PREHISTORY

1. UNIT 1.- PREHISTORY

2. BEFORE STARTING…
WHY WE STUDY HISTORY
To explain the main developments and events that took place in the past.
This can also help us to understand the political, social and economic situation
today.
History is a social science that studies mankind´s past (pasado humanidad).
Learning about the past involves finding out about the people who lived before
us: what their society was like; what economic activities they had; what customs
they held; how they though; what they achieved; and also how they expressed
themselves artistically.
HISTORICAL SOURCES.
To study the past, historians obtain information from a variety of sources:
material sources (tools, buildings, weapons…), oral sources, written sources
(books, inscriptions…) and visual and audiovisual sources (photographs,
videos…).

3. PUTTING HISTORICAL FACTS IN CONTEXT
Every historical event takes place in a specific place and at specific
time. Historians use different units of time to describe how long an
event occurred for. The most basic units are:
There are also different ways of calculating historical time:
– Before and after the birth of Christ. For example, 2000 BC (before Christ)
or AD 1492 (Anno Domini).
– Before the present (years ago). Sometimes historians choose to avoid
using BC or AD. They refer to how many years have passed since a
historical event took place. So, instead of saying “writing first appeared
around 3500 BC”, we can say “writing first appeared about 5500 years
ago”
UNITS OF TIME
YEAR 365 DAYS
LUSTRUM 5 YEARS
DECADE 10 YEARS
CENTURY 100 YEARS
MILLENIUM 1.000 YEARS

4. PREHISTORY HISTORY
Before the
invention of
writing
After the
invention of
writing
PERIODS OF HISTORY
To make studying History easier, we divide it into different periods.
3.500 BC

5. PERIODS OF HISTORY: TIMELINE

7. 1. PREHISTORY
Is an extremely long period of time.
It begins with the appearance of the first
humans (over 2.5 million years ago in Africa) and ends
when humans began to write (about 5.500 years
ago).
But… Do you know when can we talk about
the appearance of the first humans?
To answer the question, take a look to the
following slide.

8. HUMAN EVOLUTION
The appearance of genus homo = Start Prehistory

9.  Australopithecus is the first primate who began to stand upright
and walk on two feet (bipedalism), who had opposable thumbs
and increased brain size and capacity.
 This process by which these primates changed physically is called
human evolution (hominización in Spanish language): a very slow
process, during which some species coexisted. The only species that
survived was Homo sapiens (to which modern-day humans belong
to).
Bipedalism
Opposable thumbs
HUMAN EVOLUTION: CHARACTERISTICS

10. PERIODS OF PREHISTORY
Prehistory is divided into different periods of time depending on the advances in technology
PREHISTORY
STONE AGE
2.500.000 – 7.000 years ago
PALAEOLITHIC
2.500.000 – 10.000
years ago
LOWER MIDDLE UPPER
NEOLITHIC
9.000 – 7.000
years ago
MESOLITHIC
10.000 – 9.000 years
ago
METAL AGES
7.000 – 3.500 years ago
COOPER
7.000 – 5.000
years ago
BRONZE
5.000 – 3.500
years ago
IRON
3.500
years ago

11. PALAEOLITHIC PERIOD
Is the largest (2500000-10000 years ago) and oldest period of Prehistory.
The term Paleolithic means old stone
• People lived in small tribes. Cooperation was essential to their survival. They
protected each other, developed hunting strategies and passed on
knowledge. These activities contributed to the development of language.
• They were nomads. They did not have permanent settlements
(asentaminetos) and travelled around in search of food. They sheltered
(refigiaban) in caves and built temporary huts (refugios).
• They were hunter-gatherers (cazodores-recolectores). They did not know
how to produce their own food. They gathered fruit, consumed carrion and
hunted or fished.
• They performed tasks as a group. Labor division between men and women.
• They mastered fire. They used it for heat and light, cooking, sending smoke
signals, hunting and defending themselves against wild animals. Gathering
around a fire helped build relationships and encouraged communication.

12. PALAEOLITHIC TOOLS
• Made of wood, bone or stone. The most used stone was chert
(sílex), who was beaten to carve.

13. PALAEOLITHIC ART
 CAVE PAINTINGS (arte rupestre), such as the Altamira cave
paintings (Cantabria, Spain)
 PORTABLE ART (arte mobiliar), consisted of carvings and
sculptures made of stone, bone or clay. Two types of figurines:
The figures were paintings in several
colours (especially ochre, red and black).
The most common subjects were
animals such as bison, horses or
mammoths.
It is believed the paintings had a
religious meaning: by painting the animal,
the artist may have believed they would
be easier to hunt.
 Female
figurines or
Venus.
Symbolised fertility.
 Animal
figurines:
horses and
bison.

14.  Activity:
This is a video in which you can observe the beauty of the old Altamira
caves modelated and painted in their interior during the Paleolithic. (Note:
This is the replica in the museum , but you can perfectly figure out how
the pictures were)
http://almusociales.blogspot.com.es/p/1-eso.html
• 1. Where is the cave of Altamira located?
• 2. Is the museum far away from the original cave?
• 3. Why was the original cave closed for some years?
• 4. When were they painted?
• 5. Who actually discovered these paintings?
• 6. Why are these figures considered three-dimensional?
• 7. What kind of animal is frequently represented?
• 8. Are there any other paintings apart from animals?
• 9. Why are these caves so important?

15. NEOLITHIC PERIOD
9000-7000 years ago
• The Neolithic period began about 9 000 years
ago (following a short transition period called the
Mesolithic period) with the appearance of
agriculture and livestock farming.
• During the Neolithic period, humans went
from being nomadic hunter-gatherers
to sedentary producers. This change is also
known as the Neolithic Revolution.

16. • Humans learned to produce their own food by farming the land and
domesticating animals. Agriculture allowed humans to settle in one place
and to abandon nomadic life. The result was the appearance of the
first villages. These settlements were usually composed of huts and were
located near rivers.
• People began to store and exchange surplus food, so trade developed.
• Societies became more complex and hierarchical. Some settlements had
leaders and other important people who managed resources.
• New types of tools meant new types of jobs came into existence. There
was a division of labour, as different people performed different tasks.
• Archaeologists believe that tasks were probably divided up between men
and women. Women were responsible for arable farming and making
cloth and pottery. Men were responsible for livestock farming and
manufacturing tools.
• Neolithic people had two main religious practices. They worshipped the
dead and buried them with their possessions. They also worshipped the
forces of nature in order to improve their harvests.

17. NEOLITHIC TOOLS
• Stones was not only carved, but also polished.
• New tools were developed:
Sickles to cut crops and hoes to turn the earth
Pots to transport food and drinkBaskets to transport and store objects
Loom to make cloths

18. NEOLITHIC ART
Paintings were done on stone surfaces
in shelters or in shallow caves (not inside deep
caves). This is known as rock painting.
The most common subjects: hunting,
gathering food and ceremonial dancing.
The figures were painted in a schematic style.
They depicted essential features.
They were usually painted in only one colour
(normally black).
The largest concentration of Neolithic rock
paintings in the world are found in the east of the
Iberian Peninsula (places such as Albarracín, in
Teruel, or Alpera in Albacete).
ROCK PAINTING
A hunting scene from La Valltorta caves, Castellón
NEOLITHIC FEMALE FIGURINE
Catal Huyuk, Turkey
CERÁMICA CARDIAL
(Spanish language)

19. METAL AGES
• Periods during which people began to make
objects and tools from metal.
• This brought about many technological
advances which, in turn, brought about
many social and economic changes.
• As you know, the metal ages are divided into
three stages:
• The cooper age (began 5.000 BC in the Fertile Crescent Area)
• The bronze age (began 3.000 BC in the Near East).
• The iron age (began 1.200 BC in Anatolia).

20. • New trade routes were created as people travelled to find
new sources of metal to make tools. This travelling helped
spread different cultures.
• Trade produced wealth and villages grew significantly,
giving rise to the first cities, which were often protected by
defensive walls.
• There was a specialisation of labour. This meant that new
types of professions, such as merchants and warriors, began
to appear.
• Metal became a symbol of wealth, as people who owned
metal weapons and tools were more powerful than those
who had stone weapons. War became a means of
expanding and controlling territory.
• Private property and economic inequality between people
became more common. This meant that the structure of
society became even more hierarchical.
Economic and social changes

21. Technological advances
Metal work
Metal plough
Wheel

22. MEGALITHIC ART
• Megaliths are monuments built using large stones. They are the first
known examples of architecture. They were created during the end of
Neolithic period and in the Metal Ages.
• Megalithic monuments can be classified as:
MENHIRS
Large vertical
stones embedde
d in the ground.
They could stand
alone or in a line
with others.
They were used
for ceremonies.
DOLMENS
A large, flat,
horizontal stone
laid on
vertical stones.
They were used
as burial places.
STONE
CIRCLES
(CRÓMLECH)
Several menhirs
placed in a circle
They were used
for ceremonies
PASSAGE
TOMBS
Similar to a
dolmen, but with
one or more
chambers and a
passage at the
entrance
They were used
for burials

23. • http://www.students.linguaframe.com/07a-
prehistory