Prehistory
- 2. BEFORE STARTING… WHY WE STUDY HISTORY To explain the main developments and events that took place in the past. This can also help us to understand the political, social and economic situation today. History is a social science that studies mankind´s past (pasado humanidad). Learning about the past involves finding out about the people who lived before us: what their society was like; what economic activities they had; what customs they held; how they though; what they achieved; and also how they expressed themselves artistically. HISTORICAL SOURCES. To study the past, historians obtain information from a variety of sources: material sources (tools, buildings, weapons…), oral sources, written sources (books, inscriptions…) and visual and audiovisual sources (photographs, videos…).
- 3. PUTTING HISTORICAL FACTS IN CONTEXT Every historical event takes place in a specific place and at specific time. Historians use different units of time to describe how long an event occurred for. The most basic units are: There are also different ways of calculating historical time: – Before and after the birth of Christ. For example, 2000 BC (before Christ) or AD 1492 (Anno Domini). – Before the present (years ago). Sometimes historians choose to avoid using BC or AD. They refer to how many years have passed since a historical event took place. So, instead of saying “writing first appeared around 3500 BC”, we can say “writing first appeared about 5500 years ago” UNITS OF TIME YEAR 365 DAYS LUSTRUM 5 YEARS DECADE 10 YEARS CENTURY 100 YEARS MILLENIUM 1.000 YEARS
- 4. PREHISTORY HISTORY Before the invention of writing After the invention of writing PERIODS OF HISTORY To make studying History easier, we divide it into different periods. 3.500 BC
- 5. PERIODS OF HISTORY: TIMELINE
- 7. 1. PREHISTORY Is an extremely long period of time. It begins with the appearance of the first humans (over 2.5 million years ago in Africa) and ends when humans began to write (about 5.500 years ago). But… Do you know when can we talk about the appearance of the first humans? To answer the question, take a look to the following slide.
- 8. HUMAN EVOLUTION The appearance of genus homo = Start Prehistory
- 9. Australopithecus is the first primate who began to stand upright and walk on two feet (bipedalism), who had opposable thumbs and increased brain size and capacity. This process by which these primates changed physically is called human evolution (hominización in Spanish language): a very slow process, during which some species coexisted. The only species that survived was Homo sapiens (to which modern-day humans belong to). Bipedalism Opposable thumbs HUMAN EVOLUTION: CHARACTERISTICS
- 10. PERIODS OF PREHISTORY Prehistory is divided into different periods of time depending on the advances in technology PREHISTORY STONE AGE 2.500.000 – 7.000 years ago PALAEOLITHIC 2.500.000 – 10.000 years ago LOWER MIDDLE UPPER NEOLITHIC 9.000 – 7.000 years ago MESOLITHIC 10.000 – 9.000 years ago METAL AGES 7.000 – 3.500 years ago COOPER 7.000 – 5.000 years ago BRONZE 5.000 – 3.500 years ago IRON 3.500 years ago
- 11. PALAEOLITHIC PERIOD Is the largest (2500000-10000 years ago) and oldest period of Prehistory. The term Paleolithic means old stone • People lived in small tribes. Cooperation was essential to their survival. They protected each other, developed hunting strategies and passed on knowledge. These activities contributed to the development of language. • They were nomads. They did not have permanent settlements (asentaminetos) and travelled around in search of food. They sheltered (refigiaban) in caves and built temporary huts (refugios). • They were hunter-gatherers (cazodores-recolectores). They did not know how to produce their own food. They gathered fruit, consumed carrion and hunted or fished. • They performed tasks as a group. Labor division between men and women. • They mastered fire. They used it for heat and light, cooking, sending smoke signals, hunting and defending themselves against wild animals. Gathering around a fire helped build relationships and encouraged communication.
- 12. PALAEOLITHIC TOOLS • Made of wood, bone or stone. The most used stone was chert (sílex), who was beaten to carve.
- 14. PALAEOLITHIC ART CAVE PAINTINGS (arte rupestre), such as the Altamira cave paintings (Cantabria, Spain) PORTABLE ART (arte mobiliar), consisted of carvings and sculptures made of stone, bone or clay. Two types of figurines: The figures were paintings in several colours (especially ochre, red and black). The most common subjects were animals such as bison, horses or mammoths. It is believed the paintings had a religious meaning: by painting the animal, the artist may have believed they would be easier to hunt. Female figurines or Venus. Symbolised fertility. Animal figurines: horses and bison.
- 15. Activity: This is a video in which you can observe the beauty of the old Altamira caves modelated and painted in their interior during the Paleolithic. (Note: This is the replica in the museum , but you can perfectly figure out how the pictures were) http://almusociales.blogspot.com.es/p/1-eso.html • 1. Where is the cave of Altamira located? • 2. Is the museum far away from the original cave? • 3. Why was the original cave closed for some years? • 4. When were they painted? • 5. Who actually discovered these paintings? • 6. Why are these figures considered three-dimensional? • 7. What kind of animal is frequently represented? • 8. Are there any other paintings apart from animals? • 9. Why are these caves so important?
- 16. NEOLITHIC PERIOD 9000-7000 years ago The term Neolithic means new stone • The Neolithic period began about 9 000 years ago (following a short transition period called the Mesolithic period) with the appearance of agriculture and livestock farming. • During the Neolithic period, humans went from being nomadic hunter-gatherers to sedentary producers. This change is also known as the Neolithic Revolution. • Although we are going to study with detail the characteristics of this period of time, the most important changes in Neolithic were: • People lived in permanent settlements = appearance of the first villages. • They were sedentary. • They were able to produce their own food = agriculture and livestock farming.
- 17. Humans learned to produce their own food by farming the land and domesticating animals. Agriculture allowed humans to settle in one place and to abandon nomadic life. The result was the appearance of the first villages. These settlements were usually composed of huts and were located near rivers. • People began to store and exchange surplus food, so trade developed. • Societies became more complex and hierarchical. Some settlements had leaders and other important people who managed resources. • There was a division of labour, as different people performed different tasks. Archaeologists believe that tasks were probably divided up between men and women. Women were responsible for arable farming and making cloth and pottery. Men were responsible for livestock farming and manufacturing tools. • Neolithic people had two main religious practices. They worshipped (veneraban o adoraban) the dead and buried (enterraban) them with their possessions. They also worshipped the forces of nature in order to improve their harvests (cosechas). HOW LIFE CHANGED IN NEOLITHIC PERIOD
- 18. NEOLITHIC TOOLS • Stones was not only carved, but also polished. • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWEuoyNsfzA • New tools were developed: Sickles (hoz) to cut crops and hoes (azada) to turn the earth Pots to transport food and drinkBaskets to transport and store objects Loom (telar) to make cloths
- 19. NEOLITHIC ART Paintings were done on stone surfaces in shelters or in shallow caves (not inside deep caves). This is known as rock painting. The most common subjects: hunting, gathering food and ceremonial dancing. The figures were painted in a schematic style. (less realistic than in Paleolithic period). They were usually painted in only one colour, normally black (unlike the paintings of the Paleolithic, with several colours). The largest concentration of Neolithic rock paintings in the world are found in the east of the Iberian Peninsula (places such as Albarracín, in Teruel, or Alpera in Albacete). ROCK PAINTING A hunting scene from La Valltorta caves, Castellón NEOLITHIC FEMALE FIGURINE Catal Huyuk, Turkey CERÁMICA CARDIAL (Spanish language)
- 21. METAL AGES 7000-3500 years ago • Periods during which people began to make tools from metal. • This brought about (trajo consigo, dió lugar) many technological advances which brought about many social and economic changes. • As you know, the metal ages are divided into three stages: The COOPER AGE (began 5.000 BC in Fertile Crescent). Cooper is a soft metal, which is easy to work into shape The BRONZE AGE (began 3.000 BC in the Near East). Bronze is an alloy (aleación) of cooper and tin (estaño). It is harder than cooper and it was used to make stronger tools. The IRON AGE (began 1.200 BC in Anatolia). It is a harder metal than the other ones. It was used to make stronger weapons. https://www.youtube.com/w atch?v=rwCM0eKlBRQ
- 22. • New trade routes were created as people travelled to find new sources of metal to make tools. This travelling helped spread different cultures. • Trade produced wealth and villages grew significantly, giving rise to the first cities, which were often protected by defensive walls. • There was a specialisation of labour. This meant that new types of professions, such as merchants, metal workers and warriors, began to appear. • Metal became a symbol of wealth, as people who owned metal weapons and tools were more powerful than those who had stone weapons. • War became a means of expanding and controlling territory. • Private property and economic inequality between people became more common. This meant that the structure of society became even more hierarchical. Economic and social changes
- 23. New tools: technological advances Metal work Metal plough Wheel Sailing sail
- 24. MEGALITHIC ART • Megaliths are monuments built using large stones. They are the first known examples of architecture. They were created during the end of Neolithic period and in the Metal Ages. • Megalithic monuments can be classified as: MENHIRS Large vertical stones embedded in the ground. They could stand alone or in a line with others. They were used for ceremonies. DOLMENS A large, flat, horizontal stone laid on vertical stones. They were used as burial places. STONE CIRCLES (CRÓMLECH) Several menhirs placed in a circle They were used for ceremonies PASSAGE TOMBS Similar to a dolmen, but with one or more chambers and a passage at the entrance They were used for burials
- 25. LINK TO WORK PREHISTORY • http://www.students.linguaframe.com/07a-prehistory