Prehistory

Prehistory is a huge era of the distant past that covers the early development of humans and their progress toward their modern forms and ways of life. Most researchers believe humans began as apelike creatures and progressed over millions of years of gradual improvement into their current forms, abilities, and civilizations.

Life has existed on Earth for hundreds of millions of years, but the study of human prehistory generally begins with the first known manufacture and use of tools by humans. After new findings in 2015, researchers believe the earliest known tools date to about 3.3 million years ago, thus making that the starting point for many prehistorical studies. The ending date for prehistory generally relates to the invention of written language systems. Although writing appeared at different times in different regions, the first known examples occurred around 3,300 BCE, which may be seen as the ending point of prehistory.

Background

Studying prehistory can be a challenging endeavor due to the huge stretches of time involved, the sparsity and difficulty of finding clear evidence, and disputes arising from conflicting theories and conclusions. Even definitions of prehistory may vary depending on the sources and contexts.

Most researchers consider prehistory as all time before the invention of writing. This definition is problematic, however, because writing appeared at significantly different times among different groups. For example, the earliest known writing systems appeared in Western Asia around 3,300 BCE, but North America had no major known writing system until after the arrival of Europeans in 1492 CE. In that sense, the parameters of prehistory based on writing can differ by many thousands of years.

Setting the starting date of human prehistory is also challenging. Some researchers begin the study of human prehistory with the first known use of tools by people. Determining the first worldwide occurrence of tool use is very difficult. Until 2015, the earliest tools found by researchers dated to 2.5 million years ago. In 2015, a new discovery uncovered tools that likely date back 3.3 million years—a huge difference that restructures understanding of early human prehistory.

The very nature of prehistory, a time before written records, makes it difficult to study. Because scientists have no firsthand accounts to read, they most often turn to archaeology for insights. Archaeology is the study of artifacts people have left behind, including tools, remains of buildings, artwork, and bones and burials.

Traces of the earliest prehistory can be extremely scarce. Wood, leather, and bone goods related to the earliest humans have, in most cases, rotted and weathered away over time, leaving practically no trace. Even long-lasting stone tools are rare, and some are so crude that they barely look any different from unaltered stones. Archaeologists may have to conduct large excavations over decades to find any evidence of value to study.

Archaeologists routinely find and investigate even tiny fragments of past peoples, interpreting this evidence and comparing it to previous finds to try to construct new meaning. New technologies and scientific understandings allow researchers to draw more meaning from even the humblest of artifacts. A single charred seed, for instance, may, through analysis, lead to insights into the migrations, trade patterns, diets, and seasonal activities of early people. Radiocarbon dating also may allow researchers to find a likely date for the seed, an immensely important factor in modern study of the past.

Despite its many challenges, studying prehistory can help unearth and clarify extremely important insights into the development of humans, nations, and cultures worldwide. It can show where humans came from, how they have changed, and how even the deepest past may relate to the present and future.

Overview

Some researchers begin the study of human prehistory with the first known use of tools by people. For many years, the oldest tools on the archaeological record dated to around 2.5 million years ago. In 2015, however, new discoveries suggested that tool use may date back as much as 700,000 years earlier, to around 3.3 million years ago. In 2015, archaeologists found flaked stone tools in a remote area near Lake Turkana in Kenya, which suggests that early humans were more advanced than previously thought.

Prehistoric Humans

Life on Earth began hundreds of millions of years ago, but the first truly humanlike creatures likely appeared around 7 million years ago. These creatures were similar in many ways to apes but began to advance beyond apes, leaving their homes in the trees to walk on the ground on two legs. The first humans shared facial similarities with apes but had larger brains. Their legs were longer than their arms, making walking easier, and their upright posture eventually enabled them to easily employ tools using their hands.

Scientists have classified these early humanlike creatures into a variety of groups. Perhaps the earliest was the Ardipithecus group, living from around 5–7 million years ago. Another group called the Australopithecus ("Southern Ape"), slightly more advanced, appeared around 3–5 million years ago. The Lake Turkana tool discoveries of 2015 may have been linked to Australopithecus or similar humans. The Paranthropus group followed around 2–3 million years ago, succeeded by the Homo group around 1–3 million years ago.

Evidence of these earliest humanlike creatures is sparse and often subject to intense controversy. In 1974, scientists in Ethiopia found a mostly complete skeleton of an Australopithecus that they famously nicknamed "Lucy." It likely dates back about 3 million years. In 2002, scientists in Chad discovered the "Toumai skull," a skull that combines features of humans and apes, which may be about 7 million years old and the oldest humanlike remains known to exist. Other important early finds include "Java Man" (Indonesia), "Peking Man" (China), and "Swanscombe Man" (United Kingdom).

Early Modern Humans

Each stage of early human developed physically and mentally from the previous stage. By the time of the Homo group, which arose around 1–3 million years ago, humans were becoming more similar to modern people than to their ape ancestors. The Homo habilis, or "handy man," who first appeared in Africa around 2–2.5 million years ago, had mastered the creation and use of simple tools.

The creation and use of tools helped propel humans to eventual greatness. Humans likely started by using unaltered sticks and stones to help with basic tasks such as hunting. The first known manufactured tools, though, were made of worked stone. Many kinds of stones could be shattered and flaked by percussion to create sharp edges. These sharpened stones were handy knives, choppers, and spearpoints. Early humans used other, larger stones as hammers or anvils. Humans also certainly used other kinds of tools, made of wood and bone, that rotted away and were not preserved on the archaeological record.

Around 1.5 million years ago, Homo erectus ("upright man") appeared in Africa. As their name implies, members of Homo erectus stood and moved with a distinctly human posture. They were better at using tools than their forebears. This ability helped them hunt larger animals more efficiently, build larger and stronger shelters, and leave Africa in search of new lands and sources of food. They also grasped the creation and use of controlled fire, the next great milestone of prehistory, around 1 million years ago.

Fire provided an enormous benefit to early humans. It allowed them to cook food and stay warm. It helped early people fend off predatory animals and safely travel in unforgiving territories. Additionally, controlled fires encouraged people to gather, which helped to create a sense of community.

Modern Humans

The next stage of human evolution, the direct ancestors of modern humans, were the Homo sapiens ("wise man"), who appeared in many parts of the world, including Africa, around 200,000 years ago and later spread to Asia and Europe. Their greater cranial capacity let them develop larger and more capable brains than ever before. Their advanced brains allowed them to successfully compete with other humanlike creatures, including the less-advanced Neanderthals, and create a semblance of culture through acts such as burying their dead.

One of the recurring natural factors in prehistory was the great shifts in Earth's climate. During ice ages, large areas of the world froze, often leaving glaciers and other ice formations hundreds of feet tall. The most recent Ice Age occurred around 24,000 years ago. It caused so much water to freeze that ocean levels dropped significantly, exposing previously hidden landforms.

Despite subjecting humans to extremely harsh conditions, the Ice Age ultimately helped the expansion of humanity. Most scientists agree that by about 20,000 years ago, nomadic bands of hunters from Asia were able to cross a temporarily exposed "land bridge" across the Bering Strait into North America. From there, they spread into the American continents and continued to grow and develop, along with the animals they had pursued into the new lands.

The end of the Ice Age about 10,000 years ago paralleled the beginning of brisk developments among humans. Many of the main developments related to tools. The extremely long period when humans relied on stone as their primary tool material is called the Stone Age. It saw stages of slow and limited progress—classified by scientists as Paleolithic (Old Stone Age), Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age), and Neolithic (New Stone Age)—but it took the arrival of new materials and technologies to propel humanity forward.

Two important technologies were the atlatl and bow and arrow. The atlatl was a spear thrower, a simple wooden handle that extended the throwing arm and allowed hunters to cast projectiles much farther and more powerfully than unaided throws. Starting around 15,000 years ago, the invention of the bow and arrow made atlatl use decline in many parts of the world. Bows and arrows provided hunters and warriors their best range weapon until the invention of gunpowder in more modern times.

Around 7,000 years ago, people in Western Asia mastered the use of copper in toolmaking. Copper was a relatively soft metal, but it could be worked into many more forms than stone. The so-called Copper Age saw the first metal implements, from plows to swords to jewelry, come into everyday use. Around 5,500 years ago, the discovery of a harder, stronger copper alloy, bronze, ushered in the Bronze Age. Bronze was then replaced during the Iron Age, starting around 3,000 years ago, with the introduction and widespread use of iron, which continues into the modern era.

The Rise of Civilization

Improved technology, materials, and skills allowed for a wide variety of other accomplishments. Researchers found the first known artwork in the form of colorful and imaginative designs painted or engraved on cave walls. Ice Age artists used crude handmade pigments and brushes to decorate their homes with scenes of everyday life—mainly the animals they hunted (some now extinct) and other symbols, such as lines and handprints. Significant cave painting sites have come to light in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. Later people sculpted clay and carved bone into effigies. These small statues may have represented ancestors, gods, spirits, or other manifestations of prehistoric belief systems.

The definitive accomplishments of humans in the late prehistoric period began around 10,000 years ago in a region of Western Asia known as the Fertile Crescent, where people discovered agriculture. They learned that by planting their own crops and domesticating and raising their own animals, they could stop dedicating so much of their lives to hunting and gathering. They could protect against food shortages and grow products to trade. Crops such as wheat, barley, and vegetables and livestock such as sheep, goats, and pigs became staples in many areas.

Just as importantly, farming allowed people to give up their nomadic ways and create permanent homes. They formed villages, then towns, and finally cities. Some of the first known cities were Jericho in Jordan and Çatal Höyük in Turkey. With increased security and a sense of community, populations grew quickly. People shared ideas and created new inventions, such as clay pots, plows, and textiles to improve their lives. They began developing cultures, religions, trade networks, professions, and other features of advanced societies. New inventions such as wheels and writing, both likely originating in Western Asia around 3,300 BCE, ended prehistory and ushered in modern times.

Bibliography

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