human beginnings
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Human Beginnings. Paleolithic Era Through Bronze Age. Peopling Of The Earth. Early Migrations of People Historians think that people started in Africa about 90,000 years ago Moved to Asia, then to North America Also moved to Europe and Australia - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Paleolithic Era Through Bronze Age
Human Beginnings
Early Migrations of PeopleHistorians think that people started in Africa
about 90,000 years agoMoved to Asia, then to North AmericaAlso moved to Europe and AustraliaGroup in Northern North America settled farther
South and West and became “Native Americans”Native Americans = Indigenous People
Peopling Of The Earth
Human Migration out of Africa
Crossing the Bering Strait (Beringa Land Bridge)17,000 years ago (during last Ice Age) Ice
increased and sea levels fell, people first migrated from Asia to America.
These people were Nomadic Hunters following big game from Siberia.
Crossed the Bering StraitBetween current day Siberia (Russia) and AlaskaEventually spread farther South and farther West
Peopling of the Earth
Beringa Land Bridge
During Paleolithic Era (2.6 Million Years ago until about 8,000 BC) most were H&G
ToolsWood, Bone, Animal skins, Stone
FireUsed for Protection, Warmth, Cooking Food
WeaponsStone, Bone (Spearheads)
LanguageVery basic language skills
Lives of Hunter & Gatherers
H& G Weapons
People who crossed Bering Strait were Hunters and Gatherers
Men hunted for Animals (Large game)Women gathered berries and fruitsStayed in small groups, small families
Food supply wasn’t large enough to support big group
Had to constantly move around to follow game and find new food
Not a stable food supply
Hunters And Gatherers
As Civilization developed, new ways of getting food were discovered.
Where it was warm = Farming (Agricultural Revolution
Where there was land for grazing, Pastoral Nomads began herding animals
Both Farming and Herding happened around the same time, but depended on environment
New Ways of Getting Food
Pastoral society relies on a pasture. It is one that uses the domestication of animals for its survival.
The first pastoral societies emerged between 10,000 and 12,000 years ago, when some hunting and gathering groups began to capture, breed, and tend species of wild animals they previously had hunted.Why does this sound better than H&G?What other things could they have done to get
food?
Pastoral Nomads
This strategy has been adopted by many peoples living in deserts or other regions that are not suited to the cultivation of plants, but which contain animals--such as goats or sheep—that can be readily tamed and used as a food source.
Many pastoral societies still exist in the modern world, particularly in Africa and in the Middle East. In some areas crop cultivation was severely limited because of insufficient rainfall, too short a growing season, or mountainous terrain.
Why Be A Pastoral Nomad?
Also known as “Neolithic revolution”Occurred about 10,000 BC to 5,000 BCHappened in different parts of the world at
different timesAgriculture = Farming
Growing of crops and the raising of animalsWhere did it happen?
Near WaterWarm ClimateGood SoilEnough Precipitation
Agricultural Revolution
Benefits that arose from AgricultureSeasonal HarvestsSpecialized Crops / Division of Labor
Biggest Benefit : More stable food supplyMore food means
Families could support more ChildrenPopulation Grew!
Families could stay in the same placeStarted forming small villages
People could save extra food (Surplus)Use surplus for trade or emergency
Agricultural Revolution
Development and Spread of AgricultureFarming developed
first in the Middle East, in an arc of territory running from present-day Turkey to Iraq and Israel (Fertile Crescent)
Barley and wild wheat were abundant
What is it near???
Development and Spread of Agriculture
Farming then spread to parts of India, north Africa, and Europe.
Agriculture spread much later to Africa.
Agriculture was invented separately in the Americas much later (around 5000 B.C.E.)
Followed by Southeast Asia and Japan
And then Central Asia
• Areas of Independent Development:1. SW Asia (wheat, pea, olive, sheep, goat)2. China & SE Asia (rice, millet, pig)3. Americas (corn, beans, potato, llama)
• Areas of Agriculture Through Diffusion:1. Europe2. West & Sub-Saharan Africa (?)3. Indus River Valley (rice cultivation)
Independent Discovery vs Cultural Diffusion
The need for storage facilities for grains and seeds prompted the development of basket-making and pottery.
Agricultural needs also encouraged certain kinds of science, supporting the human desire to learn more about weather or flooding.
Discovery of metal tools (4000 B.C.E.) in the Middle East • Copper was the first metal, followed by
bronze – a more resilient metal.
Agriculture Prompted New Ideas and Techniques
Sedentary Agriculturalists Dominate• High starch diets slowly allowSedentary populations to grow.
• First plow invented c.6000BCE;crop yields grow exponentially by 4000BCE.Pop. grows from 5-8 million to 60-70 million. • Eventually agricultural populations begin to spread
out, displacing or assimilating nomadic groups; farming groups grow large enough for advanced social organization
First Towns Develop• Towns require social differentiation:
metal workers, pottery workers, farmers, soldiers, religious and political leaders. (POSSIBLE B/C FOOD SURPLUSES!)
• Served as trade centers for the area; specialized in the production of certain unique crafts
• Beginnings of social stratification (class)
Catal Huyuk – 7000 BCE
First Towns Develop Jerico – 7000 BCE
How did the environment favor one life style or another?
Hunters and GatherersMust be large game to hunt, crops to pick, but
not a stable supplyPastoral Nomads
Could settle in more challenging climatesAgrarian (Farming) Society
Needed water for irrigation, precipitation and a good growing season
People and Environment