Videos on Prehistory/ Early Man

What are Geography and History and why are they important? History is the written or recorded events of people and Geography is the study of the Earth's surface and the processes that shape it. These two topics are important, because they help us to learn and understand many different things of the civilizations of the past, today. In 1991, two hikers found a man in the snow. This subject was known as the "Iceman". His body, as well as tools and clothes were taken to a laboratory to be studied.

Understanding History

Scientists were fascinated with Iceman's life, and more so on the origins of humans. One major question they had was "What was life life thousands of years ago?"

Before and After Writing

5,000 years ago, people in Southwest Asia and Africa developed a system of writing. Experiences started to be recorded and these developments marked the beginning of History. Prehistory is the time before writing was invented.

Prehistory: Digging Up the Past

Archaeologists are scientists who examine objects to learn about the past people and cultures. These scientists rely on clues, other than written records, to link ancient peoples and civilizations. They look through dirt for bones, pottery, tools, and other objects. These items indicate what the people may have done or who they have traded with. An example of artifacts was if an archaeologist found a large or heavy spear head, it would incline that these people hunted bigger animals, since they would be ineffective when trying to hunt for birds or other small animals.

History: A Record in Writing

Historians, experts in or student of history, rely on both on written records of human life and on artifacts found by archaeologists. They analyze a variety of evidences that help them to understand a society or civilization -- its wars, religion, and rulers among other things. Historians also cross reference between accounts (evidences) of different societies on a specific civilization.

A Record of the Spoken Word

Written works that historians study often come from oral traditions, stories passed down by the word of mouth. Oral traditions may include a variety of things. Some of which include, lineage of a family or clan, myths of creations, and legends of Heroes. Oral traditions are very important to many societies in the world today. They may not all be accurate because if it passed down from generation to generation or person to person, the story will tend to change since they are retold often.

Linking Geography and History

History is the written and recorded events of people, while Geography is the study of the Earth's surface and the processes that shape it. These two topics are very closely related to each other. The reason being is because people all throughout history have adapted to their living conditions of a specific place or area. When talking about Geography, it includes the climate, landscape, and location. With both of these topics, it is a great help when explaining why certain things happened, for example why people would move from place to place or why a civilization was able to win a war. Another famous example would be the Ancient Egyptians. This civilization was built on the bank of the Nile River. They learned that each year, the Nile River would flood, and it would help to result in an abundant harvest of crop. Their successful farming skill in turn helped them to increase their population and also attributed to them being a highly famous civilization in both their time, and in ours.

Prehistory

The Stone Age

The first modern humans appeared in Africa and migrated all over the world by 10,000 B.C. The earliest period of human history is known as the Stone Age. The Stone Age was a period of time in which early humans made lasting tools and weapons mainly from stone. It can be divided into three periods, which are listed below.

Old Stone Age

People of the Old Stone Age spent most of their time searching for food. The very first people were food gatherers. They gathered food they found growing around them. They picked fruit from trees and dug roots from the ground. They also gathered seeds, wild grasses, and grains. In time, people became hunters. At first, people had no weapons. They hunted only small animals they could catch by hand, such as birds, insects, turtles, and lizards. They also fished, probably catching the fish by hand.

During the Old Stone Age, people made discoveries and inventions that are still important to people today. About 1.5 million years ago, people discovered how to make fire. People knew about fire from fires they saw in nature, such as those caused by lightning. But they did not know how to make fire. People probably first made fires by rubbing sticks together over dry leaves. Fire had many important uses. It frightened off wild animals. It was used to cook meat, making the meat easier to chew and digest. It also provided warmth for people in cold climates

Early people made an important step forward when they began to use weapons. With weapons, people could fight off hungry animals. And they could increase their supply of food. People could now hunt larger animals, such as deer and bears. The first weapons were probably sticks and stones people found on the ground. In time, people improved on those weapons. They learned to shape tree limbs into clubs. And they learned to give stones a sharp cutting edge by striking one stone against another. Early people also learned to make simple tools. The first tools were probably axes without handles called hand axes. Later, people made stone knives and scrapers. People used their tools to cut up animals they had killed and to clean and scrape animal hides for clothing.

The earliest people were nomads, or people who constantly moved from place to place in search of food. When they used up the supply of food in one place, they moved to a new place. Very early, people learned the value of living in groups. In groups, people were safer from animal attacks, and from attacks by human enemies. And everyone in the group could help in the search for food.

Middle Stone Age

Over thousands of years, people learned to make better tools. About 200,000 years ago, people made the first flake tools. They made flake tools by chipping thin pieces, or flakes, from stones. The flakes had very sharp cutting edges. About 40,000 years ago, people made the first blade tools by shaping stones into sharp blades.

People also learned to make special tools for special jobs. Some tools were made just for cutting. Other tools were made for chopping or for boring holes. About 20,000 years ago, people used bones to make the first needles for sewing.

People also invented new weapons, such as the spear. People made spears by attaching sharp stone points to sticks. About 20,000 years ago, people invented the first bows and arrows. Old Stone Age people also made the first fishhooks and harpoons, or fishing spears.

New Stone Age

During the Old Stone Age, people hunted and gathered their food. Then, about 11,000 years ago, people made a great discovery: They learned to produce their own food. People began to grow plants and raise animals for food. That was the beginning of farming. The shift from food gathering to food producing brought great changes to people's lives. Scientists call this period of great change the New Stone Age.

At about the same time that people learned to farm, they also learned to domesticate, or tame, animals. They domesticated wild sheep and goats. In time, some people who were once hunters became herders. (Herders are people who care for large herds of animals.) Hunters could never be sure of finding game during a hunt. But herding provided people with a steady supply of meat and hides.