HUMAN MIGRATION

AND SETTLEMENT

migration
[ m grysh'n ]
1) movement from one place to another: the act or process of moving from
one region or country to another

2) group moving between places: a group of people, birds, or other animals

that are moving together from one region or country to another

There are no historical records that track the paths of migration

of the earliest humans. Scientists piece together the story of
human migration by examining the tools, art and burial sites
they left behind and by tracing genetic patterns. These fossils
and DNA provide strong evidence that modern human beings
(Homo sapiens) originated in Africa in about 100 000 BCE during
the Palaeolithic period or Old Stone Age. It is called this
because early people used very basic stone tools to help them
survive. The fossils and DNA evidence strongly supports the
theory that the human race started out of Africa; however, even
with these clues, much
information about early
human migration is
uncertain.

Draw in the arrows on your sheet, showing the different routes people took out of Africa.

 It is not known for certain why the movement out of

Africa began. The early humans lived a huntergatherer lifestyle, which could be a difficult one, as it
relied heavily on the weather conditions and how
many animals and plants were available to eat. When
the climatic conditions changed, the early humans
reacted by moving on to other areas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5orVEJburQ
Watch video explaining the earliest human migration
(right click and open hyperlink).

Evidence of Human Migration

Proof of the migration of early humans can be found at
many archaeological sites around the world. This includes
caves, cliff and rock shelters, open campsites and
middens. Middens are pretty much ancient rubbish
heaps, which are filled with the litter of early human life;
such as bones, shells, seeds as well as broken tools and
arrowheads. They allow archaeologists to estimate when
humans arrived in the areas where they are found.
In recent times, scientists have used something called
molecular biology to learn about the migration patterns
of early humans. By comparing DNA from fossils with
DNA from modern humans, scientists can try to work out
how Homo sapiens settled the Earth and when changes
or splits in the population occurred.

We can also tell where people migrated to by the many paintings

and artefacts that have been discovered by archaeologists. One of
the most famous finds was in France at a place called Lascaux.
Here, a huge cave was found containing over 600 realistic
paintings of bison, ox, stag, mammoth and various other animals.
These paintings are estimated to have been drawn in about 17 000
BCE. The paintings managed to remain preserved all this time
because of the unusual atmospheric conditions inside the Lascaux
Caves. http://vimeo.com/40849516 (open link for a virtual tour of the cave).
Discuss as a class, why these pictures may have been painted
and what they might mean.

THE STONE AGE

Historians divide the Stone Age into three different periods based on the
sophistication and methods of tool design. The first such period is referred
to as the Paleolithic, or Old Stone Age. Some scientists say the Old Stone
Age began about 2 million years ago with the development of the first
tools and lasted until around 12,000 years ago.

The Mesolithic, or Middle Stone Age, began around 12,000 years ago and
continued through about 8,000 years ago.
The Neolithic, or New Stone Age, lasted from 8,000 years until around
5,000 years ago.
As the Stone Age progressed, the tools people used
became more and more advanced. From simple
rocks to sharpened stones to tools made from bones
antlers, teeth and ivory.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/stone-age-toolkit.html
(open link to complete Tools Of The Stone Age worksheet)

The Neolithic Revolution

During the Neolithic or New Stone Age, a new way of providing
food emerged that would change humanity forever farming.
Instead of hunting and gathering food from the environments
where they lived, humans learned to simply grow their own
food.
Grains such as wheat, barley, rice and corn
were grown in different parts of the world.
Wild animals were also domesticated. Goats
were kept for their meat and milk, while
cattle, pigs and chickens provided a steady
source of food for the support of a group of
humans.

 Farming allowed people to build villages along rivers, or wherever

the ground was fertile enough for crops to grow. Archaeologists
have found some villages that are believed to have been built more
than 8,000 years ago. Some of these ancient villages, such as
Jericho, still survive to this day.

With an plenty of food and permanent shelters, people had more

time to spend developing new technologies. Better farming
equipment, such as the ox-driven plough, were invented. The wheel
helped humans greatly in transporting goods from one location to
another. The loom allowed people to weave cloth and create finer
and more comfortable clothing.

Tools were created for measuring the passage of time, such as

calendars, star charts and sundials. This helped farmers track when the
growing season would arrive, and when the best time to plant crops
would be.
The Neolithic ended when people stopped using stone tools and
started to use tools made out of metal. No one really knows how or
why people started to use metal tools rather than stone; the inventors
of metal tools didnt write anything down. Scientists think people
started using copper and gold for ornaments and jewellery before they
started using metal for tools. The reason scientists think jewellery
came first is because they have found human skeletons surrounded by
metal jewellery and stone tools.
Play Agriculture video (on the J-Drive).
Discuss as a class.

The watch First Cities Appear video.

Discuss as class and fill in the Cities society and
Civilisations worksheet as you go.

 As tools and farming techniques improved, the groups

of people living and working together began to grow.
Groups of people living and working closely together in
cities are called societies. As mankind began to develop
more complex ways of life, and as cities began to
increase in size and complexity, a new type of society
emerged. These societies are known today as
civilisations. For a city or society to be known as a
civilisation, it needs to have 9 specific features, which
show that is an organised and advanced group of
people.
Open your SOSE Alive History 1 text book to page 18 and read through the
information as a class. Then fill in the Features of a Civilisation part of the sheet.

As cultures became more complex and evolved, they needed to keep records about
their societies. Priests began to record who had donated religious offerings, traders
recorded their transactions among different groups of peoples, and leaders recorded
their victories in battle, as well as laws for their people to follow. Written language
began as pictures known as glyphs. These glyphs represented objects and ideas. Over
many thousands of years these glyphs have evolved becoming the letters that we use
today.
Many writing examples have been found in Egypt and Iraq that are to do with the
trading of grain, land, and animals. As Mesopotamia (modern Iraq), ancient Egypt, and
ancient India traded with each other, it is possible that the idea of
writing could have spread between them.
Mesopotamia was part of the Sumerian culture.
Their early writing has become known as
cuneiform (wedge-shaped) due to its style.
In Egypt, one of the oldest examples of a pictogram
is the name of a Pharoah, possibly written in about
3400 B.C. These ancient Egyptian symbols are
called hieroglyphs and are thought to have
developed from cuneiform symbols.