Prehistory, Human Evolution, and Early Civilizations

Understanding Prehistory

Prehistory extends from the emergence of our first ancestors, about 5 million years ago, to the invention of writing, about 5,000 years ago. There were no written texts during this period.

The Three Periods of Prehistory

• Palaeolithic Age: It means "Old Stone Age." It extends from the appearance of our first ancestors to about 11,000 years ago. They lived from hunting, fishing, and gathering wild fruit. They were nomadic and lived outdoors, in caves, or in wooden huts. They were organised in small tribes and made stone tools. They discovered fire about half a million years ago, using it to heat, cook, and drive animals away. They believed in supernatural forces, had rites, and believed in an afterlife. About 35,000 years ago, they discovered cave art: they painted animals, used the relief of the caves to give them volume, and applied several colours.
• Neolithic Age: It means "New Stone." It lasted from about 11,000 to about 7,000 years ago. Humans domesticated animals and cultivated plants, discovering agriculture around 11,000 years ago. They cultivated wheat in the Middle East and Europe, rice in Asia, and corn in America. They were sedentary and used polished stone to make utensils. They also started making textiles and invented pottery.
• Metal Ages: Extending from about 7,000 years ago to about 5,000 years ago. The first metal used was copper, though it was not very strong; later, they used bronze and iron. They invented the wheel, sail, and plough. Villages turned into cities, bringing new professions: traders, priests, and warriors.

Megalithic Monuments

Megalithic monuments were structures built with large blocks of stone:

• Menhir: A single, long, vertical stone.
• Dolmen: Burial places where vertical stones formed passageways covered by horizontal blocks.
• Stone circles: Wide circular formations made of several menhirs with a religious function.

The Stages of Hominisation

1. Australopithecus: Appeared 5 million years ago. Very similar to chimpanzees; normally, they walked on two feet.
2. Homo habilis: Appeared 2 million years ago. Their brain was bigger. Habilis means "skilful."
3. Homo erectus: Appeared 1.5 million years ago. Erectus means "upright." They lived in Europe and Asia, and discovered fire.
4. Homo neanderthalensis: Appeared 150,000 years ago. Stronger but shorter than modern humans. They buried their dead and were able to speak.
5. Homo sapiens (and Homo sapiens sapiens): Appeared 130,000 years ago. Slimmer but taller than Neanderthals. They made finer tools, developed a complex language, and created art.

Early Civilizations and River Valleys

Writing was developed as a way of storing information about taxes, trade, and population. The first civilizations arose near major rivers:

• Tigris and Euphrates (Mesopotamia)
• Nile (Egypt)
• Indus (India)
• Huang He and Yangtze (China)

Mesopotamian Society and Culture

In Mesopotamia, the king was the most powerful figure and was assisted by civil servants. Society was strictly hierarchical. The name Mesopotamia means "between rivers," and it was fundamentally a dry area.

Social pyramid: King and nobility → Priests → Civil servants → Craftsmen and peasants → Slaves.

The people were polytheistic, believing their gods were immortal. Formal education was limited: only male children of rich families went to school. In architecture and engineering, they invented the arch and the vault.