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The Beginnings of
Human Society
Prehistory
Section 2 - Prehistory
The Stone Age
The Stone Age began when
humans first made tools out of
stone. This happened about twohundred fifty million years ago.
They used stones to hammer at
soft volcanic rock, and the
volcanic rock chipped off into
sharp pieces. Humans used the
sharp pieces to cut plants or meat.
The first tools were very simple,
and the Stone Age lasted for
hundreds of thousands of years.
Shelter
This is a prehistoric
shelter that people in
Russia used about
18,000 years ago. They
are built out of the
bones of the Wooly
Mammoth, which was a
very large animal that
resembled an elephant.
These shelters protected
early humans from the
weather, and from
predators.
The Stone Age: Two Periods
The Old Stone Age
The New Stone Age
During the Old Stone Age,
people did not know how to
farm. They hunted animals
and gathered roots and berries.
They used stone tools to cut
meat, cut animal skins for
clothes, and to protect
themselves. Eventually, Old
Stone Age people began
hunting in groups. Most of
prehistory takes place in the
Old Stone Age.
The New Stone Age began about
11,000 years ago in Southwest
Asia. The New Stone Age began
when people began planting seeds
and farming.
Fire!
About 500,000 years ago, during the Old Stone Age, people
discovered fire. It is thought that people began striking
stones together to make a spark, or maybe they rubbed two
sticks together. When people learned how to make fire, they
could move to colder places.
Settling New Areas
When people developed the use of tools, they began to leave
their original homes in Africa. People in the Stone Age became
nomads, which are people who wander and do not have a settled
home. Nomads move around from place to place, searching for
food. People began to spread out all over the earth.
The Beginning of Farming
When people discovered farming, about 11,000 years ago, the
New Stone Age began. It is thought that women may have been
the first farmers, since men were always off hunting. Women
gathered plants and seeds, and it is likely that they discovered
farming.
When people began farming, they did not have to travel around
anymore. They could get food from the land that they lived on.
People began building shelters that looked more like houses.
When farming began, people settled in lands with fertile soil.
Fertile soil is soil that has nutrients, which help plants grow the
best.
Taming Animals
Humans learned another important skill during the New Stone
Age. They learned to domesticate, or tame, wild animals. Dogs
may have been among the first animals that were domesticated,
because they could help early humans hunt. Humans also tamed
sheep, cows, and pigs. This meant that they had a ready source
of meat - they could just kill one of their domesticated animals
when they needed food, instead of going out and hunting. The
domestication of animals, along with the beginning of farming,
led to humans staying in one place for longer periods of time.