The Rise of CivilizationChapter 1

Prehistory – 2300 B.C.

Lesson 1: Early HumansLesson 2: The Neolithic Revolution

Lesson 3: Mesopotamia

Bellringer Question

• What do archaeology and anthropology, and history teach us about prehistoric humans?

Archaeology

• Archaeology is the study of past societies through analysis of what people left behind.

• Archaeologists dig up and examine artifacts.• Artifacts: objects made by humans.• Can you think of examples of artifacts?

• Tools, weapons, art, buildings, etc.

What might these artifacts reveal about the humans who made them?

Archaeologists at Work

Anthropology

• Anthropology is the study of human life and culture.

• Culture includes what people wear, how they organize their society, and what they value.

• Anthropologists use artifacts and human fossils to create a picture of people’s everyday lives.

• Fossils are rocklike remains of organisms

Methods

• Archaeologists and anthropologists have developed scientific methods in their work

• They excavate sites, or carefully dig up land, to uncover fossil remains of early humans, burial grounds, and other objects.

• By examining artifacts, these scientists learn many important things about an ancient society.

Dating Artifacts and Fossils

• One of the most difficult jobs for these scientists is dating their finds.

• One method used to determine age is carbon dating. • All living things absorb a small amount of radioactive

carbon, or C-14, from the atmosphere. • After a living thing dies, it loses carbon. By

measuring the amount left in an object, scientists can figure out its age.

• Works for objects no more than about 50,000 years old.

Thermoluminescence

• For objects dating back to 200,000 years ago, scientists can make precise measurements by using thermoluminescence.

• The measures of light given off by electrons trapped in the soil surrounding fossils and artifacts.

Chlorophane exhibiting thermoluminescence when heated.Chlorophane

Bellringer • Make a list of three historical artifacts that

provide clues about how humans lived in the past. Describe what these clues are.

• Artifacts can be from any period in history• You will share your list with the class.

History

• Like archaeologists and anthropologists, historians also study how people lived in the past.

• Historians study artifacts, but rely even more on written evidence.

• About 5,000 years ago, people in different parts of the world began to keep written records.

• That even marked the beginning of recorded history.

Theories on prehistory and early man constantly change as new evidence comes to light.

- Louis Leakey, British paleoanthropologist

Theories on prehistory and early man constantly change as new evidence comes to light.

- Louis Leakey, British paleoanthropologist

Hominids to Homo Sapiens

• What is a Hominid? • A hominid is a humanlike creature that walked

upright.

Stage 1 (4,000,000 BC)

• The earliest hominid, the Australopithecus lived in Africa 4 million years ago.

• Opposable thumb• Small body and brain size.

Australopithecus

Early Hominid Discoveries in

Africa

Stage 2(2,500,000 – 1,600,000 BC)

• A more advanced hominid developed with a somewhat larger brain.

• Homo Habilis, “man of skills” or “handy human”

• Created and used stone tools• Lived in caves• Remained in Africa

Stage 3(1,500,000-250,000 BC)

• Homo Erectus, or “upright human”• Had arms and legs in modern human

proportion. • First hominid to use fire. • Probably the first hominid to leave Africa

Discovery of Fire

Stage 4(250,000-30,000 BC)

• Homo Sapiens “Wise human”• Showed rapid brain growth and mastered fire.• Spread out of Africa and to other parts of the

world about 100,000 years ago• Replaced populations of other early hominids

in Europe and Asia called Neanderthals.

Stage 5(30,000 B.C. to present)

• Homo Sapiens Sapiens or “wise wise human”• The spread of these early humans was a slow

process. • Over many thousands of years, Homo Sapiens

Sapiens spread over the globe as they searched for food.

• In a whole generation, they may have moved only two or three miles.

• Over tens of thousands of years, this was enough to populate the world.

Bering Land Bridge

Homework Review – Page 8

• Question 1: Apply the “out of Africa” theory to explain the connection between early hominids such as Neanderthals and Homo sapiens sapiens.

• Answer: The “out-of-Africa” theory says that Homo sapiens sapiens probably spread out of Africa to other parts of the world. Homo sapiens sapiens replaced populations of earlier hominids in Europe and Asia.

• Question 2: • Use your notes and other ideas to describe

early humans and their lives during the Paleolithic Age.

• Answer: During the Paleolithic Age, early humans used simple stone tools and lived a nomadic life based on hunting and gathering. They lived in small groups.

• Question 3: • How do we define and learn about prehistory?

• Answer: Prehistory is the time before writing was developed. To learn about this time, archaeologists examine artifacts and human fossils. These objects help reveal information about early societies.

• Question 4: • How did hominids develop?

• Answer: Hominids developed from Australopithecus, found in eastern and southern Africa. From these “southern apes,” other hominids developed: homo habilis, and homo erectus.

Bellringer• You will be creating a timeline in your notebook.• Label your timeline “Evolution of Early Hominids”• Include earliest dates for the following:• 1. Australopithecus • 2. Homo Habilis• 3. Homo Erectus• 4. Homo Sapien• 5. Homo Sapien Sapien• 6. Discovery of fire• 7. Migration out of Africa

The Paleolithic Age

• Paleolithic Age – 2,500,000 BC – 10,000 BC• Also known as the “Old Stone Age”.• Early humans were survived through the use

of simple stone tools. • Over the years, Paleolithic hunters developed

better tools. • Bow and arrow, fishhooks, harpoons, made

hunting easier.

Nomads

• For hundreds of thousands of years, humans relied on hunting and gathering for daily food.

• People were nomadic – moved from place to place to survive.

• Travelled in small groups of 20 to 30 people. • Followed animal migration and vegetation

cycles.

The Ice Ages

• Most recent Ice Age began around 100,000 BC. and ended about 8,000 BC.

• During this time, thick sheets of ice covered large parts of Europe, Asia, and North America.

• Sea levels went down and people migrated across land bridges that had not existed before.

• Having fire as a source of heat was important in Ice Age conditions.

Paleolithic Art

• Paleolithic peoples did more than just survive• Cave paintings of large animals were found at

Lascaux in France and in Altamira in Spain.• Reveals cultural activity of Paleolithic peoples.

Chauvet Cave

• The Chauvet cave discovered in France in 1994 contained more than 300 paintings of lions, oxen, owls, panthers, and other animals.

• Through carbon dating, archaeologists date the Chauvet cave art at about 32,000 years old.

Purpose?

• Most of these were animals they did not hunt, which indicates they were painted for religious or decorative purposes.

Lesson 2

The Neolithic Revolution8,000 B.C. – 4,000 B.C

Agricultural Revolution

• Objective: How did developments in the Neolithic period impact early human history?

Agricultural Revolution

• Some historians believe this revolution was the single most important development in human history.

• Neolithic Revolution: shift from hunting of animals and gathering of food to the keeping of animals and growing of food.

• Systematic Agriculture: keeping of animals and growing of food on a regular basis.

Shift away from Nomadic Life

• Agriculture requires nomadic peoples to live in permanent settlements.

• Populations begin to rise in areas where plant and animal domestication occurred.

• When the first plow is invented, crop production increases rapidly

• by 4000 BC. World population grows from 5-8 million to 60-70 million.

Surplus • Definition: More than what is needed or

required.• With the agricultural revolution, food surplus

came as a result. • What were some of the effects of food surplus?

•People didn’t have to worry about finding food all the time•People had food stored for winter season•Increased leisure time•Freedom to pursue other interests

Use of Animals

• Domestication of animals: adapting animals for human use

• Reliable source of meat, milk, wool• Could be used to do work

Farming Villages

• Growing crops regularly gave rise to permanent settlements, called Neolithic farming villages.

• Appeared in Europe, India, Egypt, China, and Mesoamerica.

• Oldest villages were in Middle East• Turn to MAP Pg 10

First Villages Develop

JerichoModern Israel

First settled:8000BCE

CatalhuyukModern Turkey

First settled: 7000BCE

Between 8,000 BC and 5,000 BC, agriculture developed in various parts of the world. What do you notice about the core areas?

Middle East India Meso/South America China Southeast Asia

11,000 BCE 7,000 BCE 6,000 BCE 6,000 BCE 5,000 BCE

Middle East India Meso/South America China Southeast Asia

11,000 BCE 7,000 BCE 6,000 BCE 6,000 BCE 5,000 BCE

Advantages & Costs of Agriculture

Advantages Costs

•Steady food supplies•Surplus•Greater populations•Leads to organized societies capable of supporting job specialization (soldiers, weavers, scribes, etc.)

•Heavily dependant on certain food crops (failure = starvation)

•Disease from close contact with animals, humans, & waste

•Can’t easily leave sites

Effects of Farming

Why do you think the development of agriculture

occurred around the same time in several different places?

Why do you think the development of agriculture

occurred around the same time in several different places?

Why do some archaeologists believe that

women were the first farmers?

Why do some archaeologists believe that

women were the first farmers?

Advanced

Cities

Government

Social Structure

Art

Religion

Writing

6 Features of Civilization

1. Advanced cities- large populations that rely on farming and TRADE

2. Government – organization and regulation of human activity, providing for smooth interactions between individuals and groups.

3. Religion – developed to explain forces of nature and their role in the world. Rituals grew, and were aimed at pleasing the gods.

4. Social Structure – Rulers, priests, government officials, and warriors dominated society. Below were farmers, artisans, craftspeople, and at the bottom were slaves. based on economic power.

5. Writing – upper classes used writing to keep records as well as for creative expression. Produced world’s first works of literature.

6. Art/Architecture – Architects built temples and pyramids as places for worship and burial of kings. Painters and sculptors portrayed stories of nature and depicted gods and rulers they worshipped.

Which aspects of Civilization do these images depict?