This document summarizes prehistory from the Paleolithic era to the Metal Age. It describes how early humans evolved from hunter-gatherers to settling in agricultural communities. Key developments included controlling fire, crafting sophisticated stone tools, domesticating animals, inventing pottery, and beginning to trade. During the Neolithic, humans established permanent villages and constructed megalithic monuments like menhirs, dolmens, and stone circles. The Metal Age saw the rise of copper, bronze, and iron tools and technologies, enabling early cities to form with hundreds of inhabitants.

1. by Paz de la Rosa
Curso 2013-2014

2. Prehistory
the period of time in the past before
people could write

3. Prehistory starts with the appearance of the first
hominid, 4.5 million years ago, and finishes
with the invention of the writing, 3,500 years
b.C.
This long period can be divided into 3 stages:
- Paleolithic Age
- Neolithic Age
- Metal Age

5. PALEOLITHIC
PALEOLITHIC means
“old stone”.
It starts with the
appeareance of the
first hominids (4.5
million of years ago)
and ends with the
discovery of
agriculture (7,000
years b.C.)

6. During that time,
humans got their food
by hunting animals, by
fishing and by
gathering fruits, nuts,
and other wild plant .
They were nomadic,
they travel from time
to time or with the
seasons to find food
and following the
animals.

7. They form small groups of 20 or 30 people called tribes. The
members of a tribe belong to the same family. They live up to
about 35 years because of a cold climate and common diseases.

8. They live in caves or huts made with sticks and the skin of the
animals

10. TOOLS
Men discovered that by
hitting rocks together,
they could make tools.
Tools were so important
that the material they
were made of is used to
refer to different ages of
human history—the
Stone Age, the Bronze
Age, the Iron Age, etc…

12. FIRE
Life changed a lot for the early
humans when they discovered
how to make fire.
The fire allowed them to cook
food, warm themselves and
have light.
Fire could also be used to cut
down trees and protect against
wild animals.

13. ART
Around 30,000 years ago
humans begin painting on
the walls of caves.
This shows an artistic
sensibility.

14. Characteristic of the art
They paint animals: horses,
deers, bisons, mammoth, etc.
Colours: brown, black, red and
yellow made from natural
materials.
Animal hair is used to make
brushes.
They believe that painting give
good luck in hunting

15. NEOLITHIC
The Neolithic Era
(New Stone Age)
begins 10,000 years
ago, when humans
invented agriculture
and livestock raising.
Neolithic people
learn how to plant
cereals and to farm
and domesticate
animals.

16. Neolithic people are not nomadic. They settle down in
towns and build houses because they have to farm and need
to be close to their fields.

17. They begin to form villages around the fields they farm and
they learn how to make many new things like: jewelry,
pottery, bigger houses, better clothing, and stronger tools.

18. Once people begin
building houses and
living in towns life got
easier.
They divide up the
work; some people
farm, some take care
of animals, some build
houses, some make
tools, some make
clothing, some made
pottery, etc.

19. Trade begins during the
Neolithic Era.
Trade is buying and
selling/exchanging goods.
During the Neolithic people
begin to trade for things they
want, so some people become
traders.

20. TOOLS
People use stone tools, but
they begin to be more
sophisticated, specialized, and
they are often polished to a
fine finish.
Pottery is made for the first
time during the Neolithic Age.
These pots are very simple.

21. ART
The human figure
becomes important in
Neolithic art, which often
paints scenes with groups
of people hunting,
farming or dancing.
Figures in these paintings
were very schematic.

22. PALEOLITHIC v.s. NEOLITHIC

23. METAL AGE
• The Age of Metals began when human beings to learn how to
use metals to make objects (5.000 years BC).
• First they use copper, then bronze and finally iron.

24. TOOLS AND
TECHNOLOGY
Metal tools are better
than stone tools.
They are stronger and
can be sharpened.
Metal is used for:
-Tools such as ploughs
and knives
-Weapons such as
swords.
-Jewlery such as
necklace.
plough
weapons
jewlery

25. FIRST CITIES
• Agriculture, livestock and the new technical advances,
improve peoples lives. Because of this, population increased.
Some villages become small cities with hundreds of
inhabitants.
• Cities are surrounded by walls, and inside there are buildings
with different functions: houses, stores, shops or workshops.
• First cities houses are small, their walls are made of adobe or
stone and their ceilings were made of straw.

27. MEGALITHIC MONUMENTS
In the late Neolithic Age, human beings built what we can
call the first monuments using big blocks of stone, called
megaliths (big stones). The main monuments are menhirs,
dolmens and cromlechs (stone circles).

28. MENHIRS
Menhirs are big, long
stones vertically put
into the ground.
Menhirs are probably
religious constructions
dedicated to worship
the sun.

29. DOLMENS
Dolmens are collective
burial places.
They are made of big,
long vertical stones
covered by several
horizontal slabs of a great
size.

30. CROMLENCH
Cromlechs are wide
circles formed by
several menhirs put in
round.
They were probably
used as sanctuaries