Global StudiesUnit 1

Origins of Civilization

Prehistory is the time before written records were kept.

Because these people didn’t write down their history we have to do our best to figure out what happened.

The study of past societies through an analysis of what people have left behind.

Artifacts are those things that people left behind, they can include:

Tools and Weapons Art and Sculpture Pottery

Jewelry Human Remains

Ancient Buildings and Monuments

The study of human life and culture

The remains of ancient plants and animals.

By studying fossils archaeologists and anthropologists can learn about what people ate, what animals they had around, and their way of life.

Humans and other creatures that walk upright on two feet.

About 250,000 years ago Homo sapiens emerged.

Homo Sapiens means “Wise Person.”

This group split into two distinct groups:

Neanderthals and Homo Sapiens Sapiens

Homo Sapiens Sapiens

Neanderthals

Found in the Neander Valley in Germany.

Thought to have lived between 100,000 and 30,000 years ago.

Used stone tools, and buried their dead. It is thought they had some primitive religious beliefs.

Modern Human Beings

Appeared in Africa between 150,000-200,000 years ago

Began to migrate outside of Africa 100,000 years ago.

Replaced the Neanderthals by 30,000 B.C..

By 10,000 B.C. Homo Sapiens Sapiens could be found throughout the world due to migration.

During the last ice age

between 100,000 B.C.

and 8000 B.C. the

water level in the oceans

dropped revealing a land bridge connecting Asia and

North America

The Stone Age

How is the Stone Age divided?

• Paleolithic Period-Old Stone Age-the period from 2.5 million B.C. to around 8000 B.C. During this time man mastered fire, created stone tools, and developed a spoken language.

• Neolithic Age-New Stone Age-the period from 8000 B.C. to 3000 B.C. During this time man used polished stone tools, created tools made of copper, made pottery, grew crops, and raised animals.

“Paleo” means old “Lithic” means stone

Paleolithic= Old Stone Age. This era was called the stone age because early man used stone to make his tools and weapons.

Paleolithic man lived in groups called clans.These clans got their food by Hunting and GatheringOnce the food supply ran out they would move to a different area. Because they moved from place to place they were Nomadic.

Essential KnowledgeWere Nomadic: Wandered from place to place in search of food and shelterInvented the first tools and weapons including simple stone tools.Lived in groups called clans of about 20-30 people, used caves for shelter.Learned to make and control fire to keep warm and cook their food.Developed oral, or spoken languageMade cave art and statues.

The role of men was to do the huntingThe role of women was gathering and caring for children

Use of FireEarly man learned to use fire to adapt to his environment.It was probably discovered from friction, lightning, or accidental hitting two rocks together.

Ice AgesFire was very important during the ice ages. Without fire man would not have been able to survive.

Cave ArtMan has created art for a very long time. There is some argument as to what this art was for. Was it art as art, or art as a form of religion?

What types of tools were created by Paleolithic people?

•They created tools such as spears, hand axes, and arrows from wood and a material called flint.

•They created tools such as needles and fishhooks from animal bones.

How did Paleolithic people live?

• They were nomads traveling from place to place in search of food.

• Women gathered berries, nuts, and grain.

• Men hunted using clubs, spears, traps, and bows and arrows.

• These types of people are called Hunter-Gatherers.

What kinds of shelters did Paleolithic people create?

• Some lived in caves for short periods of time

• Others created shelters from hides and wooden poles

• They were constantly in search of a safe place to stay.

What important discovery occurred during the Paleolithic

Age ?• The people tamed

fire for things like cooking, light, and warmth.

• Taming fire helped keep Paleolithic people warm during the ice ages.

How did Paleolithic people communicate?

•Paleolithic people developed a spoken language.

•This language helped them work together and pass on knowledge.

•They did not have a written language.

Why do historians believe cave art was created?

•They think that cave art had a religious meaning.

•Some think that paintings of animals might have been done to bring good luck during a hunt.

“Neo” means new“Lithic” means stoneNeolithic means new stone age.

The Neolithic Agricultural Revolution was the change from the Paleolithic period to the Neolithic Period.

The thing that allowed for this change was the discovery of agriculture.It is thought that women discovered agriculture.

Systematic Agriculture was the consistent growing of crops on a continuing basis.

Domestication of Animals: In addition to growing crops Neolithic man also tamed animals for hunting (dogs) and other animals for their food such as sheep, cows, etc. . .

Developed AgricultureDomesticated AnimalsUsed Advanced Stone ToolsDeveloped Weaving (better clothing)Made Pottery (for food storage)

How did things change in the Neolithic Age?• The Ice Ages started to end and a

warmer climate began.• People began to domesticate or tame

animals for human use. Animals provided meat, milk, and wool. They also carried goods and pulled carts.

• Women scattered seeds they had collected only to find that the seeds sprouted into crops. People realized they could grow their own food.

What do historians believe is one of the most important events in human

history?

•The beginning of farming and growing crops or the Neolithic Revolution.

What is the Neolithic (farming) revolution?

• A revolution is a change that greatly affects many areas of life.

• People began growing crops around the world at about the same time probably because of the warmer climate.

• Now people could stay in one place and not wander in search of food.

Why did farmers build permanent homes?

•They needed to stay close to their fields to water and care for the crops.

•They needed to watch the fields against wild animals or theft.

What are the benefits of growing crops?

• Steady food supplies meant healthy, growing populations

• Food surpluses allowed some workers to “specialize” in other jobs

• Food surpluses allowed people to trade with other villagers to acquire needed items

What types of work did Specialized workers perform?

•Some made pottery from clay

•Other jobs included toolmakers, weavers, priests and priestesses

One of the earliest farming villages of the Neolithic is Catal Huyuk. It was located in Turkey and at the base of 2 volcanoes. The people of Catal Huyuk used the obsidian obtained from dried volcanic lava to make products.

Found in Anatolia (Modern Day Turkey)Its walls enclosed 32 acres and up to 6,000 people.Grew many different crops and developed artisans and trade.

Catal Huyuk• Early farming village in Asia Minor (modern

Turkey)• About 10,000 years old• Houses were built butting up to one another

and on top of one another.• Dead were buried under platforms used as

beds.• Probably worshipped a “mother” goddess

based on statues of women found at the site.

Archaeology at Catal Huyuk

• Famous “dig” has been in process for over 15 years.

• The site was found under a huge mound of earth and debris.

Catal Huyuk HomeMud bricks dry in the sunThe bricks hardened in seven to fifteen days. More than 800 of them were used to build the house!

A clay oven used for cooking and warmth is inside the house.

Living area of the house with oven and ladder to roof entry.

Sleeping area of the house.

Dead were buried here.

Burial site of woman and child.

Roof entry into the house.

Artist recreates wall painting using water, iron oxide red pigment, ammonia, and a milk product.

What metals did Neolithic people begin to work with?

• Toolmakers experimented with using metal to make tools

• At first they used copper which they heated and poured into molds

• Later they mixed copper and tin to form bronze. Bronze was harder and more useful than copper.

• Historians now call the period from 3000 BC to 1200 BC “The Bronze Age”