Post on 25-Dec-2015
description
© Oxford University Press España S.A., 2012
The S
tone
Age
OBJECTIVES
1 Identify the chronological boundaries of the prehistoric era.
2 Learn about the evolution of hominids up until the appearance of today’s
human beings.
3 Distinguish the different periods of the Stone Age and learn about the skills,
way of life, socioeconomic structure and artistic expression in each of them.
4 Explain the consequences of changes in the climate, flora and fauna that
occurred at the end of the Paleolithic Age and the start of the Neolithic Age.
5 Describe the changes that took place in the economy and way of life, which
defined the Neolithic Revolution, and understand the importance of these.
6 Learn about the main features of the Paleolithic and Neolithic Ages in Spain.
7 Respect the ways of life of communities from the past.
8 Recognise and appreciate the artistic and cultural manifestations of the Stone
Age.
CONTENTS
1- Prehistory.
2- Origin and evolution of human beings.
3- Life in the Paleolithic Age.
4- The Neolithic Revolution.
5- The Stone Age in Spain.
What do we know?
PREHISTORY
▪ Long period of time → started with the appearance of the first human beings
→ ended with the invention of writing
→ divided into two prehistoric ages:
❑ The Stone Age: Paleolithic and Neolithic
❑ The Metal Age: Copper, Bronze and Iron Ages
THE FIRST HUMAN BEINGS
➢ HOMINIDS: upper primates who walked upright and all their descendants.
They appeared in Africa and some spread the rest of the world.
➢ PROCESS OF HOMINISATION: evolution of hominids that made them
become human beings like us today:
■ Bipedalism
■ More developed brain
■ Ability to make tools and utensils
■ Use of language
The origin of human beings
Which of these hominids used tools?
Which of these hominids knew about fire?
Homo antecessor Homo neanderthalensis
Homo sapiens sapiens
LIFE IN THE PALEOLITHIC AGE
ECONOMY AND SOCIETY
❏ CLIMATE: cold periods alternated with milder periods
❏ FOOD
❏ They were predators, not producers
❏ Hunting and fishing
❏ Fruit, honey, eggs gathering
❏ NOMADIC LIFE:
❏ Caves or shelters grouped to form camps
❏ groups of 20/30 people: hordes → tribes
❏ HIERARCHICAL groups of people and TASKS SHARED between:
❏ MEN: hunting, defence, tools making
❏ WOMEN: looked after children, gathered fruit, tended fire,
hunted small animals, treated animal hides
❏ RELIGIOUS BELIEFS: THEY BELIEVED IN THE FORCES OF NATURE
(RAIN, SUN…) → They buried their dead
The Palaeolithic Age
Where are the people in these images?
What activities are the Palaeolithic people in these images doing?
Palaeolithic skills
What are the people in each image doing?
Why was each of these skills important?
WORKING WITH STONE ANIMAL HIDES
MAKING AND CONTROLLING FIRE
LIFE IN THE PALEOLITHIC AGE
ART
❏ CAVE PAINTINGS: Earliest expressions of art
❏ THEORIES THAT EXPLAIN ROCK PAINTING → ANIMALS
❏ AS A WAY THAT ALLOWED THEM TO HUNT ANIMALS MORE
EASILY
❏ AS A WAY OF EXPRESSING THEMSELVES
❏ AS A WAY OF SHOWING WHAT THEY HAD SEEN
❏ REALISM OF REPRESENTATIONS
❏ THEY OBTAINED COLOURS FROM NATURE (E.G. RED FROM
IRON/BLOOD)
❏ THEY USED THEIR FINGERS OF BRUSHES MADE WITH ANIMAL
HAIR
❏ OTHER FORMS OF ART
❏ BATONS → Bone of horn
❏ VENUS STATUES → ivory, stone, bone → symbols of fertility
Palaeolithic art
What type of art can you see in these images?
Why do you think Palaeolithic people produced these works of art?
THE NEOLITHIC REVOLUTION
BEGAN AROUND 7000 BC AND LASTED UNTIL 3500 BC WRITING
REVOLUTION IMPORTANT ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CHANGES
ECONOMY AND SOCIETY
Climate change increase in the world Tº transformation of flora and fauna
more forests more herbivores moved north less food for humans
Increase in plant species: barley, wild wheat, millet, rice, maize, sunflowers,
People lived from agriculture and livestock keeping discovery of agriculture
Humans stopped being predators and became producers
They domesticated animals such as sheep, goats, pigs, oxen, asses
They became sedentary permanent settlements
Division of labour different jobs done by different people
Religious beliefs religious rites (burials to worship the dead) necropolises
The Neolithic revolution
Where are the people in these images?
What activities are the Neolithic people in these images doing?
The Neolithic economy
What crops grew in Europe and the Middle East in the Neolithic Age?
Why did new plant species appear in the Neolithic Age?
THE NEOLITHIC REVOLUTION
SKILLS
- Stonework new agricultural tools: ploughs, scythes, axes (marble, granite)
- Materials vegetable fibres, linen, cotton, wool, esparto grass (in looms)
- Pottery first, pots directly baked in the fire; later they invented the kiln
ART
- Ceramic pots were painted and decorated
- Funeral idols (stone/bone)
- Rock painting more schematic; people as the main topic; but also hunting scenes,
ritual dances (religious significance)
Neolithic skills
What are the people in each image doing?
Why was each of these skills important?
THE STONE AGE IN SPAIN
PALEOLITHIC
- People lived from hunting, fishing and gathering
- They lived in caves and outdoor shelters (Cave of Morín, Cantabria)
NEOLITHIC
- They grew wheat and barley (cereals); they kept goats, sheep, etc
- Areas: North-East (caves in Montserrat); East (La Sarsa, Bocairent cardial
pots); Andalucia (cardial pots)
- Most significant cave painting are in Levante (Cogull, Valltorta)
The Stone Age in Spain
Which parts of Spain have Neolithic sites?
In which of these sites have Cardial pots been found?