The First

Civilizations
and Empires Prehistory–A.D. 500
Why It Matters
For hundreds of thousands of years, human
beings survived by hunting, fishing, and gathering
food and supplies in an often hostile environment.
In the space of a few thousand years, human
beings began to master the art of growing food
crops. As more food was produced, the population
grew, and people began to live in cities, form
governments, and develop writing and art.
Historians call this process the beginning of
civilization.
THE FIRST HUMANS
CHAPTER 1
Prehistory–3500 B.C.

WESTERN ASIA AND EGYPT

CHAPTER 2
3500–500 B.C.
INDIA AND CHINA
CHAPTER 3
3000 B.C.–A.D. 500

ANCIENT GREECE
CHAPTER 4
1900–133 B.C.

ROME AND THE RISE OF CHRISTIANITY

CHAPTER 5
600 B.C.–A.D. 500

The “Maiden Porch” of the Erechtheum, overlooking the

city of Athens, Greece, is an example of Greek architecture
from the fifth century B.C.

age fotostock/SuperStock
 1
age fotostock/SuperStock
 The First Humans
Prehistory–3500 B.C.
Section 1 Early Humans
Section 2 The Neolithic Revolution

MAKING CONNECTIONS
What is civilization?
These cave paintings in Lascaux, France, illustrate the animals early
people hunted 17,000 years ago during the Ice Age. Images like these
give us glimpses into the life of early humans. In this chapter you will
learn how humans gradually shifted from temporary to permanent
settlements and began establishing civilizations.
• How do you think the first humans got their food?
• How would you define civilization?

c. 1,500,000 B.C.
c. 3,000,000 B.C. Homo erectus appears
Australopithecines
flourish in Africa
THE WORLD
3,500,000 B.C. 2,000,000 B.C. 200,000 B.C.

c. 2,500,000 B.C. c. 250,000 B.C.

Paleolithic humans Homo sapiens
carve with stone tools species develops

2
(l) Charles & Josette Lenars/CORBIS, (r) Pascal Goetgheluck/Photo Researchers
 Period Tools Hunting Art

Neolithic
Age
c. 100,000 B.C. Describing Create
Neanderthals living a Three-Tab Book to BrAgoneze
c. 8000 B.C. record aspects of
in Germany Systematic agriculture tools, hunting, and
develops art that occurred during the Neolithic
Age and the Bronze Age. Conduct
additional research to add facts,
150,000 B.C. 10,000 B.C. 3500 B.C. illustrations, or maps to your Foldable.

c. 8000 B.C. 3000 B.C.

Neolithic humans Bronze Age
practice burial rituals begins (ISTORY /.,).%
Chapter Overview—Visit glencoe.com to preview Chapter 1.

(l) Sissie Brimberg/National Geographic/Getty Images, (r) Archivo Iconografico, S.A./CORBIS

 Early Humans
Where did early humans live? How did they live, and what
GUIDE TO READING happened to them? To answer these questions, scientists study
The BIG Idea the evidence left by prehistoric people. Although researchers
Physical Geography Human life devel- have new and better ways of studying the past, there is much
oped in different stages over millions of years and
we still do not know.
by 10,000 B.C., Homo sapiens sapiens had spread
throughout the world.

Content Vocabulary
• prehistory (p. 4) • Australopithecus (p. 7) Before History
• archaeology (p. 4) • Homo sapiens sapiens
(p. 7) Scientists use fossils and artifacts as clues to how early humans lived.
• artifact (p. 4)
• anthropology (p. 4) • “out-of-Africa” theory HISTORY & YOU What would people in the future think of American culture
• fossil (p. 4) (p. 7) based on what we leave behind?
• hominid (p. 6)
Historians rely mostly on documents, or written records, to cre-
Academic Vocabulary ate their pictures of the past. However, no written records exist for
• theory (p. 4) • survive (p. 8)
the prehistory of humankind. In fact, prehistory means the time
before writing was developed. The story of prehistoric humans
People and Places depends on archaeological and, more recently, biological evidence.
• Olduvai Gorge (p. 6)
Archaeologists and anthropologists use this information to create
• Paleolithic Age (p. 8)
theories about our early past.
Reading Strategy
Summarizing Information As you Archaeology and Anthropology
read, create a chart like the one below showing the Archaeology is the study of past societies through analysis of
effects of three tools on the lifestyle of early what people left behind. Archaeologists dig up and examine
humankind. artifacts—objects made by humans. Artifacts may be tools, weapons,
Tool Effect art, and even buildings made by early humans.
Anthropology is the study of human life and culture. Culture
includes what people wear, how they organize their society, and
what they value. Anthropologists use artifacts and human fossils
to create a picture of people’s everyday lives. Fossils are rocklike
remains of biological organisms—a leaf imprint or a skeleton.
Archaeologists and anthropologists have developed scientific
INDIANA ACADEMIC STANDARDS methods to carry out their work. They excavate, or dig up land, at
World History and Civilization sites around the globe to uncover fossil remains of early humans,
1.1 Trace the approximate chronology and terri- ancient cities, burial grounds, and other objects. The examination
torial range of early human communities, and and analysis of these remains give archaeologists a better under-
analyze the processes that led to their
development. standing of ancient societies. By examining artifacts such as
1.2 Describe types of evidence and methods of pottery, tools, and weapons, for example, these scientists learn
investigation by which scholars have recon- about the social and military structures of a society. By analyzing
structed the early history of domestication, agri-
cultural settlement, and cultural development. bones, skins, and plant seeds, they are able to piece together the
9.2 Locate and analyze primary sources and diet and activities of early people. One of the most important and
secondary sources related to an event or issue difficult jobs of both archaeologists and anthropologists is dating
of the past.
their finds.

4
 20°W

0° 20°E
ARCHAEOLOGICAL FINDS
40°E 60°E

1856: Johann Fuhlrott discovers

Homo sapiens neanderthalensis

1940: French children

find cave paintings Neanderthal

Lascaux EUROPE 1958: James Mellaart discovers ASIA

0 1,000 kilometers Altamira Caves
Cave Neolithic farming village of Çatalhüyük.
Chauvet
0 1,000 miles
Miller projection
Cave
40°N

Çatalhüyük
1879: Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola
Med
and his daughter find cave paintings iterra
nean Se
a

1994: Jean-Marie Chauvet

discovers cave paintings
ATLANTIC
OCEAN
1974: Johanson team
discovers “Lucy”

Re
20°N

dS
ea
Arabian Sea
Hadar
1. Location On which continent did N
the Leakey team discover Homo AFRICA
habilis? W
1960: Leakey team E
2. Place Explain why the earliest discovers Homo habilis
prehistoric paintings have been S
EQUATOR
found in caves. 1978: Leakey team discovers 0°
“Laetoli footprints” Olduvai Gorge
See StudentWorks™ Plus
INDIAN OCEAN
or glencoe.com. Laetoli

Dating Artifacts and Fossils Microscopic and biological analyses of

Dating human fossils and artifacts helps organic remains—such as blood, hairs, and
scientists understand when and where the plant tissues left on tools and weapons—
first humans lived. give scientists still more information. Such
One method used to determine age is analyses have shown that blood molecules
radiocarbon dating. All living things may survive millions of years. This recent
absorb a small amount of radioactive car- scientific discovery is especially useful in
bon, or C-14, from the atmosphere. After a telling us more about humans, their use of
living thing dies, it slowly loses C-14. By tools, and the animals they killed. Ancient
measuring the amount left in an object, a deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is providing
scientist can figure its age. This method is new information on human evolution. The
accurate for objects no more than about analysis of plant remains on stone tools
50,000 years old. yields evidence on the history of farming.
For objects dating back to 200,000 years All of these techniques give us insight into
ago, scientists can make relatively precise the lives of early peoples.
measurements using thermo-lumines-
cence. This measures the light given off by ✓Reading Check Describing How do
electrons trapped in the soil surrounding archaeologists and anthropologists determine the ages
fossils and artifacts. of fossils and artifacts?

CHAPTER 1 The First Humans 5

 Early Development
(l) Topham/The Image Works, (r) Robert Campbell/CORBIS SYGMA

Louis and Mary Leakey spent most of

their lives searching for clues about early
Using remains and technology, scien- human life. They made a dramatic discovery
tists identify important stages in human development. of a skeleton at Olduvai Gorge in East
Africa. According to their son:
HISTORY & YOU How did humans change? Read
about the early stages of human development.
PRIMARY SOURCE
In recent decades, modern science has “My father was ill that morning, so my mother
produced a clearer picture of how early set out alone . . . but found very little until just before
humans developed. Pieces of the puzzle noon, when she noticed a scrap of enormously
are still missing, however. When a new thick bone protruding from beneath the surface.
skull or skeleton is unearthed, scientists She instantly realized that it was part of a hominid
may find that they have to revise their skull—and that two teeth were embedded in the
ideas about prehistoric human life. rock just above it. Elated, she drove back to camp
to tell my father Louis. As he remembered it, she
rushed in crying, ‘I’ve got him! I’ve got him! I’ve
Hominids to Homo Sapiens got him!’”
What is a hominid? A hominid was a —Richard Leakey, TIME, July 17, 1959
humanlike creature that walked upright.
The earliest hominids lived in Africa four Leakey’s discovery of a hominid in 1959
million years ago. They existed for millions was the oldest at that time—about 1.8 million
of years, slowly changing over time. years old.

Louis Leakey Mary Leakey Richard Leakey Louise Leakey Meave Leakey
1903–1972 1913–1996 Paleoanthropologists 1942–present 1972–present 1942–present Paleoanthropologists

Paleoanthropologists study early human society. For three Richard, a son of Louis and Mary, found his first fossil at age
generations, beginning with the husband and wife team of six. Meave, a zoologist, joined Richard’s expedition in 1969.
Louis and Mary, the Leakeys have searched for early human Richard and Meave focused their search at Koobi Fora, near Lake
remains in Africa. Turkana in Kenya. Over a thirty-year period, this Leakey team
Born in Kenya, Louis discovered some stone tools and an made 200 significant fossil finds.
interest in prehistory. In the 1930’s, Louis and Mary began Meave and Louise Leakey were named National Geographic
looking for evidence of early humans at Olduvai Gorge. Mary is Society’s explorers-in-residence in 2002. The Leakey mother and
credited with discovering Proconsul africanus in 1948, Australo- daughter paleontologists found a 3.5-million-year-old skull near
pithecus boisei in 1959, Homo habilis in 1960, and an 89-foot- Turkana. Why were the Leakeys’ fossil finds significant?
long trail of early human footprints called the “Laetoli footprints”
in 1979. What do the Leakeys’ finds illustrate about where
early human life began?
 For decades, scientists assumed these in Germany, the earliest remains of Nean-
earliest of upright creatures must also derthals, or Neandertals, were found. They
have used tools. In 1974, Donald Johanson probably lived between 100,000 b.c. and
challenged this theory when his team 30,000 b.c. Other Neanderthal remains
found a new skeleton in Ethiopia. Johanson have been found in Europe and Turkey.
nicknamed the female skeleton “Lucy” Besides using many kinds of stone tools,
and suggested that she was the common European Neanderthals made their
ancestor for several types of early human clothes from animal skins. Neanderthals
life. Scientists called this type of hominid seem to be the first early people to bury
Australopithecus (aw•stray•loh•PIH• their dead. According to some scholars,
thuh•kuhs), or “southern ape.” It flour- burying the dead indicates a belief in an
ished in eastern and southern Africa. afterlife.
In a 1991 interview, Johanson explained
why “Lucy” changed the ideas of many
scientists about hominids that walked Homo Sapiens Sapiens
upright: The second group descended from Homo
sapiens is Homo sapiens sapiens, meaning
PRIMARY SOURCE “wise, wise human.” These are the first to
have an anatomy similar to people today.
“People felt that there were a number of Physical evidence suggests that Homo
evolutionary changes, which all went together. sapiens sapiens appeared in Africa between
That our ancestors stood up to free their hands so
150,000 and 200,000 years ago. They proba-
that they could make and use stone tools. In order
bly spread out of Africa to other parts of the
to make and use stone tools, they had to have
large brains . . . Here comes Lucy, about 3.5 million world about 100,000 years ago, replacing
years old . . . very small brain, . . . and we have populations of earlier hominids in Europe
never found any stone tool, stone artifacts, and Asia. This is referred to as the “out-of-
associated with her species. Yet she is walking Africa” theory (or replacement theory).
upright. So it appears that . . . walking on two Another theory, the multiregional model,
legs, precedes by perhaps as much as a million states that the development from earlier
and a half years, the manufacture of stone tools hominids to anatomically modern humans
and the expansion of the brain.” occurred in different locations in Africa,
—Donald Johanson, 1991 interview Asia, and Europe. The timing and reasons
for early human migrations are still debated
From 2.5 to 1.6 million years ago, a more among scholars.
advanced hominid developed with a some- By 30,000 b.c., Homo sapiens sapiens had
what larger brain. This hominid was replaced the Neanderthals. The Neander-
named Homo habilis, meaning “handy thals died out, possibly as a result of
human.” Homo habilis may have used stone conflicts with Homo sapiens sapiens. The
tools. The earliest remains of this hominid spread of these first modern humans was a
were discovered near Olduvai Gorge. slow process. Over many thousands of
Another hominid, Homo erectus, “upright years, Homo sapiens sapiens spread over the
human,” existed from 1.8 million to 100,000 globe as they searched for food and new
years ago. Although other hominids hunting grounds. In a whole generation,
walked on two legs, Homo erectus had arms they may have moved only two to three
and legs in modern human proportion. miles. Over hundreds of thousands of
Remains in Asia show that Homo erectus years, this was enough to populate the
was probably the first hominid to leave world. Today, all humans, whether they
Africa. are Europeans, Australian Aborigines
Around 200,000 years ago, Homo sapiens (a•buh•RIHJ•nees), or Africans, belong
emerged. Homo sapiens, “wise human,” to the same subgroup of human beings.
showed rapid brain growth and mastered
fire. Two kinds of early humans descended ✓Reading Check Summarizing Identify and
from Homo sapiens: Neanderthals and Homo describe all the important stages in early human
sapiens sapiens. In the Neanderthal, a valley development.

CHAPTER 1 The First Humans 7

 The Paleolithic Age Early humans used sharp-edged tools to
cut up plants, dig up roots, and cut branches
Early humans used fire, made tools, to build simple shelters. Scraping tools were
and adapted to survive. used to clean animal hides for clothing and
shelter. By the end of the Paleolithic period,
HISTORY & YOU Could you live in the wild with
only tools you made? Read how early humans man-
there is evidence of such refined tools as
aged to survive. bone needles. These needles could be used
for making nets and baskets and even sew-
ing hides together for clothing.
Because Paleolithic people were hunters
One of the basic distinguishing features
and gatherers, they had to follow animal
of the human species is the ability to make
migrations and vegetation cycles. Paleo-
tools. The term Paleolithic Age is used to
lithic humans were nomads—people who
designate the early period of human
move from place to place to survive.
history (approximately 2,500,000 b.c. to
Archaeologists and anthropologists think
10,000 b.c.) in which humans used simple
these nomads probably lived in small
stone tools. Paleolithic is Greek for “old
groups of twenty or thirty. Hunting
stone,” and the Paleolithic Age is some-
depended on careful observation of animal
times called the Old Stone Age.
behavior patterns and demanded group
cooperation for success.
Hunting and Gathering
For hundreds of thousands of years,
humans relied on hunting and gathering
The Roles of Men and Women
for their daily food. Paleolithic peoples The main job of Paleolithic peoples was
had a close relationship with their environ- finding enough to eat. Both men and women
ment. They came to know what animals to were responsible for finding the food
hunt and what plants to eat. They gathered needed for survival. Paleolithic parents
wild nuts, berries, fruits, wild grains, and passed on their practices, skills, and tools
green plants. Around the world, they to their children to ensure the survival of
hunted and ate various animals, including later generations.
buffalo, horses, bison, and reindeer. In Since women bore and raised children,
coastal areas, fish and shellfish provided a they probably stayed closer to camp. They
rich source of food. played an important role in acquiring
food by gathering berries, nuts, roots,
and grains. Women taught the children
The Paleolithic Way of Life which foods were edible. They trapped
Early humans were able to sustain them- small animals and kept the camp safe.
selves through the use of stone tools. To In the constant search for food, men had
make such tools, early people used very to travel far from camp to hunt herds of
hard stones, such as flint. They used one large animals. What the women caught
stone to chip away parts of another, creat- and gathered had to feed the group if there
ing an edge. Hand axes of various kinds— was no game. Because both men and
pointed tools with one or more cutting women were responsible for finding and
edges—were the most common. Hand axes acquiring the food needed to sustain life,
eventually were set in wooden handles, many scientists believe there was equality
making them easier to use. By attaching between them. It is likely that both men
wooden poles to spear points and harden- and women made decisions that affected
ing the tips in fire, humans created spears the activities of the Paleolithic group.
to kill large animals.
Over the years, Paleolithic hunters devel-
oped better tools. The invention of the spear, Adapting to Survive
and later the bow and arrow, made hunting Groups of Paleolithic people, especially
much easier. Harpoons and fishhooks made those groups who lived in cold climates,
of bone increased the catch of fish. found shelter in natural caves. Over a

8 SECTION 1 Early Humans

period of time, people created new types Use of Fire
of shelter as well. Perhaps most common Another important result from the
was a simple structure made of wood poles migration of early hominids was the use of
or sticks covered with animal hides. In fire. As early hominids moved from the
places where wood was scarce, they might tropics into colder regions, they needed to
use the large bones of mammoths to build adjust to new climate conditions. In
frames that were then covered by animal response, Homo erectus first learned to
hides. The systematic use of fire made it make fires. Archaeologists have discov-
possible to provide a source of both light ered the piled remains of ashes in caves
and heat within both the caves and the that prove that Paleolithic people used fire
handmade structures in which they lived. systematically as long ago as 500,000 years.

Field Archaeology: How We Learn about the Spread of Early Humans

Archaeologists use scientific methods

to learn more about prehistory. The
techniques and materials used on a
“dig” combine older tools and
modern technology.
First archaeologists search
computer databases, maps, aerial
photos, and satellite images to find a
promising site. At the site, the team will
Laptops make
record the exact location with a global recording and
positioning device. Then using survey analyzing
equipment, they map the area and set up a information
grid to pinpoint the location and depths of from the dig
the finds. Workers still use trowels and easier.
brushes to unearth artifacts.
Once an object is found, archaeologists
record it in their field notes. Then they clean,
label, photograph, and enter the find on a
database. A rough “dating” is made using
stratigraphy, indicating age by the soil layer
it was found in. Other tests—radiocarbon
dating, potassium-argon dating, DNA, ther-
moluminescence, and dendrochronology—
are done in a lab.
Hand-held
GPS (Global
Positioning
System)
1. Explaining Why does it take archaeol-
ogists many years to excavate a site?
2. Drawing Conclusions Why do
archaeologists record the locations of
where objects are found in such detail?

At an excavation of an Inca cemetery near Lima, Peru,

a man brushes dirt from a skull with hair still intact.

(l) Ira Block/National Geographic/Getty Images, (tr) photolibrary.com/Index Open, (br) Cordelia Molloy/Photo Researchers
 Chauvet Cave Bay
of
Lascaux
Caves
Biscay FRANCE
Chauvet
Altamira Cave
Paleolithic artists drew dangerous Cave
mammoths, rhinos, cave bears, and cave
lions, but rarely depicted themselves.
SPAIN

Chauvet’s constant temperature of

56º F with 99 percent humidity
helped preserve the paintings.

Although people never lived

there, Chauvet contains remnants
of fires, used to produce charcoal
for drawing.

Around 35,000 years ago, Ice Age

artists painted images in caves. This
20-foot (6-m)-long “Panel of Horses”
was found in Chauvet Cave in
southern France.
1. Analyzing What does the “Panel
of Horses” depict?
2. Comparing What similarities do
you see between animals in the
cave art and those of today?

At a Homo erectus site in northern China, independently throughout the world, in

remnants of hearths, ashes, charcoal, and different places at different times. Archae-
charred bones have been dated to 400,000 ologists lack concrete evidence on how
years ago. early peoples started fires. They have been
Fire not only gave warmth, but kept wild able to examine the methods used by tra-
animals away from the campsite. Armed ditional peoples. On that basis, archaeolo-
with spears, hunters used fire to flush out gists deduce that the earliest humans used
wild pigs for the kill. People gathered friction to start fires.
around the fire to trade stories and to cook. Eventually, some Paleolithic peoples
Cooked food tasted better, lasted longer, developed sturdy, drill-like wooden
and was easier to chew and digest (in the devices to start fires. Other early humans
case of some plants, such as wild grains), discovered that a certain stone, iron
so it seems likely that nutrition improved. pyrites, gave off a spark when struck
Scholars believe that the discovery of a against a rock and that spark could ignite
means for starting fires occurred dry grass or leaves.

10 SECTION 1 Early Humans

Jean Clottes
The Ice Ages
Having fire to create a source of heat was especially
important when Ice Age conditions descended on the
Paleolithic world. The most recent Ice Age began about
100,000 b.c. and ended about 8000 b.c. During this time, Vocabulary
sheets of thick ice covered large parts of Europe, Asia, and 1. Explain the significance of: prehistory,
North America. As sea levels went down, people migrated archaeology, artifact, anthropology, fossil,
across land bridges that had not existed before. hominid, Olduvai Gorge, Australopithecus,
Ice Age conditions posed a serious threat to human life, Homo sapiens sapiens, “out-of-Africa”
and the ability to adapt was crucial to human survival. theory, Paleolithic Age.
The use of fire, for example, reminds us that early humans
sometimes adapted not by changing themselves to better Main Ideas
fit their environment but by changing the environment. 2. Discuss what kinds of materials
archaeologists use to study prehistory.
Creating Art 3. Explain what the caves of Lascaux
suggest about early human society.
The importance of art to human life is basic. Art existed
even in prehistory among the hunters and gatherers of the 4. Create a diagram like the one shown
Paleolithic Age. In 1940, a bad storm near Lascaux below to compare and contrast
(la•SKOH) in southern France uprooted a large tree, Australopithecus and Neanderthal.
revealing a cave. French children playing nearby soon
found the cave and the paintings inside. Many of these
paintings had deteriorated, but scientists used special Australopithecus Neanderthal
tools to determine what is being depicted, such as horses,
bulls, and stags.
Another famous discovery was made in Spain in 1879
when a little girl wandered into a cave on her grandfa- Critical Thinking
ther’s farm near Altamira. Like many other caves covered 5. The BIG Idea Explaining Explain the
with Paleolithic art, the cave near Altamira shows evi- difference between the “out-of-Africa” and
dence that the paintings may have been created over a multiregional theories.
span of time, not all at once. Scientists can date the art 6. Comparing Discuss the difference between
based on pigments from the paintings. the roles of Paleolithic men and women.
In 1994, Jean-Marie Chauvet and his friends discovered 7. Analyzing Visuals Examine the cave
paintings in southern France. Carbon dating showed paintings shown on page 10. What do they
works at Chauvet Cave were nearly twice as old as those tell you about human/animal interactions
at Lascaux and Altamira, but the drawings were more during the Paleolithic Age?
advanced. Scholars had assumed the opposite—that the
earliest art would be crude and gradually would become Writing About History
more detailed. 8. Descriptive Writing Imagine you are part
Using stone lamps filled with animal fat to light the of an archaeological team at a recently
caves, early artists painted with fingers and twigs and discovered site, keeping a daily journal.
even blew paint through hollow reeds. They mixed min- Describe the conditions of the site, the sorts
eral ores with animal fat to make red, yellow, and black of artifacts you are finding, and what you
paint. A variety of realistically painted animals cover the hope to find based on the evidence so far.
Read magazine articles or books in a library
caves. Few humans appear in these paintings, and when
or on the Web to help you with this project.
they do appear, they are drawn as sticklike figures. This
has led some scholars to think the work was done for a
magical or religious ritual to bring success in hunting.
Others believe the paintings were made simply to please
the eye. Recent discoveries of art by early humans show
that prehistoric art existed in other areas of the world. (ISTORY /.,).%
For help with the concepts in this section of Glencoe World
✓Reading Check Identifying What are two important History, go to glencoe.com and click Study Central™.
innovations of Paleolithic peoples?

11
 Early Housing
What a house looks like has much to do with where it is located, when it
was built, and what materials were available. Zhoukoudianzhen Cave, in China,
shows evidence of use from around 700,000 to around 200,000 years ago.
Pincevent, in modern-day France, shows how early humans lived in northern
Europe at the end of the Ice Age, around 13,000 years ago. And Çatalhüyük, in
modern-day Turkey, was an early farming village from 6700 B.C. to 5700 B.C.

ZHOUKOUDIANZHEN CAVE
The remains of 40 Homo
PINCEVENT SITE
erectus men, women, and Pincevent was a summer
children were found here. camp near water and food
sources, such as reindeer
and horses.

These early humans lived in

round tents made of animal
skins held up by wooden poles.

They probably ate nuts,

berries, insects, reptiles,
rats, birds, eggs, and
large mammals.

The first evidence of

the use of fire was
20 feet of ash from
c. 500,000 years ago.
Rings of stone were used to hold the
tent edges down. Hearthstones, animal
bones, and flint tools show where the
tents were located.

TEMPORARY SETTLEMENTS
These Homo erectus
Before around 8000 B.C., early humans were nomads who lived in
used wood, bamboo, and temporary settlements. They moved every season, migrating with the
stone tools to scrape, animals they hunted. Early humans used caves for shelter. If they lived in a
chop, and cut. place without rock outcroppings, they made their homes out of available
materials. Tents made of animal bones or wood were covered with animal
hides or turf.

12
 Pincevent
Zhoukoudianzhen
EUROPE
ASIA

PACIFIC
AFRICA Çatalhüyük OCEAN

ÇATALHÜYÜK ATLANTIC
OCEAN
INDIAN
OCEAN
AUSTRALIA

The villagers buried their Some houses had yards—

dead beneath platforms probably for domesticated
in their houses. animals like cattle and dogs.

When the mud-brick homes were

Because there were no streets damaged, villagers knocked them down
and the houses were connected, and rebuilt on top. The layers of homes
people used ladders to enter created a mound, or hüyük.
their homes from the rooftops.
This construction style made
the village easier to defend.

ANALYZING VISUALS
PERMANENT SETTLEMENTS 1. Comparing Why are there
similarities between the
After 8000 B.C., people began settling in one place, planting crops homes despite the differ-
and raising livestock. These farming settlements began in river valleys ences in era and location?
in the Fertile Crescent and in Turkey. Rivers provided water for irriga- 2. Analyzing What are three
tion and transportation. Permanent walls provided protection from major differences between
the weather, as well as from other humans—many of whom were still temporary and permanent
nomads—and animals. settlements?

13
 The Neolithic Revolution
The development of systematic agriculture and civilization
GUIDE TO READING was a dramatic change, or revolution, during the Neolithic Age.
The BIG Idea The transition of humans from nomadic hunters to farmers and
Ideas, Beliefs, and Values herders is part of the Neolithic Revolution. This revolution led
Systematic agriculture brought huge economic,
to the development of traditional economies based on
political, and social changes for early humans.
agriculture with limited trade.
Content Vocabulary
• systematic • culture (p. 18)
agriculture (p. 14)
• domestication (p. 14)
•
•
civilization (p. 18)
monarch (p. 18)
The Neolithic Revolution
• artisan (p. 16) • priest (p. 19) Civilization developed from the agricultural revolution of the
Neolithic Age.
Academic Vocabulary HISTORY & YOU How did early American pioneers meet their basic needs? Read
• revolution (p. 14) • role (p. 16) how the Neolithic farmers affected human progress.

People and Places

• Neolithic Revolution (p. 14)
• Mesoamericans (p. 15) The end of the last Ice Age, around 8000 b.c., was followed by
• Çatalhüyük (p. 16) what is called the Neolithic Revolution—that is, the revolution
• Bronze Age (p. 16) that occurred in the Neolithic Age, the period of human history
• Iron Age (p. 16) from 8000 b.c. to 4000 b.c. The word Neolithic is Greek for “new
stone.” The name New Stone Age, however, is somewhat mislead-
Reading Strategy ing. The real change in the Neolithic Revolution was the shift
Comparing and Contrasting As you from the hunting of animals and the gathering of food to the
read, create a chart like the one below listing the keeping of animals and the growing of food on a regular basis—
six major characteristics of a civilization. what we call systematic agriculture.
Early humans had to move from place to place, following the
Civilization
herds and finding plants. During the Neolithic Age, humans
1. 4.
began planting crops, providing a regular food source. Domesti-
2. 5.
cation of animals, adapting them for human use, added a reliable
3. 6.
source of meat, milk, and wool. Animals could also be used to do
work. Growing crops and taming food-producing animals caused
INDIANA ACADEMIC STANDARDS an agricultural revolution. Because there was enough food,
World History and Civilization
humans had more control over their lives. It also meant they could
1.1 Trace the approximate chronology and give up their nomadic ways of life and begin to live in settled
territorial range of early human communities,
and analyze the processes that led to their communities. Some historians believe this revolution was the sin-
development. gle most important development in human history.
1.2 Describe types of evidence and methods of This shift to food producing from hunting and gathering was
investigation by which scholars have reconstructed
the early history of domestication, agricultural not as sudden as was once believed. During the Mesolithic Age
settlement, and cultural development. (“Middle Stone Age,” about 10,000 b.c. to 7000 b.c.) there was a
1.3 Describe social, cultural, and economic gradual shift from the old food-gathering and hunting economy
characteristics of large agricultural settlements on
the basis of evidence gathered by archaeologists. to a food-producing one. There was also a gradual taming of
2.1 Define civilization and identify the key animals. Moreover, throughout the Neolithic period, hunting
differences between civilizations and other and gathering remained a way of life for many people around
forms of social organization.
the world.

14
 The Neolithic Agricultural Revolution made the first cities possible. In the United
States and other developed countries, the agricultural revolution continues. American
farmers produce more food than ever before to support most Americans, who live in
cities or suburbs. Cities continue to spread as farmland shrinks. Until now, most
Americans have never raised their own food or faced food shortages.

• Productivity means high crop yields produced

on less land by fewer people.
• High productivity creates surpluses, which may
Large crops are harvested more be stored or traded.
quickly due to modern machinery. • The United States exports billions of dollars
worth of agricultural products annually.

Number of Farms in the U.S., 1940–2004

7 6.35

Farms (in millions)

6 5.65
5
3.96
4
 
2.95
3 2.44 2.15 2.17
 2.11
  2
1
1. Examining Which period shows the largest 0
decrease in farms? 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2004
2. Drawing Conclusions What is the impact Year
of urbanization on farming? Source: National Agricultural Statistics Service, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture;
The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2006.

The Growing of Crops system emerged. There, people grew root

crops called tubers, such as yams, and tree
Between 8000 b.c. and 5000 b.c., system-
crops, such as bananas. Farming wheat and
atic agriculture developed in various parts of
barley also moved eastward into India
the world. In Southwest Asia, people began
between 7000 b.c. and 5000 b.c.
growing wheat and barley and domesti-
By 5000 b.c., farmers in Southeast Asia
cating pigs, cows, goats, and sheep by 8000 were growing rice. From there, rice farm-
b.c. From there, farming spread into South- ing spread into southern China. By 6000
eastern Europe. By 4000 b.c., farming was b.c., farming millet and domesticating
well established in central Europe and the dogs and pigs seem to have been estab-
coastal regions of the Mediterranean Sea. lished in northern China. In the Western
By 6000 b.c., the cultivation of wheat and Hemisphere, Mesoamericans—inhabit-
barley had spread into the Nile Valley of ants of present-day Mexico and Central
Egypt. These crops soon spread up the Nile America—grew beans, squash, and maize.
to other areas of Africa—Sudan and Ethio- They also domesticated dogs and fowl in
pia. In central Africa, a separate farming this period between 7000 b.c. and 5000 b.c.

CHAPTER 1 The First Humans 15

Gail Mooney/Masterfile
 Neolithic Farming Villages used to make sickles and hoes for farming.
Growing crops on a regular basis gave Eventually, many of the food plants still in
rise to more permanent settlements called use today began to be cultivated. Some
Neolithic farming villages. These villages plants, such as flax and cotton, were used
appeared in Europe, India, Egypt, China, to make yarn and cloth.
and Mesoamerica. The oldest and biggest The change to systematic agriculture also
of these, however, were located in South- had consequences for how men and women
west Asia. Jericho near the Dead Sea, was related to one another. Men became more
in existence by 8000 b.c. active in farming and herding animals, jobs
Çatalhüyük (chah•tahl•hoo•YOOK) that took them away from the settlement.
in modern Turkey was an even larger Instead of the whole family moving as in
community covering 32 acres. Between earlier times, women remained behind.
6700 b.c. and 5700 b.c., the city probably They cared for children, wove cloth for
had about 6,000 inhabitants. Their simple clothes, and did other tasks that kept them
mud brick houses were built so close in one place. As men took on more and
together that there were few streets. Peo- more responsibility for obtaining food and
ple walked on the roofs and entered their protecting the settlement, they began to
homes through holes in the rooftops. play a more dominant role in society.
Archaeologists have found a dozen
products that were grown outside the city
walls, including fruits, nuts, and three The End of the Neolithic Age
kinds of wheat. Domesticated animals pro- Between 4000 b.c. and 3000 b.c., new
vided meat, milk, and hides. Scenes on the developments began to affect some Neo-
walls of the city’s ruins show that the peo- lithic towns. Even before 4000 b.c., crafts-
ple also hunted. people discovered that by heating
As a result of the steady food supply, metal-bearing rocks they could turn the
Çatalhüyük had a food surplus. This meant metal to liquid. The liquid metal could then
not all people needed to farm. Some be poured into molds, or casts, to make tools
became artisans, or skilled workers, mak- and weapons. The use of metals marked a
ing goods to trade with neighboring peo- new level of control over the environment.
ple. Goods were bartered, or exchanged, Copper was the first metal to be used in
not sold. This was the beginning of a tradi- making tools. After 4000 b.c., artisans in
tional economy based on agriculture and western Asia discovered that combining
limited trade. copper and tin created bronze—a metal
Besides homes, Çatalhüyük had special harder and more durable than copper.
buildings that were shrines containing fig- The widespread use of bronze led to the
ures of gods and goddesses. Statues of Bronze Age from around 3000 b.c. to 1200
women giving birth or nursing a child have b.c. After about 1000 b.c., the use of iron
also been found there. Both the shrines and tools and weapons became common, an
the statues point to the growing role of era known as the Iron Age.
religion in the lives of Neolithic peoples. The Neolithic Age set the stage for major
changes to come. As people mastered farm-
Neolithic Revolution—Effects ing, some villages developed more com-
The Neolithic agricultural revolution plex and wealthier societies. To protect
caused dramatic changes that affected their wealth they built armies and city
how people would live to the present day. walls. By the beginning of the Bronze Age,
Once people began settling in villages or large numbers of people were concentrated
towns, they saw the need to build walls in the river valleys of Mesopotamia, Egypt,
for protection and storehouses for goods. India, and China. These farming villages
Storing surplus products encouraged trade. led to the development of cities.
Trading encouraged more people to learn
crafts. This led to the division of labor.
As artisans became more skilled, they ✓Reading Check Identifying What was the
made more refined tools. Flint blades were result of systematic agriculture?

16 SECTION 2 The Neolithic Revolution

 NEOLITHIC REVOLUTION
The Neolithic Revolution was the beginning of systematic agriculture. This
revolution was marked by the establishment and growth of farming villages such
as Jericho. Located near a spring, which made the land especially fertile, Jericho
was established by 8000 b.c. It was one of the largest Neolithic farming villages,
with an estimated population over 1,000.

150°W 120°W 90°W 60°W 30°W 0° 30°E 60°E 90°E 120°E 150°E

CLE
ARCTIC CIR
SPREAD OF60FARMING
°N

NORTH
AMERICA EUROPE ASIA
30°N
TROPIC OF C PACIFIC
ANCER
OCEAN
PACIFIC
OCEAN AFRICA
EQUATOR
0°
ATLANTIC
SOUTH OCEAN INDIAN
AMERICA OCEAN
N
TROPIC OF CAPRICOR
30°S AUSTRALIA
N
Development of 0 2,000 kilometers
systematic agriculture:
W E 0 2,000 miles
Before 5000 B.C.
S Winkel Tripel projection
Before 2000 B.C.
60°S ANTARCTIC CIRCLE
Before 1 B.C.
ANTARCTICA

Jericho’s tower might have

been used for storage or as
a watchtower to protect the Walls
crops and animals. protected
Jericho’s
inhabitants.

Domesticated animals provided

meat, wool, and milk.

1. Human-Environment
Interaction Based on the map,
what patterns do you see with the
spread of systematic agriculture?
Farmers used tools made out of 2. Location Where were the earliest
stone and wood to harvest the farming villages located?
crops they planted by hand.
See StudentWorks™ Plus
or glencoe.com.
 Civilization Emerges Cities
The first civilizations developed in river
Some villages grew into cities and valleys where people could carry on the
became early civilizations. large-scale farming that was needed to
History HISTORY & YOU What characteristics make our feed a large population. As food became
ONLINE society a civilization? Learn which features defined abundant, more people would live in the
Student Web early civilizations. city. New patterns of living soon emerged.
Activity—
Visit glencoe.com and Whether analyzing societies of the past
complete the activity
or present, anthropologists describe the
Government
about early peoples. Growing numbers of people, the need to
culture—the way of life—of a people in a
maintain the food supply, and the need for
certain time and place. From earliest times,
defense soon led to the growth of govern-
humans lived in small nomadic groups
ments. Governments organize and regu-
with simple cultures that helped them sur-
late human activity. They also provide for
vive. When humans settled in permanent
smooth interaction between individuals
villages, their cultures became more com-
and groups. In the first civilizations, gov-
plex. Gradually, more complex cultures
ernments usually were led by monarchs—
developed into a new form of human soci-
kings or queens who rule a kingdom— who
ety called civilization.
organized armies to protect their popula-
A civilization is a complex culture in
tions and made laws to regulate their sub-
which large numbers of human beings share
jects’ lives.
a number of common elements. Historians
have identified the basic characteristics of
civilizations. Six of the most important char- Religion
acteristics are cities, government, religion, Important religious developments also
social structure, writing, and art. characterized the new urban civilizations.

Bronze Age Artifacts

Although these three artifacts were made during the same period, the
Bronze Age, each is unique. They are different in origin, material, and subject.
Each reveals valuable information about the civilization that created it. During China’s
Shang dynasty,
The Phaestos Disc, from around rulers had a
1600 B.C., probably came from monopoly on
the Minoan civilization on Crete. bronze work. This
The terra-cotta disc proves the gilded bronze head
existence of a written Minoan could be the image of
language, but no one has been This terra-cotta jug, a king or a god.
able to translate the hieroglyphs. from around 1800 B.C., Created about 1200
B.C., the head was
was in a tomb near
the settlement of found in a pit with
Jericho. Shaped like more than 50 similar
a bird, the jug is artifacts.
both functional and
decorative.

1. Concluding What does the presence of artwork say about a

culture?
2. Theorizing Why might the jug and bronze head have been
buried in tombs or pits?

(l) Art Archive/Heraklion Museum/Dagli Orti, (c) Jean-Louis Nou/akg-images, (r) O Louis Mazzatenta/National Geographic/Getty Images
All of them developed religions to explain the forces of
nature and their roles in the world.
They believed that gods and goddesses were important
to the community’s success. To win their favor, priests
supervised rituals aimed at pleasing them. This gave the
priests special power and made them very important peo- Vocabulary
1. Explain the significance of: Neolithic
ple. Rulers also claimed that their power was based on
Revolution, systematic agriculture,
divine approval, and some rulers claimed to be divine. domestication, Mesoamericans,
Çatalhüyük, artisan, Bronze Age, Iron Age,
Social Structure culture, civilization, monarch, priest.
A new social structure based on economic power also
arose. Rulers and an upper class of priests, government Main Ideas
officials, and warriors dominated society. Below this class 2. Identify what are three of the six
was a large group of free people—farmers, artisans, and institutions or customs that people can
craftspeople. At the bottom was a slave class. share in a distinct culture.
The demand of the upper class for luxury items, such as 3. Label in geographic terms where the
jewelry and pottery, encouraged artisans and craftspeople earliest civilizations developed.
to create new products. As urban populations exported 4. Create a diagram like the one below to
finished goods to neighboring populations in exchange show how changes during the Neolithic
for raw materials, organized trade began to grow. Because Revolution led to the emergence of
trade brought new civilizations into contact with one civilization.
another, it often led to the transfer of new technology, such
civilization
as metals for tools and new farming techniques, from one
region to another.
By and large, however, the early river valley civiliza- Critical Thinking
5. The BIG Idea Explaining Why did
tions developed independently. Each one was based on
systematic farming make it possible for
developments connected to the agricultural revolution of cities to develop?
the Neolithic Age and the cities that this revolution helped
to produce. Taken together, the civilizations of Mesopota- 6. Describing What was the relationship
between artistic activities, religion, and
mia, Egypt, India, and China constituted nothing less than
government during the rise of civilization?
a revolutionary stage in the growth of human society.
7. Analyzing Visuals Look at the Phaestos
Disc on page 18. What does this piece of
Writing art reveal about the Minoan writing?
Writing was an important feature in the life of these new
civilizations. Above all, rulers, priests, merchants, and
artisans used writing to keep accurate records. Of course,
Writing About History
8. Expository Writing Conduct research on
not all civilizations depended on writing to keep records. Çatalhüyük or another early site of the
The Inca in Peru (see Chapter 11), for example, relied on Neolithic period. Then write a short essay
well-trained memory experts to keep track of their impor- explaining how people may have lived in
tant matters. Eventually, the earliest civilizations used that city in its early history. You should
writing for creative expression as well as for record keep- include a description of the daily lives of
ing. This produced the world’s first works of literature. different groups in the city—adults and
children, farmers and artisans, leaders and
Art ordinary people.
Significant artistic activity was another feature of the
new civilizations. Architects built temples and pyramids
as places for worship or sacrifice, or for the burial of kings
and other important people. Painters and sculptors por-
trayed stories of nature. They also provided depictions
of the rulers and gods they worshiped. (ISTORY /.,).%
For help with the concepts in this section of Glencoe World
✓Reading Check Describing Describe the new social structure History, go to glencoe.com and click Study Central™.
that arose in Neolithic cities.

19
 Visual Summary
You can study anywhere, anytime by downloading quizzes
and flash cards to your PDA from glencoe.com.

Early humans learn to make • Tools make hunting easier.

tools and fire. • Early humans become more
efficient hunters.
• Cooking food over fire improves
nutrition.
• Fire keeps humans warm in
cooler climates.

After the Ice Age ends, temperatures rise • A steady food supply leads humans
and humans begin to practice systematic to settle in farming villages.
agriculture—the keeping of animals and • Surplus food is stored.
the growing of food on a regular basis. • The villagers and food supply must
be protected.

Civilizations begin to develop in river valleys in Mesopotamia, • Governments develop to organize

Egypt, India, and China. and protect the cities.
• Not all villagers are needed for
farming, so some become artisans,
government workers, priests,
artists, and scribes.
• Division of labor leads to a social
structure.
• Surplus food and products are
traded with other settlements.

20 CHAPTER 1 The First Humans

 Assessment
INDIANA STATEWIDE TEST PRACTICE
TEST-TAKING TIP
Make sure to read the entire question and each possible answer before deciding on
the correct answer.

Reviewing Vocabulary Reviewing Main Ideas

Directions: Choose the word or words that best complete the Directions: Choose the best answers to the following questions.
sentence.
Section 1 (pp. 4–11)
1 Archaeologists study , or objects made
by humans. 5 Which type of scientist uses fossils and artifacts
A rivers to study early humans?
B animals
A Chemists
C artifacts
B Physicists
D oceans
C Anthropologists
D Geologists
2 Donald Johanson and his team found an example
of a/an in Ethiopia. 6 Which hominids do scientists believe were
A Homo habilis probably the first to leave Africa?
B Australopithecus A Homo erectus
C Homo erectus B Australopithecus
D Neanderthal C Homo sapiens sapiens
D Neaderthals
3 The keeping of animals and the growing of food
on a regular basis is known as . 7 How did early humans adapt in order to survive?
A systematic agriculture A Following animal migrations
B domesticated agriculture B Painting cave art
C Neolithic agriculture C Living in isolation
D Paleolithic agriculture D Keeping records
4 were skilled workers who made 8 Which invention made hunting easier for early
products such as weapons and jewelry. humans?
A Farmers A Cave art
B Anthropologists B Fire
C Artisans C The spear
D Priests D Farming

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CHAPTER 1 The First Humans 21

Section 2 (pp. 14–19) Critical Thinking
Directions: Choose the best answers to the following questions.
9 During which age did the agricultural revolution
lead to the development of civilization? 14 Why were Paleolithic peoples nomads?
A Paleolithic A Fear of enemies kept them moving.
B Ice B Rival groups drove each other out of settled areas.
C Neolithic C They had to follow animal migrations.
D Bronze D They had to look for more habitable climates.

10 What was one indicator of early farming Base your answer to questions 15 and 16 on the map below.
villages?
A Eating cooked food Spread of Early Humans
B Hunting
C Creating paintings in caves EUROPE
D Domestication of animals NORTH
AMERICA
ASIA ATLANTIC
OCEAN
11 Where did many early civilizations develop?
AFRICA PACIFIC
OCEAN
A Deserts
ATLANTIC SOUTH
B River valleys OCEAN
INDIAN
OCEAN N
AMERICA

C Mountain valleys AUSTRALIA

D Forests W E

12 Who led governments in early civilizations? ANTARCTICA

A Monarchs 0 4,000 kilometers

B Priests 200,000–75,000 years ago
0 4,000 miles
75,000–20,000 years ago
C Warriors Winkel Tripel projection
20,000–10,000 years ago
D Artisans

13 Who was farming in the Western Hemisphere by

7000 B.C.? 15 In which areas of Africa did human life begin?
A Mesopotamians A Eastern and southern
B Mesoamericans B Eastern and northern
C Egyptians C Western and southern
D The Chinese D Western and northern

16 Into which areas did early humans spread most

recently?
A Asia
B Europe
C Australia
D North and South America

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22 CHAPTER 1 The First Humans

 Assessment
17 Why was writing important to many early Constructed Response
governments? Directions: Write a short essay in response to each of the following
A To describe court life questions. A well-written essay will:
B To express individual beliefs • address all parts of the question
C To keep records • incorporate information from the chapter
D To write songs • cite facts, examples, and details relevant to the question
Analyze the chart and answer the question that follows. Base • use a logical and clear plan of organization
your answer on the chart and on your knowledge of world
history. 19 Identify the similarities and differences between
archaeologists and anthropologists. In your
response, explain how the two professions could
Before great civilizations could develop, early humans had to go work together to make hypotheses about early
through many cultural changes, movements, and technological human life.
innovations.

Changes, Prehistory–3500 B.C. 20 Explain how the Neolithic Revolution influenced

Cultural Move- Technological the shift from a nomadic existence to life in a
Event village and ultimately to a civilization. Be sure
Change ment Innovation
to explore the six basic characteristics of
• Early humans civilization.
migrate to warmer
X
climates during
the Ice Ages. STOP
• Early humans learn
how to control fire X X
and make tools.
• Caves are painted
with religious and X
decorative art.
• Neanderthals
inhabit Europe X
and Asia.
• Neolithic people
domesticate X X
animals.

18 What technological innovations were made by

early humans?
A Neolithic peoples migrate to warmer climates and
control fire.
B Neolithic peoples create cave paintings and
domesticate animals. (ISTORY /.,).%
C Neolithic peoples control fire, make tools, and For additional test practice, use Self-Check Quizzes—
domesticate animals. Chapter 1 at glencoe.com.
D Neolithic peoples are first to bury their dead.

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CHAPTER 1 The First Humans 23

Archivo Iconografico, S.A./CORBIS