The first species of human was Homo habilis , which evolved in Sub-Saharan Africa ca. Since Homo habilis was a maker of stone tools, the evolution of this species marks the beginning of the stone age. The stone age can be divided into the Paleolithic "Old Stone Age" , during which all humans were hunter-gatherers; the Mesolithic "Middle Stone Age" , the transitional phase to agricultural life; and the Neolithic "New Stone Age" , when humans subsisted through agriculture.
The Paleolithic, which spans over ninety percent of human existence, can be further divided into three parts. The Lower Paleolithic was the age of human evolution. Various species of Homo emerged, with a trend toward increasing brain and body size. To recap: the Lower Paleolithic period began with the evolution of Homo habilis the first human species and concluded with the evolution of Homo sapiens.
The latter species was anatomically the same as present-day humans, including most importantly brain size. The next giant leap for our species was behavioural modernity aka "modern behaviour" , which emerged ca.
Humans of the Lower and Middle Paleolithic exhibited primitive behaviour ; though they could make simple stone tools and eventually came to control fire, these humans did not behave much differently than the rest of the animal kingdom. The contrast between humans and animals only became sharp with the onset of modern behaviour.
Behavioural modernity can be boiled down to two major features: complex ideas and creativity. The consequences of behavioural modernity include government, religion, art, and technology. As noted above, various species of human evolved in Sub-Saharan Africa prior to the evolution of modern humans. Some of these species migrated out of Africa, settling regions of Eurasia. All would eventually go extinct , however, leaving the world to be dominated by a single human species: Homo sapiens.
Modern humans colonized most of the inhabitable world during the Middle and Upper Paleolithic periods. The Americas were colonized by a great migration across the Bering land bridge , which connected Siberia and Alaska.
During the Paleolithic age, all humans were hunter-gatherers. They typically lived in small bands that followed an annual migration pattern, timing their movements according to ripening plants and travelling herds of game. Depending on food availability, these bands might be nomadic constantly on the move or semi-nomadic migrating between temporary settlements.
A given region is considered to have progressed to the Neolithic age once agriculture has become the primary means of subsistence. Prior to reaching the Neolithic, humans experienced a transitional stage known as the Mesolithic. The transition to agricultural life commenced ca. The beginning of the Mesolithic age is consequently placed at ca. This is only true up until ca.
Over the final ten millennia BC ca. Patrick Doncaster , 7 November , one of the then 7,,, rising by per minute, 79 million per year. Evolution of life on Earth 4,,, earliest life on Earth: single-celled prokaryotic Archaea Hadean Eon , 3. Human evolution 2,, earliest human, Homo sp. Years ago. Evolution of life on Earth. Homo habilis in Africa , using stone tools for cleaving meat from bone.
Early human ancestors painting a bison inside a cave during the Paleolithic Age. During this era, early humans shared the planet with a number of now-extinct hominin relatives, including Neanderthals and Denisovans. In the Paleolithic period roughly 2. They used basic stone and bone tools, as well as crude stone axes, for hunting birds and wild animals.
They cooked their prey, including woolly mammoths, deer and bison, using controlled fire. They also fished and collected berries, fruit and nuts. Ancient humans in the Paleolithic period were also the first to leave behind art. They used combinations of minerals, ochres, burnt bone meal and charcoal mixed into water, blood, animal fats and tree saps to etch humans, animals and signs.
They also carved small figurines from stones, clay, bones and antlers. Iron Age: Daily Life Before the Industrial Revolution, which would take place centuries later, the majority of people lived an agrarian lifestyle.
Most people were farmers, and their lives revolved around the farming seasons. Societies consisted of villages where communities of families worked the land and made necessities for living by hand. All essentials were made or grown locally. The production of iron tools helped make the farming process easier and more efficient. Farmers could plow tougher soil, making it possible to harvest new crops and freeing time for more leisure.
New varieties of crops and livestock were introduced at different times over the span of the Iron Age. More time also meant that people could make extra supplies to sell or exchange. Some farming families spent part of their time making salt, quern stones or iron.
Most settlements have evidence of making clothes, woodworking and even blacksmithing.
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