Human History
Our planet is old and has long been host to an unfathomably huge array of living things. These living things have collectively made small impacts on the Earth over time - that is, until humans. Humans have existed for but a moment on the scale of earthly time, but have impacted the entire planet (and beyond) immeasurably. Modern archaeology, or the study of human history and activity through artifacts and remains, has only been able to definitively answer questions about the history of humans for decades. We still don’t know everything, but between excavations of remains and tools, utilizing ever-evolving technologies, and analyzing records and art humans have left behind, we can start to piece together the earliest common history on Earth.
Even before modern archaeology and technology, humans had noticed physical similarities between themselves and great apes, like chimpanzees. By the 1800s, based on what was understood about these apes, some members of the scientific community had hypothesized that humans and apes likely shared a common ancestor and that ancestor would likely be found in Africa. Fossilized human and Neanderthal remains have been found across the Old World (Europe, Africa, and Asia) since the early 1800s. However, it was not until the mid-20th century after the discovery of multiple unique skulls and other bones on the African continent, that we began to solidify our understanding of humans as only the youngest of many groups of hominids - or beings that walk upright on two feet. The last two groups of the hominid species Homo sapiens were early humans and a group called Neanderthals, which disappeared tens of thousands of years ago.
We continue to broaden our understanding of prehistoric hominids and their characteristics with new discoveries and technologies. However, when we focus on humans, we can see what sets us apart from our ancestors long ago. Human prehistory is often divided into two eras, known as the Paleolithic and Neolithic Periods. These are also sometimes referred to as the Old Stone Age (Paleolithic) and New Stone Age (Neolithic). As these names would suggest, the use of stone tools is a crucial development in human history.
The Paleolithic era is classified as beginning about 2.5 million BCE and lasting until around 8000 BCE. During this time, early hominids called Homo habilis developed the first primitive tools, essentially pieces of stone that could be used to cut meat and bones. Another group, Homo erectus, took these basic tools and used their own intelligence to develop technology, or the ability to combine knowledge, tools, and new creations to meet their needs. Homo erectus built more complex and efficient tools and is considered the first species to use and harness fire. Anthropologists, people who study human societies and cultures, think these were also the creators of the earliest language.
These early species began to migrate out of Africa and explore the world around them. By around 60,000 BCE, they were living all over the European and Asian continents. These groups survived primarily by hunting and utilizing spoken language to develop strategies and make plans. We also know some groups observed religious practices like burials, which suggests they believed in an afterlife. Having to rely on available edible plants and animals to hunt, humans of the Old Stone Age were nomadic, meaning they moved around and lived in temporary shelters. Due to this mobile lifestyle and the unpredictability of food sources, groups of humans were usually no larger than a few dozen people, and these were usually members of the same family. Technology continued to improve, leading to highly specialized tools made of stone, wood, and bone, like fish hooks and needles.
The New Stone Age, or Neolithic Period, is marked by the advent of agriculture. Agriculture is the intentional growing and harvesting of crops. At different locations around the world, edible plants like wheat and rice thrived and local humans discovered how to control and cultivate it to help meet their food needs. This would prove to be one of the biggest breakthroughs in human history. As humans now had a more reliable way to produce food, they began to create permanent settlements. Hunting was still a valuable source of food for the Neolithic humans, but they no longer had to follow herds of dangerous animals just to survive. With permanent settlements, humans could control how many crops they cultivated and could suddenly support larger groups with their harvests. Groups that were once primarily made up of family members started to come together and build small communities with communal farmland.