The Prehistoric Era

The Prehistoric Era

OBJECTIVES:

1.. Be able to define the term "prehistoric" and to contrast it with the term "historic."

2. Be able to define and characterize the Paleolithic and Neolithic Eras.

3. Be able to describe the life style of prehistoric humans.

4. Be able to describe the Shanidar cave site and its importance for our knowledge of Neanderthal culture.

5. Be able to discuss the significance of the art in Lascaux and Altamira. Describe the works in these caves in detail, and explain why certain features are important and what these features illustrate about Cro Magnon humans.

6. Be able to characterize the chief features of civilization and to distinguish civilization from the prehistoric hunting and gathering societies.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT:

Why do you suppose that written records have traditionally been seen as an historian's most important sources for studying the past? How does the evidence found in a written record differ from that of the cave art at Lascaux? Or does it? Do you agree with the assumptions implicit in the use of the terms "prehistoric" and "historic" to describe time frames of the past? Anthropologists maintain that homo erectus, homo habilis and other hominids very likely existed side by side. Some maintain that there are still isolated pockets of Neanderthal genes today. What are the ways in which this sort of is still seen in the human species today?

The historian studies the past through analysis of various kinds of evidence. In our discussion of the prehistoric era, we will focus on the use of archaeological and anthropological evidence, such as Cro Magnon artifacts, cave art, and fossil finds. Through our study of these ancient pictures of the past, we will be introduced to problems of interpretation, a crucial cornerstone of the historical method. Another kind of evidence, traditionally seen as the historian's primary tool, is the written record. Writing, in fact, is the invention that separates the prehistoric era from the historic era. The very terms "prehistoric" and "historic" suggest that history is dependent on the existence of writing, and as we shall see, the written record is a product of organized civilization. Yet the written record is also subject to interpretation, and hence, history is an art as much as it is a science. The contrast between prehistoric hunting and gathering bands and organized civilization provides a basic framework for understanding the features which characterize any society.

The word "civilization" is derived from the latin word "civilis", meaning "political" or "civic." We conclude our discussion of the foundation of the earliest civilizations with a study of the various features which all civilizations share. The study of early human life suggests that wherever and whenever humans have existed, the basic questions they have asked have been the same. Although the answers have often been different, all societies share the same need for creative expression, religious meaning and human social interaction. As we journey through the human past to 1300 a.d., you will find that "there is nothing new under the sun," and perhaps discover the threads which unite all of us in our common search to find wisdom and meaning in the daily struggle to survive.

OUTLINE

I. The Prehistoric Era
a. the meaning of the term.

II. The Paleolithic Era (old Stone Age)
a. Paleontology
b. Paleoanthropology

III. The Primate Order

A. the hominids

i. Australopithicene
a. discovered in Taung, South Africa in 1924.

ii. homo habilis (human with ability)
a. the Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania
b. the Oldowan industry

iii. homo erectus (upright human)

a. discovered in Java in 1891
b. Peking in 1927 and other sites.
c. the Acheulian industry
d. migration out of Africa and recent new theories

iv. homo sapiens (knowing human)

a. new finds -- China -- and recent challenges to the "Out of Africa" theory
b. Swanscombe, England, in 1935
c. Steinheim, West Germany, in 1933
d. Neanderthal human -- 1856 in the Neander Valley, Dusseldorf, Germany, and many other sites.
e. 85,000-35,000 years ago in the glacial periods.
f. the Shanidar Cave in the Zagros mountains of Iraq: belief in the afterlife and concern for the dead.
g. extinct 35,000 years ago:

i) lack of adaptation to warmer climates.
ii) annihilated by newer species.
iii) genetic absorption into newer group.

v. Cro Magnon Human:

a. 1898 in the Cro Magnon Cave, France.
b. 35,000-10,000 years ago.
c. Laurel leaf flint.
d. art: Lascaux (France) and Altamira (Spain) Caves

i) importance of animals.
ii) Massive hunts -- Torralba, Spain.
iii) nature as divine.

e. modern Cro Magnon cultures:

i) aborigines
ii) !Kung

IV. The Neolithic Era (New Stone Age) 8,000 b.ce..-3,000 b.c.e.

A. Agriculture

i. Jericho -- 7,000 b.c.e.
ii. Egypt -- 5,000 b.c.e.
iii. China -- 3,000 b.c.e.
iv. America -- 2,000 b.c.e.

B. Domestication of animals

C. "Without Agriculture, There Is No Culture."

i. stable food supply
ii. production of pottery and other artifacts
iii. Permanent dwellings
iv. Division of labor
v. economic organization
vi. complex government
vii. morality
viii. religion
ix. writing
x. art, science, music

D. The origin of the word "civilization."

E. Irrigation

F. development of bronze.