3. Prehistory is the period of History that began when
humans first appeared and finished when they
learned to read and write.
4. The first humans were nomads, moving from one
place to another. They hunted, fished and collected
wild plants and fruit.
They learned to use fire to keep warm, cook and give
light at night. They wore animal skins and slept in caves.
5. Later, humans stopped moving around. They learned to
cultivate plants and raise animals. They built larger
larger villages and towns. They made clay containers to
store and carry food and water.
6. At the end of Prehistory, they started building the
first cities. They also started to exchange products. It
was the beginning of trade.
People made ovens to melt metals and learned to
shape them to make tools and jewellery.
8. Ancient History is the period that began when people
learned to read and write. In this period there were
important civilisations around the Mediterranean Sea,
like the Phoenicians, the Greeks and the Romans.
9. The Phoenicians and the Greeks were great merchants.
They established trading centres in Spain and Portugal.
The Phoenicians came to the Iberian Peninsula looking
for metals. They taught the people their alphabet.
10. The Greeks built beautiful buildings and made beautiful
sculptures. Some of the Greeks were great writers and
philosophers. Democracy is a Greek word It means
‘goverment by the people’.
The first Olympic Games were in Greece.
11. The Romans conquered many lands and made a great
empire. This included the Iberian Peninsula which they
called Hispania.
12. The Romans built roads to connect all the cities they
conquered to Rome. They also built aqueducts to carry
out water from the countryside to the cities.
All over the Roman Empire, people used the same
language, Latin.
13. The Middle Ages is the
period of History that
began in the V century.
It was the time of
feudal lords and
castles. Because of the
wars people moved
from the cities into the
countryside. They
worked on the land
and the feudal lords
protected them.
14. The feudal lord lived in his castle. The knights defended
the lord’s castle and his land. The peasants worked on
the land and went into the castle for protection when
necessary. This social system is called feudalism.
15. At the end of the Middle Ages, people began to move
back into cities. They built city walls around them for
protection.
Merchants began to trade again and there were markets
and fairs.
16. In the Middle Ages, the Iberian Peninsula was divided
into 2 areas:
In the north were small Christian
kingdoms. Most people lived in
villages next to the castle.
In the south there was an Islamic
territory called Al-Andalus. The
Muslims built beautiful buildings.
18. The Modern Age is the period of History that began in the
XV century. In this period explorers discovered almost all
the lands on the Earth.
The invention of a new
kind of ship (the caravel)
helped to make important
geographical discoveries:
• Cristóbal Colón dicovered
America.
• Magallanes and Elcano
sailed around the world.
This impulse international trade and the first banks were
established to look after money.
19. There were important inventions in many other areas.
The printing press was
invented in the middle of
the XV century.
After this more and more
people read books and
shared ideas. There were
more libraries, bookshops
and new universities all
over Europe.
20. The Contemporary Age is the period of History that began
in the XVIII century and continues today. In this period
there have been many discoveries and inventions that have
changed the way people live.
The invention of the
steam engine started
the Industrial
Revolution. As a
result there were
huge changes in
industry and
transport.
21. Inventions in the area of communications, like the
radio, the television and the computer, mean that we
can find out what is happening all over the world as
soon as events occur. These inventions bring music,
art, film and other forms of culture into our homes.
