Investigating the PastMs. Mohamed

6th Grade

Talk to a partner –

• What is ancient history?

Ancient History

• Refers to the distant past

– From the earliest humans to the first great civilizations

Ancient History

Talk to a partner -

• What are some examples of social scientists?

Social Scientists

• They can be considered detectives.

• They ask questions.

• They study evidence for clues and form hypotheses.

People Who Study the Past

• Scholars who study the past are called social scientists.

• Some examples of social scientists include:

– Archaeologists– Historians– Geographers

Who Are These Experts

Talk to a partner –

• What does an archeologist do?

Archeologist

• Archaeologists dig up the past.• Archaeologists study the past by examining the

objects people left behind. • These objects are artifacts that were made or used

by the people. • Some examples of artifacts include

– Clothes– Tools– Weapons– Coins

• When archaeologists find these artifacts they can then as questions such as:– Who lived in this place?– When did they live?– What were they like?

Archaeologist

Talk to a partner –

• What does a historian do?

Historian

• Historians record the past.• Historians are mostly interested in the

last few thousand years – when people began leaving written records.

• Historians usually ask – What happened in the past?

• They study artifacts and written records.

• They study artifacts and documents.– Documents include diaries and letters.

Historians

In groups of three – discuss the question below:

• How are an archaeologists and historians similar?

• How are they different?

Archaeologist vs Historian

• How are an archaeologists and historians similar?– They both use artifacts to study the

past.• How are they different?

– A historian records the past and is mostly interested in the last few thousand years – when people began leaving written records.

– An archaeologist studies the past by examining the objects people left behind.

Archaeologist vs Historian

Use your text to help you answer the question below:

• What does a geographer do?

Geographer

• Geographers map the past.• They study the natural features of

earth such as water, landforms, plants, and animals.

• Geographers also look at – human-made features such as towns, roads, bridges, and dams.

• They help us answer questions such as – Where did people live? How did they use their environment to create maps?

Geographers

Social Scientists

Talk to a partner –

• What are some challenges social scientists may encounter?

• Social scientists who study the prehistoric times have a unique challenges.

• There is little evidence available.• There are huge gaps of time where

there is no evidence at all.• This lack of evidence means that

scientists can examine the same evidence and generate different answers and theories about how humans came.

Social Scientists

Talk to a partner –

• What does prehistoric mean?

Prehistoric

Prehistoric times refer to times before writing was invented

Prehistoric

• Cave paintings provide social scientists with clues about what life was like during prehistoric times.

• Caves with paintings thousands of years old have been found all over the world.

• Cave paintings show:– What animals roamed the earth– How people hunted– And hints of what people believed.

• Many of the cave art is found in rooms deep inside of the caves.

Cave Art

• Scientists hypothesize that cave artists used torches as they worked in these dark places. – Some cave art are:

• Very large and taller than a person• Some were done on high ceilings

• Scientists also hypothesize that these prehistoric artists built scaffolding and planks raised above the floor to reach the high places.

Cave Art

• Caves are a form of artifacts for social scientists to study.

• Scientists have found :– Lamps for burning animal fats– Bits of rope– And tools for engraving and

painting.

Caves

Talk to a partner –

• How do you think cave art helps scientists?

Cave Art

• Cave paintings and artifacts help social scientists answer questions about how ancient humans lived. They also raise new questions for scientists.

Cave Art

• One cave painting that was found was about 11,000 and 18,000 years old.

• This painting illustrated a hunting scene.

• Human cave paintings are rare.• Paintings of animals are more

likely.• Most social scientists believe that

this painting was part of a hunting ritual.

Cave Painting of a Human

Talk to a partner –

• What is a ritual?

Rituals

• A ritual is

Rituals

• The first cave art painting of an animal was created approximately 17,000 years ago.

• The painting illustrates prehistoric animals such as bulls, bison, and horses.

• Some scientists believe that the animal paintings were created to capture the magical powers of certain animals.

• They also thought that the painters believed in spirits and created the art to honor or influence them.

• Moreover, some scientists speculate that the cave was a place of worship and the paintings were used in rituals or ceremonies.

Cave Paintings of Animals

Cave Paintings of Shapes & Handprints

Use your text to help you answer the question below:

• What do scientist believe about the shapes and handprints in the caves?

• Paintings of shapes and handprints are fairly common in caves.

• Many scientists believe that the handprints were a way the artists signed their work.

• Some social scientists think that the geometric shapes had special meanings in rituals.

Cave Paintings of Shapes & Handprints

Video

• Cave Art• http://www.lascaux.culture.fr/#/

en/02_00.xml

Sounds in the CavesUse your text to help you answer the question below:

• What did researchers discover about the sounds in the cave?

Sounds in the Caves

• Researchers discovered that the sound in caves were loudest in the areas that were painted.

• They hypothesize that those areas were used for social gatherings.

• The prehistoric spear thrower was made from a reindeer antler bone.

• It was about 10 inches long.• It was probably made about 18,000

years ago.

Spear Thrower

• Clay sculptures were found in a cave in France.

• The sculptures were of two bison and were made approximately 10,00 to 14,00 years ago.

Clay Sculptures

Use your text to help you answer the question below:

• What did the scientists believe about the clay sculptures?

Clay Sculptures

• Scientists believed that the sculptures belonged to a certain clan.

• They also believed that they were used in an important ceremony that was held deep inside the cave.

• It may have been a coming of age ceremony to show that a child became an adult.

• They based this belief on the fact that footprints of young people were found near the sculptures.

Clay Sculptures

Talk to a partner –

• What tools do you think the cave artists used to create their cave art?

Cave Art Tools

• Some prehistoric tools cave artists used include:– Two piles of colored rock-hard

minerals and a grindstone for grinding minerals

– Sculptor’s pick– Engraving tool

Cave Art Tools

Use the text to answer the question below:

• How do scientists believe that the cave artists made paint?

Cave Art Tools

• Scientists believed that cave artists made paintings by grinding colored minerals into powder. They probably mixed the powder with animal fat or vegetable oil to create various colors.

Cave Art Tools

Use the text to help you answer the question below:

• How do scientists believe that the cave artists were able to paint?

Cave Art Tools

• Scientists believed that the cave artists used brushes made of moss, fur, or human hair.

• The cave artists may have also blown paint through hollow bird bones to create softer textures, such as shaggy winter

Cave Art Tools

• In groups of three – discuss three meaningful things you learned during this lesson.

Reflection