ANCIENT EPOCH II diversity at that time.
These toolkits were found
Early Stone Age
• The earliest stone tools ever found was at least
2.6 million years ago in Africa, known as
Oldowan toolkits. It consists of:
o Hammerstone
o Stone cores
o Stone flakes
• By about 1.76 million years ago, another set of
stone tools were found across, Africa, Asia, and
Europe, known as Acheulean toolkit. It consists
of:
• Hand axes
Controlled Fire
• Around 1.7 to 2.0 million years ago, our ancient
ancestors was able to control fire. It was used
for food preparation, toolmaking, and as source
of light and heat.
• This allows our ancient ancestors to extract
more nutrients from food and cover large
distances during migration.
• This ability is widely being credited to Homo
erectus.
Middle Stone Age
• Around 400,000 to 200,000 years ago, more
diverse toolkits were developed. These toolkits
were established in Africa, Europe, and western
Asia.
• During this period, they have used a technique
that raised the level of standardization and
predictability of the stone tools. It is known as
“prepared core technique”.
• The toolkits that were unearthed during this
period consists of:
o Projectile points for spears, darts, and
arrows
o Bone awls
Late Stone Age
• Around 40,000 years ago, even more diverse
toolkits were developed and reflected cultural
across in Africa, Europe, and Asia.
• Groups of early modern humans experimented
on different raw materials aside from stones
(bone, ivory, antler).
• The toolkits that were unearthed during this
period consists of:
o Burins
o Bone needles
o Harpoon points
Agriculture
• It is the process of adapting wild plants and
animals for human use. It is the conversion of
wild species into domestic species.
• This process creates food and territorial
security.
• Farming is the end-result of plant
domestication, while husbandry is the end-
result of animal domestication.
Plant Domestication
• It is the process whereby wild plants have been
evolved into crop plants through artificial
selection.
• This usually involves an early hybridization
event followed by selective breeding.
Animal Domestication
• It is the process whereby wild animals have
been evolved into domestic animals through
three different approaches.
• The initial events of domestications was
unintentional, but the relatively recent
domestications were intentional.
Animal Domestication
• It has three processes whereby wild animals
have been evolved into domestic animals.
• The (1) commensal pathway occurred when
wild animals (wolves, big cats, wild boars)
where attracted to the leftovers (bones, meat)
on ancient human campsites. It did not begin
with human action, but rather initiated by
ancient wild animals
• The (2) prey pathway occurred when humans
can successfully hunt animal herds (goats,
sheep, cattle) with increasing frequency, until
they can manage the dispersion of the herd.
The sole purpose of this hunting strategy is to
manage their sources of meat, but not to
domesticate them at all.
• The (3) directed pathway occurred when a
specific group of animals (horse, camel, donkey)
that was once hunted as food, was now being
intentionally protected and be domesticated. It
is due to their vital role in human
transportation.