Splash Screen Chapter Menu Chapter Introduction Early Humans Mesopotamian Civilization New Empires Chapter Assessment.

Chapter Introduction

Early Humans

Mesopotamian Civilization

New Empires

Chapter Assessment

Early Humans

Studying the past helps to understand the present. Scientists who study the past have learned that the earliest humans hunted animals and gathered plants for food. When farming developed, people settled into villages and towns.

Mesopotamian Civilization

Religion shapes how culture develops, just as culture shapes how religion develops. In early Mesopotamian civilizations, religion and government were closely linked. Kings created strict laws to govern people.

New Empires

Conflict often brings about great change. New empires arose in Mesopotamia around 900 B.C. These civilizations included the Assyrians and the Chaldeans. They used powerful armies and iron weapons to conquer the region.

Today people live in towns and cities of various sizes. Early humans lived by moving from place to place, forming settlements, and exploring different ways to provide for themselves and their families.

• Paleolithic people adapted to their environment and invented many tools to help them survive. (page 123)

• In the Neolithic Age, people started farming, building communities, producing goods, and trading. (page 127)

Jericho Çatal Hüyük

task revolution

anthropologist nomad

archaeologist technology

artifact domesticate

fossil specialization

Scientists believe early humans made tools from other materials besides stone. They probably used wooden sticks to dig holes and used bark from trees to make containers. Unlike stone, these organic materials decay, so remnants from the early humans are unavailable.

A. History is the story of humans in the past, and historians are the people who study and write about humans of the past.

I. Early Humans (pages 123–126)

B. Anthropologists study how humans developed and related to each other. Archaeologists hunt for evidence buried in the ground. Archaeologists study artifacts—weapons, tools, and other things made by humans. They also look for fossils—traces of plants or animals that are preserved in rock.

I. Early Humans (pages 123–126)

C. Louis, Mary, and Richard Leakey are the most famous archaeologists. Louis and Mary found many fossils of hominids, which are creatures that walk on two legs. Mary also discovered the skull of a creature nearly two million years old.

D. Donald Johanson was an anthropologist who discovered a female hominid that was nearly 3 million years old. The remains, which were nicknamed Lucy, showed that humans began walking on two legs before they used tools.

I. Early Humans (pages 123–126)

E. The prehistoric period of human history is called the Stone Age. The earliest part of the Stone Age is called the Paleolithic period.

F. Paleolithic people were nomads, traveling from place to place to hunt and search for food.

G. Paleolithic women cared for children and gathered berries, nuts, and grains. Paleolithic men hunted animals using clubs, spears, traps, and bows and arrows.

I. Early Humans (pages 123–126)

H. Paleolithic people adapted to their environment. Those in warm climates wore little clothing and had little need for shelter. Those in cold climates used caves for shelter. Over time, they learned to create shelters from animal hides and wooden poles.

I. Paleolithic people discovered fire, which kept them warm, lit the darkness, and cooked food.

I. Early Humans (pages 123–126)

J. Long periods of extreme cold are called the Ice Ages. During the Ice Ages, thick sheets of ice covered parts of Europe, Asia, and North America.

K. Paleolithic people developed spoken language and expressed themselves through art, which may have had religious meaning.

L. During this time, humans first used technology. They created tools such as spears and hand axes using stone called flint.

I. Early Humans (pages 123–126)

How did spoken language help the Paleolithic people?

Language made it easier for people to work together and pass on knowledge.

I. Early Humans (pages 123–126)

A. In the Mesolithic Age, people began to domesticate, or tame, animals. Domesticated animals carried goods and provided meat, milk, and wool.

B. People in different parts of the world began growing crops about the same time. Because farmers needed to stay close to their fields, they built permanent homes in villages. This marked the beginning of the Neolithic Age.

II. The Agricultural Revolution (pages 127–131)

C. Historians call the changes made in the Neolithic Age the agricultural revolution. A revolution refers to changes that greatly affect other areas of life.

D. Permanent villages provided people with security and steady food. The surplus food led to a larger population. Villagers traded with people in their own communities and also with people who lived in other areas.

II. The Agricultural Revolution (pages 127–131)

E. One of the oldest villages is Jericho, located in the West Bank between present-day Israel and Jordan. Another Neolithic village is Çatal Hüyük in present-day Turkey.

F. Not all people in a village were farmers. Some made pottery, mats, and cloth. They traded these goods for things they did not have. The food surplus allowed people to practice these specializations, or different kinds of jobs.

II. The Agricultural Revolution (pages 127–131)

II. The Agricultural Revolution (pages 127–131)

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G. People continued to create new technology. They created better farming tools and began working with metal, copper, and tin. They also began working with bronze.

II. The Agricultural Revolution (pages 127–131)

II. The Agricultural Revolution (pages 127–131)

Why was farming important to the Neolithic people?

Farming allowed people to settle in one place, and it provided a steady food supply.

II. The Agricultural Revolution (pages 127–131)

• Early humans were nomads who moved about to hunt animals and gather food. They built shelters and used fire to survive. In time, they developed language and art.

• During the farming revolution, people began to grow crops and domesticate animals, which allowed them to settle in villages.

1. Who are archaeologists, and what do they study?

Archaeologists are scientists who learn about past human life from fossils and artifacts.

2. How did domesticating animals help the Neolithic people?

Animals supplied meat, milk, and wool. They also carried goods.

3. Determine Cause and Effect Draw a diagram like the one below. List some of the effects that farming had on people’s lives.

Effects include a steady supply of food, villages, new jobs, and trade.

(3) CA HI2.

4. The Big Ideas How do changes in the Neolithic Age still affect people today?

We live in towns and no longer hunt and gather food.

5. Compare Compare the technology of the Paleolithic Age with that of the Neolithic Age.

Paleolithic technologies included stone, bone, and wooden tools and weapons. Neolithic technologies included metal tools and weapons.

(4) CA HI2. (5) CA CS1.

6. Analyze Why was the ability to make a fire so important?

Fire made heat, scared animals, and cooked food.

(6) CA HI2.