Early humans first evolved in Africa between 3-3.5 million years ago, as evidenced by fossils like "Lucy" and footprints found at Laetoli. Starting around 125,000 years ago, Homo sapiens began migrating out of Africa, eventually settling in locations around the world like Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Americas. Approximately 10,000 years ago, the Neolithic Revolution began, marking the start of agriculture. Permanent settlements developed as farming produced more food than hunting and gathering, eventually leading to the rise of early civilizations like Sumer in Mesopotamia.

1. The Earliest Humans
Outcome: Human Migration & Beginning of Agriculture

2. Human Migration &
Beginning of Agriculture
1. Setting the Stage: Who are we?
a. Evidence suggests humans could be much older than originally thought
b. Scientists use artifacts to search for answers
c. Artifact: human made objects like tools and jewelry
d. Unfortunately, prehistory can leave more questions than answers
e. Prehistory: time before the invention of writing

3. Human Migration &
Beginning of Agriculture
f. Important: The story is not complete and there are many questions left to
answer
g. Two prevailing ideas (you will not be forced to pick a side):
i. Creation: Idea that a higher power put humans on earth
ii. Evolution: Theory that humans evolved from another being

4. Human Migration &
Beginning of Agriculture
2. Interesting Evidence Found in Africa
a. Anthropologists (people who study culture) and paleontologists (people who study
fossils) attempt to use artifacts and fossils to understand early human’s culture
b. Culture: a people’s unique way of life

5. Lucy

6. Human Migration &
Beginning of Agriculture
c. Lucy
i. Unusually complete skeleton of female hominid
ii. Hominid: being that walks upright on two legs
iii. Discovered by Donald Johanson in 1974 in Africa
iv. Named after Beatles song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”
v. Dated to be 3.5 million years old

7. Laetoli Footprints

8. Human Migration &
Beginning of Agriculture
d. Laetoli Footprints
i. Two hominid footprints preserved in volcanic ash in Africa
ii. Found by anthropologist Mary Leaky in 1978
iii. Dated to be 3.6 million years old

9. Human Migration &
Beginning of Agriculture
e. Neither Lucy nor the Laetoli footprints were made by actual humans
f. Other beings such as Cro-Magnons, homo erectus, & Neatherthals
walked the earth before we did
g. No link to these beings has been made; “missing link”

10. Migration out of Africa

11. Human Migration &
Beginning of Agriculture
3. Humans Migrate
a. Humans are known as homo sapiens which means “wise men” due to brain size
b. Eventually homo erectus & homo sapiens migrated out of Africa
c. Early humans were nomads or highly mobile people who move
from place to place foraging, or searching for new sources of food
d. All early humans were also hunter-gatherers
e. Hunter-gatherers: those whose food supply depended on hunting
animals and collecting plant foods
f. Estimates show they started leaving Africa around 125,000 years ago

12. Human Migration &
Beginning of Agriculture
g. Settled in Europe 33,000 years ago, China 67,000 years ago, Australia
38,000 years ago, North America 12,000 years ago, and South America
12- 33,000 years ago
h. We know this due to similar stone tool artifacts found in different
regions that date to roughly the same time period
i. Shows that early humans used technology: applying knowledge, tools, and
inventions to meet their needs

13. Human Migration &
Beginning of Agriculture
j. Why did they leave Africa?
i. Competition with other humans
ii. Following animal herds
iii. Human curiosity

14. Human Migration &
Beginning of Agriculture
4. Agriculture Changes Everything!
a. Early nomadic humans lived in bands of 25-70 people
b. Around 10,000 years ago, the Neolithic Revolution began: the
beginning of farming
c. It started accidentally when some women scattered seeds near a
campsite and noticed crops growing there when they came back next
season
d. Rising temperatures worldwide provided longer growing seasons
e. Farming produces more food than hunting or gathering

15. Human Migration &
Beginning of Agriculture
f. More food means a higher population, thus more labor
g. Due to labor and farming methods, permanent settlements
developed
h. Permanent settlements turn into villages, villages turn into cities,
cities turn into civilizations
i. Once you reach a certain population, you can begin specialization
j. Specialization: the development of skills in a specific kind of work
(other than farming)

16. Human Migration &
Beginning of Agriculture
k. Slash & burn farming was used (cut a field and burn it for nutrients)
l. Domestication or taming of animals began as well

17. Coming Up Next…!
m. Eventually all of this led to the creation of the first civilization on Earth in
Mesopotamia called Sumer