CHAPTER 1 THE BEGINNINGS OF CIVILIZATION

The Beginnings of
Civilization

PREHISTORY
• Absence of written records
• Scientists rely on unwritten evidence
 Archaeologists-study places where prehistoric people lived
 Artifacts-objects shaped by human beings
 Fossils-human or animal bones and teeth
 Fossilized traces left in rocks by plants and animals  Geologists- analyze fossils and the rocks in which they are found
 Chemists and Physicists-determines the age of the artifacts and other remains of the past
 THE SEARCH FOR KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE
HUMAN PAST IS A CONTINUING PROCESS…

PALEOLITHIC AGE
• Greek words: lithos which means “stone” and palaios, “ancient.”
• Life during Old Stone Age
 Nomads-wander from place to place (caves or in tents)
 Small groups of 20-30 people
 Food gathering-wild fruit, nuts, seeds, honey, roots, and grains
 Fishing

• Achievements
 Learned to control and use fire
 Used spoken language
 Used of stone tools such as:
 Daggers and spear points for hunting
 Hand axes and choppers for cutting meat
 Scrappers for cleaning animal hides
 Tools were used to dig up roots, to peel the bark off wood and to remove the skin from animals  Other tools used:
 Sharpened wooden sticks used as spears
 Splinters of bone used as needles and fishhooks  Important used of fire:
 Provided warmth and light in the cave or shelter  Kept wild animals away at night
 Used for hunting-drive a herd of large animals over the edge of a cliff
 Used for cooking food

THE NEANDERTHAL
• They lived from 100,000 to 40,000 years ago
• First found in Germany
• Other artifacts and living sites were found in
Europe, Asia and North Africa
• Life of the Neanderthal
 Rituals for successful hunts
 Buried their dead
 Placing tools, ornaments, food, and bunches of wildflowers in the graves

THE CRO-MAGNON
• First found in southern France
• Cro- Magnon art found in Europe and Asia
 Paintings found in the walls of caves
 Beads, necklaces, and bracelets carved from ivory  Peebles painted with