UNIT 7. PREHISTORY

WHAT AM I GOING TO LEARN?
1. Periodization and dating in history. Learn to make chronological axes.
2. Origin and evolution of the human being.
3. The Paleolithic, the Neolithic Revolution, the Age of Metals; Religion and art

WHAT DO I HAVE TO STUDY?
●Unit from your book.
● English handouts and worksheets.
● Spanish and English vocabulary (use your glossary book and vocabulary organizer)
●Activities from your book. 
● The outline you made.

What is history?
History is the study of the past. A person who studies history is called a historian.
WHAT ARE HISTORIANS INTERESTED IN?
– How people live
– Important events in the past
WHY DO WE STUDY HISTORY?
– History helps us to understand more about ourselves. It tells us where we come from, and explains our culture and traditions
– You are part of history. In the future, historians will be interested in your life

1 Historical sources
A source* is anything that gives us information about the past. There are two types of sources:
•Primary source: a source from the same time as, or very soon after, the period we want to study. Buildings, tools, diaries, letters, interviews and photos are all examples or primary sources.
•Secondary source: a source created later by someone who was not there when the things we are studying happened. History books and biographies are secondary sources.

2. How do historians count time?
When we talk about the past, we need to say when things happened. Normally we say the year – for example, “Spain won the football world cup in 2010”. What does 2010 mean? Well, our calendar starts with the birth of Christ in year 1, so 2010 means “2010 years after the birth of Christ”.
•What do we do about things that happened before Christ was born? We count backwards from his birth, like this:

Now we have two different years called 400 – how do we know which one we are talking about? For things that happened before Christ was born, we add BC to the number, and for things that happened after Christ, we add AD (AD stands for Anno Dominici, which means “year of our Lord” in Latin). If the date doesn’t say AD or BC, it is always AD.
GROUPING DATES: Historians like to put events that happened at around the same time into groups:
•A decade is 10 years long
•A century is 100 years long
•A millenium is 1000 years long
•An era or age is a long period of time, but it isn’t a particular number of years

3. TIMELINES
Timelines helps us to show when things happen in history visually. They can show periods an individual events. The periods we choose depend on what we think are the most important events in history

PREHISTORY AND HISTORY:
History only starts when people learn to write. We call the period before that prehistory.
•On the timeline there is a in prehistory. This is to show that prehistory is really much longer than history.
•In fact prehistory is so much longer than history that it wouldn’t fit on the page. To give you an idea of how long prehistory is, imagine the life of a man who was born at the start of prehistory and who is 80 today. •When he is a baby, he already knows how to use stone tools
•He only learns to write when he is 79 years and 11 months old
•In his life, Christ was born less than two weeks ago
•In his life, television was only invented about 10 hours ago

PREHISTORY
This chapter is about Prehistory. Prehistory is the period from the appearance of humans on Earth (around 2.5 million years ago) until they learn to write (about 3,500 BC). We will look at three periods: – The Palaeolithic Age, when humans hunt animals and gather berries – The Neolitic Age, when people start farming and live in small villages – The period when people make better tools and weapons from metals like bronze and iron There are no written records from this time, so we don’t know very much about these people’s lives. What we know comes from archaeological remains.

1.1 The origins of man
Humans belong to a group of animals called the hominids. Millions of years ago, hominids started to develop in different ways. Some of them started walking on two feet. Their hands were now free to use tools. Over time, these hominids envolved into Homo Sapiens (or modern humans). Separately, other hominids envolved into chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans, so these are our relatives.
The human race was changing their physical appearance to adapt to the environment in which they lived. It is a mistake to think about humans come from the monkey. The apes and the humans come from a common ancestor that was adapted differently. Hominization is the evolution process of man until he reaches the characteristics of people today.

2. Palaeolithic Age
The Palaeolithic Age extends from the earliest use of stone tools until 7,000 BC. Palaeolithic means “old stone”, so this period is sometimes called the Old Stone Age. People live in groups of 20-30 people called bands. Sometimes the bands join together to make bigger, more organized groups called tribes.2. Palaeolithic Age
HOW DO PEOPLE GET FOOD?
In the Palaeolithic Age, people live by hunting and gathering. This means: – Hunting animals, like bison, deer and mammoths – Fishing – Gathering (or collecting) fruit, nuts, eggs and honey.
During the Paleolithic there was the hominization process, the manufacture of tools, the creation of clans and the predatory economy*. Inside the clan was a chief who directed the rest of the people who submitted to his authority. In the clan everyone worked to survive. Each member was specialized in different tasks: men in hunting, women in gathering, etc.
WHERE TO THEY LIVE? Palaeolithic people are nomads – they have to move around to find food. They stay in caves or shelters made of animal skins or of branches and leaves. That’s why sometimes call Palaeolithic people cavemen.
HOW DO THEY USE FIRE?
When people discover fire, they can:
– Cook food – Frighten away animals like lions, wolves and tigers –
Light and heat their cavez
-they can now live in colder parts of the world

WHAT TOOLS DO THEY HAVE?
They make stone tools. Gradually their tools get better and more specialized – they have different tools for different jobs. They also start to make tools, like needles and harpoons, from bone and horn.
WHAT CLOTHES DO THEY WEAR?WHAT TOOLS DO THEY HAVE?
They wear clothes made of animal skins. They use bone needles to make them.

WHAT DO THEY BELIEVE IN?
The people believe that they are surrounded by spirits. The spirits can help them when they are hunting, but they can also cause desease and death. They perform rituals to keep the spirits happy and they believe in magic. They think that painting an animal will help them to catch it

3. Neolithic Age
When temperatures increased after the last Ice Age, people started farming. This changed people’s lives in lots of ways. The changes were so big that we call this the Neolithic Revolution. This was the start of the Neolithic Age, which lasted from 7,000 BC until 3,5000 BC. Neolithic means “new stone”, so the Neolithic Age is sometimes called the New Stone Age.
WHAT IS THE NEOLITHIC REVOLUTION?
When people start farming, life changes completely:
– They grow crops like wheat, barley, rye, lentils, and peas
– They domesticate animals like sheep, goats and pigs
When people start to grow their own food, they don’t need to move around any more. They are sedentary, which means they live permanently in one place. They start living in villages.
WHAT ARE THE VILLAGES LIKE?
– The villages are normally close to rivers, so that they can drink the river water and use it to irrigate the crops
– The walls of the houses are made of mud bricks and the roofs are made of branches
– Most people are quite equal in the villages, but some people own more animals and fields than others. This makes them richer.

WHAT ELSE CHANGES?
In the Neolithic Age, people learn new techniques, including:
– Stone polishing: they make smoother stone tools
– Textiles: they learn to make thread and weave cloth
– Pottery: they learn to make pots; they use them to store and cook food
WHAT DO THEY BELIEVE IN?
They bury their dead with personal objects like jewelry and tools. This may be because they believe in life after death. The people worship their ancestors, who are buried in large necropolises (cementeries). Necropolis means “city of the dead”

USING METALS: The Bronze Age and Iron Age
In the Bronze Age, people started using metal. The first metal they used was copper. In about 3,500 BC they learned to combine copper and tin to make bronze, which is stronger than copper. The Iron Age began when people started to use iron instead of bronze.
WHAT DO THEY USE METAL FOR?
They use metal for lots of different things including:
•Tools: one of the new metal tools is the plough
•Jewellery: including necklaces and bracelets
•Weapons: like swords, spears and helmets
HOW DO THEY MAKE THINGS FROM METAL?
To start with, they just hit pieces of metal with a stone hammer to make the shape they want.
•Later they learn to heat up the metal to make it easier to shape.
THE FIRST TRADE
The first trade starts when people exchange the new metal objects for other things, like food. The wheel and the sail are invented, so there are new forms of transport. It is now much easier to move things around, so trade increases
HOW DOES THIS AFFECT THE WAY PEOPLE LIVE?
When population wealth increase, some villages get bigger and turn into towns.
•Making things from metal is difficult, so there are specialist metal workers or blacksmiths. Other people are specialist craftsmen or artisans who make pottery and jewellery.
•Specialisation means that for the first time there are different social groups. Some of these groups are rich and more powerful than others.
•Some people become warriors to protect the wealth of the town or village. One of the warriors is chosen to be the chief or king.

MORE WAR
In the Bronze Age, towns start to fight against each other because:
– When the population grows, there is more competition for the best farmland
– People need metal, and will fight for it
The people who lived in this period wanted to defend themselves against their enemies, so:
– They built their town on the top of a hill
– They built walls around it
WHAT DO THEY BELIEVE IN?
The people believe in gods who represent the forces of nature, like the sun, the wind, thunder and lightning. There are also gods of the earth, sea and sky. People perform religious ceremonies and make sacrifices to the gods.


PREHISTORIC ART
CAVE PAINTING: People started painting on cave walls over 30,000 years ago. The most famous cave paintings are at Altamira in Spain and Lascaux in southern France. We think the people painted the animals that they wanted hunt.
PALAEOLITHIC CAVE PAINTINGS:
Mainly of animals like deer, bison, horses and mammoths
-Very realistic
-Painted in several colours
NEOLITHIC CAVE PAINTINGS:
Represent groups of people hunting, farming or dancing
-Are more abstract
-Only use one colour

ROCK CARVINGS
People also carved pictures on rocks and animal bones.
STATUES
In the Palaeolithic Age, people made small statues of women from stone, bone and horn. We call these Venys figurines. They have exaggerated sexual organs. We think they are symbols of fertility.

MEGALITHS
At the end of the Neolithic Age, people started making huge monuments, called megaliths, from blocks of stone. The stones can be up to 20 metros high, and there are several different types:
MENHIRS OR STANDING STONES:
-are single blocks of stone standing vertically. We thing their use was related to the sun and the seasons.
DOLMENS:
-are made of several standing stones with more stones across the top to make a roof. Dolmens were used as tombs.

STONE CIRCLES:
-consist of lots of stones arranged in a circle.
The most famous stone circle is Stonehenge, but there are more than 1,000 other stone circles in Great Britain and Ireland

Vocabulary unit 8 Paleolithic Age: It is a Prehistoric Ages. It extends from the emergence of our firs Antecessor to about 11000 years ago. Neolithic Age: It is a Prehistoric Ages.  It began about 11000 tears ago. Groups of human beings started to live in villages.  They practised agriculture and raised cattle. Metal Age: It is a Prehistoric Ages. It began about 7000 years ago. Human beings learned to use metals to make objects. Homo Habilis: It is a Human species. These appeared two million years ago. Their brain was bigger. Their name habilis mans skilful. They made stone tools and lived from hunting and gathering. Homo Erectus: It is a Human species. These appeared one and a half million years ago. They walked upright. This was the first species to live outside Africa. They lived in Europe and Asia. They discovered fire. Excalibur: It was also found in Atapuerca. It is not King Arthur’s sword. It is an extraordinary biface of beautiful red quartize. Nomadic: It is when the people moved from one place to another in the Paleolithic Age. Neolithic Revolution: Neolithic means new stone. Howeder it was not just the technology of stone instruments of stone instruments which was new. There were other important changes. Wheel: It is an object in the Metal Ages which greatly improved transport. Plough: It is an object in the Metal Ages which made working the land easier and faster. Menhir:It was single long vertical stones. They were probably connected to the cult of the Sun. Stone Circles: Its were wide circles formed by several menhirs. They probably had a religious function. Australopithecus: It is a Human species. These appeared about five million years ago. They wee very similar to chimpanzees. However the Australopithecus normally walked on two feet. Homo Antecessor: It is a Human species. They were the oldest human remains in Europe, that  appeared in Atapuerca Spain. They are 8000000 years ago. Homo Neanderthal: It is a Human species. They were a different specie who lived in Europe 150000 years ago. They were stronger than we are but shorter. They were the first species to bury their dead. It seems they were able to speak. Homo Sapiens: It is a Human species. Our specie appeared in Africa about 130000 years ago. Homo sapiens were slimmer but taller than Neanderthals. They enjoyed greater intellectual development. They were able to make finer tools. They developed a more complex language the ability to interact whit other human beings and to cooperate. They also created art. Atapuerca: It is one of the most interesting and beautiful sites relating to human evolution. This archaeological site is near Burgos in the north of Spain. It was found accidentally in the nineteenth century when a trench for a mining train was being built. However the most important discoveries have been made very recently. Biface: It is a prehistoric stone tool, made with two faces. Palaeolithic Art: It is a type of art, called cave art. About 35000 years ago human beings started decorating caves with paintings. Pottery: It is a Neolithic object. They used clay vessels to store cereal and bowls to eat and cook. Sail: It is an object in the Metal Ages which meant that ships could be bigger because they used the force of the wind. Neolithic monuments: They were monuments built with big blocks of stone in the last years of the Neolithic Age and during the Metal Ages. They  were called megaliths. Dolmens: They were complex constructions. Vertical stones covered by horizontal blocks. They were used as burial places. Stonehenge: The ruins at Stonehenge are the remains of a stone circle. The enormous stones which form the outside circle weigh around 25 tons each. The stones inside are even bigger. Archaeologists believe that Stonehenge was built over 5000 years ago but they do not agree about its function. Most people thick it is connected to the cult of the Sun. However it could also be an astrological observatory.