Early Humans Project

How was hunter's life shaped by his/her enviernment?

Question 1

To survive in the frigid temperatures, humans had to adapt, or change, many areas of their lives. One way they adapted their diets was by advancing meals with fat. They need the fat to store energy because you burn more calories in the cold. Fatty foods have a lot of calories you could use to keep warm. To protect themselves from the cruel environment, they also learned to build sturdier shelters. Stone blocks were used for their shelter. They lived inside cave entrances while others built huts in forested areas. Finally, they used a lot of animal fur such as beaver, muskrat, and rabbit. Wool was used for over a couple of centuries. The fur was used for warmer clothing.

What was hunter's way of life like? What did their day look like?

Question 2

Hunter-gatherer culture is a type of subsistence lifestyle that depends on hunting and fishing animals. It also relied on gathering wild vegetation and other nutrients. Some examples are honey, berries, nuts, and other plants for food. Humans started hunting-gathering two million years ago. They stopped about 12,000 years ago. They stopped because they began farming and building permanent houses at their farms.

The time in which the hunter's lived.

Question 3

Before permanent settlements, the hunter gatherers lived in clans. A clan was between 50 to 100 adults. The men hunted animals and the women gathered food. They lived in caves and small huts, and were nomadic. They would move where the animals would move. There were no kings or people in charge in the entire clan. Everybody worked together to get things done. They lived like this until the Agricultural Revolution

What were some events the hunter's would have experienced?

Question 4

Some of the events a clan member would experience are: always on the move walking from one place to the next in search of food, if it was a large animal they would hunt in a group. Different places had different nuts and berries depending on their region, so sometimes their diet would change because of the area. They believed in animism. Animism is the belief that the natural world is filled with spirits. They worshiped the animals they hunted.

How was a herder's life shaped by his environment?

Question 1

In Mesopotamia, where there is fertile soil, they herded sheep and goats. The sheep were used for wool to make clothes and goats were used for meat and milk. In Europe they learned how to herd sheep and cattle. The cows were used for milk. In SOuth America they herded goats for milk and lamas and alpacas were used for fur, meat and for transportation when they traded. Herders helped make settlements permanent.

What was a herder's way of life like? What did a herder's day look like?

Question 2

A herder’s day included watching the animals all day and to protect them from other animals or other humans who wanted to steal them. They would also milk the animals to get fresh milk for the towns that were developing and herded the animals to raise them for meat for the community. They sheared the wool from sheep- something we still do today.

Describe the time in which the herder lived.

Question 3

Herders became important when the Agricultural Revolution began 12,000 years ago. They lived in a time when city-states began to develop and the extra meat, fur and milk they produced they brought to the cities to trade.

What were some events a herder would have experienced?

Queston 4

Some events herders would experience include maybe herding animals with other herders when they merge flocks or when they need to move the flock of animals to a better grazing area. They would also visit the towns and cities with their flock if they need to sell the animals or trade or buy new animals to add to their flocks. Some would stay up at night to watch their flocks, like the herders and shepherds we see in the Bible when Jesus is born.

How was a farmer's life shaped by his environment?

Question 1

Once the Agricultural Revolution began, farmers farmed a surplus of grains and vegetables because of technological advances such as irrigation and the use of plows and seed funnels. They used the surplus to trade and get the things they needed like clothes and resources like bricks so they could make permanent homes. They did this so that they would not move away from their farms which had rich soil from the rivers they lived on.

What was the farmer's way of life like? What did his day look like?

Question 2

Farming meant that people no longer had to move to find food. Every day, using irrigation and other technology, they grew grains like barley in Mesopotamia or potatoes in South America. They farmed everyday and they stored their surplus grains or vegetables to bring to markets in the growing cities to trade. Some farmers domesticated animals and traded their meat in a barter system in the cities. The animals, too, were kept in one place on pastures rather than moving from one grazing area to another like the early herders did.

Describe the time in which the farmer lived.

Question 3

Early farmers in the Fertile Crescent began around 10,000 BC. In other areas like SOuth America, it began around 9,000 BC. Life was a little more planned as farmers lived in one place and settled the fertile land near rivers such as in Mesopotamia. They were no longer nomadic and farming and wanting to trade the surplus they made led to the growth of cities around markets

What were some events a farmer would have experienced?

Question 4

Some events farmers would experience include plowing fields with seed funnels and using carts with wheels. Wheels were invented by the Sumerians during this time. Other events include building and maintaining irrigation systems for the crops of grains and learning better strategies to grow and raise animals for food such as pigs, cattle and chickens or other birds for eggs. If there was a surplus of grains, vegetables or animals or their meat, farmers would either find ways to store them, like building silos for grains or pens and enclosed fields for sheep or goats. They would also bring them to markets to use to barter within the cities. Maybe farmers would help build the government by helping to develop laws for trading. Farmers today pretty much do the same thing.