Early Man and the Stone Age



Early Man and the Stone Age

decade: a period of 10 years

century: a period of 100 years

circa or c.: a word historians use when they are not sure of an exact date. It means “around’, or “about”.

BC: a term used to identify events that happened before the birth of Jesus Christ

BCE: another way to say BC; it means “before the common era”

AD: a term used to identify dates after Jesus’ birth. It comes from the Latin phrase “anno Domini” which means “in the year of our Lord.”

CE: another way to say AD. It means “common era.”

prehistory: the time before there was writing. Writing is thought to have been invented about 5,000 years ago.

To learn about prehistoric times and the very first humans, we must rely on fossil remains and artifacts discovered by archeologists and anthropologists. Discoveries of ancient bones give us information about early humans and their ancestors, but not all scientists agree on the meaning of these discoveries. Scientists develop theories based on what they find, since there are no written records to tell us specifically about these times.

fossils: a part or imprint of something that was once alive. Bones and footprints preserved in rock are examples of fossils.

tool: a handheld object that has been modified to help a person accomplish a task (do a job, or work)

artifact: a simple object (like a tool or ornament, coin, pottery, or toy) showing human workmanship or modification; objects created and used by humans.

archeology: the study of the past based on things that people left behind.

**archeologist: a person who studies archeology

“The purpose of history is not the reader’s enjoyment at the moment of perusal (reading it), but the reformation (improvement) of the reader’s soul, to save him from stumbling at the stumbling block many times over.”

Polybius, The Histories, vol. XXXVII

primary source: an account of an event created by someone who took part in or witnessed the event.

**treaties, letters, diaries, laws, court documents, royal commands, or an audio or

video recording

secondary source: information gathered by someone who did not take part in or witness the event.

**history book, documentary

hominid: early ancestor of humans

ancestor: a relative who lived in the past

Lucy: the hominid found by Donald Johanson in 1974 in east Africa. Lucy is thought to have lived about 3.5 million years ago. She was small and walked on two legs.

“We reluctantly headed back toward camp . . . I glanced over my right shoulder.

Light glinted off a bone. I knelt down for a closer look . . . Everywhere we looked

On the slope around us we saw more bones lying on the surface.”

Donald Johanson, describing his discovery of Lucy in Ancestors: In Search of Human Origins

homo habilis: “handy man” – more closely related to modern humans

homo erectus: “upright man” – these people walked completely upright like modern people do; they could control fire

Fire: used to cook food, for warmth, and for protection against wild animals

homo sapien: “wise man” thought to have appeared in Africa about 200,000 years ago

migrate: move

During the Old Stone Age, climate patterns around the world changed, transforming the earth’s geography. In response to these changes people migrated to different areas.

Ice Ages: about 1.6 million years ago, many places around the world began to experience long periods of freezing weather.

**During the Ice Ages, people believe the ocean levels dropped, leaving a land bridge (strip of land that connected continents) between Asia and North America, which allowed people of the Old Stone Age to migrate around the world.

** Humans began to migrate from east Africa to southern Africa and southwest Asia. From there they migrated east across southern Asia, and then on to Australia. From southwestern Asia, humans also migrated north into Europe. (Geographic features such as high mountains and cold temperatures delayed migration northward into northern Asia and Europe.) From northern Asia, people moved into North America – probably crossing a land bridge. Once in North America, people followed herds of wild animals down throughout North America and into South America. By 9,000 BC, humans lived all over the world, on all continents, except Antarctica.

People had to learn to adapt to new environments. Their food, clothing, and shelter depended upon the resources they found in the new places where they moved.

Paleolithic Era: (Early Stone Age) It lasted from about a million years ago until about 10,000 years ago. During this time, people were hunter-gatherers and fishermen, but not producers of food. They used stone tools which became increasingly sophisticated. They learned to control fire and acquired language. During this time, people began to live in societies, or small groups of people who shared the same culture (common rituals, religious beliefs, and language.)

Mesolithic Era: (Middle Stone Age) tools became smaller and more complex. People invented hooks for fishing and the bow and arrow. They also learned to make canoes and pottery.

Neolithic Era: (New Stone Age) People learned to polish stones to make tools like saws and drills. People also learned to make fire, giving them the ability to cook food, keep themselves warm, and have protection against wild animals. This age ended about 5,000 years ago in most places, when people learned to use metals to make tools.

Neolithic Revolution: tremendous developments brought great change to Neolithic societies:

Fire

Tools

Agriculture

The greatest change during this time was that people went from being gatherers of food to producers of food. After a warming trend in the climate, new plants (barley, wheat) began to grow in some areas. People learned to take the seeds from these plants and grow their own crops.

Domestication: the process of changing plants or animals to make them more useful to humans.

Agriculture: farming either of plants or animals

Learning to use animals for their own purposes meant that people did not have to follow wild herds of animals. They could settle down and keep sheep, goats, or cattle for milk, meat, and wool. They also trained animals to help them carry loads or pull large tools used in farming.

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