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The First Communities

Lesson 1

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Living as Hunters and Gatherers

  • Nomads were always looking for new caves to stay in
  • Men would hunt and use the only weapons available, KNIVES and SPEARS\
    • Some may have sharp tips, or be carved out of animal bone

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Living as Hunters and Gatherers

  • Women and children gathered food
    • Berries, nuts, and fruit

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  • They would use sticks to dig up roots

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  • Homes were very simple
    • Caves, tents made of animal hides (skins), huts made of branches

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The New Stone Age

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  • The Ice Age Ended
  • The new warmer climate was better for plants
    • People began to cultivate crops
    • Crops included wheat, barley, rice, and beans

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The New Stone Age

  • People began to domesticate wild animals
    • Sheep, cows, and goats were domesticated
  • These animals were used as sources of milk, meat, and hides
  • People of the New Stone Age had stopped being hunters and gatherers and had become farmers

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Village Life

  • Because of planting and growing crops families stayed in one place

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  • As more families settled down they began to live together in agriculture villages

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  • No more living in caves, more permanent homes were built

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Village Life

  • They built pens for animals
  • Since there was enough food, people could learn new skills
    • Potters or weavers, toolmakers, boatbuilding

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  • People could trade between villages
  • Communities began to grow

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The Earliest Cities

  • Villages continued to grow – they became towns
    • Larges ones were called cities

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  • Two of the earliest
    • Jericho
    • Catal Huyuk

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The Earliest

  • Jericho
    • Built around 7500 B.C.E, in the Jordan Valley
    • Covered 4 acres of land and was surrounded by a wall that was over 12 feet high

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Catal Huyuk

  • 1950’s scientists discovered the ruins of another city in Turkey
  • Contained what is now the world’s oldest pottery and wool clothing
  • City was built later than Jericho
    • In a region that used to be called Asia Minor

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Catal Huyuk

  • City 8 times bigger than Jericho
  • Contained many large brick and stone buildings packed tightly together with no streets or alleys between them

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  • This would set the stage for the next major development in human history – the birth of civilizations

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Cultures and Civilizations

  • Villages needed a way to be organized so life could run smoothly
  • Villages grew into a civilization
  • Civilizations usually have:
    • Government
    • System of record keeping
    • Class system