Transcript Paleolithic People

Settling the Globe
Hunting and Gathering
 Characterized human existence until 12000 years ago
 95 % of human history, life was gathering and hunting
 Paleolithic People
- settled the planet
- created the first societies
- first to reflect on issues of life and death
Hominids and Homo Sapiens
 Hominid – humanlike creature
australopiticus – 1.8million years ago - Lucy
 Homo sapiens emerged in eastern and southern Africa
250,000 years ago.
- stone and bone tools
- hunting and fishing, not just scavenging
- settlements around fish and game
- trade amongst bands
- planned burials
Out of Africa “theory”
 100,000 years ago – migrations out of Africa
- Ice age created land bridges
 40,000 years ago – into middle east + Europe
- new hunting habits and tools
 20,000 years ago – N. Europe
- cave paintings, religious pictures / venus figurines
 Russia/Ukraine
- needles, multilayered clothing, weaving, nets,
baskets, pottery, etc.
Out of Africa “theory”
 Into Australia – 60,000 years ago
- first use of boats
- “dreamtime” stories of ancestors, ceremonies,religion
 Into the Americas
- 15,000 years ago – Bering Strait… Land Bridge
- Clovis People – first widespread culture of Americas
- hunted large mammals (mammoths, bison)
- 11,000 years ago – extinction of large mammals
 More Characteristics of Paleolithic People
- major communication and exchange networks
- complex views of the world
Out of Africa Theory
The Ways We Were
 Small bands of 25–50 people – by kinship
 Very low population density – lack of technology
 Paleolithic bands were seasonally mobile or nomadic
 Societies were highly egalitarian
- w/ clearly defined roles, women provided 70% food
Economy and Environment
 Paleolithic people worked fewer hours
 Only lived to about 35 years old
 Slash and burn agriculture
 Extinction of large animals shortly after humans
arrived
 Extinction of other hominids shortly after humans
arrived (Neanderthals)
Neanderthals
The Spirit and Religion
 Difficult to understand – no written sources
 Rich ceremonial life, shamans
 Frequent psychoactive drug use to contact spirits
 Mostly polytheistic, (some seem monotheistic)
Cave Painting from France
Venus Figurine
Settling Down
 Last Ice Age ended 16,000–10,000 years ago
- warmer climate, more plants, pop. Grows
 Larger, more complex societies emerged
- these societies emerge in different areas of the world
 This settling down placed a greater demand on the
environment and led to agriculture.
 Agriculture for beer?
- Mayans, Egyptians, Sumerians
Activity
Compare the social
characteristics of the San and
Chumash societies.