Chapter One: First PeoplesPopulating the PlanetPopulating the Planet

to 10,000 BCEto 10,000 BCEpages 10-32pages 10-32

Where were the first people?

• Africa 250,000 years agoAfrica 250,000 years ago• Asia 70,000 years agoAsia 70,000 years ago• Australia 60,000-40,000 years agoAustralia 60,000-40,000 years ago• Europe 45,000 years agoEurope 45,000 years ago• Americas 30,000-15,000 years agoAmericas 30,000-15,000 years ago

What factors could influence migration patterns and timing?

Last Ice Age110,000-12,000 years ago (peak 20,000 ya)

What effect could the ice age have had on migration patterns?

People have to eat

GatheringHuntingFishing

Scavenging

Paleolithic Technology

Bow and Arrow

Spear and Atlatl

Fishing hooks and nets

Clothing (bone needles, weaving), Jewelry, Pottery, Baskets

Burial sites

Into Eurasia

• Middle East (100,000 ya) to Europe (45,000 ya)

–Similarities across long distances. What does that mean?

Into Australia 60,000-40,000 ya• From Indonesia, From Indonesia, 11stst use of boats use of boats• By 1788 ~300,000 people w/250 languagesBy 1788 ~300,000 people w/250 languages

–Separate, but loosely connectedSeparate, but loosely connected

• Hunting/Gathering/Simple Hunting/Gathering/Simple technology persisted until modern technology persisted until modern timestimes

Aboriginal Dreamtime

Into the AmericasBering Strait Land Bridges 30,000-15,000 ya

Clovis Culture• “Clovis point” projectile across

North America–Disappeared after large animal

extinctions (ex. mammoths)– Why did many species of large animals go

extinct?

• After extinction regional diversification

Into the Pacific 3,500-1,000 ya• Last phaseLast phase• Intentional colonizationIntentional colonization

–Transported plants and animalsTransported plants and animals–Profound environmental impactsProfound environmental impacts

The First Human Societies• Small groups

– 20-25 organized by kinship– As low as 10,000 total– Life expectancy ~35 years old

• Egalitarian but with structure• Worked less hours than

agricultural societies

• Environment Impacts

Religion and Spirituality• Ceremonial spaces,

but no clear evidence of specifics–Mono and polytheism

• Cyclical view of time–Female/life giver

• Venus Figurines

Settling Down: The Great TransitionEurasia after 25,000 ya

• Tools perfected (micro-blades)• Collection of wild grains• Ice Age ended (16-10,000 ya)• More permanent settlements• Domestication of the dog• What is the next step?

Göbekli Tepe in Turkey 11,600 yalimestone temple built by hunter gathers

Comparing Paleolithic Societies

• The San of Southern Africa (Ju/’hoansi)

• The

Chumash of Southern California

San Chumash

Big Question 1What is the significance of the

Paleolithic era in world history?

Big Picture Question 2In what ways did various Paleolithic

societies differ from one another, and how did they change over time?

Big Question 3Which statements in this chapter seem to be reliable and solidly based on facts, and which

ones are more speculative and uncertain?

Big Question 4How might our attitudes toward the

modern world influence our assessment of Paleolithic societies?