Before Prehistory & Prehistory
Before Prehistory
4.5 BYA – 2.5 MYA
The period of Earth history between the formation of Earth and the appearance of the first human.
Prehistory
2.5 MYA – BC 4000
The period of human history between the use of first stone tools and the invention of the first writing systems.
Paleolithic Period
- Ice Age
- First appearance of the genus Homo:
- Homo Erectus (1.8 MYA): “upright human”
- Homo Neanderthalensis (BC 400,000): Neanderthal
- Homo Sapiens (BC 200,000): “wise human”; Out of Africa theory
- Homo Sapiens Sapiens (BC 45,000): anatomically modern humans
Mesolithic Period
- Interglacial Period (11,000 YA)
- Rising Temperature; Climate Change (Milder)
Neolithic Period
- First economic revolution (Neolithic Revolution)
- Economic transformation:
- organized labor
- creation of permanent settlements, later developing into cities, providing the economic foundation for civilization
- Foundations of the first civilizations:
- : Cradle of Civilization in the Near East (Fertile Crescent = Mesopotamia)
- Jericho settlement (BC 9000): early agriculture and permanent settlement; traded salt
- Çatalhöyük settlement (BC 6000, Anatolia Plateau): traded shells and stone