000 BP > Into e. Asia• 60,000 – 40,000 BP > Australia• 45,000 > Europe• 30,000 – 15,000 > Into Americas• 30,000 – 17,000 > Cave Art Europe• 25,000 > Extinction of Neanderthals• 16,000 > End of last Ice Age• 12,000 –10,000 >First agric. revolutions• 11,000 > Large animals extinct N. America• 6,000 > First chiefdoms Mesopotamia• 6,000 > corn domesticated in MesoAmerica• 3,500 – 1,000 Austronesians to Pacific & Madagascar•1,000 – 700 > Human settlement of New Zealand

Question: What observations do you have pertaining to the timeline (also see p. 13 of text) or the map?

Austronesian – one whose origins are from Australia or the Pacific

The Paleolithic Period

The paleo- lithic period, or “Old Stone Age” started around 2.6 million years ago with homo hablis. Among these “hunter-gatherers”, archeologists have found evidence of human innovation such as:• hand axes• grindstones• tools fashioned from bone

It is important to note the use of tools began at different times in different regions. One example is the Blombos Caves of South Africa (map/ image top right).

Another is the plethora of “Clovis points” (map and image lower right) found in North America.

For further interest: See Earth Times on ochre “tool kits” video) http://www.earthtimes.org/scitech/100000-year-ochre-toolkit-workshop-blombos-cave/1519/

The Bushmen

Thousands of years ago, the Bushmen (a.k.a. San, Khoi) left their mark on Africa in the form of cave drawings. Over the centuries the San migrated to the remote Kalahari Desert of southern Africa due conflicts with white settlers and stronger tribes. The San language includes a unique system of “clicks”, that have infiltrated other languages in southern Africa.

The San along with the Pygmies are among the very last of the hunter-gatherers in Africa. Initiation, or rite of passage for a young San was once to shoot an eland.

A popular portrayal of the Bushmen was the 1980’s film The Gods Must Be Crazy.

Rites of PassageChildbirthAdulthoodMarriageHaving ChildrenDeath/ Funerals

Activity: Primary Source Analysis

Students should read Doc. 1.1 (P. 47-50) “A Paleolithic Woman in the Twentieth Century”, and complete the following questions:

• How useful is Nisa’s account in understanding the life of earlier Paleolithic peoples?• What does her account reveal about San attitudes toward sex and marriage?• How does Nisa understand God or the Divine?• Would you conclude that Nisa was proud or troubled by the San lifestyle?

The Pygmies

The Pygmies refer to themselves as Mbuti, or Twa and inhabit the rainforests of central Africa.

Traditionally, the Pygmies were hunter-gatherers and known for their short stature and intimate knowledge of the forest and ability to gather foods and plants for medicines. Pygmies usually travel in small bands, and the family serves as the main social outlet.

The Pygmies have been severely intruded upon by outsiders - logging and development threaten them. Most Pygmies have been forced to give up their wandering way of life.

Paleolithic ArtIn addition to shaping pottery and weaving, Paleolithic peoples often produced rock drawings.

Activity 1: Read “History Before Writing: How Do We Know?” (P. 51-53) and discuss accompanying questions.

Activity 2: Consider other examples of Paleolithic art such as those at right. • What observations do you have regarding the paintings?• Why would paleolithic peoples have been inspired to produce such artistic portrayals?

Left: Lascaux Paintings, southern FranceTop: San, or Bushmen Cave paintings Drakensburg Escarpment, Southern Africa.Below: Australian Aboriginal Painting, Gwion culture, perhaps 17,000 years ago. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.com

Gobekli Tepe

Dating back more than 11,000 years ago, Gobekli Tepe in southern Turkey provides a possible link between the paleolithic and neolithic periods, yet historians and archeologists are unsure of the reasons for its construction.

The Last Ice Age

The last Ice Age ended some 11,000 – 20,000 years ago. It was accompanied by the disappearance of large mammals in North America.

The amount of frozen water in land areas that accumulated led to a lowering of sea levels, thus creating land bridges such as that across the Bering Strait.

LinksBBC Site on the last Ice Age.

NPR audiocast on the last Ice Age. “Past Centuries Global Temperature Change is Fastest on Record”.

Image courtesy of the National Science Library

Map – Seafriends.org

Image: WorldHistoryto1500

The Neolithic Revolution

The Neolithic Period was characterized by more advanced stone tool production (grinding and polishing) and the domestication of plants and animals (which distinguishes is slightly from the agricultural revolution). It is also characterized by a sedentary, or settled lifestyle.

The Neolithic Period occurred at different times in different parts of the world, but roughly from 12,000 – 4,000 years ago.

The Neolithic Period was followed by the Bronze Age, which itself coincided with the Age of Empires.

Question: Why did it take so long for man to settle down?

Image – Thumbnail Histories

Terrace farming in Yunnan Province, an ongoing example of human impact on the environment.

http://www.eduplace.com/kids/socsci/ca/books/bkf3/imaps/AC_06_206_bantu/AC_06_206_bantu.html

Bantu Migrations

The gradual push of Neolithic peoples in Africa started around 3,000 BCE when Bantu speaking peoples spread east and south and settled much of the continent – often coming into conflict with hunter-gatherers, such as the San or Bushmen.

Activity: Read the primary source “Otzi the Iceman” (p. 55 “Beyond the artistic … through p. 57 … useful in doing so1. Analyze this portrait of Otzi

and ID as many of his belongings as you can.

2. Choose a belonging that you find interesting and explain what it infers, or suggests about Otzi.

3. After completing the reading and studying the visuals associated with Otzi, explain what still remains uncertain about his story.

Pastoralism

Like the growth of agricultural communities, pastoralism - the domestication and herding of animals combined with a nomadic lifestyle – emerged as a new alternative to hunter-gatherer societies.

In contrast to agricultural societies, pastoralists resembled the smaller kinship societies of H-G groups.

Pastoralism continues as an important way of life in many parts of the world today. Examples may include the Dinka or Masai of E. Africa, the Bedouin of the Arabian peninsula or many peoples of the Central Asian steppe such as the Mongolians .

Dinka of Southern Sudan

Bedouin of Arabian Peninsula

Retrospect: Is there a moral obligation to preserve the world’s last hunter-gatherers?