The document discusses human origins and evolution. It states that ancestors of humans first appeared in Africa 5-7 million years ago and shares a common ancestor with apes. Charles Darwin popularized the theory of evolution through his 1859 book On the Origin of Species, which proposed the concept of natural selection. Around 70,000 years ago, Homo sapiens migrated out of Africa and spread to Asia, Europe, Australia, and the Americas. Neanderthals and Homo sapiens both lived between 250,000-30,000 BCE and evidence suggests they interbred. The Paleolithic period from 2.5 million years ago to 10,000 BCE saw hunter-gatherer humans using simple tools and fire.

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Chapter 2: Human Origins

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 Most modern scientists agree:
 Ancestors of humans first appeared in Africa about 5
to 7 million years ago
 We are NOT descended from apes, but share a
common ancestor
 Evolution produced first humanlike creatures
Origins of Human Species

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Darwin and Evolution
 Evolution = process of progressive change
 Human evolution
 Popularized by English biologist Charles Darwin
 Concept of natural selection
 The Origin of Species (1859)
 The Descent of Man (humans)

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Hominids
3,000,000 – 195,000 BCE

5. About 70,000 years ago, a group of Homo sapiens migrated out of
Africa. This is their story . . .
Modern humans
migrate out of Africa
about 70,000 years ago
Arrive in Asia about
50,000 years ago
Arrive in Europe about
40,000 years ago
Cross the Bering Ice
Bridge (Beringia) about
16,000 years ago
Arrive in S. America
about 15,000 years ago
Reach Australia about
50,000 years ago

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Neanderthals and Homo sapiens
Neanderthals Homo sapiens
• Stocky bodies, well-suited to colder climates. • Thinner & taller; better for hunting.
• Large skull, sloping brow & protruding jaw. • Facial features similar to modern people.
• Lived from ~ 250,000 to 30,000 BCE. • Emerged ~ 100,000 to present.
• Made tools, used fire & buried dead. • Made tools, used fire & buried dead.
DNA Evidence of Interbreeding

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Paleolithic Age (2.5 mya-10,000 BCE)
“Old”“stone”
Distinguishing Features of Paleolithic Humans:
• Hunter-Gatherers
• Simple Tools & Weapons
• Small Nomadic Groups
• Gendered Division of Labor
• Systematic Use of Fire for Cooking & Heating
• Art for Religious & Decorative Use

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• Agriculture & Domestication of Animals
• Flint Tools & Weapons
• Small Settlements
• Specialization of Labor
• Beginning of Trade in Products
• Men Tending Fields & Animals
• Women Raising Children &
Weaving
Distinguishing Features of Neolithic Humans:
“Ötzi the Iceman”: A Mummified Neolithic Hunter
discovered in the Tyrolean Alps in 1999
Ötzi with the grass cape and
weapons found with him.

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The Characteristics of Civilization
3. Social & Economic Stratification
2. Organized Political & Military Bureaucracy
1. Urbanization
4. Complex Agricultural & Material Production
The Bronze Age ~ 3000 –1200 BCE
5. Organized Religion
6. Writing (although some civilizations, such as the Inca, had no written language)
7. Significant Artistic & Intellectual Activity
IMPORTANT STUFF!!!