Vocabulary Builder

DIRECTIONS Write a word or phrase that has the same meaning as the

term given.

1. ancestor __________________________________________________________

2. hominid __________________________________________________________

3. hunter-gatherers ____________________________________________________

4. Paleolithic Era _____________________________________________________

5. prehistory _________________________________________________________

DIRECTIONS Choose five of the vocabulary words from the word list.

Use these words to write a summary of what you learned in the section.

Historical Document

As you examine the images, think about the skills it would take to

craft these objects.

Image 1

This photograph shows a buckle carved from bone, a

rather rare find from the site. The buckle was found

near a skeleton.

ABOUT THE SOURCE Çatal Hüyük is the name of an archaeological site

located in present-day Turkey. Objects from the site have been dated as far back as

6700 BC, suggesting Çatal Hüyük may have been the world’s first city. At one time,

about 10,000 people lived there. Among the archaeological evidence found there

are beautiful pottery, figurines, wall paintings, tools, and weapons. These images

and artifacts suggest the people of Çatal Hüyük may have worshipped gods in both

human and animal form. As these photos indicate, articles from the site reveal

valuable information about New Stone Age life.

Note that the hook fits

easily into the large hole.

The hook piece and the

eye piece were attached to

opposite ends of the belt.

Remember that in the

New Stone Age, people

were not yet working with

metal.

Remember that in the

New Stone Age, people

were not yet working with

metal.

Image 2

This limestone figurine is believed to be that of a male

god, possibly a child, riding a leopard.

The leopard is believed

to have been a sacred

animal in this society.

Other figurines show

people with leopards and

other catlike animals.

WHAT DID YOU LEARN?

1. Why do you think objects like buckles and figurines are important archaeological

discoveries?

2. What does the evidence of animal worship suggest about the people of Çatal

Hüyük?

Supplementary Activity (for artistically inclined students)

In Her Shoes: Mary Leakey

One archaeologist who made important discoveries about prehistory was Mary Leakey. In 1959 she found bones in East Africa that were more than 1.5 million years old. She and her husband, Louis Leakey, believed that the bones belonged to a hominid, an early ancestor of humans. Read more about Mary Leakey using the links below. Then put yourself in her shoes! Draw a sketch of one of her findings and explain what conclusions she reached from it.

Research Links

Mary Douglas Nichol Leakey
A biography on Mary Leakey that also discusses some of her most notable discoveries.

People and Discoveries: The Leakey Family
Trace the discoveries of Louis and Mary Leakey through this Web site.

The Iceman

The Iceman Why was a Stone Age traveler in Europe’s highest mountains? The Iceman’s dagger and the scabbard, or case, he carried it in When did he live? about 5,300 years ago Where did he live? The frozen body of the Iceman was discovered in the snowy Ötztal Alps of Italy in 1991. Scientists nicknamed him Ötzi after this location. What did he do? That question has been debated ever since Ötzi’s body was found. Apparently, he was traveling. At first scientists thought he had frozen to death in a storm. But an arrowhead found in his shoulder suggests that his death was not so peaceful. After he died, his body was covered by glaciers and preserved for thousands of years. Why is he important? Ötzi is the oldest mummified human ever found in such good condition. His body, clothing, and tools were extremely well preserved, telling us a lot about life during the Stone Ages. His outfit was made of three types of animal skin stitched together. He wore leather shoes padded with grass, a grass cape, a fur hat, and a sort of backpack. He carried an ax with a copper blade as well as a bow and arrows. Drawing Conclusions Why do you think the Iceman was in the Alps?

Scientists examine the Iceman’s body in 1991, before it was removed from the glacier.

Connecting To Technology

CONNECTING TO TECHNOLOGY

Stone Tools Did you know that Stone Age people’s tools weren’t as primitive as we might think? They made knife blades and arrowheads—like the one shown below—out of volcanic glass called obsidian. The obsidian blades were very sharp. In fact, they could be 100 times sharper and smoother than the steel blades used for surgery in modern hospitals. Today some doctors are going back to using these Stone Age materials. They have found that blades made from obsidian are more precise than modern scalpels. Some doctors use obsidian blades for delicate surgery on the face because the stone tools leave “nicer-looking.” scars. Drawing Conclusions How do you think modern obsidian blades are different from Stone Age ones?

Hunter–Gatherers

Hunter–Gatherers

Early people were hunter–gatherers. They hunted animals and gathered wild plants to survive. Life for these hunter–gatherers was difficult and dangerous. Still, people learned how to make tools, use fire, and even create art.

The early humans of the Stone Age were hunter-gatherers—people who huntanimals and gather wild plants, seeds, fruits, and nuts to survive. Anthropologists believe that most Stone Age hunters were men. They hunted in groups, sometimes chasing entire herds of animals over cliffs. This method was both more productive and safer than hunting alone.

Women in hunter-gatherer societies probably took responsibility for collecting plants to eat. They likely stayed near camps and took care of children.

Analyze: What tools are people using in this picture?

Stone Age Tools

Stone Age Tools

The first humans and their ancestors lived during a long period of time called the Stone Age. To help in their studies, archaeologists divide the Stone Age into three periods based on the kinds of tools used at the time. To archaeologists, a tool is any handheld object that has been modified to help a person accomplish a task.

The first part of the Stone Age is called the Paleolithic (pay-lee-uh-LI-thik) Era, or Old Stone Age. It lasted until about 10,000 years ago. During this time people used stone tools.

The First Tools

Scientists have found the oldest tools in Tanzania, a country in East Africa. These sharpened stones, about the size of an adult’s fist, are about 2.6 million years old. Each stone had been struck with another rock to create a sharp, jagged edge along one side. This process left one unsharpened side that could be used as a handle.

Scientists think that these first tools were mostly used to process food. The sharp edge could be used to cut, chop, or scrape roots, bones, or meat. Tools like these, called choppers, were used for about 2 million years.

Later Tools

Over time people learned to make better tools. For example, they developed the hand ax. They often made this tool out of a mineral called flint. Flint is easy to shape, and tools made from it can be very sharp. People used hand axes to break tree limbs, to dig, and to cut animal hides.

People also learned to attach wooden handles to tools. By attaching a wooden shaft to a stone point, for example, they invented the spear. Because a spear could be thrown, hunters no longer had to stand close to animals they were hunting. As a result, people could hunt larger animals. Among the animals hunted by Stone Age people were deer, horses, bison, and elephant like creatures called mammoths.

TASK: Address the question bellow utilizing the RAD short response method.

Summarizing

How did tools improve during the Old Stone Age?

Hominids and Early Humans

Hominids and Early Humans

Later groups of hominids appeared about 3 million years ago. As time passed they became more like modern humans.

In the early 1960s Louis Leakey found hominid remains that he called Homohabilis, or “handy man.” Leakey and his son Richard believed that Homo habilis was more closely related to modern humans than Lucy and had a larger brain.

Scientists believe that another group of hominids appeared in Africa about 1.5 million years ago. This group is called Homo erectus, or “upright man.” Scientists think these people walked completely upright like modern people do.

Scientists believe that Homo erectus knew how to control fire. Once fire was started by natural causes, such as lightning, people used it to cook food. Fire also gave them heat and protection against animals.

Eventually hominids developed characteristics of modern humans. Scientists are not sure exactly when or where the first modern humans lived. Many think that they first appeared in Africa about 200,000 years ago. Scientists call these people Homo sapiens, or “wise man.” Every person alive today belongs to this group.

TASK:

Please address the following question using the RAD short response.

Contrasting How was Homo erectus different from Homo habilis?

Stone Age Tools The first humans and their ancestors lived during a long period of time called the Stone Age. To help in their studies, archaeologists divide the Stone Age into three periods based on the kinds of tools used at the time. To archaeologists, a tool is any handheld object that has been modified to help a person accomplish a task.

Early Hominids

Four major groups of hominids appeared in Africa between 5 million and about 200,000 years ago. Each group was more advanced than the one before it and could use better tools.

ANALYZING VISUALS: Which early hominid learned to control fire and use the hand ax?

Map Zone Geography Skills/ Study of Remains

Scientists Study Remains

Although humans have lived on the earth for more than a million years, writing was not invented until about 5,000 years ago. Historians call the time before there was writing prehistory. To study prehistory, historians rely on the work of archaeologists and anthropologists.

One archaeologist who made important discoveries about prehistory was Mary Leakey. In 1959 she found bones in East Africa that were more than 1.5 million years old. She and her husband, Louis Leakey, believed that the bones belonged to an earlyhominid (HAH-muh-nuhd), an early ancestor of humans. An ancestor is a relative who lived in the past.

In fact, the bones belonged to an Australopithecus (aw-stray-loh-PI-thuh-kuhs), one of the earliest ancestors of humans. In 1974 anthropologist Donald Johanson (joh-HAN-suhn) found bones from another early ancestor.

Johanson named his find Lucy. Tests showed that she lived more than 3 million years ago. Johanson could tell from her bones that she was small and had walked on two legs. The ability to walk on two legs was a key step in human development.

Location Sites like Olduvai Gorge have yielded the earliest human remains ever found. Analyze On which continent are all of these sites located?

Drawing Inferences What can ancient bones tell us about human ancestors?

Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Terms of Use. Credits. Privacy Policy.

Bell Ringer Introduction

The First People

If YOU lived there...

You live 200,000 years ago, in a time known as the Stone Age. A local toolmaker has offered to teach you his skill. You watch carefully as he strikes two black rocks together. A small piece flakes off. You try to copy him, but the rocks just break. Finally you learn to strike the rock just right. You have made a sharp stone knife!

How will you use your new skill?

Boy of the Painted Cave

Boy of the Painted Cave

ABOUT THE READING In a world that

existed 18,000 years ago, a fourteen-year-old

boy, Tao, is forced to hunt. All he has ever

wanted to do is to paint images of bears

and deer in the caves. Because Tao is not a

Chosen One, he is forbidden to paint. As this

excerpt begins, Tao and his wolf dog have

stumbled across a stranger while hunting.

As you read the passage below, pay attention to

how Tao defends himself.

Tao gasped. He felt a mixture of dismay and awe.

The stranger standing before him was Graybeard,

the Cave Painter, the shaman of all the clans. Never

did he think he would meet such a great one.

“I also know you hunt on forbidden land,” said

Graybeard.

The boy winced and shifted from one foot to the

other. “It is forbidden only because of the demons

and evil spirits,” he said, his voice cracking.

“And you are not afraid of demons?”

“I have heard the wailing screams and the wild

howls, but they are the cries of the eagle-owl and

the loons. If there are other demons I have never

seen one.” . . .

For a moment Tao was quiet. Then he swallowed

hard and said, “The people of my clan are starving.

The Slough is full of game. With the wolf dog I

bring them much food.”

Graybeard nodded. “You are not afraid

of demons, you do not believe in evil spirits

and, for you, taboos melt away like the winter

snows.”

“I am sorry,” said Tao “but I do not believe these

things are bad. The animal, the birds, the trees give

us food and clothing. Yet our leaders see only evil.”

Graybeard nodded. Tao was sure he saw a glint of

understanding in the old man’s eye.

“And you know better than the leaders?” said

Graybeard.

“No,” said Tao. “I only know that the Slough is a

place of many good things. Here I find food. I watch

the animals and birds . . . I feel good here.”

“The herds are coming back,” said the old man,

nodding. “They will be here when the fields are

green with new grass. I have come from the other

camps with the news. Now I will paint images

of the great beasts in the secret caverns to bring

good hunting.”

. . . “Will you come and share food with us?”

asked Tao. “We have a small cave on the other side

of the valley.”

Graybeard leaned against the trunk of a birch

tree. His spear rested on the crook of his arm as he

rubbed his eyes with the back of his hands. “Yes,” he

said, “it will be good to rest.”

ANALYZING LITERATURE

1. Main Idea What is Graybeard’s attitude toward Tao? How can you tell?

2. Critical Thinking: Making Predictions Do you think Tao will ever be permitted to paint like Graybeard? Why or why not?

Early Civilization in the Eastern Hemisphere

Cave Paintings

Thousands of years ago, early people decorated cave walls with paintings like this one. No one knows for sure why people created cave paintings, but many historians think they were related to hunting.

ANALYZING VISUALS These images were painted on the wall of a cave at Lascaux, France, some 16,000 years ago. What do these images suggest about early life in the area near Lascaux? *Use the RAD method

Scholars know little about the religious beliefs of early people. Archaeologists have found graves that included food and artifacts. Many scientists think these discoveries are proof that the first human religions developed during the Stone Age.

Analyzing What was one possible reason for the development of language? Reviewing Ideas, Terms, and Places #1 a. Identify Who found the bones of Lucy? b. Explain Why do historians need archaeologists and anthropologists to study prehistory? #2 a. Recall What is the scientific name for modern humans? b.Make Inferences What might have been one advantage of walking completely upright? #3 a. Recall What kind of tools did people use during the Paleolithic Era? b. Design Design a stone and wood tool you could use to help you with your chores. Describe your tool in a sentence or two. #4 a. Define What is a hunter–gatherer? b. Rank In your opinion, what was the most important change brought by the development of language? Critical Thinking 5. Evaluating Review the notes in your chart on the advances made by prehistoric humans. Using a graphic organizer like the one here, rank the three advances you think are most important. Next to your organizer,write a sentence explaining why you ranked the advances in that order. Click Here For An Interactive Graphic Organizer