CHAPTER 1 The Beginnings of Civilization
The role of Science ANTHROPOLOGY: The study of humanity Different fields lend themselves to the study of Prehistory PREHISTORIC: the vast period of time before the development of writing Anthropology studies a number of areas of specialization
How do we learn about the past? Anthropologists Study FOSSILS: preserved remains or imprints of living things Study CULTURE: a society s knowledge, art, beliefs, customs, values Archaeologists Study human material remains ARTIFACTS: objects that people in the past made or used Coins, pottery, tools
The Nutcracker Man Discovered in 1959 by Mary Leakey 1.75 million years old Heavy jaw and large teeth Thus: Nutcracker Man HOMINID: humans and early humanlike beings that walked upright
Lucy Discovered in 1974 by Donald Johanson Partial Australopithecine (HOMINID)skeleton Lived more than 3 million years ago 4 ft tall, walked upright (based on joints) Major advancement: hands free to use tools!
Mary Leakey s most exciting find Mary Leakey later found hominid footprints preserved in hardened volcanic ash 3.5 m: oldest evidence hominds walked upright Most exciting find of her career
Homo habilis Based on the fossil record, more advanced hominds began appearing about 3 million years ago 1959: Leakeys found a new species Homo Habilis (Handy Man) More humanlike features Smaller teeth Hands better to grasp objects Learned to make crude stone tools
Homo erectus upright man 2 to 1.5 million years ago Larger brain than earlier hominids More skillful hunter More advanced tools Ax Controlled fire Cook food Provide heat, protection Live in colder climates
Homo sapiens wise man Appeared 200,000 years ago Same species as us! Larger brains Developed more sophisticated tools and shelter Create Fire Develop language
AUSTRALOPITHECINE 4-5 MILLION YEARS AGO HOMO HABILIS 2.4 MILLION YEARS AGO HOMO ERECTUS 2 1.5 MILLION YEARS AGO HOMO SAPIENS -- 200,000 AGO TO PRESENT
SPREADING AROUND THE WORLD 1.6 million years ago, the world began experiencing long periods of freezing weather called the Ice Ages World cycled between colder and warmer periods Huge glaciers advanced and retreated Glaciers advanced: ocean levels fell Bering Strait was an exposed land bridge
Out of Africa Homo erectus was first hominid to migrate out of Africa Fossils have been found in Asia and Europe Went to Southwest Asia, then Southern Asia, Australia Longer to reach Europe because of Mountains and Colder climates Disagreement on when first people reached Americas By at least 9000 BCE humans spread to all continents
Adapting to New Environments Adaption to new environments caused humans to develop the genetic variety that exists today Body shape Skin color Eating habits How do we adapt today? What adaptations have you made today, this month, this year? How have we as a culture adapted? The world?
Lascaux Cave, France What does this art say about the people that made it?
PALEOLITHIC ERA PALEOLITHIC ERA: Old Stone Age First Humans lived during this time Made tools mostly from stone 2.5 million years ago 10,000 years ago
Stone Age People NOMADS: people who moved from place to place as they followed migrating animal herds Lived in small bands, or groups Took cover in rock overhangs and caves HUNTER-GATHERERS: people who hunted, fished, and gathered wild plants, berries, nuts and other foods Men hunted Women collected plants and cared for children Each role was important: men and women equal
Technology First tools made of chipped stones Over time, people learned to make better tools out of wood and bone as well as stone Wooden handles for tools Spears allowed hunters to stand farther away from prey, which was safer Later Stone Age people learned to make string from plant fibers and animal sinew Nets used to fish and capture small animals Other new tools: bow and arrow, bone hooks, fishing spears Canoes
Fashion and Shelter In colder regions, people learned to make needles from bone and used needles to sew together animal skins for clothing Over time, skins used for shoes, hats, carrying sacks Also learned to build shelters Pit houses: pits dug into the ground and covered with roofs of branches and leaves Some made frames from wood, others from mammoth bones
SOCIETY: community of people who share a common culture Stone Age Societies developed cultures that included language, art, and spiritual beliefs ANIMISM: belief that all things in nature have spirits Dead buried with food and objects belief in afterlife? Cro-Magnons and other Stone Agers made variety of art Ornaments from bone, coral, ivory Painted and carved images on rocks and cave walls Used charcoal, clay, iron to paint
Stone Age Art
Lascaux Cave, France
Cave Art Scholars aren t certain what purpose early art served Representing the world as they saw it? Used art to chronicle hunts? To teach hunting skills? Record movement of sun, moon, stars, planets? Honor animal spirits?
New Stone Age NEOLITHIC ERA: New Stone Age More sophisticated tools 8000 BCE 3000 BCE People learned to polish and grind stones to shape tools with sharper edges Specialized tools: chisels, drills, saws Development of Agriculture
NEOLITHIC REVOLUTION Nomads farming Development of agriculture is one of the most important turning points in human history Radically changed how people lived Thus the Neolithic Revolution 10000 years ago warming trend ended the last Ice Age Sea levels rose Ice Age plants & animals died, new species appeared Barley and wheat
AGRICULTURE Gathering new plants new plants grew where seeds fell Experimentation farming DOMESTICATION: selective growing or breeding of plants and animals to make them more useful for humans First domesticated animal: dogs Livestock provided more stable supply of meat, milk, skins and wool Larger animals used to pull heavy loads and helped with farming
AGRICULTURE Agriculture changed Stone Age societies dramatically Population grew significantly PASTORALISTS: people who ranged over wide areas and kept herds of livestock on which they depended for food and other items People gave up nomadic lifestyle and formed settlements People could farm and pool labor and resources Lived close together in houses made of mud bricks
CH CH CH CHANGES Populations grew, settlements villages, towns By 6000 BCE, villages of up to several hundred people had arisen Growth of Agricultural Societies led to everyday activities changing Hunting & Gathering working fields, tending livestock Men, women, children divided tasks in these activities With extra food available, others could become skilled at making crafts and tools Trade increased
Social Stratification Agriculture and trade made societies more complex and prosperous Differences in social status began to emerge Some rose to positions of authority, overseeing planting and harvesting Men performed the heavier work in farming, and held positions of authority Men began to gain dominance and status over women in agricultural societies
Religion and Warfare Religion began to become more formalized in agricultural societies Began to construct structures for religious purposes MEGALITHS: European Neolithic monuments made of stones for burial and spiritual purposes Warfare increased as societies began to fight over land and resources More dependence on farming = more affected by crop failure Disease increased as people lived close together
New Technologies Farmers developed hoes and hand tools for planting 6000 BCE: animals pull plows Farmers could till larger areas to produce more crops Pestles and grindstones Prepare grains Pottery Cooking, storing grains, oils, and water, Metals: Copper, then bronze (mix of copper and tin) Stone Age gave way to the BRONZE AGE IN 3000 BCE
Çatal Hüyük Neolithic village located in present day Turkey More than 30 acres People grew crops (barley, peas, wheat) around village Raised sheep, goats, wild cattle Traded with people from as far away as Red Sea Houses built close together Entered through rooves Religious shrines with bodies buried underneath floor Interior walls covered with colorful paintings
Ötzi the Iceman 1991: hikers in Italian Alps found a frozen male body preserved by cold, icy conditions 5,300 years old: from Neolithic Era Outfit from 3 types of animal skins stitched together Leather shoes padded with grass Woven grass cape, fur hat, back pack Deerskin quiver with arrows, flint dagger, and ax with copper blade Ware on front teeth suggest diet including coarse grains Arrowhead in shoulder suggests he was murdered
ADVANCES IN FARMING IRRIGATION SYSTEMS: Network of canals or ditches that links fields of crops to nearby streams or to storage basins of water Enable early people to farm more land and to farm in drier conditions Could plant more crops, produce more food SURPLUS: excess of food villages could support larger populations
Changing Economies Because irrigation made farmers more productive, fewer people needed to farm Some people were able to work full time jobs other than farming Making tools/weapons, weavers, potters, religious leaders DIVISION OF LABOR: economic arrangement in which each worker specializes in a particular task or job
Irrigation leads to Economic Changes Food Surpluses + division of labor =economic changes TRADITIONAL ECONOMY: economic decisions are made based on custom, tradition, ritual Villages could produce extra food as well as valuable trade products Leaders made economic decisions based on fueling trade and feeding growing population
Villages grow to Cities First cities More densely populated More diverse populations More formal organization Defined center Palaces Temples Monuments Government buildings Defensive walls Served as center of trade
First Civilizations form from Cities CIVILIZATION: complex and organized society Arose in fertile river valleys Tigris & Euphrates in Southwest Asia Nile in Africa Indus in South Asia Huang He in China Rivers flooded annually, leaving mineral-rich silt Valleys had fertile land to support growing pop. Civilizations differed, but they all had Developed cities Organized government, Formalized Religion Specialization of labor, social classes, record keeping, Arts
Changes in Civilizations Environmental Influences Storms, floods, food shortages Spread of People and Ideas CULTURAL DIFFUSION: spread of ideas, beliefs, customs, technology from one culture to another Expansion and Warfare Conflicts over land, water, resources led to war Through conquest civilizations expanded control Developed into states and kingdoms
Study Groups: Make Foldables to describe the common characteristics of a Civilization (pg 20-22) Developed cities Organized government Formalized religion Specialization of Labor Social Classes Record Keeping and Writing The Arts C I V I L I Z A T I O N