THE ASCENT OF HUMANITY

Michelangelo’s “Creation of Adam”, Sistine Chapel, Rome

THE ASCENT OF HUMANITY

Apes

Missing Link?

Ramapithicus(10 - 6 mil yrs.)

Australopithicus Afarensis(3 mil yrs.) [Ethiopia & Tanzania]

A. Africanus(3 mil yrs.)

[South Africa]{extinct}

A. Robustus(3 mil yrs.)

[South Africa]{extinct}

A. Boisei(3 mil yrs.) [Eastern

Africa]{extinct}

Homo Habilis “Handy Man”

(2.3 mil yrs.)[Sub-Saharan Africa]

H. Erectus “Fire Man”

(1.7mil yrs.)[Eastern Asia]

Homo Sapiens(500000 yrs.)

Neanderthalensis(400000 yrs.)

[Europe & Western Asia]{extinct}

Homo Sapiens Sapiens“Modern Man”

(~100000 yrs.)[Worldwide]

Hominids

Hominids discovered here include: Australopithecus Boisei, Homo Habilis,

Homo Erectus, & Homo Sapiens

Oldupai Gorge{Olduvai  is a mispronunciation of Oldupai, the Masai word for a type of wild sisal found around the gorge. The Gorge was re-named in 2005 to correct this mistake.}

THE ASCENT OF HUMANITY

“After an evolutionary struggle lasting millions of years, our species emerged as top hominid. And then, in one spectacular moment, we became human”

(Jared Diamond, “The Great Leap Forward”)

Australopithicus Afarensis

• 3.9 to 2.9 million years ago (mya)

• Lived in forest margins

• No stone tools or weapons

• Lived in groups of 25-30

• “Lucy”

Lucy(3.5 mil yrs.)

Australopithicus Africanus

•

•3-2.3 mya

•Ate seeds, fruit, nuts, tubers

•Scavenged carrion & caught small rodents?

Homo Habilis

• 2.5-1.6 mya

• “handy man”

• Larger brain size

• First to use stone tools

• Meat?

Homo Erectus• 1.8 mya- 300,000 ya

• “Upright Man”

• Spread out of Africa & around the world

• Massive brows

• Used tools made of stone, bone and wood

• Controlled fire

• Had basic language

H.Sapiens. Neanderthal

• 400 000 to 30 000 ya

• Hunted in groups, also scavenged

• Little evidence of social structure

• Death rituals – religion?

• Basic language

H.S. Sapiens – Us!• ~100 kya to present

• Out of Africa; Quickly covered the entire globe

• Hunt and fish

• Complex language

• Produced art

• Permanent settlements, later villages and towns

• Religion

• Gov’t and law

“The Great Cultural Leap

Forward”• WHEN? perhaps 50,000 years ago WHEN? perhaps 50,000 years ago

• WHERE? The Great Rift Valley, AfricaWHERE? The Great Rift Valley, Africa

• WHO? Stone Age ManWHO? Stone Age Man

• WHAT? a flowering of fine toolmaking, WHAT? a flowering of fine toolmaking, sophisticated weaponry, sculpture, cave sophisticated weaponry, sculpture, cave painting and long-distance trade.painting and long-distance trade.

• WHY?WHY? An evolutionary fluke? An evolutionary fluke? Sophisticated language ability?Sophisticated language ability?

The Journey of Man

Paleolithic Man

“Old Stone Age”

Neolithic Man“New Stone

Age”

THE ASCENT OF HOMO SAPIENS

vs

During these periods, humans showed the first signs of conscious planning, forethought, and creativity. They thought about

making changes to their environment and planned how to make these

changes happen.(Walker, World Civilizations, p. 18)

• people lived in small groups, bands, or tribes

• cooperation was the key to survival

• these groups would have hunted and gathered within an area

Social OrganizationSocial Organization

Paleolithic ManPaleolithic Man

Paleolithic Man Social Social

OrganizationOrganization

• at first, man lived in the Baobab tree

• or dug shallow pits or lived under rock overhangs

• caves were not a 1st choice because of what usually already lived in them

• some built huts - especially towards the end of the age

Paleolithic ManPaleolithic Man

• evidence shows that old stone age man ate small prey and carrion (dead meat) before learning how to kill larger animals

• hunting was the 1st specialized skill

• Paleolithic man was the Hunter and no longer the hunted

Paleolithic ManPaleolithic Man HuntingHunting

• stone age man would drive huge animals into a swamp before attacking

• the Neanderthals were quite ingenious as evidenced by information gathered in Germany at an archeological site in 1948 - a 2 metre wooden spear was found amongst the fossil of an elephant in a German bog

• another method used were Pitfalls

YouTube clip on Persistence Hunt

HuntingHunting

Paleolithic ManPaleolithic Man

• earliest tools & weapons were made of stone

• homo habilis made choppers, then hand axes

• in later periods, tools were made of wood and bone

• for stone tools, the material of choice was flint or obsidian

• many of the stone tools were also used by Neolithic man

ToolmakinToolmakingg

Paleolithic ManPaleolithic Man

• finer blades and projective weapons came later

• 35000 years ago humans were using stone, bone, horn, ivory, and wood to make quite sophisticated tools and weapons (such as: needles, fishing hooks, bows & arrows)

ToolmakinToolmakingg

A good atlatl thrower can usually hit 4 inch targets at

90 feet.

Paleolithic ManPaleolithic Man

• one of the most significant developments - cook food {kill disease and other dangerous organisms} - source of light {campfire} - warmth {Homo Erectus is the first to leave the African Continent}

- protection {against wild animals and other hominids} - used in hunting

Use of Use of FireFire

YouTube clips on Hadzabe Bushman &

Fire

Paleolithic ManPaleolithic Man

• scientists speculate that Neanderthals could speak although it would have been basic sounds

• with Paleolithic man, these sounds would have been developed to reflect the situation

• spoken language was an important development of the Stone Age

• it allowed humanity to work closely together and share cultural information

Development of Development of Speech/LanguageSpeech/Language

Paleolithic ManPaleolithic Man

The Neolithic The Neolithic RevolutionRevolution

Neolithic ManNeolithic Man

• End of the last Ice Age - 10000 years ago - brought a warmer & wetter climate to the Middle East

• humanity changed from being hunters and gatherers to farmers - this was called the Neolithic Revolution

• people gained an abundant & dependable source of food

(12000 years ago & it continues)

The Neolithic The Neolithic RevolutionRevolution• The Fertile Crescent

- located in present day Iraq was the 1st place in which humanity discovered they could plant the seed from wild grain

Neolithic ManNeolithic Man

• the rise of agriculture & the domestication of animals for food & labour produced the most important transformation in human culture

Neolithic ManNeolithic Man The Neolithic The Neolithic RevolutionRevolution

• agriculture increased the food supply dramatically

• farming & herding led to the growth of large, settled human populations & increasing competition for productive lands

• The Agricultural Revolution allowed for the development of towns, cities, & later civilization (8000 BCE - Jericho; 6500 BCE - Catal Hayak)

• steady food supply freed people to specialize in crafts like textiles & supported a privileged elite

The Effects of the Neolithic The Effects of the Neolithic RevolutionRevolution

Neolithic ManNeolithic Man

The Effects of the Neolithic The Effects of the Neolithic RevolutionRevolution

(Walker, World Civilizations, pp. 20-25)

• artisans made pottery and jewellery, weaved baskets and cloth, and increasingly used metals such as copper, silver, gold, and lead (each having its’ own age)

• artisans promoted the development of trade

Neolithic ManNeolithic Man

The The Effects of Effects of

the the Neolithic Neolithic RevolutioRevolutio

nn

• new methods of transportation

• government & systems of political organizations came as communities were settled

Neolithic ManNeolithic Man

Vocabulary• Make sure that you know the meanings of the

following vocabulary:

paleontologist anthropologist archeologist Stratigraphy Carbon 14 Dating ethnologist

creationist evolutionist James Ussher

Charles Darwin survival of the fittest natural selection Pangaea Cenezoic Mary

Leakey Oldupai Gorge Cradle of Humanity Great Rift Valley Ramapithicus

Lucy Australopithicus Robustus

Hominid Australopithicus Africanus Homo Habilis Homo Erectus Homo Sapiens Homo Sapien Sapiens Neanderthal

Cro Magnon Man Peking Man Paleolithic Age Neolithic Age Agricultural

Revolution domestication Fertile Crescent obsidian

flint Australopithicus Afarenis tell

Towards Civilization ...

Political Economic

What is What is Civilization?Civilization?

Ideological