3. 5.1 The Periods of History
History is divided into different periods.
Prehistory started
when the first humans
appeared.
Ancient History
started when people
invented writing.
The Middle Ages
started when the
Roman Empire fell.
The Modern Age
started when Columbus
discovered America.
The Contemporary Age
started when the French
Revolution happened.
5. 5.1 Periods of History
Each year has a number. Each year belongs to a century.
A century is a period of 100 years.
We count the years starting from the year 1. This was when Jesus Christ was born. Years and
centuries after Jesus was born are called A.D. and years and centuries before Jesus was born are
called B.C.
We forget the two last numbers add 1 number to the rest to know the century
476>>4+1= 5th Century (siglo V)
1492>> 14+1= 15th century (siglo XV)
1789>> 17+1= 18th century (siglo XVIII)
6. The Periods in
Prehistory
Prehistory is divided into two periods: The Stone Age and the Age of Metals.
• The Stone Age emerged when the first humans appeared and began to use tools. The first part of the Stone Age is the
Paleolithic Period, and the second part is the Neolithic Period.
• The Age of Metals started when people started using metals. It is divided in Bronze Age and Iron Age
7. 5.2 The Stone Age: the
Paleolithic Period
• When? From 2,5m.y (first humans) until 10 000
years ago(agriculture)
• Paleolithic people were nomads. This means they didn’t live
permanently in one place. They lived in tribes.
• They hunted and fished to get food and they also
collected fruit and plants.
• During this period, people discovered how to make fire, so they
could cook their food.
• They lived in caves or huts made of tree branches and
animal skins.
• They also wore clothes made of animal skins.
• Paleolithic people made tools from stone, wood and animal
bones.
Paleolithi
c video 2
(4,2 min)
Paleolithic
video 1 (1
min)
8. 5.2 The Stone
Age: the Paleolithic Period
• Archaeologists are people who look
for objects and buildings from the past.
• They have found objects from
the Paleolithic Period such as:
• Human bones 1 million years
old in Sierra de Atapuerca
(Burgos)
• Cave paintings in Cuevas de
Altamira (Cantabria)
• Tools made of bones and stone.
Pinturas
rupestres
España
La Sima de
los Huesos
Atapuerca
9. 5.3 The Stone Age:the Neolithic Period
• When?: The Neolithic Period started about 10 000
years ago and ended about 7 000 years ago.
• Neolithic people became sedentary. They lived in villages
near water. They stopped moving around because...
• They discovered how to cultivate plants from seeds. This
was the beginning of agriculture.
• They domesticated animals (sheep, cow, goat). They became
farmers.
• Some people were artisans
and others were farmers. They started to exchange the p
roducts they made and the crops they cultivated. This was
the beginning of trade.
Neolithic
video 1
(50 s)
Neolithic
video 2 (4
min)
10. 5.3 The Stone Age: the
Neolithic Period
• Neolithic people made a wider range of objects than Paleolithic
people did. They made ceramic pots from clay and baskets to
store food.
• They also made polished stone tools (hand mill, hoe,
sickle) which they used to harvest crops and grind
cereals into flour. They used larger tools to work the
soil and cut down trees.
• They also made figurines out of stone and bones.
Agricultura:
hacer
harina (lista de
videos)
12. 5.4 The Bronze
and Iron Ages
• The Bronze and Iron Ages are the second
period of Prehistory.
• In this period people discovered how to make
objects from metal. First, they used copper,
then bronze and then iron. People melted
metals to make different objects such as
tools, jewellery and weapons.
• People continued to live in villages, but
they got bigger and had walls to defend them.
• They invented the wheel, so they
could transport food and products more
easily.
• Other inventions: sail and plough (arado)
• There was more trade than before,
and more jobs that people could do, such
as metalworkers, soldiers and traders.
Age of
metals (4
min video)
Metal age
(1min
video)
13. 5.4 The Bronze and
Iron Ages
• During this period, Celts and
Iberians lived in the Iberian Peninsula.
The Celts lived in the north and west,
and the Iberians in the south and east.
• They made sculptures
from stone and large
stone monuments
called megaliths, such as:
• The Bulls of Guisando in Ávila
• The Lady of Elche in
the National
Archaeological Museum
• The Pedra Gentil
Megalith in Barcelona
Megalitos
