The Stone Ages – Beginning of early humans PDF

Beginning Of Early Humans Birth of Planet Earth: 4.54 billion years old, plus or minus about 50 million years. Evolution of Human Beings: 7Million Years Ago The Prehistoric Period—or when there was human life before records documented human activity—roughly dates from 2.5 million years a...

Beginning Of Early Humans Birth of Planet Earth: 4.54 billion years old, plus or minus about 50 million years. Evolution of Human Beings: 7Million Years Ago The Prehistoric Period—or when there was human life before records documented human activity—roughly dates from 2.5 million years ago to 1,200 B.C. It is generally categorized in three archaeological periods: the Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age. Africa to Asia, Europe  Chronological Vocabulary Simply put, BCE (Before Common Era) is a secular version of BC (before Christ). CE (Common Era) is the secular equivalent of AD (anno Domini), which means “in the year of the Lord” in Latin The Stone Ages – Beginning of early humans Stone Age (3.3 million years ago-3000 BCE ) Stages: Lower: Paleolithic Period, Middle: Mesolithic Period, New /Upper Stone Age: Neolithic Period (who evolved around 300,000 B.C.).  Stone Age Transformation from a culture of hunting and gathering to farming and food production During this era, early humans shared the planet with a number of now-extinct hominin relatives, including Neanderthals and Denisovans.  Stone Age A broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools and implements. These tools were shaped to form edges or points. The period lasted almost 3 million years and ended at different times during different parts of the world. Its end is marked by the discovery of metals. Bronze followed by Iron. This age is further divided into 3 phases: – Paleolithic: Paleo means old. It is the longest period. Stone tools used were very primitive and basic. – Mesolithic: Miso means middle. – Neolithic: Neo means new. Stone tools used during this period were sophisticated and far more refined then ever before. This age begins with the onset of temperate climates making it easy to farm animals and crops. Lithos means stone. The later part of Stone Age is marked with the development of settlements into civilizations. Lower Paleolithic early humans behaviorally primitive glacial period hunter-gatherer subsistence Middle Paleolithic Upper Paleolithic modern humans Mesolithic behaviorally modern interglacial period agricultural Neolithic subsistence  MEANS OF SUBSISTENCE Paleolithic life hunting/gathering-based life (before ca. 10,000 BC) Mesolithic life hunting/gathering-based life (after ca. 10,000 BC) Neolithic life agriculture-based life  Human Evolution https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZv8VyIQ7YU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehV-MmuvVMU Paleolithic Period- (roughly 2.5 million years ago to 10,000 B.C.) The Paleolithic Period is an ancient cultural stage of human technological development, characterized by the creation and use of rudimentary chipped stone tools. Paleolithic Period - The Old Stone Age. Traditionally coincided with the first evidence of tool construction and use by Homo. Homo habilis, Homo erectus, and the Neanderthals were all residents of the Paleolithic Age. The Paleolithic: The Lomekwian Stage, to account for 700,000 years of early hammering and other rock-chipping tools. The Oldowan Stage (about 2.6 million to 1 million years ago), which saw the development of pebble (chopping) tools, The Acheulean Stage (1.7–1.5 million years ago to about 250,000–200,000 years ago), in which more sophisticated hand axes and cleaving tools emerged. Homo Habilis, Africa Neanderthals Hunting and gathering remained a way of life for Homo heidelbergensis (700,000 to 200,000 years ago), the first humans to adapt to colder climates and routinely hunt large animals, through the Neanderthals (400,000 to 40,000 years ago), who developed more sophisticated technology. Developed wooden and then stone-tipped spears for hunting Neanderthals evolved in Europe and Asia while modern humans - our species, Homo sapiens - were evolving in Africa Introduced refined stone technology and the first bone tools  Some surmise that competition from humans for food and shelter, or evolution that selected for more successful human traits, contributed to the Neanderthals’ extinction. Others think that because Neanderthals lived in such small groups, they simply became outnumbered by humans. Another hypothesis involves climate change: Scientists have documented a thousand-year-long cold snap in central Europe that coincided with the Neanderthals’ extinction about 40,000 years ago and that could have depopulated the species. Cooling is thought to have been less severe in areas populated by Homo sapiens, and those who embrace this theory believe that once Neanderthal populations declined, humans moved in and eventually became the dominant species worldwide.  https://www.history.com/topics/pre- history/hunter-gatherers Homo Erectus, Africa and into western Asia, then to eastern Asia and Indonesia. These were the first hominins built for long- distance walking, pushing nomadic tribes into Asia and Europe. Use of Fire  Methods of acquiring food – Hunting and Gathering. Throughout the Paleolithic, humans were food gatherers, depending for their subsistence on hunting wild animals and birds, fishing, and collecting wild fruits, nuts, and berries. In the Paleolithic period (roughly 2.5 million years ago to 10,000 B.C.), early humans lived in caves or simple huts or tepees and were hunters and gatherers. They used basic stone and bone tools, as well as crude stone axes, for hunting birds and wild animals. They cooked their prey, including woolly mammoths, deer and bison, using controlled fire. They also fished and collected berries, fruit and nuts. Teepees Cave Life-style Paleolithic Hunting And Gathering  Hunter-gatherers Hunter-gatherers were prehistoric nomadic groups that harnessed the use of fire, developed intricate knowledge of plant life and refined technology for hunting and domestic purposes as they spread from Africa to Asia, Europe and beyond.  Invention of Tools pebble-tool traditions bifacial-tool, or hand-ax, traditions flake-tool traditions blade-tool traditions Sharpened stones (Oldowan tools): 2.6 million years ago Stone handaxe (Acheulean tools): 1.6 million years ago An Acheulean Handaxe From Swakscombe, Kent, Now Held In The Collections Of The British Museum Cutting blades (Aurignacian industry): 80,000 to 40,000 years ago Small, sharp micro blades (Magdalenian culture): 11,000 to 17,000 years ago  Climatic Changes There was a lot more ice and the ocean shoreline was far different than it is now. Lower water levels and, in some cases, land bridges (which have long since disappeared) allowed humans to migrate to the Americas and Australia. The ice also made for a cooler climate worldwide and prevented migration to the far north. Humans at this time were strictly hunter- gatherers, meaning they were constantly on the move in search of food.  Climatic Changes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlJTwhIS P24 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_f- l8MeQqhI Naturalistic reconstruction of Ötzi the Paleolithic Ice Man in South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology  First Temporary Human Settlements Studies of modern-day hunter-gatherers offer a glimpse into the lifestyle of small, nomadic tribes dating back almost 2 million years ago. These groups were egalitarian by nature. Division of labor by gender. Physiological evolution also led to changes, with the bigger brains of more recent ancestors leading to longer periods of childhood and adolescence.  By the time of the Neanderthals, hunter- gatherers were displaying such “human” characteristics as burying their dead and creating ornamental objects  Concept of Supernatural & Spirits During the Middle Paleolithic Age, humans began to ritually bury their dead, which can signify complex culture and cognition, a reliance on ceremony and ritual, and perhaps some concept of an afterlife. It is generally assumed that art and religion went hand in hand, and that many of the cave paintings, figurines, and sculptures from this time have religious significance. It is thought, then, that Paleolithic people's religious beliefs revolved around the natural world. Supernatural forces or beings took the form of animals or natural events, so ancient religions were probably a form of animism, a belief in many spirits that affect the world, turning out as animalism (animals have a connection to the supernatural) or shamanism (one special person has a connection to the supernatural). Early ceramic figures of women could signify a fertility cult, for instance. The practice of drowning a young reindeer in a lake in northern Eurasia may have been an offering to a deity. Religious practices increased in complexity throughout the Paleolithic Age, as did art and burial rituals. Over time, humans were buried with simple adornments, then with elaborate adornments, to then being buried with animals, luxury goods, and grave art. Art itself progressed from geometric shapes, then to depictions of real figures, and then to drawings of entire landscapes and perhaps important individuals. Carvings gave way to sculptures, pigments, and paints.  Totemism Among the first religions was totemism (totem – their gender) i.e. a belief in relationship between group of people and animals, plants and fishes. That is the reason why some tribes bear the name of their totem, which were for example: “dragon”, “wolf”, “hawk” and so on  Animism It is a term for the belief that all living things, even things have a soul. The souls of the dead ancestors are settled in the living and non- living objects of the nature, as a non-corporeal spirits who possess supernatural powers  Fetishism Fetishism was based on a belief in the supernatural power of some objects. Primitive people worshiped various different objects or they carried those objects with themselves believing that it will save them of all evil and misfortune.  A burial site in Shanidar Cave in modern-day northeastern Iraq suggests that a Neanderthal’s family covered his body with flowers, which indicates a belief in something beyond death and a deep sense of spirituality. They also constructed shelter and tools. Burial Rituals Man in an Upper Paleolithic burial in Sunghir, Russia. The site is approximately 28,000 to 30,000 years old Burial 1 with the skeletal remains of two infants recovered as block in 2005 (ind1 on the left, ind2 on the right. Krems-Wachtberg (Austria)  Culture Culture is a broad term which encompasses the full range of learned human behavior patterns, behaviors which are often linked to survival.  Language Speech over time went through the following development path: The first phase is characterized by general pantomime accompanied by additional stuttering In the second stage Paleolithic people started to communicate with precise gestures associated with corresponding voice symbols or words At the end in the third phase pantomime and stuttering completely disappeared. From unarticulated to articulated speech.  Art Ancient humans in the Paleolithic period were also the first to leave behind art. There were only two kinds of art: portable or stationary, and both forms were limited in scope. Such works were produced throughout the Mediterranean region and other scattered parts of Eurasia and Africa but survived in quantity only in eastern Europe and parts of Spain and France. They also carved small figurines from stones, clay, bones and antlers.  Portable Artworks Portable Artworks: Figurines or decorated objects. Carved from stone, bone, or antler or modeled with clay. Representative forms: meaning it depicted something recognizable, whether animal or human in form. Small sculptured pieces evidently dominated the Upper Paleolithic artistic traditions of eastern Europe; typical were small, portable clay figurines and bone and ivory carvings. Figurines and Sculptures Human with feline head, from Hohlenstein-Stadel, Germany, ca. 30,000-28000 BCE, mammoth ivory, approx 1 foot high woman holding a bison horn, Laussel, France, ca. 25,000-20,000, painted limestone, approx. 1 ½ foot high Two bison, reliefs in cave at Le Tuc d’Audoubert, France, ca. 15,000-10,000, 2’ long each, clay  Venus Figurines- 40,000 BCE and 10,000 BCE. The works from this area include simple but realistic stone and clay animal figurines, as well as carved stone statuettes of women, referred to by scholars as Venus figures. These small stylized figures are characteristically rotund, emphasizing parts of the female body associated with sexuality and fertility; many are so abstract that only protuberant breasts and exaggerated hips are clearly distinguishable. Sizes typically ranging from 2.5 cm to 10.2 cm though a few examples as large as 24 cm have been found. The most common material used to carve these statuettes is mammoth tusk, but teeth, antlers, bone, and stone were also used  Purpose They were produced at a time when the average woman would have been lean and muscular. For this reason, many researchers theorize that these figures were not portraits of real women, but religious icons. Their small size, which suggests that the figures may have been held in the hands during rituals. Exaggerated and emphasized in most of the carvings (large breasts, ample hips, protruding stomachs) are associated with fertile and pregnant women. Hence, it is possible that these female figures served as fertility symbols. Those figurines that contain apertures that would have allowed them to be strung, like the Venus of Hohle Fels, may have been worn as amulets to protect women during pregnancy and childbirth. Humans began creating art about 80,000 years ago, but images of humans only show up between 30,000 and 40,000 years ago. The Venus of Hohle Fels, between 35,000 and 40,000 years old. Found in a cave in Schelklingen, Germany Venus of Willendorf, 24,000-22,000 years ago Found in Willendorf, Austria in 1908 CE. The Venus of Willendorf is a limestone statuette The Venus of Laussel, 18,000-20,000 years old This Venus is a rare example of a prehistoric bas-relief. Like many of these figures, the Laussel Venus was once covered in red ochre, an aspect that suggests a connection with menstruation and fertility. Traces of this ochre are still visible to the naked eye. She is holding a curved horn inscribed with 13 lines that may represent lunar or menstrual cycles. The Black Venus, 29,000- 25,000 years ago. Found at the pre-historic site of Dolni Vestonice in Moravia, Czech Republic in 1925 CE. It gets its unique black colour from the combination of ground bone and clay used to make it. This material produced a self-glazing, black finish in the kiln and can be seen on many of the other ceramic pieces found at the same site.  Video Venus Figurines: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHor_kjh ByM Pottery Bowl Period: Ubaid Date: mid 6th–5th millennium B.C. Geography: Mesopotamia, Eridu (modern Abu Shahrein) Culture: Ubaid Medium: Ceramic Dimensions: H. 5.7 x Diam. 24 cm (2 1/4 x 9 1/2 in.) Classification: Ceramics-Vessels Bowl Period: Ubaid Date: mid 6th–5th millennium B.C. Geography: Mesopotamia, Eridu (modern Abu Shahrein) Culture: Ubaid Medium: Ceramic Dimensions: 2.75 in. (6.99 cm) Classification: Ceramics- Vessels Sherd Period: Halaf Date: ca. 5600–5000 B.C. Geography: Syria, Tell Brak Culture: Halaf Medium: Ceramic, paint Dimensions: 2.83 x 1.65 in. (7.19 x 4.19 cm) Classification: Ceramics-Vessels Bowl fragment Period: Halaf Date: ca. 5600–5000 B.C. Geography: From Syria, Tell Halaf (ancient Guzana) Culture: Halaf Medium: Ceramic Dimensions: 3.23 in. (8.2 cm) Classification: Ceramics- Vessels Jar Period: Middle Chalcolithic Date: ca. 5600–5400 B.C. Geography: Southwestern Anatolia Culture: Hacilar Medium: Ceramic, paint Dimensions: 6.1 in. (15.49 cm) Classification: Ceramics-Vessels Bowl with Human Feet Period: Predynastic, Late Naqada l– Naqada II Date: ca. 3900–3650 B.C. Geography: From Egypt Medium: Polished red pottery Dimensions: diam. 13.2 x W. 13.7 x D. 9.8 cm (5 3/16 x 5 3/8 x 3 7/8 in.) Storage jar decorated with mountain goats Period: Chalcolithic Date: ca. 3800–3700 B.C. Geography: Central Iran Medium: Ceramic, paint Dimensions: 20 7/8in. (53cm) Classification: Ceramics-Vessels Decorated Ware Jar Depicting Ungulates and Boats with Human Figures Period: Predynastic, Late Naqada II Date: ca. 3500–3300 B.C. Geography: From Egypt Medium: Pottery, paint Dimensions: h. 30 x w. 31 cm (11 13/16 x 12 3/16 in.) diam (of rim): 17 cm (6 11/16 in.) diam (of opening): 14 cm (5 1/2 in.)  Stationary Artworks Stationary Artworks: Cave paintings or monumental paintings, incised designs, and reliefs on the walls of caves. Cave art, generally, the numerous paintings and engravings found in caves and shelters dating back to the Ice Age (Upper Paleolithic), roughly between 40,000 and 14,000 years ago. Location: Most examples of cave art have been found in France and in Spain, but a few are also known in Portugal, England, Italy, Romania, Germany, Russia, and Indonesia. The total number of known decorated sites is about 400. Material: They used combinations of minerals, ochres, burnt bone meal and charcoal mixed into water, blood, animal fats and tree saps to etch humans, animals and signs. Locations  Cave paintings contain far more non-figurative art, meaning many elements are symbolic rather than realistic. Experts guess (and it's only a guess) that these paintings served some form of ritualistic or magical purpose, as they are located far from the mouths of caves where everyday life took place.  Video Cave Art: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjejoT1gFOc Chauvet cave: Preserving prehistoric art - BBC New: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OLaNtKoJFk The Dordogne, France: Lascaux's Prehistoric Cave Paintings - Rick Steves’ Europe Travel Guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnSq0c7jM-A Cave Art: Complex Paintings from the Stone Age: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qApjgI8Db k8 Ice Age Cave Art: Unlocking the Mysteries Behind These Markings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSF4zk2ns TU Why are these 32 symbols found in caves all over Europe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJnEQCMA 5Sg The Chauvet Cave was discovered in the Ardèche valley (in southern France) in December 1994 by three cave explorers, after removing the rumble of stones that blocked a passage. Cave Paintings  The cave is extensive, about 400 meters long, with vast chambers. The floor of the cave is littered with archaeological and paleontological remains, including the skulls and bones of cave bears, which hibernated there, along with the skulls of an ibex and two wolves. The cave bears also left innumerable scratches on the walls and footprints on the Lions Hunting Bison, Chauvet Cave. ground. This is one of the rarest scenes found in Paleolithic art. Horse Panel, Chauvet Cave. Fourteen different animal species are depicted in the Chauvet Cave. Hall of Bulls, Lascaux, France, 15,000-13,000 BCE Bison, Altamira, Spain, detail of a 60 ft long painting, 12,000-11,000 BCE, each bison approximately 8 feet long  Paintings depict animals found in the surrounding landscape, such as horses, bison, mammoths, ibex, aurochs, deer, lions, bears, and wolves. The depicted animals comprise both species that would have been hunted and eaten (such as deer and bison) as well as those that were feared predators (such as lions, bears, and wolves). No vegetation or illustration of the environment is portrayed around the animals, who are represented in profile and often standing in an alert and energetic stance. Their vitality is achieved by the broad, rhythmic outlines around areas of soft color. The animals are typically shown in a twisted perspective, with the heads depicted in profile but the pair of horns or antlers rendered frontally visible. (In contrast, a strictly optical profile would show only one horn or antler.) Images are also superimposed on top of each other.  Cave of hands. Argentina, South America.  Painted Cave, Santa Barbara County, California (North America). Approx 8000 BCE Gua Tewet, The Tree of Life, Borneo, Indonesia, approx. 10,000 BCE.  Pre-Historic India Engraving of Elephants, Bhimbetka Rock Shelters, India. Approx. 30,000 BCE The only painting in the caves showing, "a man" being hunted by a beast, a horned boar Chaturbujnath Nala, India Bradshaw rock paintings in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.  Neanderthal cave paintings inside the andalusian cave of ardales, pictured march 1, 2018. The cave  paintings were created between 43,000 and 65,000 years ago, 20,000 years before modern humans arrived in europ The earlest known images often appear abstract, and may have been symbolic, while later ones depicted animals, people and hybrid figures that perhaps carried some kind of spiritual significance. Cave-Paintings at Altamira Lascaux Caves, France Bison paintings in Altamira, Spain  End of the age There is reasonable agreement that the Paleolithic ended with the beginning of the Holocene geologic and climatic era about 11,700 years ago (about 9700 BCE). It is also increasingly clear that a developmental bifurcation in human cultural history. The end of this period marked the end of the last Ice Age, which resulted in the extinction of many large mammals and rising sea levels and climate change that eventually caused man to migrate.