Thought of the Day

Imagine you were living in the Prehistoric Ages. Describe 5 major items you think you would need in order to survive, and explain why you would choose those items. Write 5 complete sentences.

Early Humans

Where did they live? How long did they live? What happened to them?

-Anthropologists and archeologist studied these areas to come up with a variety of theories…

What is a hominid?

• human like creature that walked upright• lived in Africa 4 million years ago

Australopithecus

• “southern ape”• named it Lucy• 3.5 million yrs old• Found in Ethiopia

Homo Habilis

• Hominid that develops a larger brain• “handy human”• Used stone tools

Homo Erectus

• “Upright human”• 1.8 million to 100,000 years ago• First to learn how to make fires• Had arms and legs like we do today• Probably the first hominid to leave Africa

Homo Sapiens

• Emerged 200,000 years ago• “wise human”• Showed rapid brain growth• Learned how to use fire

Homo Sapien- Neanderthal

• came out of Germany (100,000-30,000 years ago)

• remains found in Europe and Turkey• made clothes from animal skins • earliest people to bury the dead (indicates a

belief in the afterlife)

Homo Sapien Sapien

• Also known as Cro-Magnon• “wise wise human”• 1st people to have body similar to us today • came out of Africa 100,000 yrs ago• replaced other hominids (Neanderthals) and

died out because of conflict with others• spread across the globe but slowly; they moved

searching for food and new hunting grounds

The Paleolithic Age

• The ability to make tools distinguishes the human species (2,500,000bc- 10,000bc)

• Used stone• Often called the “Stone Age”

Thought of the Day

Yesterday, we talked about the Paleolithic Age. We discussed the evolution of human beings, the tools they used, and their capabilities. First, identify the types of food early humans ate. Explain the ways they went about getting their food. What tools did they need in order to eat? In addition to getting food, do you think the man or woman provided certain foods. Explain your answers.

• Hunting and gathering for daily food– Close to the environment– Wild berries, fruits, wild grains, and green plants– Buffalo, horses, bison, and reindeer, fish and shellfish

• Way of life– Use of stone tool; hard stone called flint- used one to chip away parts of

another creating an edge or point to make hand axes- used a wooden handle then placed the tip in the fire to create spears to kill large animals

– Invented the spear, bow and arrow, harpoons and fish hooks– Used sharp tools to dig up plants, roots, and build shelter; to clean

animal hides for clothing and shelter– Bone needle used to making nets and baskets and sewing hides together

for clothing– These people had to migrate (leave or move) to follow the animals-

nomads people who move from place to place to survive– Lived in groups of 20-30 people

Roles of Men and Women– Women raised the children; they picked all the food;

trapped small animals– Men had to search for large animals; had equality

Adapting to Survive & Use of Fire– Found shelter in caves (because of cold); wooden poles

and animal cloth; use large bones of mammoths to build frame of house

– Fire provided light and heat and kept animals away– cooked their food with fire (made it easier to chew and

digest & nutrition improved)

Ice Age

• Began 100,000BC - ended in 8,000BC• Sheets of ice covered Europe, Asia, and North

America• Use of fire allowed early human survival

The Paleolithic Age has ended…