Key Concept 1.1
This is the period regarding ancient humans. These humans were mainly hunters and gatherers, and they were nomadic, frequently traveling from place to place. These humans were quite ingenious, as they were able to create mostly reliable stone tools, and they also were able to create fires, and they used it in a multitude of different ways. These people, who originally resided in Africa, eventually migrated towards Asia and Europe, as well as the Americas. These people also interacted with others, as they occasionally exchanged goods. This built kinship and social relations. The society had equality for both genders, as both men and women were equally important for survival. Humans also negatively impacted the environment, as they hunted a few species into extinction.
I: Humans had a biological hearth in East Africa, where they began to migrate north towards the Middle East and into Europe and Asia. They moved across to the Northwestern Passage via land bridge and migrated into the Americas.
A. Adaptation: They adapted to their environment and started using the tools around them
B. Small Groups
I: Humans had a biological hearth in East Africa, where they began to migrate north towards the Middle East and into Europe and Asia. They moved across to the Northwestern Passage via land bridge and migrated into the Americas.
A. Adaptation: They adapted to their environment and started using the tools around them
- They started using stone tools and sharpening them
- Used fire for cooking and warmth
- Used plants to make clothes, baskets, and shelters
- Used basically whatever was around them to survive → learned different things are good for different functions
B. Small Groups
- Social: childbirth was rare and children were killed because they needed to keep the numbers low → women were equal to men because they weren’t always raising children
- Spent only some time searching for food → the rest was free time. They only ate the bare minimum to sustain themselves
- Oral traditions have some evidence of art
- Economic: Traded with people around and they were usually in good terms. Nomadism discouraged the accumulation of belongings
- Political: your group/family was everything → leader of group was present
- Exchange: traded with other groups around who individuals probably had family ties to
- Ideas were passed down orally
The primary source above is an ancient depiction of a quartet of horses from the Chauvet cave in southern France about 30,000 years ago. The painting of horses is clear evidence that shows the immersion of the Paleolithic people within the hunter-gatherer society. Creating such a work would require various dyes and powders as well as sticks and stones to create a mark on the walls, meaning that whatever they portrayed in this drawing, is something that those people deemed significant to be held near in their minds. Perhaps this could be a symbol of desire, where they wanted to capture the horses for food, or a symbol of admiration, where they were marveled by the elegant structure of the horse's physical makeup.
This is another primary source from Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania from about 3.5 million years ago, demonstrating fossilized footprints that make it clear that hominids at the time walked upright. This is a notable attribute of the human species because it was after the development of this trait, that humans began to differentiate themselves from the other animals. Having the ability to walk upright meant that humans could travel, and it is a core evidence of this key concept that humans used this trait to migrate out of Africa. Afterwards, they began to expand on their development by learning to use sophisticated tools and implement fire.
Relevant Vocabulary
Agriculture: the raising of crops and animals for human use
Paleolithic Era: time in which people were nomadic following food sources, used bone and stone tools, and lived in small groups;
Archaeology: the study of ancient cultures based on artifacts and other remains
Fossils: traces of plants or animals that have been preserved in rock
Hunter-Gatherer: the first humans who captured and killed animals and learned which plants and fruits were edible and nutritious1st hominid toolmaker; used very simple tools for cutting, crushing, scraping, et cetera; was also first to use, but not make, fire
Agriculture: the raising of crops and animals for human use
Paleolithic Era: time in which people were nomadic following food sources, used bone and stone tools, and lived in small groups;
Archaeology: the study of ancient cultures based on artifacts and other remains
Fossils: traces of plants or animals that have been preserved in rock
Hunter-Gatherer: the first humans who captured and killed animals and learned which plants and fruits were edible and nutritious1st hominid toolmaker; used very simple tools for cutting, crushing, scraping, et cetera; was also first to use, but not make, fire