Africa -- savannah country across Northern Kenya and South West Ethiopia near Lake Rudolph. East African Rift Valley near the equator. Layered volcanic ash interlaced with shale and sand stone, buckled and tipped up. Animals, like antelopes, trapped in time -- superbly adapted and hence not forced to change. 

Fossil skulls. Taung baby found by Australian anatomist Raymond Dart in 1924. Spinal cord hole (foramen magnum) vertical: the head was held up, not hanging forward as it would be in an ape. Small, square teeth. Foraging with hands not mouth. Raw meat. 

Australopithecus -- Southern Ape. 

Next came the Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania and the basin on Lake Rudoph 

Timetable

50 million years ago: small tree-dwelling lemur; marks of primates: finger nails, not claws, opposed thumb, short snout, wide spaced eyes--orientation from smell to vision. 

30 million years ago: Aegyptopithecus; shorter snout yet, ape like teeth, tree-dweller. Descendants would spend time on the ground. 

20 million years ago: Louis Leakey's East African Proconsul. Large brain, forward facing eyes--stereoscopic vision. Branch line--ape line. Ape teeth 

14 million years ago: Ramapithecus in Kenya and India. Humanoid teeth. Possibly a hominid. 

5 million years ago ago: Australopithecus robustus, extinct; A. Africanus smaller, probably a meat eater. Closest thing to a missing link. Taung child. Its parents made simple stone tools. Chipping pebbles. Preparing and storing pebbles for later use. Skill and foresight. Social organization in which children were looked after. Made part of a community: cultural evolution. 

400 000 years ago: Homo erectus -- Peking man who certainly used fire. Neanderthal man with three pound brain (like modern man). Middle Eastern line probably led directly to Homo sapiens. Refinement of tools; improved hand coordination; Bones and teeth show changes in behavior and skill. Evolution of brain, hand, eyes, feet. Change from vegetarian to omnivorous diet. 

Eating concentrated meat protein meant more time for other activities. Social activities and communication. Conscious planning: language. Awareness of mortality. Myth, religion, symbol systems. Far ranging migrations. Adaptability 

Human beings survived the test of the ice age (400 000 years ago) which came in three waves, alternately moving south and retreating. Flexibility of mind--inventions and discoveries recognized and turned into community property. Cultural adaptation more important than biological adaptation. Fire, hearth, life, warmth, food . . . Forward looking imagination, cave paintings. 

Paleolithic Age: ca. 400,000 - 7,000 B.C.E. 

perilous & uncertain: several ice ages 
hunt, nuts, berries, seeds; planting of wild seeds 
relied on every part of the environment 
elephants (Spain) to deer (China) 
importance of social organization 
extended family basic unit; cooperation and mutual protection 
tribe governed by patriarch; 30-50 members 
caves, huts, sunscreen 
women in camp -- utensils, weaving, children, tending the fire 
world travelers 
use of reason, thought and language 
religion: Neanderthal habit of burying the dead 
first art, decorated cave walls (Spain and France), inaccessible places of ritual and magic; statuettes of pregnant women 
occasional cannibalism 

Neolithic Age: 7,000 - 3,000 B.C.E.

hunt affected by climate changes 
after last ice age, ca. 7000 B.C.E. development of agriculture 
more stable and secure life 
major inventions: systematic agriculture, towns & cities, food-surplus, beginning of large-scale trade, complexity of society led to writing. 
writing: from record keeping to chronicles and mythologies 
weakening of extended family ties; growth of reliance on neighbors in towns 
neolithic nomads: domesticated animals 
domestication of plants and animals began in several places: Near East (Jericho; Jarmo; etc.), China (Yangshao), Central and South American Indians. 
Development of domesticated strains of crops which couldn't survive in the wild--very narrow genetic base 
importance of water supply for villages 
8000-7000 Jericho; houses built on stone foundations; outer walls of mud brick 
fortifications impossible without central planning--government 
dramatic increase in population 
more food: resistance to disease 
grain becomes article of commerce to be traded for precious gems and metals 
copper comes to replace stone for weapons 
interaction of Neolithic communities 
division of labor--artisans and craftsmen, elaborate textiles 
by 3000 B.C. E. wheel invented (in regions where it can be used), wagons; first plows with wooden shares 
domestication of bulls and horses 
irrigation in Mesopotamia and Egypt, draining of land to avoid salt buildup 
rivers flooding land depositing rich mud 
manure of domesticated animals used to replenish land 
irrigation projects strengthen central authority 
deveopment of urban civilization 
leisure: accumulation and spread of knowledge 
importance of preservation of knowledge: foundations of intellectual continuity
great rivers facilitate communication (except for Tigris and Euphrates)-- Indus, Yellow, Nile 
 

©  1997 Ingrid H. Shafer
Last revised 6 January 2002