Look. I know that other stuff is more interesting, but not many books actually start from the start so here we go...
Homo Sapiens
We are called the Homo Sapiens, basically modern humans. We developed in eastern Africa 200 000-300 000 years ago (ya) and by about only 100 000 ya, we'd spread across the continent. Imagine walking across a whole continent, despite the fact that it took them hundreds of thousands of years, it's still terrifying to think of the distances. I personally can't even walk across a small town.
The homo sapiens evolved from earlier ancestors in case you didn't know. Eg: Homo Erectus etc.
Fun fact: People use etc. a lot. Using it either when we have too much to say or nothing else to say. Using it in the latter circumstance would probably make you sound you know a lot more than you do, and therefore smarter.
The changing climate and search for food led to migration out of Africa, getting to the...
Middle east: 70 000 - 100 000 ya
Australia (yay!): ~60 000 ya
Europe + North Asia: 45 000 - 35 000 ya
North America: 25 000 - 15 000 ya
And I'll let you feel some satisfaction here - but we were the only species to have successfully populated the entire globe! YASSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!! AND we were highly intelligent (with some exceptions obviously *cough* me *cough*) we had the ability to adapt quickly to new environments and the development of language led to the ability to make plans and organise stuff. We had sophisticated (big word!) tools and weapons which gave us the ability to live in harsh climates and hunt large animals.
Hunter-gatherers
Early human societies were 'organised' like hunter-gatherers. They relied on gathering wild plants and hunting animals which most of you would've guessed already. Men were usually hunters and women, gatherers. 90% of human history is hunting and gathering.
...
I don't know how to respond to that last one. Whether I should feel good about being in the advanced 10% or insulted that we have been doing something something so risky, inefficient and dependent on the environment for so much of our existence. There were only a small amount of edible plants and hunting was unpredictable and time consuming. Large amounts of land were required to be covered. sq(5km) per person.
There was cultural diversity between hunter-gatherer groups.
different environments -> different resources -> different tools
And groups isolated by desert or ice or ocean -> develop different languages.
Plus the low population density meant little interaction with other groups.
Characteristics of these societies
Nomadic
-constantly moving to find food sources
-no permanent structures
-used caves or constructed temporary huts
Tribal
-organised into small family-based clans
-50-100 members maximum
-tribe works together to raise children
Egalitarian
-no distinctions based on wealth
-resources shared among all members
-men and women were equally respected
Basic Culture
-early humans buried their dead
-cave painting and carving showed the evidence of religion
-different tribes spoke different languages and presented different styles of art
Simple Technology
-stone, bone or wooden tools
-rope and nets made from animal sinew (...ew)
-specialised tools for different jobs
How do we know about early humans?
Archaeology
This is the scientific study of material remains of past human activities (tools, pottery, bones, ruins). And early humans left behind many artefacts eg: stone tools, cave paintings, rubbish from cooking, bones of dead people (can't really get rid of that). And so studying these artifacts, archeologists can learn about early human diet, habits and where they lived.
Anthropology
This is the study of changes in human physical characteristics, cultures and societies over time. Lifestyles of some modern societies are somewhat similar to those of the Homo Sapiens. Studying traditions, stories and way of life of these people gave insights into early modern societies.
