An anthropologist in Africa called the earliest known group of hominidsAustralopithecus, meaning “southern ape.” The first skeleton found, was nicknamed Lucy. Scientists guess that Lucy’s relatives lived in Africa, about 3 to 4 million years ago. Lucy had the capability to walk on two feet, bipedal, which gave Lucy and her relatives many advantages compared with animals such as gorillas and chimpanzees. With their hands free, the hominids could gather and carry food like nuts, berries, and other vegetation more easily. They could also use their hands to defend themselves and their children.
Unlike us, Lucy’s brain was only about one-third the size of ours. Scientists have not found any remains of tools from Lucy’s time. The study of Lucy’s remains indicate that these early hominids likely could not speak.
Homo Habilis (Handy Man)
A second group of hominids discovered was found scattered among artifacts that looked like tools, so this named Homo habilis, or “Handy Man.”
Handy Man lived a little closer to our time than Lucy did, about 1.5 to 2 million years ago. Their features were slightly more humanlike than Lucy's, and their brains were twice the size of hers.
Skeletal remains have been found together, indicating that it is likely they lived in groups, working together to protect themselves against animal attacks and collect food over larger areas of land. Scientists believe that this group ate meat as well as fruits
Handy Man’s tools were very simple. They used animal bones as digging sticks and rocks as chopping tools. They also made sharp pieces of stone for cutting, or possibly skinning animals. and vegetables. Crushing tools may have helped them crack animal bones, allowing them to eat the marrow inside. Handy Man hominids may even have dug or made traps for small animals.
Homo Erectus - (Upright Man)
A third type of hominid's skeletal structure indicates they stood up straight. This hominid group was thus named, Homo erectus, or “Upright Man.”
Upright Man lived on Earth longer than any other hominid group, from 1.8 million to 200,000 B.C.E. This group of hominids was well-suited for traveling--taller and thinner than earlier hominids—some even reaching the height of modern humans.
Like Handy Man, hominids in the Upright Man group were toolmakers. But their larger brains enabled them to invent more complex tools, including strong hand axes made of stone. Homo erectus was also the first hominid to use fire for warmth and cooking animal meat. Scientists aren’t sure whether these hominids were hunters or merely gatherers, finding dead animals to eat. But studies of their tools and teeth show that they ate more meat than earlier hominids did. They feasted on red deer, elephant, rhinoceros, goat, boar, and oysters.
Scientists believe that they were the first hominids to migrate out of Africa. Their remains have been found in both Asia and Europe. Moving from place to place in groups, building shelters with tools, and using fire to keep warm. These capabilities helped them travel farther and survive for longer periods than earlier hominids could. The ability to construct shelters allowed Upright Man to adapt to colder climates and live in areas without caves or other natural shelters. The ability to control fire helped them survive the cold, cook animal meat, and protect themselves from predators. Scientists guess that this group built oval huts by covering posts with tree branches. The group kept a fire burning in the center of the hut. It is likely that group members sat and slept on animal skins. Living in and traveling in groups would have required some sort of communication between them, so it likely Upright Man spoke in some way, shape, or form.
Homo Sapien Neanderthalensis - (Wise Man)
Today, most scientists consider this fourth group of hominids to be a distinct type of Homo sapiens (“Wise Man”) or Neanderthal, the large-brained group that modern humans belong to.
Neanderthals lived after Upright Man, from 230,000 to 30,000 years ago. Neanderthals lived in Africa, Europe, and parts of western Asia. The appearance of the first skeleton found led scientists to believe that Neanderthals walked hunched over, with their hands dragging on the ground. As it turned out, the skeleton was of an older man who had a bone disease. In reality, Neanderthals walked upright. They were shorter and stockier than modern humans, but they were also much stronger.
Most important, Neanderthals had large brains. They used their intelligence to become skilled toolmakers. More than 60 types of Neanderthal tools have been found. These tools required much more planning, skill, and knowledge than the tools made by earlier hominids. Neanderthals created knives, scrapers, and spear points. They learned how to make sharp, thin blades by breaking off the top of a rock and then chipping two or three sharp flakes from the original piece.
The ability to make better tools improved Neanderthals’ chances for survival. But their ability to work together helped even more. Neanderthals lived and traveled in groups. And they were the first early hominids to hunt in an organized group. Neanderthals may have even had a sense of community. When members of a group died, their bodies were laid in burial mounds, along with hunting tools and flowers. This is a clue that Neanderthals cared about one another and had a sense of ritual. Furthermore, when on a hunt, Neanderthals worked together to surround and trap an animal. Then they would close in and kill it with spears. Evidence suggests that if some hunters were injured, other group members would help them.
Homo Sapien Sapien - (Doubly Wise Man)
In 1879, an eight-year-old Spanish girl named Maria was off exploring a cave with her father when she made an amazing discovery. She found a cave room filled with ancient paintings of deer, bison, wild horses, and boars.They were the first prehistoric cave paintings ever discovered.
The people who created these ancient cave paintings were the earliest members of our own group, Homo sapiens sapiens (SAY-pee-enz), or “Doubly Wise Man.”
Homo Sapien Sapiens first appeared about 150,000 years ago. Most scientists believe that they originated in Africa. From there, they spread to Europe, Asia, and Australia.Eventually, they migrated to North and South America, probably traveling across land bridges, which were later covered by water.
The first modern humans looked more like us than the Neanderthals did. They had high, rounded skulls, large brains, small teeth, and slender bones. But their bodies were not as well adapted to the cold as those of Neanderthals. Early modern humans may have survived because of their ability to create better tools, shelter, and clothing.
As toolmakers, early modern humans were even more skilled than Neanderthals. They attached thin blades to bone, antler, and stone to create a wide variety of tools. They made tools used for engraving and sculpting. They fashioned needles for sewing animal skins together. They also built shelters of earth and stone.
These prehistoric humans were also better hunters than earlier hominids. They made hooks and spears to catch fish. Most important, they invented the spear thrower and the bow and arrow. Armed with these weapons, they could hunt from a distance, making hunting much safer.
Once Homo sapiens sapiens had food and shelter, they had time to create art that expressed their feelings about the world. They may have built scaffolding to help place art in high places.Through their artwork, early modern humans left behind a fascinating record of their lives. They left paintings on the walls of their caves. ome images came from the world around them, like the animals they hunted. Some images came from their imaginations, such as mythical creatures. These early artists also made patterns using shapes. Paleoanthropologists think the artists may have signed their work with handprints.Artists also carved and shaped images out of clay, bone, flint (a hard mineral), and ivory. They even created musical instruments.
Many scientists believe that they painted to express themselves. Some think that pictures were used to teach children. Others think that images had religious purposes. One thing is certain. These early humans had the ability to express thoughts to others through pictures and symbols. Some scientists believe that these abilities were able to contribute to the development of complex language, one of the capabilities that makes us fully human.
Hunter and Gatherers to Farmers
From Old Stone Age to New Stone Age
The Old Stone Age The Old Stone Age, or Paleolithic Age, began about 2 million years ago. It was during this time period that early modern humans developed. Like the hominids before them, early humans were hunter-gatherers. They wandered from place to place, hunting animals and gathering plants for food. Often, they took shelter in caves. Prehistoric cave painters left clues about their way of life.
Creating a Stable Food Supply
During the Paleolithic Age, people obtained food by hunting animals and gathering plants. They did not have a stable, or dependable, food supply. Wild plants and animals grew scarce when people stayed in one area for too long. And hunting was dangerous. Hunters were often injured or killed.
Gradually, people found ways to lessen their dependence on hunting and gathering. Instead of gathering wild plants, people discovered that they could plant seeds and harvest crops. Over time, farmers learned which seeds produced the most crops in the areas where they lived.
Early farmers also learned how to domesticate animals, to raise and use them for people’s needs. They raised sheep, goats, and cattle for the meat.Goats and cattle also provided milk. Mules helped carry heavy loads and pull plows.
These two developments—the growing of crops and the domestication of animals—are called agriculture. The Neolithic Age began with the invention of agriculture. For the first time, people had some control over their food supply. Let’s explore why this change was one of the most important advances in all of history.
The New Stone Age
The New Stone Age, or Neolithic Age, began when people started to farm and produce their own food. The discovery of farming did not happen all at once. Over thousands of years, people gradually learned to raise animals and plant crops. This is called domesticating. They eventually began to rely on these farms for their food. Now, rather than having to roam long distances in search of things to eat, people could settle down in one place with everything they needed to live.
The Neolithic Age began around 8000 B.C.E. and lasted until about 3000 B.C.E., when people learned to make tools out of metal instead of stone. During this time, farming developed in many places throughout the world, including parts of Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas. As you learned during your training in District 1: MIddle East, many Neolithic settlements were located in the Fertile Crescent, east of the Mediterranean Sea, where the land was fertile (good for growing crops). Here, people built towns and lived very different lives from earlier hunter-gatherers.They built permanent shelters and formed larger communities. They could make better tools and clothing. And they could swap items they had with other communities to get the things they lacked. As you will see, these changes made life safer, more comfortable, and more interesting.
Making Permanent Shelter
The first great change agriculture brought about was the use of permanent shelters. During the Paleolithic Age, people had lived in caves or rough, tentlike structures. These were temporary shelters because hunter-gatherers were nomads. They had to move often, to follow the wild animal herds or to find new plants to eat. As people settled down to farm during the Neolithic Age, they built shelters that were more permanent.
In many areas, people used mud bricks, packed together, to build houses that were round or rectangular in shape.Sometimes, people added stones and tree branches to the mud to strengthen the walls and roof. These houses had openings high in the walls. Historians believe that people may have climbed ladders to reach the openings and enter the house.
Inside were several rooms. Places to store food were built right into the floor. Pits for cooking were also dug into the floor, and lined with clay. People may have filled the pits with water, dropping in hot stones to make the water boil for cooking.
The development of permanent shelters was important in several ways. Houses gave people protection from harsh weather and wild animals. Houses made life more comfortable. People could cook food in new ways. The long-lasting shelters enabled people to settle together in larger communities.
Establishing Communities
The ability to raise food by farming allowed people to settle in permanent shelters. These structures, in turn, enabled people to form larger communities. In Paleolithic times, small bands of perhaps 20 to 60 people wandered from place to place in search of food. As people began growing food, they settled down near their farms. As a result, towns and villages grew up, like those at Jericho (in present-day Israel) and Catal Hoyuk (Turkey).
Living in communities made it possible for people to organize themselves more efficiently. They could divide up the work of producing food and other things they needed. While some people grew crops, others built houses and made tools.
Village dwellers also learned to cooperate to do a task more quickly. For example, toolmakers could share the work of making stone axes and knife blades. By working together, they could make more tools in the same amount of time.
With many of their basic needs now met, people had more time and energy for other activities. They could invent new ways of making their lives more comfortable and much safer. Larger communities could defend themselves more easily against their enemies.The Neolithic town of Jericho, for example, was protected by strong stone walls. All of these changes in farming villages led to growing populations.
Developing New Jobs
Having a stable food supply allowed people to develop new kinds of jobs. In Paleolithic times, people’s main job was finding enough food to survive. With farms providing steadier supplies of food, Neolithic people could develop more specialized skills.
A good example is the town of Catal Hoyuk, which dates back to about 6000 B.C.E. Historians believe that the townspeople of Catal Hoyuk worked in a variety of jobs.Besides farmers, there were weavers, basket makers, toolmakers, and traders.
Focusing on one job at a time gave people the opportunity to improve the ways they worked. In Catal Hoyuk, farmers learned how to grow more than 14 kinds of food plants.Clothing makers developed a way to spin and weave. They wove natural fibers such as wool and linen into comfortable cloth. In some regions, people mined flint so that stoneworkers could create sharper tools.
People in Neolithic communities had the time and the tools to create works of art. The Granger Collection,New YorkNeolithic people didn’t merely want to survive. They wanted to make themselves, and their surroundings, more beautiful.They decorated their pottery and baskets with geometric shapes. Stoneworkers learned to polish stones to make shiny jewelry and mirrors. House builders added special rooms to honor the gods and goddesses they believed in.
One effect of the development of different jobs was to inspire workers to improve their skills. This led to newer and better ways of doing things. And different jobs added much greater variety to community life.
Beginning of Trade
Another major change introduced in Neolithic times was the growth of trade. Paleolithic hunter-gatherers rarely traded with other groups. They were mostly concerned with the animals, plants, and other resources they found nearby. As people settled in towns and villages, trade became a more common activity.
Usually, people trade to get resources they do not have in their own area. As Neolithic people became more skilled in their crafts, they wanted materials that would improve the strength and beauty of the things they made. Getting those resources became the job of traders.
Traders often traveled hundreds of miles in search of these materials. They crossed mountains on foot, rode donkeys across deserts, and sailed the Mediterranean Sea on ships.
What kinds of things were traders looking for? Popular items included flint and obsidian.Obsidian is a black glass found at volcanic mountains. Craftspeople used it to make knife blades, arrowheads, and mirrors. People also traded for “beauty products” like shell ornaments and a red ore called hematite. Women rubbed hematite on their lips and cheeks to make them redder.
The growth of trade allowed people to make use of more resources. It also brought them into contact with people from distant places. These contacts helped spread ideas and knowledge throughout the ancient world.
Now that you know about early people, it's time to train in one of the most interesting nd cmplex civilizations of this District, Egypt. Your mentor, Ms. Kelly, once lived in this hot, desert-filled lands. She can tell you much about this District's history!
Welcome to Egypt!
Ancient Egypt and its Rulers
The location of ancient Egypt was in northeastern Africa along the Nile River, between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, just north of Nubia. This allowed The Egyptians great trading opportunities with lands all around the Mediterranean region, throughout the Fertile Crescent and Mesopotamia, and with civilizations further south in Africa.The geography of Egypt consists of a huge desert with only the Nile River as its source of fresh water running through the middle. Therefore, the Egyptians all lived along the river itself, and Egypt developed as an isolated civilization without much interaction with foreigners. Later, the Egyptians use the river and seas near them as routes for trading their grain with neighbors.The climate of ancient Egypt was extremely hot and dry, with almost no rainfall. The Egyptians depended on the Nile River for their lives, and even worshiped it as a god. Also, the Egyptians relied on the annual flooding of the Nile to grow their crops.
The Egyptians believed in an afterlife, a life after death. This caused them to mummify their dead to preserve the "ba"as a place for the dead pharaoh's spirit to remain. Also, the Egyptians spent years building huge and elaborate tombs like the Great Pyramids of Giza or the Valley of the Kings to give the dead pharaoh a place to live after his death. Tombs were also filled with items from daily life, such as clothes, food, chariots, pets, shawabtis, and other prized possessions.
Egypt's economy was based on farming and trade. The bulk of working Egyptians were farmers who grew grain all along the Nile River. Because the Egyptians had a surplus of grain, they were able to trade this important product to all of the surrounding nations for goods the Egyptians needed. The Egyptians traded the Nubians forgold, ivory, animal skins, and ostrich feathers and eggs. From the Mesopotamians and other Middle Easterners, the Egyptians got metal weapons and tools though trade.
The Egyptians had a very highly structured social system, mainly based on the occupation a person had. The pharaoh was at the top of the social pyramid, followed by the royal family, then priests and nobles, then scribes and government workers, artisans (jewelers, pottery-makers, sculptors, etc.), then the largest group, farmers, and lastly came the slaves.The political system of Egypt was very simple: the pharaoh had absolute power and ruled as a god-king. The system was a dynastic monarchy, meaning rule by a king whose son takes over from his father.
Egyptians in all social classes cherished family life. Most Egyptians married within their social group. Men and women had different roles within the family and children were highly valued. Men were the heads of their households. They worked to support the family. Fathers often began to train their sons at a young age to take on their line of work. Women typically managed the home and raised the children. Upper-class women had servants or slaves to help them. Lower-class women did the work themselves.
Men were in charge of Egyptian society, but women enjoyed more freedom and rights than most women in the ancient world. They could own land and run businesses. They could also ask for divorces and represent themselves in legal matters. Some women in the middle and upper classes worked as doctors, government officials, or priestesses. Some even became pharaohs. Both women and men enjoyed a better quality of life the higher they were on the social pyramid. The Egyptians believed that their class system created a stable, well-ordered society. Each group had its own role to play. The stability of their lives, gave more time for arts and invention.
The Egyptians developed new technology in terms of building, mathematics, the calendar, and medicine. The greatest accomplishments of the Egyptian engineers were the Great Pyramids of Giza and the huge temples built during the New Kingdom. Egyptians learned how to cut, shape, move, and assemble huge stones to build great monuments. The Egyptians used simple machines like ramps, sleds, levers, and chisels to create huge tombs for their leaders. The Egyptians made advances in astronomy, medical practices, and measurement and geometric fields.In the area of literacy, the Egyptians developed a system of writing using pictures for sounds. They also invented paper, using papyrus reeds to write on. One famous work included the Book of the Dead, which described mummification and the afterlife in the ancient Egyptians' version of a Bible.
Some key Egyptian pharaohs included:
Hatshepsut - The first female pharaoh who built and restored temples, and sent trading expeditions to faraway lands. She cared about improving the lives of her people.
Thutmose III - Took over after Hatshepsut and hated her so much he tried to remove every mention of her name. Thutmose was warlike and conquered new territories.
Akenaten - The pharaoh who shocked all of Egypt by changing the religion to monotheism, demanding that people worship the sunSHINE rather than Amon Ra, the sun god. He also changed Egyptian art to be more lifelike and less rigid.
King Tut (Tutankhamun) - Son of Akenaten who restored the old religion after his father died. King Tut died young, but his tomb was never robbed, making him one of the most famous pharaohs known to people today. Ramses II (the Great) - Lived longer than any other pharaoh and ruled until he was in his 90s. Ramses had more than 100 children and conquered more territory than any other Egyptian leader. He also built great monuments to himself all over Egypt.
Key Points about Egypt:
• In ancient Egypt, the Nile River flooded every year providing fertile farmland in the desert. • The Egyptians developed irrigation and other techniques to control Nile floodwaters. • Egyptians embalmed their pharaohs and built great pyramids as tombs so that the pharaohs would make it to the after life. • Egyptians used papyrus and hieroglyphics to record history. • The pharaoh was considered both king and god. • Massive pyramids were built as tombs for pharaohs.
Ghana
MALI
As one of the earliest of the medieval Sudanic empires, Mali has captured the attention of historians from the Middle Ages to the present day. North African and Arabian travellers to Mali wrote down several valuable descriptions of this kingdom on the Niger, and even medieval Europeans were distantly aware of a fabled land of kings and gold, resplendent in wealth and power beyond the boundaries of the known world. And little though the medieval and early modern inhabitants of Europe might have been aware of it, this very gold was fast becoming the foundation of their own economy.
For the history of Africa, an understanding of medieval Mali is essential. Though the topic of "state formation" has been the subject of some controversy in African studies, it is undeniable that Mali became one of the huge states of pre-modern Africa, with a complex governmental structure headed by the king and managed by officials, sub-kings, and bureaucrats.
Moreover, Mali was one of the first states south of the Sahara to see the new religion of Islam firmly take hold. The message of the Prophet was soon allied to the interest of the rulers of Mali, and a strong relationship between religion and the state quickly developed. These and other themes are considered for the four periods of Malian history listed below.
Ghana
The old empire of Ghana is not located in the same place as the modern country of Ghana in West Africa. Two different places!
Ancient Ghana was located about 400 miles northwest of the modern day country of the same name. When the modern country of Ghana won their independence, they took the name of a famous (and nearby) ancient kingdom - the kingdom of Ghana.
The government was headed by a king, ably assisted by his council of elders. The kingdom was divided into districts. A district leader gently guided each district. They had laws that people mostly obeyed. Ghana was also a great military power with extensive trade networks. Ghana never owned gold or salt mines. Salt came from the salt mines controlled by kingdoms in the north Sahara Desert. Gold came from the gold mines controlled by kingdoms in the south. Ghana cleverly controlled the trade route between the salt mines and the gold mines.-- making them a very wealthy civilization! Ghana offered the traders a deal. Ghana's large army assured the traders of safe passage. In return, Ghana restricted trade to gold dust only. They kept the gold nuggets for themselves. Ghana became the guardians and the negotiators. This route is known as the Trans-Sahara Trade Route. It eventually brought in spices and silks to Ghana as well. Taking gold in trade, the Kingdom of Ghana flourished, nd the area soon soon became collectively known as The Gold Coast.
Introduction of Islam
The spread of Islam into West Africa, beginning with ancient Ghana in the ninth century, was mainly the result of the commercial trade activities of North African and Middle Easterners. The empires of both Mali and Songhai that followed ancient Ghana in the Western Sudan also adopted the religion.
Key points to know about Ghana & Mali:
Ghana was at the center of a major trade route.
The Muslim traders brought a system of numbers, the Islamic religion, and a system of writing to West African societies.
The Niger River was important to transport gold. The gold was then traded for salt, which came from the desert.
Ghana controlled the trade of salt from the Sahara and crops, livestock, gold, and enslaved Africans from central and southern West Africa.
Ghana’s location between salt-producing North Africa and the gold-rich southern coast of West Africa, allowed it to control the gold-salt trade.
Ghana and Mali were influenced by the laws and ethics of Islam.