History 1010

Origins

- history of the universe is dated back to 13.7 billion BP (before present)

  • we condense these billions of years into one cosmic calendar to better digest and understand Earth and humanity’s development

BCE = before common era

CE = common era

Human History

- began 4-5 million years ago in Africa

- the first evidence of a bipedal organism was traced to Africa (survival of the fittest dwindle down all other organisms that might have lived and left the bipedal standing)

  • Austrolopithicus was the first bipedal (4 million BP)

  • Genus Homo came next (2 million BP)

    • homo habelus was a sub-species of genus homo - homo habelus used tools consistantly and passed the knowledge of the tools through generations

    • homo erectus was another sub-species - erectus were great travelers (from Africa into Afro-Eurasia) - their traveling caused adaptations in different groups between regions they moved through - each group worked as its own community

  • other later lineages of Genus Homo appeared 400,000 BP

  • Later lineages of Homo Erectus include Neanderthals (which has larger brians and bodies, better developed tools, religion, language, and art)

  • Denisovans then appeared about 200,000 BP in Asia

  • and finally Homo Sapiens appeared 200,000 BP in Africa

    • homo sapiens stayed in Africa for about 100,000 years then began to travel and co-exist with other homo species (sapiens were foragers)


The Paleolithic Era - the stone age

- known as the age of foraging (agriculture)

- the aforementioned bi-pedals and Genus homos began in the late paleolithic period

  • new technology was created in this period

  • also saw massive population growth across the globe

- from about 2.6 million to 12,000 BP there was foraging and toolmaking

- then, from 90,000 to 12,000 BP there was symbolic language/verbal communication


What makes us human?

- our ability to adapt (physically and culturally), our symbolic thinking (language - allows for naming, debates, explanations, plans, and conveying/sharing information), our collective learning (transmits and accumulates knowledge/learning), and our new technology

  • such symbolic thinking requires big brains and complex social structure and produces adaptability and a unique culture


Why would humans migrate?

- for more resources, because of overpopulation and deprivation, war, etc.

  • there were multiple waves of migration beginning 34,000 BP

  • Berinigia is an example of reasons for migration because it is only visible during certain seasons when the water is low and land mass is revealed (it connects Alaska and Russia, allowing for migration of peoples)


Life in the Paleolithic Era

- by looking at the sources and evidence we’ve found from this Era (stone tools and huge fossils) we can assume they they did not engage much with organic tools and that maybe their diet was restricted

- information we can gather on their diet comes from ancient art and modern day parallels seen in similar tribes

  • we can gather information to know that meat was actually only 25% of their diet and they relied heavily on grain

- we can also assume that because of the job of a mother to feed children, the men were the primary hunters and gatherers

- we also know that these foragers/nomads/hunters probably only ate small animals and primarily got their calories from honey!

- they probably had an equalitarian social system instead of a hierarchy because even depended on each other the same amount

- 20-50 people per group

- didn’t gravitate towards leaders

- 4-5 hours per day dedicated to hunting, only long hours spent sleeping, telling stories, and community centered things

- we have found evidence of ‘modern’ humanity in these paleolithic humans

  • roughly the same sized brains

  • objects give evidence of community centered living


Human Modifications on the Environment -

- these foragers effected herds of animals by driving them to different regions or killing them off

- foragers needed shelter, effectively altering the surrounding, previously untouched environment

- foragers built dams

- the Alabama longleaf pine proves adaptations of the environment

  • these changes became solidified when foragers became sedentary