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The Beginnings of Civilization Section 1 The Beginnings of Civilization The First People Preview • Starting Points Map: Early People and Agriculture • Main Idea / Reading Focus • Studying the Distant Past • Faces of History: Mary and Louis Leakey • Human Origins • Quick Facts: Early Hominids • Spreading Around the World Section 1 The Beginnings of Civilization The First People Preview, continued • Map: Migration of Early Humans • Life in the Stone Age Section 1 The Beginnings of Civilization Click the icon to play Listen to History audio. Click the icon below to connect to the Interactive Maps. Section 1 The Beginnings of Civilization Section 1 The First People Main Idea Scientific evidence suggests that modern humans spread from Africa to other lands and gradually developed ways to adapt to their environment. Reading Focus • What methods are used to study the distant past? • What does evidence suggest about human origins? • How did early people spread around the world? • How did early people adapt to life in the Stone Age? Section 1 The Beginnings of Civilization Studying the Distant Past Much of the human story remains a mystery. Writing has existed for only about 5,000 years. To study prehistory, scholars must find and interpret clues. Anthropologists Archaeologists • Study culture: knowledge, art, customs • Dig at sites where people have left traces • Examine artifacts: objects that people in the past made or used • Use a variety of methods to date and analyze objects found Anthropology continues to expand and revise our picture of the prehistoric past. The Beginnings of Civilization Section 1 Find the Main Idea How do scientists learn about prehistory? Answer(s): by studying fossils, artifacts, and remains Section 1 The Beginnings of Civilization Human Origins Where did the first people come from? When did they appear? Some key discoveries have provided important pieces to the puzzle. Early Hominids • 1959—East Africa – Mary Leakey finds skull fragments – Hominid: humanlike being that walked upright • 1974—Ethiopia – Johanson finds “Lucy” – 4 foot-tall hominid who walked upright – lived 4 to 5 million years ago Later Hominids • More advanced hominids from about 3 million years ago • 1960s—Tanzania • Louis Leakey – Homo habilis (“handy man”) – More humanlike features – Made and used crude stone tools The Beginnings of Civilization Section 1 The Beginnings of Civilization Other hominids • Homo erectus (“upright man”) • 2 to 1.5 million years ago in Africa • Larger brain; more skillful hunter • First hominid to control fire Modern humans • Homo sapiens (“wise man”) • 200,000 years ago • Larger brain; more sophisticated tools • Learned to create fire • First to develop language Section 1 The Beginnings of Civilization Section 1 The Beginnings of Civilization Section 1 Identify Supporting Details What four main types of hominids have scientists identified based on fossil evidence? Answer(s): Australopithecine, Homo habilis, Homo erectus, Homo sapiens The Beginnings of Civilization Section 1 Spreading Around the World Climate and Migration • Hominids learned to adapt • Began to move out of Africa • Movement occurred over hundreds of thousands of years Out of Africa • Homo erectus first hominid to migrate • Fossils found in Asia and Europe • Homo sapiens migrated around 100,000 years ago • Might have used boats The Ice Ages • Began 1.6 million years ago • Long periods of freezing weather cycled with warmer periods • Asia and North America joined at Bering Strait Adapting to New Environments • Adapted as they migrated • Two groups of Homo sapiens: – Neanderthals – Cro-Magnons The Beginnings of Civilization Section 1 Analyze Information How did the ice ages influence early human migration? Answer(s): The ocean level dropped, exposing land bridges that allowed early humans to migrate around the world. The Beginnings of Civilization Section 1 Section 1 The Beginnings of Civilization Life in the Stone Age The first humans lived during the Stone Age, when people made tools mainly from stone. • Paleolithic Era • 2.5 million to 10,000 years ago • Stone Age people lived as nomads • Sheltered under rock overhangs or in caves • Hunter-gatherers Technology • • • • • • • First tools: crude chipped stones Later tools: wood and bone Spears for hunting Nets and traps for fish and birds Canoes from logs Clothing from animal skins Shelters from skins, wood, bones Art and Religion • Societies began to form • Common culture – language – art – religion • Animism • Belief in life after death? The Beginnings of Civilization Section 1 Summarize How did Stone Age people use technology to adapt and survive? Answer(s): used fire, made tools and weapons