xPresentation of the Hand Chart

Materials:
...Black strip of cloth 10' x 1', the last half inch is red.
...The black is to gie the sensorial i!pression of "nothingness."
...The scale is 100,000 #ears per foot.
...The hand holding the stone tool is the approxi!ate ti!e that h$!ans deeloped tools. The
entire length of the strip represents the
...ti!e h$!ans hae been on earth %1 !illion #ears&.
...The red 1'( inch is recorded histor# beginning abo$t ),000 BC.
Presentation:
*oll o$t the black strip. +a# so!ething like..."h$!ans are no, learning to ,alk, finding things,"...
"-./T0" "+o!ething has happened. /t took h$!ans all this ti!e to deelop tools." "1or a long
ti!e, h$!ans contin$ed to deelop and change and after a long ti!e, h$!ans deeloped
,riting as represented b# the s!all red strip."
1ollo, $p:
Hae disc$ssions ,ith the interested children on the follo,ing s$b2ects:
...-hat does it !ean to be h$!an3
...Ho, did the deelop!ent of the hand infl$ence the deelop!ent of tool !aking and ,riting3
/t is not necessar# for the! to arrie at an# specific concl$sion, !erel# to hae considered the
4$estions.
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x7arl# H$!ans: 1irst Ti!e 8ine
Materials:
...The Prepared Ti!e 8ine beginning abo$t 900,000 #ears ago $p to 1 .:.
....s !$ch appropriate fossil !aterial as #o$ hae.
....s !an# appropriate ill$strations as #o$ hae.
Presentation 1:
7xplain that there ,ere earlier ho!inid exa!ples, b$t this ti!e li!e begins ,ith Ho!o habilis,
"The Tool!akers." /f #o$ !et one of these "!en" toda#, #o$ ,o$ld not think it looked er#
h$!an. The# ,ere onl# fo$r to fo$r and a half feet tall. The# ,eighed less than ;0 po$nds. The#
had lo, bro,s and protr$ding 2a,s.
B$t, the# did so!ething no other creat$re had eer done before < the# picked $p a rock and
$sed it to help ,ith their ,ork. +cientists hae fo$nd act$al exa!ples.
Ho!o habilis, lied in s!all gro$ps and one factor in their abilit# to s$rie ,as their abilit# to
,ork together. The# established ho!e bases ,here the# ,o$ld ca!p for a ,hile rather than
roa!.
The pict$re of the !an eating ra, !eat is to represent the fact that these earl# ho!inids did not
hae fire. The# did not hae a lang$age ,ith ,ords. The# co!!$nicated ,ith gr$nts, screa!s
and !eaningf$l gest$res.
1ollo, $p:
= This is a great place to stop and direct a pla# bet,een t,o gro$ps of Ho!o habilis
bands. The children !$st not speak ,ords. The# !$st gest$re and gri!ace ,hile $ttering
gro,ls, hoots, groans, gr$nts and screa!s. The children loe to do this0 :on't forget that the
do!inant !ales ,ill probabl# for! a defiant protectie shield in front of the fe!ales, adolescents
and children. %.ss$re the st$dents that the# ,ill perfor! this pla# ,ith their clothes on. +o!e
!a# be rel$ctant as the# think the# ,ill hae to re!oe all their clothes.&
= 1ind exa!ples of Ho!o habilis in pict$res b# different artists. Hae the children disc$ss
the differences and fig$re o$t ,hat is spec$latie and ,hat is kno,n.
= . child can dra, or cop# scenes.
= /nfor!ation cards sho$ld be aailable for research. >?T7: ?lder books ,ill hae little or
no infor!ation of Ho!o habilis in the!.
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Presentation (:
Ho!o erect$s, "The @pright Man" ,as short %fie feet tall&. Their sk$lls ,ere thicker than
!odern h$!ans b$t co!pared ,ith earlier ho!inids, their heads and brains ,ere considerabl#
larger and their faces ,ere flatter.
The hand of H. erect$s ,as beco!ing !ore dextero$s ,ith the pincer grip of th$!b and fingers
s$pplanting the po,er grip of H. habilis. Beca$se of this, the# ,ere able to fashion large hand
axes that f$nctioned as cleaers.
Perhaps the greatest achiee!ent of these people ,as their $se of fire, ,hich !a# hae been
related to the ice age. -ith fire, the# ,ere able to cook ,ooden spear points to harden the!
eno$gh to 2ab into !$ch larger ani!als ,ith !$ch to$gher skin. 1ire also sered to keep the
people ,ar! night and da# and to keep predators a,a# at night.
.ltho$gh these people originated in .frica, the# co$ld carr# fire ,ith the! and ,ere able to
!oe into the te!perate regions of the ,orld incl$ding China and Aer!an#. 5er# i!portant
>?T7: 1irst person to discoer the re!ains of H. erect$s ,as a :$tch !an na!ed 7$gene
:$bois.6
H. erect$s h$nted in larger gro$ps and $sed fire to drie ani!als into s,a!ps or off cliffs. B#
cooking their food, their 2a, !$scles and teeth ,ere able to di!inish in siBe, allo,ing the brain
siBe to increase.
-hile the ocal apparat$s of H. erect$s ,o$ld not allo, !$ch ocaliBation, it is possible that a
fe, so$nds ,ere $sed to "na!e" indiid$als or ob2ects %>?@>+&.
H. erect$s b$ilt the first shelters recogniBed as s$ch. There is no eidence that the# !ade
clothing, b$t those liing in the te!perate cli!ates probabl# ,ore ani!al skin capes d$ring the
,inter at least.
1ollo, $p:
= +i!ilar to that for Ho!o habilis.
= @sing a caref$ll# tended bri4$ette grill o$tside, the children can harden ,ooden points.
Hae the children scrape the bark fro! freshl# c$t saplings. The toasting !$st be done caref$ll#
so that no charcoal %,hich is soft and cr$!bl#& for!s. /f it does, $se it ,ith #o$r histor# of ,riting
actiit#0
= Co$ !a# be able to find a local archeologist or >atie .!erican ,ho is adept at chipping
flint tools. . isit fro! s$ch a person is al,a#s a treat for eer#bod#.
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Presentation D:
Ho!o neanderthalensis, take their na!e fro! the little alle# in Aer!an# ,here the# ,ere
discoered. The# ,ere er# po,erf$l ,ith strong !$scles and thick bones. /t is eas# to
$nderstand ,h# scientists !istook the! for stooped, h$lking br$tes ,ith a acant expression.
-e no, kno, that this is false, b$t this !istaken i!age of a "cae!an" lingered for a long ti!e <
een into toda# in so!e people's !inds.
Their sk$lls ,ere lo, in front ,ith a hea# ridge of bone aboe their e#es. The# barel# had an#
chin at all. The# had a brain capacit# greater than !odern h$!ans. This does not !ean the#
,ere s!arter than ,e are. /ntelligence depends on siBe and organiBation of the brain. +t$dies
sho, that their ision ,as probabl# better than o$rs, b$t their lang$age ,as not as deeloped
and the# co$ldn't think ahead as ,ell as ,e do.
The >eanderthals ,ere great h$nters. The# h$nted large ani!als s$ch as !a!!oth and ,ooll#
rhinoceros ,ith little !ore than fire hardened ,ooden spears. There is no eidence that the#
$sed stone spear points, b$t the# did chip stone scrappers off flint cores.
>eanderthals b$ried their dead, incl$ding s!all children, ,ith food and tools, probabl# indicating
so!e kind of religion. This practice has contrib$ted to the n$!ero$s skeletons in !$se$!s and
to a greater kno,ledge of the c$sto!s of the >eanderthal. There is eidence that the# cared for
sick and elderl# !e!bers of their clans. The# $sed ani!al skins as clothes and !a# een hae
$sed certain plants for !edicine. The# contin$ed the tradition of b$ilding si!ple shelters. There
are indications of h$ts !ade fro! saplings b$ilt inside so!e of the 7$ropean cae sites.
.bo$t D0,000 #ears ago, the >eanderthals died off and the ca$se re!ains a !#ster#, b$t ,e
hae a clear idea of ,hat ca!e next, the Cro<Magnons.
1ollo, $p:
+i!ilar to those after the other earl# ho!inids. E$st ad2$st #o$r infor!ation and gie it a go0
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Presentation ):
?er 100,000 #ears ago, a ne, line of h$!ans began to deelop. The# ,ere called Ho!o
sapiens, "the ,ise !en." These people ,ere nickna!ed Cro<Magnons after the na!e of the
place ,here the# ,ere first discoered. .bo$t D0,000 #ears ago, the >eanderthals died o$t and
left the Cro<Magnons as the onl# kind of h$!an on earth. Toda# all h$!ans, een #o$, belong
to this species.
The Cro<Magnons had brains larger than o$rs toda#. The# ,ere taller and !ore slender than
the >eanderthals. Their faces looked !$ch the sa!e as o$rs. /f #o$ ,ere to !eet a Cro<
Magnon dressed in a b$siness s$it, #o$ ,o$ld probabl# not notice an#thing strange abo$t the!.
The# ,ere h$nters, artists, drea!ers, seekers and doers. The# inented !$sic %+cientists hae
fo$nd a fl$te dating fro! D(,000 #ears ago.&, art %fo$nd in .lta!ira and 8asca$x caes dating
fro! abo$t 1F,000 #ears ago& and lang$age.
The !ore people kno,, the faster changes occ$r. /n the Paleolithic, it so!eti!es took 100,000G
#ears for a ne, ,a# of !aking tools to deelop. .s ti!e ,ent on, o$r prehistoric ancestors
learned to $se fire, the ,heel and the bo, and arro,. The pace of change gre, faster. This is
still happening toda#. ?$r technolog# !a# change !ore in one #ear than did that of o$r
prehistoric ancestors in a tho$sand cent$ries %1,000,000 #ears&.
Preh$!an and earl# h$!an indiid$als lied for oer D !illion #ears at the technological leel
characteriBed as the 8o,er ?ld +tone .ge. The @pper ?ld +tone .ge ,ill span onl# D0,000
#ears, or ; inches on o$r ti!e line. /n the last t,o inches are contained the Middle +tone .ge,
the >e, +tone .ge, the Copper and BronBe .ges and o$r o,n Modern .ge.
?bio$sl# it is ti!e to expand the scale of the ti!e line so ,e can st$d# these last i!portant
stages in greater detail. @nroll the +econd Ti!e 8ine after de!onstrating the expansion of an
elastic bet,een #o$r hands. >?T7: This ti!e line is H<1( !aterial and is $s$all# not gien in
detail at ;<H.
1ollo, $p:
The H$!an I$estion. 7ach species has its o,n special s$rial tools, for exa!ple: fangs,
cla,s, speed, the abilit# to hide or the abilit# to ,ithstand dro$ght. ?$r tools are o$r hands and
o$r brains. -ith these tools, ,e hae the po,er to choose to shape the ,orld aro$nd $s. -e
are the onl# creat$re that has eer had that choice. The great 4$estions that arise fro! this are
= Ho, ,ill ,e shape the ,orld3
= -ill ,e !ake it better, or ,ill ,e destro# it3
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