Early+Civilizations

= = http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/archaeology/launch_tl_ages_treasure.shtml http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/stoneage/tool-nf.html http://www.scoilnet.ie/Stone_Age_Themepage.shtm http://www.creswell-crags.org.uk/virtuallytheiceage/Stone%20Age%20People/index.html http://project-history.blogspot.com/2005/04/paleolithic-or-old-stone-age.html http://www.creswell-crags.org.uk/Explore/virtually-the-ice-age/stone-age-people.aspx http://www.show.me.uk/topicpage/teachers/tPrehistory.html = = =Stone Age Project=

=Prehistory toc=
 * Prehistory** (meaning "before history," from the Latin word for "before," //præ//) is the span of time before recorded written history. Prehistory can refer to the period of human existence before the availability of those written records with which recorded history begins.

The Stone Age is a prehistoric cultural stage, or level of human development, characterized by the creation and use of stone tools. The Stone Age is usually divided into three separate periods—Paleolithic Period, Mesolithic Period, and Neolithic Period—based on the degree of sophistication in the fashioning and use of tools. The Stone Age ran from about 2 million years ago to about 10,000 years ago which was the end of the last Ice Age. As far as we know, true humans first appeared in Africa because early hominid fossils have only been discovered in East and South Africa. The fossil record of early hominids is being added to by new important discoveries almost every year. As a result, it is not yet clear how many species of them actually existed nor is it certain what their evolutionary relationship was to each other. Check out this list of known fossil discoveries.

In 1973, when Donald Johanson found a surprisingly human-looking fossil knee at Hadar in Ethiopia that tuned out to be more than 3 million years old, it was the one of the most compelling pieces of evidence yet found that our ancestors first stood up, and did not get smart until much later. The knee was much older than the earliest known stone tools.

The following year Johanson's team discovered another fossil that is still a landmark in the story of human origins. "Lucy " -- named for the Beatles song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," which was played in the camp when the scientists celebrated their discovery -- was the most complete hominid skeleton that had been found up to that time. Lucy and her relatives (from the genus //Australopithecus//) are thought to have lived in Africa about 3 to 4 million years ago. By assembling Lucy's bones, scientists discovered that Lucy was short compared to humans today, only 3 feet tall! (While this might seem drastically different than today's humans, remember that **nutrition** (a person's diet) was generally poor for our prehistoric ancestors and these could not expect to live very long).

In 1978, Mary Leakey and Tim White found bones dating back several hundred thousand years older than Lucy. They also found 59 footprints of early hominids hardened in volcanic ash. The footprints look almost like those of modern humans. They are narrow with a low arch, and they clearly show that the big tow was in line with the others. These are all traits of humans, not apes. Based on the characteristics of these footprints, Mary Leakey concluded that their makers were adults who were 4 feet 9 inches and 4 feet 1 inch tall and that they walked parallel to each other in a strolling fashion with relatively short strides. In addition, there are a child's footprints within those of the larger adult.

Humans are members of the genus //Homo//. Modern people are //Homo sapien sapiens//. However, we are not the only species of humans who have ever lived. There were earlier species of our genus that are now extinct. In the past, it was incorrectly assumed that human evolution was a relatively straightforward sequence of one species evolving into another. We now understand that there were times when several species of humans and even other hominins were alive. This complex pattern of evolution emerging from the fossil record has been aptly described as a luxuriantly branching bush on which all but one twig has died off. Modern humans are that last living twig.

Man had to get smart to survive. Early man did not have strong claws to help them fight. They could not out run early tigers or cave lions. It is believed that //Homo habilis// lived around 2 million years ago. When paleoanthropologists first discovered the remains of this hominid, they also found tools lying near him--the nickname Handy Man is rather appropriate. This meant that this hominid was able to look for food more efficiently. The //Homo habilis// man is credited with inventing stone tools to help live more comfortably, and to better protect themselves against the many carnivore (meat eating) animals of the time. //Homo habilis// were taller than their ancestors, the human-like primates (//Lucy's// people), and had larger brains. They followed food sources, and set up camp as needed. They sheltered under cliffs, whenever possible. You might think they would look for caves to spend the night, but caves quite often had dangerous occupants, just as they do today. Although this group made stone tools and weapons, these weapons were still pretty basic. It is believed that //Homo habilis// were hunter gathers. Their main diet was probably fruits, roots, nuts and vegetables that they found growing wild. Small groups banded together for protection and efficiency. The size of the group depended upon the amount of food available. Groups would disband and move on, as food required. Scientists are pretty sure that //homo habilis// built campfires. But they did not know how to make fire. Since man had not yet learned how to make fire, these early people had to wait until they found something burning from natural causes, set aflame for example from a lightening strike. A campfire had to be carefully watched, because if the fire went out, they did not know how to start it again.

The area around the campfire was probably used as a sleeping area. A roaring campfire would keep most wild animals away, as most are afraid of fire. When they broke camp, these early people probably attempted to bring their fire with them by carrying several lit branches, with which to start a new campfire when they stopped again. If their branches went out, they did without fire until they found something burning somewhere. Remains of their campfires have been found and dated. Scientists have found stone tools at these sites! Animal bones have been found, as well. Technically, although animal bones would be called "trash", they indicate that //Homo habilis// man hunted game and/or scavenged fat-rich marrow from bones. These remains also tell us that //Homo habilis// probably did not stay in one place very long, but were always on the move, in search of food. By 1.9 million years ago, some of the early transitional humans had evolved into a new, fully human species in Africa. Most paleoanthropologists refer to them as **//Homo erectus//** (literally "upright human"). These hominids stood upright and lived from 1.8 million to 200,000 BCE. They were taller and thinner than earlier hominids and their strong bones made them good runners. Upright man was the first hominid to **migrate** out of Africa.

Upright Man also had much larger brains compared to Handy Man and Lucy. Their tools and skills were consequently much better than those of Handy Man. These hominids were the first to be capable of **making fire**. //No other hominids before Homo erectus were able to do this.// Hominids were now able to cook food for the first time, which greatly improved their **nutrition** (food diet)! This meant that these hominids lived //much longer// than their predecessors//.//

By half a million years ago, some //Homo erectus// were able to move into the seasonally cold temperate zones of Asia and Europe. This migration was made possible by greater intelligence and new cultural technologies, probably including better hunting skills and the ability to create fire.

The first //Homo sapiens// date back to about 230,000 years ago. Because Upright Man left Africa, scientists have found remains of his successor, //Homo sapiens//, in Europe and parts of Asia. The skeletons that have been found indicate that these ancestors had strong bones and **almost an identical brain size to ours!** Their large brains allowed them to have //superior tool making skills// compared to their predecessors and they even hunted in groups. As you can see below, scientists believed these ancestors looked very similar to today's humans. One of the most important features of //Homo sapiens// was caring for their brothers and sisters. When a relative died, these hominids made sure to give that relative respect by burying the body. Additionally, these hominids made sure to care for the sick. This represents a drastic respect for humanity that was absent in earlier hominids. **These hominids realized that survival was far easier if they cooperated and lived in a community.**

=Beginnings of Agriculture=

The most important technological development ever to occur in human history was the domestication of plants (agriculture) and animals (pastoralism). Together these developments are called the Neolithic Revolution and they allowed the development of urban centers (towns and, later, cities), trade and most of the other things we consider to be components of "civilization."

Instead of hunting and gathering food from the environments where they lived, humans learned to simply grow their own food. Grains such as wheat, barley, rice, and corn were grown in different parts of the world. Wild animals were also domesticated. Goats were utilized for their meat and milk, cattle, pigs, and chickens provided a steady source of food for the support of a group of humans.

With the advent of farming and domesticated animals to feed a society, life became much easier for early humans. As a result, many more humans survived the difficulties of life. The population quickly rose from around 2 million humans on the Earth, to more than 90 million. Farming allowed people to build villages along rivers, or wherever the ground was fertile enough for crops to grow. Archeologists have found some villages that are believed to have been built more than 8,000 years ago. Some of these ancient villages, such as Jericho, still survive to this day.

With an abundance of food, and more permanent shelters, people had more time to devote to the development of new technologies. Better farming equipment, such as the ox driven plow were invented. The wheel aided humans greatly in transporting goods from one location to another. The loom allowed people to weave clothe, and create finer and more comfortable clothing.

Tools were created for measuring the passage of time, such as calendars, star charts, and sun dials. This helped farmers track when the growing season would arrive, and when the best time to plant crops would be. People learned improved farming techniques, such as how to use fertilizers in their fields, and how to better utilize water through irrigation. Villages dug large canals, and complex systems of ditches delivering water from distant sources to where it was most needed. As mankind began to develop more complex ways of life, and as cities began to increase in size and complexity, a new type of society emerged. These societies are known today as civilizations. A civilization is a nation or people that share a common culture, common laws, a common economy, and typically a common faith or religion.

Four tens of thousands of years mankind survived by doing whatever they could to find food and shelter for themselves and their families. A clan of individuals had to do all the tasks necessary for life, including hunting, dressing kills, gathering, making tools, and making shelters. As societies became larger and more complex, individuals began to specialize in different types of jobs. It was no longer necessary for one individual to learn how to do every kind of work. Instead, one person could specialize in making pottery, while another could specialize in weaving cloth. As a result of this specialization, men and women were able to hone their skills. The quality of their pottery, cloth, or other products became increasingly better. As a result, the quality of life for everyone increased dramatically.

||
 * November 29 ||  || Notes: The First Humans ||   || media type="custom" key="11516840"
 * November 30 ||  || Calculating Clues from Bones ||   || [[file:calculating_height_from_bones.docx]] ||
 * December 1 ||  || Johanson and Leakey ||   || [[file:leakey.pdf]] [[file:johanson.pdf]] ||
 * December 2 ||  || Early Humans Song

media type="file" key="The_Early_Human_Song.failed-conv.mp4" width="300" height="300"media type="custom" key="21013084" ||  ||  || || H: Questions ||  ||  || H: questions ||  ||  || H: Questions Study Guide ||  ||  || Planner Check ||  ||   ||
 * December 5 ||  || Hominids ||   || Read pages 30 - 34 in the textbook. Online version  ||
 * December 6 ||  || Cave Art Drawings ||   || Make 2 drawings. The first drawing is through the eyes of early stone age times as an early hominid (//Australopithecus or Homo hablis//) In the second drawing, you are to communicate an important aspect of modern man so that if found in 2 million years in the future, it would help to explain what life was like in the 21st century. ||
 * December 7 ||  || Cave Art Drawings ||   ||   ||
 * December 8 ||  || Human Essay ||   ||   ||
 * December 9 ||  || Rough Draft ||   ||   ||
 * December 12 ||  || Peer Edit ||   ||   ||
 * December13 ||  || compare and contrast ||   || [[file:Stone_Age_Compare_Contrast_Sheet.pdf]]
 * December13 ||  || compare and contrast ||   || [[file:Stone_Age_Compare_Contrast_Sheet.pdf]]
 * December 14 ||  || CW: Section 1 Review
 * December 15 ||  || CW: Section 2 Review
 * December 16 ||  || CW:Section 3 Review
 * December 19 ||  || Notebook Test ||   ||   ||
 * December 20 ||  || Unit Test
 * December 20 ||  || Unit Test
 * December 21 ||  || Reindeer Games - No classes ||   ||   ||