Chapter 1 Outline

I. Intro
On November 30, 1974, the worlds best prehistoric skeleton was found which was named Lucy.
At the age 25 to 30, Lucys body stood at about 3.5 feet tall and 3.2 million years later, an
archaeological team working at Hadar discovered her body. Later searches at Hardar turned
up bones belonging to perhaps as many as sixty-five additional individuals, although no other
collection of bones from Hadar rivals Lucys skeleton for completeness (B&Z 5). The
discoveries of these skeletons, including Lucys provided evidence that suggested that our
earliest ancestors were able to walk upright on two feet providing them two free hands to do
various tasks such as carrying and picking things up, giving them an advantage to survive.
About forty million years ago, short, hair, monkey-like animals began to populate tropical
regions of the world. Humanlike cousins to these animals began to appear only four to five
million years ago, and our species, Homo sapiens, about two hundred thousand years ago
(B&Z 6). Through these evolutions, humans began to develop ways of communicating through
writing. The early homo sapiens figured out ways to understand social, economic, and cultural
foundations that formed the understanding of new societies.
II. The Evolution of Homo Sapiens
A. Throughout this past century, archaeologists and other scholars conducted experiments
and research regarding the evolution of humans to understand our relationship with other
animals and how our own fragments of DNA have changed through time. Through
research, scientists soon recognized a remarkable similarity between homo sapiens and
apes which indicated a relationship between the two in evolution. This point is true not
only of external features, such as physical form, but also of the basic elements of genetic
makeup and body chemistry - DNA, chromosomal patterns, life-sustaining proteins, and
blood types (B&Z 6). Through the years, it is found that humans were able to exercise
their mind and control over how they survived which enabled them to use their physical
abilities (such has their feet and hands) to hold objects and carry on as they adapted to
their surroundings. By doing this, it is evident that humans developed a type of
intelligence that has led us to be a the strongest species on Earth today.
B. The Hominids
1. In Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and other parts of east Africa, discoveries
regarding the evolution of the human species have been made. The Olduvai
Gorge in Tanzania and Hadar in Ethiopia have yielded especially rich remains
of individuals like the famous Lucy. These individuals probably represented
several different species belonging to the genus Australopithecus (the southern

ape), which flourished in east Africa during the long period from about four
million to one million years ago (B&Z 6).
2. Australopithecus. The Australopithecus belonged to the family Hominidae as
a hominid. This type of species was seen as short, hairy, and had also lacked in
intelligence; the Australopithecus were seen as sophisticated creatures because
they were able to walk upright and used their hands with opposable thumbs to
perform intricate operations and were almost able to communicate verbally. The
intelligence of australopithecines was sufficient to allow them to plan complex
ventures. They often traveled deliberately - over distances of 15 kilometers (9.3
miles) and more- to obtain the particular kinds of stone that they needed to
fashion tools (B&Z 7). The tools that these species created were tools such as
choppers, scrapers, and other tools that helped them perform various tasks.
Because of their ability to use tools and intelligence, australopithecines were
able to thrive in most of Eastern and Southern Africa.
3. Homo Erectus. About one million years ago after the australopithecines
disappeared, a new species, called the Homo erectus displaced their ancestors
and was recognized for their greater intelligence because they had possessed a
greater and bigger brain than the australopithecines; they were the creators of
tools such as the cleavers and hand axes which served not only as a common tool
but also a defense weapon against predators. Homo erectus also learned how to
start and tend fires, which furnished the species with a means to cook food, a
defense against large animals, and a source of artificial heat (B&Z 7). The
Homo erectus was also able to communicate by devising plans, intentions, and
activities resulting in Homo erectus groups/tribes where they figured out ways to
obtain food together.
4. Migrations of Homo Erectus. Over the years during the Homo erectus time,
the species was able to obtain and gain control over their surroundings and
introduced the human species to widely scattered regions with their tools, fire,
intelligence, and ability to communicate. Almost two million years ago, Homo
erectus groups moved to South-West Asia and beyond to Europe, south Asia,
east Asia, and Southeast Asia (B&Z 7). As they continued to spread out from
Africa, the species soon adapted to different types of weather and zones.
C. Homo Sapiens
1. As the Homo erectus faded away, a new type of human species was evolving,
the Homo sapiens (consciously thinking human) which evolved about two
hundred thousand years ago. The Homo sapien possessed a large brain and had a
structure almost similar to humans today which provided an incredibly large

advantage in surviving. Although not endowed with great strength and not
equipped with natural means of attack and defense - claws, beaks, fangs, shells,
venom, and the like- Homo sapiens possessed a remarkable intelligence that
provided a powerful edge in the contest for survival. It enabled individuals to
understand the structure of the world around them, to organize more efficient
methods of exploiting natural resources, and to communicate and cooperate on
increasingly complex tasks (B&Z 8). This advantage resulted into the species
lasting longer than Homo erectus and the australopithecines.
2. Language. Around one hundred thousand and fifty years ago, the Homo
sapiens developed ways to effectively communicate as they evolved with a new
combination of physiological traits which allowed them to use their vocal chords
and use their tongue to enunciate many sounds. Over time, Homo sapiens
articulated those sounds into spoken languages that were endlessly flexible and
that enabled individuals to communicate messages that were far more complex,
more detailed and more precise than those of Homo erectus and other human
species (B&Z 9). Being able to communicate with others gave the Homo
sapiens the power and ability to survive in the world.
3. Migrations of the Homo Sapiens. One hundred thousand years ago, the Homo
sapiens went on the move throughout the eastern hemisphere and populated lands
in Africa, Europe, and Asia. Soon, they moved out of these areas into colder
regions; because this species was able to use logic because of their intelligence,
they were able to fasten clothes from animal skins and various other items to keep
protect and shelter them from the cold. Between sixty thousand and fifteen
thousand years ago, Homo sapiens extended the range of human population even
further. Several ice ages cooled the earths temperature during that period,
resulting in the concentration of water in massive glaciers, the lowering of the
worlds sea levels, and the exposure of land bridges that inked Asia with regions
of the world previously uninhabited by humans (B&Z 9).
4. The Peopling of the World. Sixty thousand years ago, Homo sapiens arrived
in Australia, while other groups linked Siberia and Alaska together and
established human communities in North America about twenty five thousand
years ago. 15,000 years ago, it is documented that around this time, the Homo
sapiens had inhabited almost every habitable region in the world. This peopling
of the world was a remarkable accomplishment. No other animal or plant species
has autonomously made its way to all habitable parts of the world (B&Z 9).
This wasnt the only accomplishment the Homo sapiens had made, with their
intelligence and memory, they were able to adapt to an environment and make a
home independently in all parts of the world

5. The Natural Environment. With their intelligence, the Homo sapiens were
able to fasten various types of instruments that helped them obtain control over
their environment which served as evidence towards the fact that this species was
able to understand and analyze problems and possibilities to fix it in order to
survive. Homo sapiens used superior intelligence, sophisticated tools, and
language to exploit the natural world more efficiently than any other species the
earth had seen (B&Z 10). Because of the rise of the Homo sapiens, the
populations of mammoths soon decreased as well; mammoths disappeared from
Europe, giant kangaroos disappeared from Australia, and many more. It was
believed that the changing of the earths climate was the cause to the natural
environment altering enough to cause harm to species that were disappearing
from their natural habitat along with hunting.
III Paleolithic Society
A. The Paleolithic era is known as the old stone age. The principal characteristic of
the paleolithic era was that human beings foraged for their food: they scavenged meat
killed by predators or hunted wild animals or gathered edible products of naturally
growing plants (B&Z 10). This era extended from the first hominids until about twelve
thousand years ago until Homo sapiens relied on cultivated crops for food resources.
B. Economy and Society of Hunting and Gathering Peoples
1. Hunters in small communities were found in the Amazon basin of South
America, the tropical forests of Africa and southeast Asia, the deserts of Africa
and Australia, and other regions; in these areas, these hunters practiced the ways
of common paleolithic ancestors. Although contemporary hunting and
gathering communities reflect the influence of the modern world- they are by no
means exact replicas of paleolithic societies- they throw important light on the
economic and social dynamics that shaped the experiences of prehistoric
foragers (B&Z 10). The rise of their economy and skills in hunting also raised
and influenced the human experiences during the paleolithic era.
2. Relative Social Equality. Through the hunters perspectives, they saw that in
order to successfully hunt, they must stalk their prey which meant that things such
as private property meant nothing to them. Social distinctions no doubt arose,
and some individuals became influential because of their age, strength, courage,
intelligence, fertility, force of personality, or some other trait (B&Z 10). Unlike
today, the social economic structures were not based on land, the equality given
was distributed through personal and family wealth which was also not always
served as a basis for permanent social differences.

3. Relative Gender Equality. During the paleolithic times, it was believed that
regardless of ones gender the people contributed to the community equally and
were very important. Mainly, the men hunted for meat which was seen as the most
prized item in the paleolithic diet; they also learned that plants would help sustain
the energy of men in order to do work which was what the women and children
gathered. Because of the thorough interdependence of the sexes from the
viewpoint of food production, paleolithic society probably did not encourage the
domination of one sex by the other - certainly not to the extent that became
common later (B&Z 10). In order to hunt, the sophistication of the hunters and
farmers had to be at an extraordinary level at this time in order for them to
identify what was and what wasnt food/edible; they had to understand
environment, the migrations of the animals, and cycles of the plants they harvest.
4. Big-Game Hunting. Although the early peoples were able to understand the
migration seasons of the animals they hunted, there was still one problem that
stood in their way: capturing and killing it. This was seen as a problem because a
majority of the animals they hunted such as elephant, rhinoceros, and other strong
animals, were equipped with innate characteristics both internally and physically
that could be used to defend themselves against predators. Homo sapiens
fashioned special tools, such as sharp knives, spears, and bow and arrows, and
devised special tactics for hunting these animals. The hunters wore disguises
such as animal skins and coordinated their movements so as to attack game
simultaneously from several directions (B&Z 12). Based on the actions and
plans the Homo sapiens took, it is evident that intelligence, sophisticated
language, and communication skills were used intensely in paleolithic hunting in
order to be successful.
5. Paleolithic Settlements. In the Eastern Mediterranean, the Natufian society
began and was known as the most prominent paleolithic settlements. As early as
13,500 B.C.E., Natufians collected wild wheat and took animals from abundant
antelope herds. From 10,000 to 300 B.C.E., Jomon settlers harvested wild
buckwheat and developed a productive fishing economy. Chinook society
emerged after 3000 B.C.E. and flourished until the mid-nineteenth century C.E.,
principally on the basis of wild berries, acorns, and massive salmon runs in local
rivers (B&Z 12). Through this, the many settlements that were created included
rising populations of a thousand or more individuals; the paleolithic people
created a society that was almost similar to our today because it included
specialized rules and craftsmen in regions with resources.
C. Paleolithic Culture

1. Neandertal Peoples. Between about two hundred thousand and thirty-five

thousand years ago, the Neandertal peoples flourished throughout Europe and
southwest Asia and were linked with species called the Homo
neanderthalensis. For about ten millennia, from forty-five thousand to thirtyfive thousand years ago, Neanderthal groups inhabited some of the same regions
as Homo sapiens communities, and members of the two species sometimes lived
in close proximity to each other. DNA analysis suggests that there was little
interbreeding between the two species, but it is quite likely that individuals traded
goods between their groups and it is possible that Neandertal peoples imitated
the technologies and crafts of their more intelligent cousins (B&Z 13). In this
general time period, interactions between different species were being exchanged
to learn about new methods of surviving. Aside from being able to sustain a
community, the Neandertals were also able to develop emotions and feelings as
they cared for each other.
2. The Creativity of Homo Sapiens. Between the Homo sapiens and Homo
neanderthalensis, it has been argued that the Homo sapiens were able to use
their intellectual more effectively than the Homo neanderthalensis and also
served as a base to go of of in transforming our culture and abilities. With the
development of languages, human beings were able to accumulate knowledge and
to transmit it precisely and efficiently to new generations. Thus it was not
necessary for every individual human being to learn from trial and error of from
direct personal experience about the nature of the local environment or the best
techniques for making advanced tools (B&Z 13). With the innate abilities to use
their physical abilities people were able to use it to do build on effective ways for
simplifying work on tasks. Soon, they began to create small trinkets as well;
40,000 to 50,000 years ago beads were created for physical and visual purposes
such as necklaces, painting also began to take place on the walls using natural
substances. Then, about 20,0000 to 10,000 years ago, the ideas of weaponry
evolved into things such as bow and arrows.
3. Venus Figurines. During the early years of the Homo sapiens, creations were
made called Venus figurines which were named after the goddess of love because
these sculptures captured the essence of a woman along with sexual features.
The prominent sexual features of the Venus figurines suggest that the sculptors
principal interests were fecundity and the generation of new life-matters of
immediate concern to paleolithic societies (B&Z 14).
4. Cave Paintings. About thirty-four thousand to twelve thousand years ago,
cave paintings were the norm in southern France and northern Spain. A
majority of the cave paintings were Lascaux in France and Altamira in Spain

the art/paintings that were displayed were mostly on the subjects of animals.
Most analysts believe that the prominence of game animals in the paintings
reflects the artists interest in successful hunting expeditions. Thus cave paintings
may have represented efforts to exercise sympathetic magic- to gain control over
subjects (in this case, game animals) by capturing their spirits (by way of
accurate representations of their physical forms) (B&Z 15). Intelligence and
logic were also evident in the process as the people began to display what they
saw using substances, blood, plants, and other resources to represent the picture
representing intellectual power.
IV. The Neolithic Era and the Transition to Agriculture
A. A variety of societies during the Neolithic era consisted of the migration of people
trying to thrive in their environment through other agricultural and industrial societies.
The vast majority of the worlds peoples, however, have crossed an economic threshold
of immense significance. When human beings brought plants under cultivation and
animals under domestications, they dramatically altered the natural world and steered
human societies in new directions (B&Z 15). As the population of the societies grew, the
knowledge and intellectual power began to grow.
B. The Origins of Agriculture
1. Neolithic Era. During the Neolithic era (new stone age), archaeologists
believed that they not only created tools, but polished them as well; this era is
referred to the early stages of an agricultural society. Archaeologists first used
the term neolithic because of refinements in tool-making techniques: they found
polished stone tools in neolithic sites. (B&Z 15).
2. Global Climate Change. Throughout the ages, agriculture was seen as
inconceivable due to the constant climate change around the world, which were
mainly known as seasonal changes. During the ice ages, the earth was much
colder and drier than it is today, and furthermore, it is experienced wild
fluctuations of temperature and rainfall. In any given year, sun and rain might
have brought abundant harvests, but frigid and arid conditions might ruin crops
for the next decade or more ((B&Z 16). When the ice age was over, the earth
continued to get hotter and hotter; although the climate changes changed often,
the Neolithic peoples figured out ways to take advantage of the conditions by
learning about the cycles of plants and animals that they hunted.
3. Gender Relations and Agriculture. During the their time, while the men
hunted down the animas, the woman began to get familiar with the cycles of
plants and the science of time by understanding the suns position changing, along
with the temperatures corresponding with how the sky looked. Hoping for
larger and more reliable supplies of food, woman in neolithic societies probably

began to nurture plants instead of simply collecting available foods in the wild.
Meanwhile, instead of just stalking game with the intention of killing it for meat,
neolithic men began to capture animals and domesticate them by providing for
their needs and supervising their breeding (B&Z 16). Through this, the idea of
farming was brought up and soon formed agricultural economies.
4. Independent Inventions of Agriculture. After 9000 B.C.E., agricultural
activity began especially in southwest Asia where they cultivated crops with
wheat and domesticated animals. From that period to 7000 B.C.E., the people
from Africa inhabited the southeastern margin of the Sahara desert. Between
8000 and 6000 B.C.E., peoples of sub-Saharan west Africa (in vicinity of
modern Nigeria) also began independently to cultivate yams, okra, and blackeyed peas. In east Asia, residents of the Yangzi River valley began to cultivate
rice as early as 6500 B.C.E.,, and their neighbors to the north in the Yellow River
valley raised crops of millet and soybeans after 5500 B.C.E. East Asian peoples
also kept pigs and chickens from an early date, perhaps 6000 B.C.E., and the
later added water buffaloes to their domesticated stock (B&Z 16). Overall
throughout the years, the Paleolithic people continued hunting and soon led
animals such as mammoths, mastodons, and other animals to extinction; however,
domesticated animals were less prominent in America rather than the eastern
hemisphere where hunting was a definite norm.
5. The Early Spread of Agriculture. Throughout the beginning of agriculture,
which became well known widely throughout the world, a technique called the
slash-and-burn cultivation was a well known movement for formers. This
method required the community to slash bark on a stand of trees in a forest then
burn them later on to prepare the crop field for cultivation; this idea was also
similar to weeding. The ideas of agriculture along with methods soon began to
spread as people began discovering new ways to do things using the early
methods as a base. By 6000 B.C.E., for example, agriculture has spread from its
southwest Asian homeland to the eastern shores of the Mediterranean and the
Balkan region of eastern Europe, and by 4000 B.C.E. it had spread father to
western Europe north of the Mediterranean (B&Z 17). Aside from the base
idea of agriculture, the foods and plants they harvested were spread throughout
the world as well along with the methods of cropping and sustaining them through
various conditions. Indeed agriculture required more work than paleolithic
foraging: anthropologists calculate that modern hunting and gathering peoples
spend about four hours per day in providing themselves with food and other
necessities, devoting the remainder of their time to rest, leisure, and social
activities (B&Z 17). From this, you can infer that the idea of agriculture had

spread vastly throughout the world, influencing the lives and morals of many
people while shaping a society of agricultural standings for people then and now.
D. Early Agricultural Society
1. As the continuation of agricultural began to proceed, the human population
began to increase throughout their civilizations around the world. By 5000
B.C.E., when agriculture had appeared in a few world regions, human population
had risen to about five million (B&Z 17). Reasons for this increase in
population was believed to be because of the increase in a food supplies due to
agriculture.
2. Emergence of Villages and Towns. While the increase of an agricultural society
began, ideas of migration were no longer a priority for the Neolithic peoples as
they began to settle by their crops and soon created permanent villages. Before
8000 B.C.E., the earliest neolithic village began which was called Jericho which
consisted of about two thousand residents; Jericho started with wheats and plants
and soon domesticated animals. About 7000 B.C.E., the residents surrounded
their circular mud huts with a formidable wall and moat- a sure sign that wealth
concentrated at Jericho had begun to attract the interest of human predators
(B&Z 18). Along with this, Jericho also participated in trade with salt and
obsidian.
3. Specialization of Labor. Because of a vast amount of people in villages,
specialized labor was encouraged. In most neolithic villages, people took charge
in cultivating crops and taking care of the animals while people took the jobs of
gathering plants and hunting; these specific tasks relied on a persons physical
ability and intellectual stability. The rapid development of specialized labor is
apparent from excavations carried out at one of the best-known neolithic
settlements, Catal Huyuk. Located in southern central Anatolia (modern-day
Turkey), Catal Huyuk was occupied continuously from 7250 to 5400 B.C.E,
when residents abandoned the site (B&Z 18). Villages such as this sustained a
labor for the villagers which also included jobs that specialized in artistic
structures such as pots, carpets, wooden carvings, and other things. This made the
village a possible center of production and trade. Three early craft industries pottery, metallurgy, and textile production- illustrate the potential of specialized
labor in neolithic times. Regarding the crafts, the earliest known area that
produced pottery was the Jomon society of central Japan where they cultivated
pottery and tools.
4. Pottery. Around 7000 B.C.E, neolithic villagers discovered that malleable
clay could be transformed into hard waterproof pottery after put into fire.

Necessities such as pots were not need earlier due to the fact that the people did
not have any need to store things until this time. Soon thereafter, neolithic
craftsmen discovered that they could etch designs into their clay that fire would
harden into permanent decorations and furthermore that they could color their
products with glazes (B&Z 19). As a result of this, pottery was seen as an art
and a source of practical utensils.
5. Textile Production. As early as 6000 B.C.E., textile productions had been
found. The creations of textiles started from strains of plants and animals which
worked because they provided long fibers. They then developed technologies
for spinning the fibers into threads and weaving the threads into cloth (B&Z 19
& 18). Throughout this process, women took the initiative on taking over this job
as they stayed at home. Soon, textile production became a hit in enterprises in
agricultural societies.
6. Social Distinctions and Social Inequality. With the variety of labor work in
settlements, wealth was finally able to be accumulated to individuals as they were
now able to participate in trading goods which brought in the separation of people
depending on how wealthy or poor they were in places such as Catal Huyuk.
When especially successful individuals managed to consolidate wealth in their
families hands and kept it there for several generations, clearly defined social
classes emerged. (B&Z 20).
D. Neolithic Culture
1. Throughout the early beginnings of agriculture and societies, neolithic people
soon began to understand and learn from the society and environment around
them through their experiences and passed own knowledge. From this, they soon
obtained working knowledge of the earth and its environmental changes, such as
seasons. They learned to associate the seasons with the different positions of the
sun, moon, and stars (B&Z 20). From this, it is evident that they produced an
early understanding to the science of nature and life itself through nature and also
created a knowledge between the heavens and earth, later on leading towards
taking a step to creating calendars.
2. Religious Values. In Paleolithic societies, the people honored and worshiped
the Venus figurines in hopes of blessings for fertility; just like this, the Neolithic
religion took the same interest in fertility but instead, celebrated ideas such as
birth, growth, death, and regenerated life. The neolithic gods included not only
the life bearing, Venus-type figures of paleolithic times but also deities associated
with the cycle of life, death, and regeneration. (B&Z 20). Goddesses were
associated with butterflies or frogs since they dramatically changed forms in the

course of their life cycle while the male gods were associated with animals that
obtained power and energy such as bulls and goats. The procreative capacities
of gods and goddesses resulted in the births of infant deities who represented the
regeneration of life- freshly sprouted crops, replenished stocks of domestic
animals, and infant human beings to inaugurate a new biological cycle (B&Z
20). The neolithic people understood the cycle of life and death and became
evident that their beliefs reflected the natural world in the early agricultural
societies.
E. The Origins of Urban Life
1. Four thousand years after the beginning of agriculture, the living conditions
and civilizations on earth had been transformed as humans began to learn more
and obtained more knowledge as it transformed both the earth and lives of
everything. In larger villages such as Jericho and Catal Huyuk, with their
populations of several thousand people, their specialized labor and their craft
industries, social relationships became more complex than would have been
conceivable during paleolithic times (B&Z 20 & 21). As the height of the
villages grew, something else was emerging which was called cities.
2. Emergence of Cities. As cities emerged, it was noted that they were different
from neolithic villages and towns because they larger/more complex and had
progressively larger populations as it fostered more ideas of specialized labor
resulting in bigger productions of goods including food as they had bigger land.
Cities established marketplaces that attracted buyers and sellers from distant
parts. Brisk trade, conducted over increasingly longer distances, promoted
economic integration on a much larger scale than was possible in neolithic times.
To ensure adequate food supplies for their large populations, cities also extended
their claims to authority over their hinterlands, thus becoming centers of political
and military control as well as economic influence (B&Z 21). In addition to this,
buildings and temples were also created. About 4000 to 3500 B.C.E., the earliest
cities were villages of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in modern-day Iraq. As
the ideas and creations of cities grew, more cities began emerging all over the
world in areas such as Egypt, northern China, and other parts; with emerging
cities came a new organized way of handling societies and early leaders as well.
V. Sources From the Past
A. Richard E. Leakey on the Nature of Homo sapiens sapiens
1. By looking and understanding the physical structures of homo sapiens sapiens,
we soon understand the human anatomy of our bodies. Compared to animals,
humans are seen as the dominant species as they are able to effectively use their
intelligence and physical abilities/advantages to thrive and survive in life as well

as effectively communicate compared to animals as well as our body language.

For humans, body language is still very important but the voice has taken over
as the main channel of information-flow. Unlike any other animal, we have a
spoken language which is characterized by a huge vocabulary and a complex
grammatical structure (RL 11). Through these comparisons between animals
and humans, it is clearly evident that the anatomy of a human is seen as a very
intelligent creature because we possess distinctive characteristics that animals
have not yet been able to obtain yet.
VI. In Perspective
A. Throughout the paleolithic and neolithic eras, the human mind, body, earth, and
society had evolved over time throughout the past six millennia. During the paleolithic
era, the people developed a sense of intellectual intelligence and early beginnings to
understanding how to survive and gather food. Thus intelligence, language, reflective
thought, agriculture, urban settlements, and craft industries all figure in the legacy that
prehistoric human beings left for their descendants (B&Z 22). After this, the neolithic
era developed an understanding for sustaining food and communities as they rose and
fell; from their trial and errors, we learned from their mistakes resulting in the
improvements of generations as they built and transformed the world into what it is
today.