Early Humans

What makes modern humans (Homo sapiens) unique from other animals?

Introduction

Our study of the ancient world begins with a look at the roots of human life and the beginnings of civilization. Many scientists believe that the earliest ancestors of humans first appeared in eastern Africa. Scientists have studied fossils and bones left by these early humans. This evidence has led scientists to believe that five major groups of early humans developed over millions of years. From these beginnings, humans spread throughout the world. Over time, these early people learned to grow crops. The first human settlements grew in regions where people found the resources they needed to survive.

One of these regions, in North Africa, is mostly desert. Through the desert flows the Nile River - the longest river in the world. The Nile had an enormous impact on the development of civilization. The Nile River begins in East Africa. The river flows north and empties into the Mediterranean Sea. Along the way, the Nile picks up lots of rich, dark soil. Each year, the river overflows its banks, flooding the land around it. Beginning in ancient times, the floodwaters left behind soil that was perfect for growing crops. This factor greatly influenced early human settlement in the Nile River valley.

Another region in which ancient people settled was in an area of land stretching from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea. This region is known as the Fertile Crescent because of its rich (fertile) soil and its curved (crescent) shape when drawn on a map.

Ancient people living in the Fertile Crescent were able to grow plenty of wheat and barley. No longer needing to move constantly in search of food, people could settle down and build communities. Permanent shelters and a dependable food supply allowed people to advance in important ways. They learned to make stone and metal tools; to raise animals such as cows, sheep, and pigs; and to develop a system of writing. In time, settlements began trading with nearby groups. An exchange of people, goods, and ideas blossomed. The first civilizations had begun.

Source: Introduction, Section 1 – TCI, Section 2,3 -www.worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.edu, adapted by Erik Andracek

Section 1 How Do We Know What We Know?

Welcome to the world of ancient history. Studying history involves investigating what happened in the past and why. Ancient history concerns the distant past, from the earliest humans through the first great civilizations.

How can we learn about events that happened so long ago? People who study history are a lot like detectives conducting an investigation. They ask questions, study the evidence for clues, and form hypotheses (educated guesses).

Our investigation of the ancient past starts near the very beginning of human history. What was life like long, long ago?

One amazing clue about life long ago was discovered at Lascaux (lah-SKOH), France, by four teenagers. On September 12, 1940, the boys found a cave. Covering the walls and ceiling of the cave were paintings of animals. The paintings seemed very old. Who had created them? What did they mean?

How would you solve a mystery like this one? The clues are centuries old, and the witnesses are long gone. You might need the help of an expert detective, but who would that be?

Scholars who study human society are called social scientists. Many social scientists can help us study the past. Among these “history detectives” are archaeologists, historians, and geographers.

Archaeologists: Digging Up the Past Archaeologists study the past by examining objects that people have left behind. These artifacts are anything made or used by humans, such as clothing, tools, weapons, and coins. When archaeologists discover a place that has artifacts, they ask questions like these: Who lived in this place? When did they live here? What were they like? Then archaeologists study the artifacts for clues.

Historians: Recording the Past Historians are the recorders of the past. Human beings have been around for such a long time that historians tend to focus mostly on the last few thousand years, when people began leaving written records. Historians want to answer this question: What happened in the past? To find out, they study all kinds of artifacts and documents. They read diaries and letters. Besides asking what happened in the past, historians try to understand why events happened the way they did.Geographers: Mapping the Past Geographers study the natural features of Earth, such as water, landforms, plants, and animals. Geographers also look at human-made features, such as towns, roads, bridges, and dams. These scientists help us answer such questions as: Where did people live? How did they use their environment to survive? Geographers often create maps to show what they have learned.Social scientists who study prehistoric history face a unique challenge—a lack of evidence from this period. In fact, huge gaps of time have no evidence at all. Therefore, scientists may come up with

Source: Introduction, Section 1 – TCI, Section 2,3 -www.worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.edu, adapted by Erik Andracek

©Sisse Brimberg/National Geographic Image Collection/Getty ImagesPrehistoric paintings of bulls were found in a cave in Lascaux, France.well as fruits and vegetables.

different answers or theories about how humans came to be.

Section 2 Early Humans

One hundred million years ago the largest group of land based animals was the dinosaurs. However, about 65 million years all the dinosaurs died off. Now other types of large animals were free to populate the Earth. The most successful type of animal in the last 65 million years has been mammals. Mammals are very different than dinosaurs. Mammals are warm-blooded animals with fur. Mammals grow their young in their mother’s womb and feed their young with mother’s milk. With the dinosaurs gone, many more mammals and different types of mammals populated (grew in numbers and lived in) the Earth. There appeared grass-eaters, meat-eaters, swimming mammals such as whales, and even flying mammals such as bats. Over time, one group of mammals would eventually become humans.

Early Humans One family of mammals, the primates, lived in the trees. To survive in trees they needed good 3-D vision and a brain large enough to process a lot of visual information. They also needed hands that could grip things with precision. Among this group of primates were a specialized group that had learned to live part of their life on the ground. These primates were called “Great Apes”.

Modern humans and our ancestors belonged to a branch of the "great apes" called Hominins. Hominin is a scientific classification that is used to refer to various species of Great Apes that showed certain human like characteristics. The first Hominins appeared some four to six million years ago, in Africa. What made the first Hominins different from other “great apes” was that they could stand upright. Their brains, however, were still much smaller than modern humans. In Africa, the Hominin population grew and soon there were many new Hominin species.

Early Hominins probably lived much like modern chimpanzees or gorillas. They lived in small, family-sized groups that gathered most of their food from plants. At times they also ate insects and small animals. They also occasionally ate the meat of larger animals that had died.

Source: Introduction, Section 1 – TCI, Section 2,3 -www.worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.edu, adapted by Erik Andracek

Source: Robert HardingHomo habilis, a species of Hominin, may have used simple stone tools to skin animals. Scientists believe that this group ate meat as well as fruits and vegetables.

Specialize: evolve for a specific purpose or to live in a certain way

Early Humans Migrate out of Africa Over time, there were many different species of Hominins. Hominins evolved over time and their physical characteristics changed. About two million years ago a Hominin species, known as Homo erectus, migrated (move from one area to another) of Africa to parts of Europe and Asia.

Scientists use a two part name early humans and other animals. The first part of the name, Homo, is used to describe a certain type of Hominin that is more closely related to modern humans. The second term, erectus, is used to specify the specific Homo species that is being talked about.

When Homo erectus migrated out of Africa it was a major step in human evolution because it meant that these early humans had learned how to adapt to new environments. Homo erectus had learned how to sharpen rocks to make tools and also learned to make fire. With that new knowledge they were able to live in places that their bodies were not built for.

Modern Humans Appear Around 200,000 years ago a Hominin group called Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalis) lived in parts of Africa, Europe and Asia. These Neanderthals were similar to modern humans but stronger. They had very large brains and were skilled toolmakers, much more than Homo erectus. Neanderthals were also hunters and fishers. They also likely

Source: Introduction, Section 1 – TCI, Section 2,3 -www.worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.edu, adapted by Erik Andracek

Source: www.worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.eduThis map shows the likely route Homo sapiens took as the migrated out of Africa and populated the world. Notice how long this likely took.

Source: www.worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.eduThe above chart shows when some major, early humans lived on this Earth.

lived with a sense of community. Scientists are still unsure how Neanderthals are related to modern humans (Homo sapiens). We do know that Modern Humans and Neanderthals lived side-by-side on the Earth at the same time.

Eventually Homo sapiens (modern Humans) would be the only surviving species of the Hominins. Homo sapiens also migrated farther than any previous Hominin. In the next section you will read about what makes us unique and why we are able to survive in a variety of places around the world.

Section 3 - Language and Collective learning

As humans started migrating out of Africa 100,000 years ago they discovered new places that were very different from what they were used to. They had to adapt the way they lived in order to live in forests, deserts and swampy areas. If it was cold, they needed to know how to warm themselves. If it was a desert, they had to figure out how to collect enough drinking water. Each new location that humans found themselves in had a new set of problems to overcome. But how were humans able to do this, what made humans so special? Why are chimps, which are very similar to humans, stuck in Africa? It turns out that our ability to talk to each other is a key to our survival.

Symbolic Language is Key Both chimps and humans can communicate but only humans are capable of symbolic language. Symbolic Language is using words to express new or abstract ideas like emotions or unseen objects. Symbolic Language allows humans to use words to describe things and ideas in great detail and talk about the world in a way that no other creature can. That means that humans can plan, figure out what went wrong, tell stories and use language to pass on large amounts of information from generation to generation. Symbolic language also appears related to complex thought.

Having symbolic language allows us to think in deeper and more complex ways than without language. Humans are able to understand and think about the world in a way that no other mammal can. As humans developed language, they developed more complex thinking and a way to teach future generations, both things that chimpanzees and early Hominins lacked.

Humans are different than chimps because humans can become smarter over time. Chimps can communicate but do not have symbolic language so they are only able to teach their young through demonstration. Chimps are also stuck in the present; they cannot describe the past or the future. Because of this, chimps do not increase their knowledge over time; a chimp only becomes as smart as their parents. Humans, on the other hand, are able to share knowledge and learn from each other by just talking. That means that generation after

Source: Introduction, Section 1 – TCI, Section 2,3 -www.worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.edu, adapted by Erik Andracek

Source: www.worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.eduThis cave painting created by humans 18,000 years ago is an example of using symbolic language. Humans were using these images to represent real world animals and events.

Adapt: to change for a new situation or adjust to new conditions.

Symbolic language: a specialized language that allows for a greater range of information

generation humans became smarter and smarter by learning from each other. As a result, humans store of knowledge about hunting, making tools and weapons, gathering food, using plants for healing, organizing themselves and a thousand other topics grow from generation to generation. The Human species becomes smarter over time.

Symbolic Language Leads to Collective Learning This ability to use language to teach each other and store knowledge in a community is referred to as “collective learning” and is something that other animals cannot do because they do not have language.

Collective learning made it possible for humans to adapt to new environments without having to physically change. Humans were able to learn what their parents knew and improve on it. They were then able to tell other members of the community about it and increase the store of information of a community.

As time went on, groups of humans got smarter and smarter through collective learning. They learned and taught each other how to make clothing. They created new tools and improved on older ones. They taught each other how to fish and what types of berries were edible. Each new thing that a human learned about survival was possible because they were able to build on knowledge that someone else passed to them by using symbolic language.

By using this store of information, humans were able to adapt and survive throughout the globe and populate the entire planet. This store of knowledge is always increasing and humans continue to get smarter and smarter. Collective learning made it possible for humans to land on the moon and build the car and to live longer than we have ever been able to.

Source: Introduction, Section 1 – TCI, Section 2,3 -www.worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.edu, adapted by Erik Andracek

Collective learning: increasing the total knowledge of a group through the learning and teaching by its members.