POPULATING THE WORLD

Prehistory-2500 B.C.

The People Who Study History

Prehistory= history before written records.

How do we go about finding out what happened before written records?

Archaeologists study artifacts. Anthropologists study culture. Paleontologists study fossils and use

science to date the bones and rocks. They usually have very small samples to work with.

Terms to Know History= the study of past events Geography=the study of physical

features of the earth and the atmosphere Economics=branch of knowledge

concerned with production, consumption, and distribution of wealth

Political Science=branch of knowledge that deals with systems of government

Theology=the study of the nature of God and religious belief

Origins of Man Most scientists agree that early man emerged

from eastern and central Africa and spread to other parts of the world over millions of years.

Early man had to adapt to changing conditions and challenges. Earliest ancestors of man date to over 4 million years ago.

Neanderthals will move out of Africa 70,000 years ago. More modern looking humans appear 40-50,000 years ago.

Radiocarbon dating allows scientists to roughly date bones. This gives us a rough idea of how early man evolved.

Early Human Migration

Important Discoveries Mary Leakey was an archaeologist who

discovered prehistoric footprints that resembled a human footprint in 1978 in Tanzania (East Africa). This demonstrated that early man was walking upright millions of years ago.

Humans and creatures that walk upright are called Hominids. Hominids are split into five separate categories and are thought to have developed around 4 million years ago.

Mary Leakey

Donald Johanson and “Lucy”

Johanson was an anthropologist who discovered an adult female skeleton in 1974.

Site was 1,000 miles to the North of where Mary Leakey was working. Located in Ethiopia.

3.5 million years old. Nicknamed “Lucy” after the Beatles song. Oldest Hominid found until “Ardi” in 2009 (4.4

million years old). Walking helped earliest Hominids saved energy,

made travel easier, and helped find and escape potential threats.

Opposable thumb was also developed by Hominids. Made it easier to pick up objects and make tools.

“Lucy”

Stone Age Old Stone Age called the Paleolithic Age-

2.5 million to 8000 B.C. Invention of tools, mastery of fire, and

the development of language took place in this time.

New Stone Age called the Neolithic Age-8000 B.C. to 3000 B.C.

Polishing stone tools, making pottery, growing crops, and raising animals occurred here.

Cro-Magnons Emerged around 40,000 years ago. Neanderthals died out when the Cro-

Magnons emerged. Skeletons are identical to modern

humans. Planned their hunts and used strategy to

better survive. Spoke more advanced language. Population thus grew faster.

Humans Try to Control Nature Humans now have a more modern

appearance and they begin to develop new technology and skills.

Men and women of the Old Stone Age were Nomads and subsequently, hunter-gatherers.

Used spears to kill game and tools to dig. Art came about in the Paleolithic Age.

Elaborate necklaces made form bones or teeth as well as cave paintings have been discovered.

Cave Painting

Neolithic Revolution This was an agricultural revolution that

occurred 10,000 years ago. Small groups of people had survived for

thousands of years on edible plants and small fruits.

People used to be hunter-gatherers (food obtained from fruits, plants, and wild animals.

Crops were planted, probably by accident. Change in climate provided longer growing

seasons and drier land for cultivation. Farming provided reliable source of food.

Revolution-Continued Slash-and-burn farming. Cut trees or

grass and burned them to clear a field. Ashes fertilized the soil.

Animals like horses, dogs, goats, and pigs became domesticated. They could be kept as a constant source of food.

This revolution occurred many times because many groups of people had to discover the same thing. Not much of a global community then at this time.

Revolution-Continued Africa-Nile River Valley became important

center for wheat, barley, and other crops. China-Grain called millet was cultivated.

Wild rice was later cultivated in the Chang Jiang River Delta.

Mexico and Central America-Corn, beans, and squash.

Peru-Tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and white potatoes.

Catal Huyuk Agricultural village in central Turkey. Shows how settled life may have been

8,000 years ago. Farmed wheat, barley, and peas. Raised

sheep and cattle. Used dark, volcanic rock to make pottery,

jewelry, and knives which could be traded. Art and religious shrines were located here. This was the beginning of more advanced

civilizations.

Catal Huyuk

Civilization-Economic Changes Agriculture changed how people lived.

They came together in larger, more organized communities.

Irrigation systems were built to produce more crops.

Because people had more food, they could pursue other interests like trading, crafting, or inventing things.

Wheel and sail allowed traders to transport more goods over longer distances.

Civilization-Social Changes More cooperation and labor was required

in a large civilization. As special groups of workers came about,

social classes emerged. They had different degrees of wealth, power, and influence.

Religion became more organized. Beliefs centered around nature, animal spirits, and some form of afterlife. Why would they care about nature?

Sumer/Sumeria One of the first civilizations was in Sumer

(4500 B.C.), a region in what is now Iraq. Sumer was located in Mesopotamia.

Civilization must have these characteristics:

1. Advanced cities2. Specialized workers3. Complex institutions4. Record keeping5. Advanced technology

Sumer Art

Civilization-Continued Cities were birthplaces of first civilizations. City is a center of trade for a larger area. Specialized workers came about because of a surplus

of food and a growing population. Artisans designed jewelry, weapons, pottery, and tools. Complex institutions came about because a system of

ruling or government became necessary. These helped maintain order.

People begin to see the need to keep records such as taxes, laws, calendars, etc. System of writing began.

Sumerian system of writing was called Cuneiform. Early versions contained pictographs, or symbols of the objects they represented.

Cuneiform

Sumer 3500 B.C. Sumer artisans discovered that

by melting copper and tin you could make bronze. Helps to bring about the Bronze Age.

By 2500 B.C. bronze spearheads were being mass produced.

This period is called the Bronze Age because people were using bronze, instead of copper and stone, to make tools and weapons.

Ur Ur was a city in Sumer. 30,000 people

lived here. At its peak in 3,000 B.C. Excavated between 1922-1934 Bartering was used when goods and

services were traded without money. Ziggurat was most important building in

Ur. It was a pyramid-shaped monument. Means “mountain of god.” Priests conducted rituals here and often sacrificed animals.

Ur Ziggurat

Ur Artwork