BEFORE THE NEOLITHIC REVOLUTION: HOMINIDS AND SKILLS Social Studies for 8 th E.G.B. Teacher: Mauricio Torres
BEFORE THE NEOLITHIC REVOLUTION: HOMINIDS AND SKILLSSocial Studies for 8th E.G.B.
Teacher: Mauricio Torres
What is a Hominid?
Hominids are a group that includes humans and their closest relatives.
All walk upright on two feet. Humans are the only hominids that live today.
Background
With the Ice Age: The north African tropical forest began to
retreat, being replaced first by open grasslands and eventually by desert (the modern Sahara).
This forced tree-dwelling animals to adapt to their new environment or die out.
Some primates adapted to a partly or fully ground-dwelling life.
Bipedalism
Some Hominids adapted to this challenge by adopting bipedalism: walking on their hind legs.
This gave their eyes greater elevation, the ability to see approaching danger further off, and a more efficient means of locomotion.
It also freed the forelimbs (arms) from the task of walking and made the hands available for tasks such as gathering food.
Lucy
The first hominids were called by scientists: Australopithecines.
The oldest fossil found was that of “Lucy”, in Ethiopia.
Homo Habilis
At some point the bipedal primates developed handedness, giving them the ability to pick up sticks, bones and stones and use them.
Two million years ago emerged a new hominid: homo habilis.
They were the first to make stone tools. In other words, these primates
developed the use of primitive technology.
Homo Erectus
Also around two million years ago, another hominid appeared: homo erectus.
The name was given because they walked fully upright.
They had larger brains and bones, smaller teeth and different characteristics from other hominids.
They were the first to use fire! They also built more complex
tools. It’s also suspected that they were
the first to develop spoken language.
Homo Sapiens
Around a hundred thousand years ago, a new group emerged: homo sapiens… the “Wise Man”.
They evolved further than their predecessors and split into two categories: Homo sapiens Homo neanderthalensis
Both species migrated out of Africa and settled different parts of Europe and Asia.
They also developed the first real signs of culture.
One happy family
Sahelanthropus Sahelanthropus
tchadensis Orrorin
Orrorin tugenensis Ardipithecus
Ardipithecus kadabba Ardipithecus ramidus
Australopithecus Australopithecus
anamensis Australopithecus
afarensis Australopithecus
bahrelghazali Australopithecus
africanus
Australopithecus garhi Australopithecus sediba
Paranthropus Paranthropus
aethiopicus Paranthropus boisei Paranthropus robustus
Kenyanthropus Kenyanthropus platyops
Homo Homo gautengensis Homo habilis Homo rudolfensis Homo ergaster Homo georgicus Homo erectus Homo cepranensis Homo antecessor Homo heidelbergensis Homo rhodesiensis Homo neanderthalensis Homo sapiens idaltu Homo sapiens (Cro-
Magnon) Homo sapiens sapiens
Ask yourself
What skills did humans develop in order to outlive their own “cousins”?
Bibliography
For further reading, use your books and check pages 28 through 31.
Burstein, S. M., & Shek, R. (2012). World History (Teacher´s Edition). In H. McDougal (Ed.). Orlando, Florida, US.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Ellis, E. G., & Esler, A. (2009). World History. (P. Hall, Ed.) Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, US: Pearson Education INC.