The First Civilizations; Chapter One
How did hominds survive the constant change of their world? What trait gave them the real advantage?
"Adapt or Die" They could make adaptations to deal with dynamic environmental shifts, and they were intelligent. To survive, hominids had to adapt and evolve in order to keep pace with rapidly changing physical enviroments. [pg.7] Adaptation: the ability to alter behavior and innovate, finding new ways of doing things. BIPEDALISM: THEY BECAME TWO FOOTED CREATURES THAT STOOD UP-RIGHT. [pg. 8]
Where else was homo erectus found on the planet?
1 or 2 million years ago, homo erectus individuals migrated 1st into the lands of southwest asia, then traveled along the indian ocean shoreline, moving into south asia and southeast asia and later northward into what is now china. Also: Southeast Asia East Asia Japan New Guinea Australia Afro-Eurasian Scotland Ireland Wales Scandinavia Northern Europe Their migration was a response in part to the environmental changes that were transforming the world. (COLD PHASES) [pg.14]
What were some of the first animals domesticated?
1. dogs 2. wild sheep / wild goats [pg. 26] 3. pigs / cattle [pg.27]
What was discovered in South Africa in 1924? [pg.6]
A scientist named Raymond Dart happened upon a skull and bones that appeared to be partly human & ape. It was believed to be an extincted race of apes intermediate between living anthropoids (apes) and man. Dart named it, "Southern Ape of Africa" or "Australopithecus africanus. brain: little less than 1/3 of modern man and about the same size as a modern african apes. They walked on two legs. [pg.6]
What was found in Ethiopia in 1974?
An archaeological team working at a site in present day Ethiopia unearthed a relatively intact skeleton of a young adult female australopithecine in the valley of the Awash Riover. They nicknamed her "Lucy". She stood over 3ft tall, walked upright, brain within the size of ape range, her jaw and teeth were human like, arms long; hanging halfway from her hips to her knees. Her legs were short. Lucy's skeleton was 1/2 million years older than any other complete hominid skeleton found up to that time. Lucy showed us that human precursors were walking around as early as 3 million years ago. [pg. 7]
What happened to agriculture around 10,000 B.C.? What got it started and how did it develop?
Around 9,000 BC, abundant rain fall and mild winters created optimal conditions in southwest Asia for humans to settle down... Settled agriculture, the application of human labor and tools to a fixed plot of land for more than one growing cycle, entails the change over from hunting and gathering lifestyle to one based on agriculture, whih requires staying in one place until the soil has been exhausted. >>plant domestication occurred.. [pg. 26]
How did humans begin to diversify in these villages?
As population grew and lands yielded surplus food, some villagers became craft workers, devoting some of their time to make pottery, baskets, textiles, or tools. As villiages arised people had the oppurtunity to create a Government to run things, Military to defend, Religion for faith, Commoners for work, Elites for upper class (who ever has the best land makes the most money because they can grow crops), Merchants for trade, Artisans create art. [pg.35 & Notes]
What 3 evolutionary changes distinguished homo sapiens from animals? what was involved in these skills? what did these skills allow early humans to do?
Brain size; intelligence, cognitive skills, problem solved, developed actual language; build communities, teach, learn, make art... Thumbs; to craft objects, carry things, gather Bipedal; move with a smooth & rapid gait, cover large distances quickly, long distance travelers. [previous questions]
What have evolutionary biologist concluded about life on earth? How old is the universe? The Earth? Man?
Charles Darwin (1809-1882), concluded that all life had evolved over long periods from simple forms of matter. [pg. 5] The universe is 13.7 or 13.8 billion years old. [pg. 4 & 13] The earth is about ~4.5 billion years old. [bio notes & pg. 13] Man (homo sapiens) is about 200,000 years old. [pg. 13] Hominids is about 7 million years old. [pg. 13]
What was different about the tools of Homo Habilis?
Dear Boy demonstrated that by this time early humans had begun to make tools for butchering animals and, possibly, for hunting and killing smaller animals. The tools were flaked stones w/ sharpened edges for cutting apart animal flesh and scooping out the bone marrow. Dear Boy and his companions had carried usable rocks to distant places where they made their implements with special hammer stones - tools to make tools. the Leakey's believed that making & using tools represented a new stage in evolution of human beings, they gave these creatures the name Homo Habilis, or "skillful man."
What gender differences were there in hunter-gatherer clans? What changed about this in domesticated settlements? How did this affect these societies?
Gender roles became more pronounced during the gradual transition to an agriculturally based way of life. Human power over the environment did not bring equal power to everyone. Women got the short end of the stick. Men no longer were involved in hunting and gathering, now they took oon the heavy work of yoking animals to plows. This left women in the backbreaking and repetitive tasks of planting, weeding, harvesting, and grinding the grain into flour. The increasing differentiation of roles of men and women also affected power relations within households. men soon became the head of house all over the globe.
What food sources/animals were available in East Asia? What river(s) were in the area?
Giant Deer rice in the south millet in the north Yellow river; deposited the fertile soil that created the Noth China plain, & the Yangzi River, which fed a land of streams and lakes in central China. [pg. 28/29]
What food sources/animals were available in Southwest Asia? What river(s) were in the area?What name was given to this area?
Goats Sheep Pigs Cattle Camels Horses>(only ones not domesticated) Wild barley & wheat [pg. 28] SW Asia was bounded by the Mediterranean Sea & the Zagros Mountains known as the Fertile Cresent. [pg. 28]
When did Homo Erectus emerge? Give details on the 3 things that distinguished him from Homo Habilis.
Homo Erectus or "standing man" emerged about 1.8 million years ago, had a large brain capacity and walked truly upright; in fact, its gait was remarkably similar to that of modern humans. One trait that contributed to the survival of homo erectus was the development of extended periods of caring for their young. (infants needed extra time with parents for their brains to develop fully 'after' birth if not their heads would be to big to pass through moms pelvises. This difference also affected the family dynamic. due to the long maturing process it gave the adults time to teach their children how to hunt, gather, and train the youth.. [pg.12] They were the worlds 1st long distance travelers, forming the first mobile human communities. They began to control fire. (they were able to boil, steam, and fry wild plants, as well as undigestible foods.) They were able to expand their diets. [pg.13]
What made Homo Habilis different from hominids? Where was he found & named?
Homo Habilis had brains that were growing larger than hominids. Big brains are the site of INNOVATION; learning and storing lessons so that humans can pass those lessons on to offspring, especially in the making of tools and the efficient use of resources. [pg. 10] The Leakey's found astonishing fossil discoveries in the 1950s at Olduvai Gorge present day NE Tanzania. The leakeys finds are the most significant discoveries of early humans in Africa - in particular, an intact skull that was 1.8million years old. They named him Dear Boy. [pg.11]
Where did "homo sapiens" originate from? Around when did this happen?
Homo Sapiens, or modern humans, originated in a small region of africa about 200,000 years ago. pg. 3
What separated humans from other hominds?
Homo sapiens "sapiens," whicj is to say "wise" or "intelligent" - humans who could create culture. Creating language enabled humans to become modern humans. They were highly mobile too. Early hominds could not form large communities because they had limited communication skills. Ex: utter simple commands, communicate with hand signals. [pg. 14]
What did pastoralists do? What two groups are they divided into? What differentiates the two groups?
Pastoralists herded domesticated animals, moving them to new pastures on a seasonal basis. [pg. 27] Pastoralist; settled farming/ Nomadic Pastoralism; [pg.27] <<INCOMPLETE>>
evolution
Process by which the different species of the world- its plants and animals- made changes in response to their environment that enabled them to survive & increase in numbers.
What food sources were available in Afrika? What name was given to this region?
Sahara; sorghum - a cereal grass. Rain Forest of West Africa; yam, & cocoyam Ethiopian highlands; enset plant (like a banana) [pg.33]
What was significant about both finds; South Africa 1924 & Ethiopia 1974?
The Australopithecines were different from other animals, for they walked with two legs. They were remarkably good adapters. They could make adaptations to deal with dynamic environmental shifts, and they were intelligent. (Over the 1st million years of their existence in Africa the australopithecines developed into more than six species. These precursors to modern humans had a key trait for evolutionary survival.) [pg. 6&7]
When did Homo Sapiens first appear? What distinguised him from his predecessors?
The first modern humans emerged sometime between 200,000 and 150,000 years ago. Early hominids could not form 'large' communities, as they had limited communication skills. (they could only utter simple commands and communicate with hand signals, but complex linguistic expression eluded them.) Homo Sapiens "sapiens," which to say "wise" or "intelligent" - humans could create culture because they could create language. The achievement of language was one of the last in the evolutionary process of becoming human. Language is the critical ingrdient that distingquishes human beings from other animals. [pg.14]
When did the universe begin, according to modern science? When did hominids seperate from apes.
The origin of the universe dates back some 13.7 billion years, and the hominid separation from African pongids (members of the ape family) began some 6 or 7 million years ago. pg. 4
How did Europe learn to domesticate? What two routes did domestication take into Europe? For what reasons did it take longer for domestication to occur in Europe?
borrowed the knowledge from their neighbors in SW Asia. They learned how to domesticate animals and to plant wheat, & barley. They had sheep, goats, and cattle but that was originally domesticated in Southwest Asia. (Residents domesticated olives later.) [pg.30]
How long ago did homo sapiens become the only survivor of its genotype?
by 25,000 years ago, as DNA analysis reveals, all genetic cousins to homo sapiens were extinct. leaving only modern humans to populate the world. [pg.18]
What advantage gave homo sapiens the edge over homo erectus?
language [pg.14] Homo Sapiens prevailed over Homo Erectus in part because their greater cognitive and language skills. [pg.15]
What food sources/ animals were available in Americas? What happened there to slow down the evolution of mankind?
mastodons, woolly mammoths, & Bison. They extended the hunting traditions learned in Afro-Eurasia. Maize (corn) Squash Beans [pg. 32] Glaciers began to melt around 12,500BC and water began to cover the land bridge between E. Asia & America. The Americas people lost their connection with Afro-Eurasia. [pg.31]
Around when did Homo Sapiens move out of Africa? When did he move into North America? How did this happen?
moved out of Afrika about 60,000 years ago. [pg.14] Homo Sapiens leave Afrika 100,000 years ago. [pg.18] About 18,000 years ago HS began edging into the weedy landmass that linked Siberia & North AMerica. [pg.15] They migrated along a thousand mile long land bridge later called Beringia. -- 8,000 years ago the final migration occurred by boat since the land bridge disappeared under the sea. [pg.15]
What were hominds like? What adaptations gave them advantages? How did they live?
the first hominids were able to remain upright and move about, leaving their arms and hands free for other useful tasks, like carrying food over long distances. They were the only primates to move consistently on two legs. B/c they could move continuously & over great distances, they were able to migrate out of hostile environments and into more hospitable locations as needed. [pg. 8] In addition to being bipedal, hominids also had opposable thumbs. With this trait they could alter things found in nature, throw missiles (rocks & sticks) with deadly accuracy to protect themselves, & obtain food. Being bipedal they were able to carry their young in migrations. They used cognitive skills; problem solving, much later language, language helped them gather food. (wild berries, grains, scavenge meat) [pg.9] Hominids were very social; lived in bands of 25 individuals. they were able to build alliances, form cultural codes, common rules, customs, & identities. They were able to learn and teach. [pg. 10]
