3. How do we know about prehistoric
times?
Two kinds of scientists
Archaeologists
Anthropologists
4. Archaeologists
• Scientists who study the
remains of prehistoric society
• Prehistoric – before writing was
invented, before recorded history
• They look for clues that tell how
people lived
21. Primary and Secondary
Sources
Historians use primary and secondary sources to
learn about the past
Shttp://www.yale.edu/collections_collaborative
/primarysources/primarysources.htmlources =
23. secondary sources - second-hand
accounts of events written by people
who weren’t there
24. Radiocarbon
Dating
An important method used by scientists to
determine how old something is
all living things have carbon
some of the carbon is radioactive
some radioactive carbon stays in animals and
plants for thousands of years after they die
scientists measure the radioactivity of artifacts to
tell how old they are
25. Discoveries of
Early Humans
• Richard and Mary Leakey – archaeologists
• In 1924, they began searching for prehistoric
humans in East Africa
26. Discoveries of
Early Humans
• 1959 – Mary Leakey found the oldest hominid –
Australopithecus
27. Discoveries of
Early Humans
• 1960 – Jonathan Leakey, Richard and Mary’s
son, discovered “Homo Habilis”
28. Discoveries of
Early Humans
• Donald Johanson discovered a female
Australopithecus in Africa
• Named the remains “Lucy”
29. Neanderthals
discovered in 1856, in Neander Valley, Germany
Are not considered ancestors of humans, but similar
to humans
wore animal skin clothing
30. supposed to have died out 20,000 years ago
may have been able to speak
made tools out of animal bones and stones
31. Cro-Magnons
1st discovered in 1868, France
also called “Homo-Sapiens,” like humans
considered to be our ancestors
thought to have appeared 40,000 years ago
had calendars, spoken language
were hunters and toolmakers
37. The Paleolithic Era
Paleolithic = the Old Stone Age
- between 2 million & 12,000 yrs ago
38. The Paleolithic
Era
• 1.5 million years ago, glaciers covered much of
Europe and North America with ice and snow
• This is called the “Ice Age”
39. As the glaciers melted, the Ice Age ended
people & animals slowly spread out to the rest of the world
40. How people lived during the
Paleolithic Era
• Nomads-Hunters/gatherers
• Lived in caves / tents
41. Inventions & discoveries of the
Paleolithic Era
• Tools & weapons made of stone & bone
• Language
• Fire
• Uses of fire
• Keep warm
• Cook food
• Hunt animals
• Keep animals away at night
42. The Neolithic Era
• Three important changes
• Agriculture – farming
• People began to plant crops instead of gathering
them in the wild
44. settled communities
• People needed to live in one place for a long time
in order to farm their crops
• They had tame animals to eat and to help them
farm the land
• They did not need to hunt and gather as much
anymore
45. More Inventions of the Neolithic
Era
•irrigation
•People learned to dig
ditches to bring water for
crops to dry land
49. • The specialization of labor
• ppl began to specialize in different jobs
• They began to trade their wares with each
• other = barter economy
50. •some ppl became merchants – brought
• goods to sell from town to town
51. The First
Governments
How did they begin?
•Maybe to settle arguments
over property rights and
boundaries.
•Maybe, they were connected to
religion.
•We don’t really know
52. The Rise of
Civilization
• What is a civilization?
• A community of citizens that had the
following features:
• Cities and government
• Job specialization/advanced technology
• Social classes and religion
• Writing and record keeping
53. The Rise of
Civilization • Cities and Government
• Cities were centers of
government
• Different officials oversaw
tax collection, the army and
law enforcement
• They were also centers of
trade and barter
54. The Rise of
Civilization
• Job Specialization and Advanced Technology
• In a hunting/gathering society, everyone is
needed in order to produce enough food.
55. The Rise of
Civilization
• Job Specialization and Advanced Technology
• In an agricultural society, a few people could
grow enough food for all
56. The Rise of
Civilization
• Job Specialization and Advanced Technology
• Other people began to do other jobs:
• Pottery-makers, weavers, metalworkers, builders,
priests, soldiers
57. The Rise of
Civilization
• Job Specialization and Advanced Technology
• As people specialized in one area, they became experts
• This led to the development of advanced technology
• People learned how to build huge stone cities and
temples
58. The Rise of
Civilization
• This era is called “The Bronze Age”
• People became experts at metalworking
• They made weapons, tools, and jewelry out of bronze
59. The Rise of Civilization
• Social Classes and Religion
• People became divided by their role in society
• Some were considered more important
• Some were less important
• This is called social class
60. The Rise of Civilization
• Social Class and Religion
• Government and religion were closely tied
• Many rulers considered themselves gods
• Many cities had their own religion
• Religions were polytheistic – many gods
61. The Rise of Civilization
• Writing and Record Keeping
• Cities became more complex
• People needed a way to record events
62. The Rise of Civilization
• Writing and Record Keeping
• Merchants needed to keep track of sales and
inventory
• Rulers needed to write down laws and taxes
67. River Valleys
• Ancient Civilizations started in river valleys
• The soil was richest there
• Rivers served as natural “highways” connecting
people and goods
