UNCOVERING THE

PAST
Chapter 1
 What is the stone age?

The stone age is a period

of time where humans
relied on stones. There are
3 stages of the stone age :
Paleolithic, Mesolithic,
Neolithic.
The Stone Age lasted from
the end of the Ice Age to
the first use of bronze.
 Paleolithic
This is the first stage of the
stone age. The paleo time
lasted from the first use of
stones to the end of the Ice
Age. People in the paleo
period relied on food from the
nature. Hunters and fishers
was the main job. Tools were
roughly made from stone, not
polished or carefully taken
care of.
 Mesolithic
The meso time lasted from the
end of paleo until the start of
farming. Mesolithic people did
better than the last period, by
hunting a wider range of
animals and collecting more
kinds of vegetables and fruits.
Their tools were made better,
the kinds of tools also
increased.
 Neolithic

Neolithic time is the end of

the stone age. The neo time
period lasted from the start of
farming to the first use of
bronze. Polished stone tools
were made and farming
started. Farming was a hard
job but it was less dangerous
than hunting. With only stone
tools cutting and grinding the
grains took a long time.
 Old Stone Age
Paleolithic age

 Discovered fire
 Crossed land bridges to spread around
the world
 Created spoken languages.
 Used stone, bone, and wood to make
tools
 Used animal fur and hides for clothing.
 Middle Stone Age
Mesolithic age

 Domesticated animals for food

and hunting
 Made fishhooks, spears, and
harpoons.
 Made canoes for fishing and
transportation.
 Started to hunt small animals.
 Handles were fastened to hand
axes
 New Stone Age
Neolithic age

 Grew crops from seed.

 Invented the wheel and sail.
 Settled in villages and
permanent homes for the first
time.
 Developed written language
• Created first governments.
• If you were stranded
in the Paleolithic Age
(Early Stone Age),
and you could only
have one modern
tool or weapon with
you, what would you
choose? Why?
Terms to know!
•Fossils - are a part or imprint of
something that was once alive.
•Artifacts - are objects that are
made by and used by humans.
•History - is the study of the past.
•Archeology - is the study of the
past based on what people left
behind.
•Prehistory - period of time before
there was writing.
•Primary source - is an account of
an event created by someone who
took part in or witnessed the
event.
•Secondary source - is information
gathered by someone who did not
take part in or witness an event
Preview of early humans
Early Tools
•The first part of the Stone Age is called the
Paleolithic Age, or Old Stone Age.
•The first tools used were made by stones.
•Scientists have found the oldest tools in Tanzania.
•These Sharpened stones, about the size of an adult's
fist, are about 2.6 million years old.
•Each stone had been struck with another rock to
create a sharp and jagged edge along one side.
•This process left one un-sharpened side that could be
used as a handle.
•The first tools were mostly used to process food
because the sharp edge could cut, chop roots, bones,
or meat
Early Hand Tools
Later Tools
•Over time people learned to make better tools.
•For example they developed the hand ax. They made
this tool out of a mineral called flint.
•Flint is easy to shape, and tools made from it can be
very sharp.
•People used hand axes to break tree limbs, to dig, and
to cut animal hides. Also people learned to attach
wooden handles to the tools.
•They invented the spear because it could be thrown,
hunters no longer had to stand close to animals they
were hunting.
•They could now hunt larger animals like deer, horses,
bison, and mammoths.
•Hunting became less dangerous
Stone Ax
Society
•Lived in small groups
•During bad weather they would
take shelter in caves.
•When food and water became
scarce, what did they do?
•They were nomads
•They were known as hunter-
gatherers
•They would hunt the animals and
gather wild plants, seeds, and
fruits to survive. This is the only
way they were able to eat.
•What if you had to hunt and gather
your own food? How would life be
different for you?
•They hunted in groups for safety.
•They often chased herds of
animals off of cliffs
Hunter Gatherers
Ice Man
•He lived about 5300 years ago and
the was discovered in Italy in 1991.
•- He was traveling before he died.
•- After he died his body was
covered by glaciers and preserved
for thousands of years.
•- He is important because he is
the oldest mummified human ever
found in such good condition.
•- His body. clothing, and tools
were extremely well preserved,
telling us a lot about life during the
Stone Ages.
•His outfit was made of out animal
skin and he wore leather shoes
padded with grass, a grass cape, a
fur hat, and a sort of backpack.
Also he carried an ax with a blade
as well as a bow and arrows.
Look at the Ice Man! Gross,
huh?
Language, Art, and Religion
•Language was most important
development of early Stone Age
Culture.
•- Language made it easier for
people to resolve issues
•- Hunting
•- Relationships
•- Distributing food
•- They also created art to express
themselves.
•- People carved figures out of
stone, ivory, and bone.
•They painted and carved images of
people and animals in cave walls.
•- Scientist do not know much about the
religion during this time, but do believe
existed.
•- Evidence comes from grave sites of
people being buried with artifacts and
food.
Cave Art
Mesolithic
(Middle Stone Age)
Terms to know!
•Migrate - moving to new
places
•Ice ages - long periods of
freezing weather that ended
about 10,000 years ago.
•Land bridge - a strip of land
connecting two continents.
Settling new lands
•Humans began to migrate from East
Africa to southern Africa and to
southwestern Asia around 100000 years
ago.
•- From there, people moved east into
southern Asia.
•- From southwestern Asia, humans also
migrated north into Northern Asia and
Europe.
•- From Northern Asia, people moved into
North America - Scientists disagree on
when and how the first people arrived in
North America.
•By 9000 B.C. humans lived on all
continents of the world except
Antarctica
The Migration of Humans
Clothing and Shelter
•To keep warm, they learned to sew
animal skins together to make clothing.
•- In addition to clothing, people needed
shelter to survive in cold weather. So
some took their shelter in caves.
•- When people moved to area with no
caves, they built their own shelters too.
•- One early type of human made shelter
was the pit house made out pits,
branches, and leaves.
•People also built homes above the ground and some
lived in tents made from animal skins.
•- Others built more structures of wood, stone, clay, or
other materials
New shelters
New Tools and Technologies

•People adapted to new environments with new types

of tools which were smaller and more complex than
the tools from the Old Stone Age.
•- During this time, people found new uses for bone
and stone tools
•- People who lived near water invented hooks and
fishing spears.
•- BIG DEAL!!!!!!! Why?
•- Other groups invented the bow and arrow.
•- BIG DEAL!!!!!!! Why?
•In addition to new tools, people developed new
technologies and ideas to improve their lives.
•- Canoes out of hollowed out logs
•- Began to make pottery
•- Began to use dogs as pets and to help with hunting.
Mesolithic Tools
FOOD!
• During the stone age, they didn't
eat pizza, candy or ice cream!
They didn't have dairy and grains
during the paleolithic time and
the Mesolithic time. Some may
have heard of the paleo diet. The
paleo diet is where you eat what
they ate in the paleolithic period.
They ate meat such as fish with
vegetables and wild berries.