Early Mankind

1. Early Mankind

2. Australopithecus Afarensis • Lived between 3.8 and 3 million years ago • It is the best known early human species • They walked on two legs or were bipeds • Males were much taller than females • They ate a diet similar to that of apes today • Did not use tools • There brains were like those of apes

3. “Lucy” First discovered example of the early human species

4. Homo Habilis • One of the earliest of the genus Homo meaning humans • They had a larger braincase and smaller teeth • They still had ape like features including long arms and a protruding jaw • Habilis means “handy man” because they were the first to make stone tools

5. Homo Erectus • Lived from 1.8 million years ago to about 200,000 years ago • Oldest known species to have a human like body • Elongated legs and shorter arms compared to the torso size • First human species to spread out of Africa • They were the tools makers • They were omnivores- ate both meat and plants • May have been the first to control fire

6. Homo Sapiens- Neanderthals • Lived from over 200,000 years ago to 30,000 years ago • From about 50,000 to 30,000 years ago they competed with modern humans • This economic competition may have led to their extinction • They are modern humans closest extinct relative

7. Homo Sapiens- Neanderthals • They are similar to modern humans because: • Their brains are just as large • They buried their dead • They made simple jewelry such as bead necklaces • They are different because: • They were shorter and stockier • They had strong brows that stuck out more

8. Homo Sapiens- Cro-Magnons • This is the group considered to be early modern humans • By 30,000 they had replaced Neanderthals • They created more complex tools and even jewelry • They are homo sapiens sapiens or “wise, wise man”

9. Paleolithic Age • It began over 2 million years ago and is known as the “Old Stone Age” • People were nomads and moved from place to place to find food • People were part of a hunter and gatherer society • People made simple tools out of rocks, sticks, and bones • Since they were small groups both men and women were important • Men were typically the leaders of the small groups • They used a simple language of grunts and babbles • They created cave paintings which represented their lifestyle and religious beliefs

10. Neolithic Age • It began in about 3,000 B.C.E. and known as the “New Stone Age” • People began to settle in one place and form communities • People began to grow crops on farms • People also began to domesticate animals • Raise animals to eat or for work: cows, goats, oxen, etc. • Men and women divided up the work but the power and importance of women decreased significantly • There was also the formation of a government • A council of elders which were male heads of the various families • Also you had the formation of social classes based off of work