Understanding Our Past• Around 3000 B.C. people begin to write and

record events, this ends the period of Prehistory from 7 million B.C. to 3000 B.C.

• Historians study the past, sometimes using artifacts, or objects made by humans. Written records are better and at times offer a narrative of events.

• Culture-people with shared beliefs and practices: a group of people whose shared beliefs and practices identify the particular place, class, or time to which they belong

Cultures and Civilizations Began in Prehistoric Times

• Anthropologists and Archaeologists have discovered many things about prehistory using scientific methods.

• They study artifacts

• To determine Culture

Early Humanlike Creatures• Archaeologists use

radiocarbon dating for artifacts 100,000 years old.

• Mary Leakey and Donald Johansen discovered pre-historic remains.

• Lucy found in Ethiopia, and more remains in Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania.

L. Riley/Bruce Coleman, Inc.

Archaeological Site

Paleoanthropologists Louis S. B. Leakey and Mary Leakey discovered the remains of some of the earliest-known human settlements in the Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania.

Microsoft ® Encarta ® Encyclopedia 2003. © 1993-2002 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

L. Riley/Bruce Coleman, Inc.

L. Riley/Bruce Coleman, Inc.

Early Humanlike Creatures

The First People• Early Hunters and

Gatherers traveled or migrated long distances in search of food.

• The Ice Age influenced Early mans migration.

• Large glaciers covered the earth.

Neanderthal, Cro-Magnon People. The Middle and New Stone Age

• Neanderthal lived 30,000 to 100,000 years ago. Named after Neander Valley in Germany.

• Cro-Magnon people 30,000 to 35,000 years ago named after a cave in France.

• Middle Stone Age - agriculture, domesticated a few animals.

New Stone Age• Cro-Magnon people

30,000 to 35,000 years ago named after a cave in France.

• Middle Stone Age - little agriculture, domesticated a few animals.

• New Stone Age - Neolithic Revolution

• Agriculture ~!!!!

Neolithic Revolution• Agriculture allows the

people to specialize.• Domestication of horses,

oxen, sheep, pigs, and cows.

• Seed cultivation - wheat,millet,rice,and corn

• People can live together in towns or cities.

The First Civilizations• Four River Valleys are important

in studying Neolithic settlements.

• The Nile, Tigris-Euphrates, Indus, and the Huang-he.

• Five Characteristics of early civilizations-technical skills, some form of government, division of labor, a calendar, and a form of writing.

Great River Valley Civilizations

• Nile River---Egypt

• Tigris-Euphrates River valley---Sumer Southwest Asia (Iraq)

• Indus River valley---Southern Asia (India - Present Day Pakistan)Mohenjo-Daro

• Huang He River valley---Eastern Asia (China) Shang

The Americas and the Steppes• The civilizations in the Americas grew

away from River Valleys.• The Olmecs in Mexico, the Maya on the

Yucatan Peninsula.• On the vast grasslands of Asia many

nomadic tribes continued to gather and hunt and follow large herds of animals.

• These groups usually provide a threat to established civilizations

Characteristics of a Civilization• Organized governments exist• Complex Religions • People have advanced technical skills, job

specialization.• Social classes• Arts and Architecture• Public works • A form of writing exists -A calendar exists

Stages of Writing • A picture represents a thing. A stick figure

might be boy or girl. (pictograms). • A picture represents an idea. A farmer owns

orchards and a symbol for a tree comes to represent wealth. (ideograms)

• A picture stands for a sound, usually a syllable. A tree symbol meaning tree could also be used for treason. ( a phonogram)

• A sign represents a single consonant or vowel. These signs or letters form an Alphabet.