Chapter 3.1: Hunter-Gatherers

The Paleolithic Age

• Earliest part of the stone age

  • 2.5 million years ago - 8000 B.C.E

Surviving in the Paleolithic age

• Nomads: people who regularly move from place to place

• Hunted and gathered

• Men: hunted large animals

• Women: gathered in meadows nearby

Invention of Tools

• Technology: tools and methods to perform tasks

• Sticks, stones, and tree branches used as tools

• Used flint as a sharp object to cut food - major breakthrough for early people

• Over time - more complex tools (bows, arrows, spears, etc)

Changing to Survive

• Climate affected life → cold climates meant clothing from animal skins to stay warm

• Constructed tents out of animal skins, brush, and wood → ice and snow for cold

• Caves provided lots of protection against large animal attacks

Fire = Change

• Provided warmth, light, scare away wild animals, cooking

• Archaeologists believe that early humans learned to make fire by friction

  • Rubbing 2 pieces of wood together, became heated and charred → wood hot = fire

• Discovered that certain stone, iron pyrite, gave off sparks that ignited dry grass or leaves

Language and Art

• Up until this time, communicated through sounds and physical gestures

• Began to express themselves through words

• Art was another way to express themselves

• Paleolithic cave paintings found all around the world

• Yellow, black, red rocks, and animal fat = paint; brushes = animal hair

• Now sure why early artists made cave paintings

Chapter 3.2: The Agricultural Revolution

The Neolithic Age

• 8000 B.C - 4000 B.C

• Neolithic: Greek for “New Stone” (New Stone Age)

• Shift from hunting and gathering to systematic agriculture (growing food on regular basis)

Big Changes for Humankind

• Settle farming → Agricultural Revolution

• Could produce constant food supply, led to faster growth in population

Widespread Farming

• 8000 B.C - 4000 B.C: Systematic agriculture began to spread and become regular throughout the world