NAME: DATE: PER: Paleolithic People: The Paleolithic Age. Making A Connection

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1 Mr. Curzan Roots Of Civ. NAME: DATE: PER: Paleolithic People: The Paleolithic Age Key Terms: Define each term from the readings on the next few pages prehistory - civilization - migrate bands - home territory Making A Connection What are some ways that you communicate? How would you communicate if you could not use your language? Organizing Your Thoughts Use the web organizer below to help you take notes as you read the summaries that follow. Think about the advances that Paleolithic people made.

2 Obtaining Food The time beginning when people first appeared and ending when writing developed is called prehistory. The time after writing developed is called history. This was the beginning of civilization, or when people began to advance culturally and to live in cities. Even though prehistoric people had no writing, scientists have learned a great deal about them. Many scientists believe that until about 900,000 years ago, our human-like ancestors (called hominids) and afterward, early people, lived only on the grasslands of eastern and southern Africa. Then the earth's climate changed, and it became colder. Ocean water froze into huge glaciers. As the ice sheets grew, the sea level fell and uncovered land that had been under water. So land bridges connected Africa to both Europe and southwestern Asia. People were able to migrate, or make their way, around the land bridges and around the desert of northern Africa. They made their way into Europe and Asia, and much later to the Americas. Scientists call the first age in which people lived the Paleolithic Age, or Old Stone Age. It lasted from about 2.3 million years ago to about 10,000 years ago. During this age, people got their food by hunting and gathering. Paleolithic people lived in bands, or groups, of about 30 people. The people within a group lived and worked together. They also shared their food. Each band searched for food within an area known as its home territory. People set up camps at various sites of the home territory. The band stayed at one site until the food supply was used up. Then the band moved. Women and children of the band gathered berries, nuts, and fruits. Men obtained meat. They caught fish with their bare hands and hunted small animals with sticks and stones. Sometimes, they were able to kill a large animal that was hurt or too old to run away. Then they were able to have enough meat to last a few days. How long did a band stay at one campsite? How was the work of each group divided between the men, women, and children? Explain why early humans only lived in Africa until around 900,000 years ago.

3 Making Tools When people learned to make tools, their life became a little easier. The first tools were sticks and stones that they found on the ground. Then people learned to shape stones to make them more useful. The earliest shaped tools were pebble tools. The toolmaker hit one pebble with another, removing chips and making a cutting edge. This edge was sharp enough to cut meat. Later people knocked long, sharp-edged chips called flakes from stones and used them as tools. They used flakes to cut up animals quickly and efficiently. What were the earliest shaped tools? Describe how tools would have made life easier. Making Fire During the Paleolithic Age people learned how to make fire by themselves. They created a spark by rubbing two sticks or stones together. People used fire to keep themselves warm and dry. They used it as a weapon, throwing burning sticks of wood at animals to drive them away. They also used fire to cook food. How did early people use fire? Why would the discovery of fire be such an important turning point for humans? Seeking Shelter Early people usually camped out in the open. They dug pits in the ground to protect themselves from the wind. Sometimes they protected themselves under an overhanging rock or piled-up brush. At first, people used caves to escape from emergencies, such as storms. But about 100,000 years ago, people in China, western Europe, and southwestern Asia were living in caves more often. However in some parts of the world, caves were rare and either too hard to find or too dangerous to occupy. Later on, depending on their location and the materials that were available, people were able to build simple huts above ground using bones, hides, rocks or branches.

4 How did early people first protect themselves? Why would it be inaccurate to call early people cavemen? Making Clothing Early people found that they could use the animal skins of the big animals they hunted to keep them warm. At first people wrapped the skins around themselves. Later, they learned how to fasten skins together. Learning how to make clothing allowed people to live in a variety of places. Before they knew how to make clothing, they had to live in areas that were warm and dry. After they learned to make clothing they were able to move into areas that were cooler and wetter. How did learning to make clothing affect where people lived? What parts of the world were probably the last areas to become settled by humans? Developing Language Early people also developed a language. At first they communicated by making sounds to express meaning. They also used hand signals for things such as food and water. Gradually, sounds and signals were no longer enough, and people began to develop language. This was a great human achievement. It made it possible for people to work together and share ideas. It resulted in greater progress being made in all areas of civilization. How did early people communicate before the development of language?

5 Provide an example of how language would help early people with a specific task. The Neanderthals The first species of hominids (upright primates using only two legs for walking) to have advanced human-like characteristics were known as Homo habilis, or "skillful man." Next came Homo erectus, or "man who walks upright." These two species of hominids led to the arrival of modern humans. Then between about 300,000 and 200,000 years ago came the Neanderthal (Homo neanderthalensis). A kind of species that is closely related to (and some say even belonged to) modern humans or Homo sapiens was the Neanderthal. They were named after the Neander River in Germany where their remains were first found. The remains of Neanderthal people have been found throughout Europe and in parts of Asia and Africa. Neanderthals were good hunters. They used traps to catch animals. Neanderthals were also builders. They made houses by covering a framework of bones with animal skins. Scientists believe that Neanderthal people were the first to bury their dead. Archaeologists have found graves of people from this time. Why do scientists believe that Neanderthals buried their dead? The word Neanderthal is sometimes used to describe someone as ignorant, dumb and barbaric? According to what you ve learned, why is this description incorrect? Early Modern Man (Homo sapiens) Between about 200,000 and 100,000 years ago came Homo sapiens, or "man who thinks." Homo sapiens are modern humans and they first appeared on the continent of Africa. All people on earth today are Homo sapiens regardless of our differences in appearance. Any early form of Homo sapiens that archeologists have been able to study is the Cro-Magnon. They are named after a rock shelter in France where their remains were found. Cro-Magnons appeared in North Africa, Asia, and Europe about 100,000 years ago. Archaeologists consider them an important discovery since they were the first discovery of early modern people. However, scientists today use Anatomically Modern Human (AMH) or Early Modern Human (EMH) instead of Cro-Magnon because we now know more about the origin and spread of modern humans and that they did not first appear in Europe.

6 Early Modern Humans were skillful toolmakers. They invented a tool much like the chisel. They could use the tool to make other tools from objects such as antlers and bone. Having better tools made Early Modern Humans better hunters. This helped to increase their food supply. Early Modern Humans knew how to make spear throwers, or devices that made spears fly through the air faster and farther. This allowed hunters to stay a greater distance from large animals, making hunting less dangerous. Early Modern Humans also invented the axe. They used it to cut down trees. They hollowed out the logs to make canoes. In southeastern Asia, they cut down stalks of bamboo and tied them together with vines to make rafts. The rafts helped to carry the people to other lands. Early Modern Humans were also artists. They made statues out of ivory. They covered the walls of some caves with paintings. Their paints were made from minerals. Anthropologists believed that the cave paintings told a story about Early Modern Human ceremonies or history. Early Modern Human bands cooperated with one another. They often joined together to hunt large animals. To do so, they had to agree on rules and on leaders. Every year they gathered together to exchange information about the movement of animal herds. What part of the world did Early Modern Humans (like us) first appear? How did the invention of spear throwers affect Early Modern Human hunting? How did Homo sapiens or Early Modern Humans make advances with their culture or way of life? Provide an example or two In your opinion, what key achievement of the Paleolithic Age was the most significant to changing human history? Why? What achievement probably helped pave the way for farming (moving away from the hunting-gathering age)? Explain.