Lecture Ch 1 Early Mankind (Human Beginnings)

Discovery of Early Humans in Africa

I. Dating Early Artifacts

      A. Archaeologists and physical anthropologists face the problem of assigning a definite age to remains.

      B. Among the techniques for determining the age of remains are radiocarbon dating and DNA analysis.

II. Prehistoric Finds in Africa

A.     In 1992 a paleontologist in Ethiopia discovered 4.4 million-year-old fossils belonging to the oldest

            direct human ancestor known.

B.     In 1974, again in Ethiopia, two scientists uncovered a nearly complete skeleton of a 3.2 million-year-

            old hominid nicknamed "Lucy."

C.     In 1994 a reasonably complete skull of a Lucy-like hominid provided evidence that Lucy-like

            hominids could walk upright.

III. Human Origins

      A. Australopithecus, the first pre-human hominid, lived in eastern and southern

            Africa about 4.4 million years ago.

      B. Scientists divide Homo—the genus of humans—into three species: Homo habilis. Homo erectus, and

            Homo sapiens.

IV.The Ice Age

A.     Between 2 million and 10,000 years ago. Earth experienced four periods called the Ice Ages, during

            which only the middle latitudes were warm enough to support human and animal life.

      B. Early human beings adapted to the Ice Ages by migrating to warmer places

            or developing strategies for keeping warm.

V. Human Culture

A.     Culture includes the knowledge a people have, the language they speak, the ways in which they eat

            and dress, their religious beliefs, and their achievements in art and music. 

B.     One of the earliest cultural developments was the use of stone tools, which has led historians to apply

            the name "Stone Age" to the period before writing was widely established.

VI. Paleolithic Hunter-Gatherers

A.     Homo habilis, who lived during the Paleolithic, are the oldest hominids known to have manufactured

            tools.

B.     Homo erectus, who began as food gatherers but became hunters by developing weapons, utilized fire

            and made clothing from animal skins.

C.     Scientists disagree on when prehistoric peoples migrated out of Africa, but there is general

            agreement that Homo erectus was established in China and Europe by about 400,000 years ago.

D.     By 50,000 B.C. prehistoric peoples had developed language, which allowed them to exchange ideas

             and pass their knowledge on to the next generation.

1:2. The Appearance of Homo Sapiens

I. The Neanderthals

A.     Neanderthals, probably the first Homo sapiens, began spreading into Europe and Asia about 100,000

            years ago.

      B. Neanderthals' tool making ability was more sophisticated than that of Homo erectus.

C.     Most Neanderthals lived in groups of 35 to 50 people, either in open-air camps or in non-permanent

            dwellings such as caves.

      D. The Neanderthals were culturally advanced in their care for the sick and aged and in their treatment of

            the dead.

II. Homo Sapiens Sapiens

A.     Most scientists believe that modern humans, or Homo sapiens sapiens in Europe, originated in Africa

            about 50,000 years ago and soon came to dominate almost every continent.

B.     The Cro-Magnons, the earliest Homo sapiens sapiens, brought with them improved technology and a

            more sophisticated culture.

      C. The advances the Cro-Magnons made in tool making transformed human life by making long-distance

            travel possible and increasing the supply of food

      D.  The Cro-Magnons' increased food supply had political and social consequences, including the

            cooperation of unrelated bands of Cro-Magnons and the evolution of rule-making and leadership.                               

E.      Cro-Magnons at first lived in temporary structures, but as their hunting methods advanced, they built

            permanent communities.

      F. The Cro-Magnons were accomplished cave painters and sculptors.

III. The Neolithic Revolution (pages 29-31)

A.     During the Neolithic period and immediately after, people gradually shifted from gathering and

            hunting food to producing food.

B.     The Mesolithic period, during which people domesticated animals and developed farming tools, was a forerunner of the Neolithic Revolution.

C.     In different parts of the world, the Neolithic Revolution took place at different times and involved

            different crops and animals.

D.     Farming assured a steady food supply and enabled people to stay longer in one place, but it also

            required harder and longer work.

E.      With the development of agriculture, people began to settle in agricultural villages instead of

            wandering as nomads.

F.      Neolithic farmers made agricultural work easier and more productive by inventing the plow and

            fertilizing their fields.

G.     The relatively steady food supply quickened the pace of technological advance and led to the

            development of calendars, land ownership, and warfare.

      H. Neolithic people believed in deities with the power to hurt or help people

Early civilizations' surplus of food was made possible by a variety of
agricultural innovations. Among these was the cross-breeding of
crops. In the Indus Valley, for instance, bread-wheat was produced
from the crossing of local goatsface grass with Western Asiatic enmer
wheat.

Emergence of Civilization

I. River Valley Civilizations

A.     A civilization is a highly organized society with an advanced knowledge of farming, trade,

            government, art, and science.

      B. Many early civilizations arose from farming settlements in river valleys.

C.     Early river valley civilizations depended on the specialization of labor, advanced technology, a  

            government to coordinate large-scale cooperative efforts, and a shared system of values and beliefs.

      D. Some societies remained as small agricultural villages or hunter-and-gatherer bands.

II. The Economy of a Civilization

      A. The economy of early civilizations depended on the growth of surplus food.

B.     Farmers could produce a surplus of crops because early civilizations built massive irrigation systems

            and dikes and dams to prevent flooding.

C.     As people continued to specialize in ways of earning a living, workers skilled in a craft became

            increasingly productive and creative.

D.     Historians refer to the period that followed the Stone Age as the Bronze Age because bronze replaced

            stone as the chief material for weapons and tools.

      E.   Bronze was expensive and therefore used only by kings, priests, and soldiers.

F.      Long-distance trade accompanied the rise of early civilizations.

G   Along with goods, ideas were shared across cultures, stimulating the improvement of skills  

            throughout the world

III. The Rise of Cities

A.     As civilizations grew more prosperous and complex, cities faced the need to supervise and protect

            agriculture and trade.

      B.  Early city dwellers solved these problems in two ways: they organized a group of government    

            officials to act as supervisors, and they hired professional soldiers to guard their territory and trade

            routes.

C. The ruling class, made up of government leaders, military officials, priests, and often a king, justified

            its power by means of religion.

D.     Archaeological studies of the physical layout of ancient cities provide evidence of levels of social

            standing.

E.      Many archaeologists think that writing originated with the records that priests kept of religious

      offerings.

IV. Systems of Values (pages 35-36)

A.     Among the materials recorded by the priesthoods in early civilizations were myths—

            traditional stories explaining how the world was formed, how people came into being,

            and what they owed their creator.

B.     Creation myths, found in every civilization, are often examined by historians for evidence

            of a people's customs and values.