TOPIC 11 (6º) PREHISTORY AND ANTIQUITY
LINKS ABOUT PREHISTORIC TIMES AND EVOLUTION OF MAN
PALEOLITHIC
PREHISTORIC ART
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
WHAT IS PREHISTORY?
BBC page
DINOSAURS
PDF document
Reading: PREHISTORY.
What is the Stone Age
“Stone Age” is a term used to refer to prehistoric times, beginning when humans started to make tools and weapons that were made of stone. The Bronze Age and the Iron Age followed. The Stone Age is divided into Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic periods, marking the progressive levels of sophistication found in artifacts and cultural activities.
The Paleolithic Age stretches from about 2-2.5 million years BCE to 10,000 years BCE, which is 95 percent of the time humans and their direct ancestors have been on this planet. Food was obtained mostly by hunting, fishing and collecting wild plants, nuts and fruit.
Tools of the Stone Age.
There are no written records from the Stone Age. What we know about Stone Age humans comes from things they made, like weapons, tools, shelters and other objects discovered mostly in archaeological digs. Engraving designs on stones and bones, carved figures and drawings on the walls of caves also give us information and help us trace the slow development of Homo sapiens throughout the period.
The oldest known tools, from 2.6 to 2.5 million years ago come from Gona in Africa, where thousands of stone artifacts were found. The artifacts show that those who made them, most likely a human ancestor species, were very knowledgeable about stone fracture mechanics. Gona is near Ethiopia, where many other tools were found, although they were a bit younger, from 2.4-2.3 million years ago.
Groups of Homo erectus, an early species of humans found in China, Asia, Africa and Europe between 100,000 and 500,000 years ago, used stone tools, including hand axes, that were made by chipping at the stone to form an edge for cutting.
Many flint tools from the Middle Paleolithic Age, about 150,000 years BCE to about 40,000 year BCE, were found mainly in Europe, but also in North Africa, the Middle East and Siberia. This is the age of the Neanderthals, an early form of humans who lived about 40,000 to 100,000 years ago. Human ancestors during this age lived in caves, and many groups used fire. Needles made out of bone from that time were also found, evidence that they may have sewn animal skins for clothing and other protection.
Where did the People of the Stone Age Live.
Shelters made by Neanderthals showed that they also lived in huts made of wood and had hearths for fire, Another hut made of animal hides over wooden poles was found inside of cave in Grotte du Lazaret in France. Other huts, sometimes with divided living spaces and hearths and braced with mammoth bones have been found in France, the Ukraine, Siberia and Russia
What Did Stone Age People Eat?
During the Stone Age, people were primarily hunter-gatherers. They depended for food on those items that were readily available and were in their close proximity. This included animals and the various plants that grew in the area. This type of existence, of necessity, defined the ability of ancient people to interact with their environment.
Lacking the ability to cultivate their own food, either plant or animal, Stone Age people were forced to live on what the surroundings provided. This type of subsistence life style meant that people were unable to stay in one specific location for any length of time. A number of factors would force them to move and seek new sources of food. By way of example, the available edible plants or the animal life in any specific area would be depleted. Other factors influencing the need to relocate continuously included other, stronger tribes competing for the same area, the lack of adequate drinking water or, following the discovery of fire, the lack of fire-burning materials.
This nomadic existence also meant that Stone Age society was one without any form of permanent settlement. Therefore, people took shelter either in caves or in primitive shelters easily constructed from material gathered around them. Additionally, people were forced to carry all of their possessions with them. This was a significant burden that prevented the development of a more advanced community. The amount of time needed to find and acquire food was another barrier to mankind’s development as most of the day was spent gathering food and seeking places for shelter.
Agriculture was unknown to Stone Age people. Many of what are today considered basic foodstuffs were thus unavailable to them. For example, there would have been no grain products. These would have required people’s remaining in one place where wheat, barley, rice and so forth could ripen. The Stone Age diet would have consisted primarily of meat and fish, fruits, vegetables, roots and nuts.
Artifacts from the Upper Paleolithic Age
Artifacts from the Upper Paleolithic Age, 40,000 BCE to 10,000 BCE, belonging to Cro-Magnons, now called early modern humans, were found in Europe. This is also the period of the famous “Venus of Willendorf,” dated between 24,000 BCE and 22,000 BCE. This 11-centimeter high carving of a female figure made of oolitic limestone was discovered in a village in lower Austria. It is the first of several such small carvings of females found in an area from France to Siberia that have essentially the same characteristics: very large abdomens and pendulous breasts, no features on the face and very tiny or missing feet. Thought by some to be fertility figures, these findings, along with very few findings of male figures, have led to much speculation about the role of women in Paleolithic communities and the possibility of matriarchal societies.
Mesolithic Age.
During the Mesolithic Age, beginning more than 10,000 years ago, humans domesticated plants and animals and settled in communities, frequently along shorelines. Stone tools became smaller and more refined, and the bow and pottery began to appear.
The Mesolithic Age overlapped with the Neolithic age. The latter saw the development of pottery and weaving and ended with the appearance of metal tools and weapons which helped with hunting. The rate of development varied in different geographic regions but overall man was evolving.
TASK:
1) Write 5 facts about Prehistory that you like.
2) Click on one of the links provided and write a report/article about the content and what you learned.
3) Present your research with pictures or drawings of your discoveries.
4) Write a summary of the text “Prehistory” above.
THE ROMAN HISPANIA
Hispania is one of the names given the area that is the modern Spain and Portugal. It is also known as the Iberian Peninsula, a name said to come from the Ebro (Iberus) river. Early settlers included Celts and Africans. Phoenicians may have colonized areas of the peninsula in 1100 B.C. Here are more resources on Hispania from the point at which it came to the attention of Republican Rome.
The name Hispania refers to the Iberian peninsula where modern Spain and Portugal are located. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Pyrenees. Six mountain ranges separate five large valleys with major rivers, Durius (Donro), Tagus (Tajo), Anas (Guadiana), Baetis (Guadalquivir), and the Iberus (Ebro).
After its defeat by the Romans in the First Punic War (264-41 B.C.), Carthage compensated for its loss of Sicily by rebuilding a commercial empire in Spain. The country became the staging ground for Hannibal's epic invasion of Italy during the Second Punic War (218-201 B.C.). Roman armies also invaded Spain and used it as a training ground for officers and as a proving ground for tactics during campaigns against the Carthaginians and the Iberians. Iberian resistance was fierce and prolonged, however, and it was not until 19 B.C. that the Roman emperor Augustus (r. 27 B.C.-A.D. 14) was able to complete the conquest of Spain.
Romanization of the Iberians proceeded quickly after their conquest. Called Hispania by the Romans, Spain was not one political entity but was divided into three separately governed provinces (nine provinces by the fourth century A.D.). More important, Spain was for more than 400 years part of a cosmopolitan world empire bound together by law, language, and the Roman road.
Iberian tribal leaders and urban oligarchs were admitted into the Roman aristocratic class, and they participated in governing Spain and the empire. The latifundios (sing., latifundio), large estates controlled by the aristocracy, were superimposed on the existing Iberian landholding system.
The Romans improved existing cities, established Zaragoza, Merida, and Valencia, and provided amenities throughout the empire. Spain's economy expanded under Roman tutelage. Spain, along with North Africa, served as a granary for the Roman market, and its harbors exported gold, wool, olive oil, and wine. Agricultural production increased with the introduction of irrigation projects, some of which remain in use. The HispanoRomans --the romanized Iberians and the Iberian-born descendants of Roman soldiers and colonists--had all achieved the status of full Roman citizenship by the end of the first century A.D. The emperors Trajan (r. 98-117), Hadrian (r. 117-38), and Marcus Aurelius (r. 161-80) were born in Spain.
HADRIAN
Official Title: Imperator Caesar Traianus Hadrianus Augustus
Name Known by: Hadrianus Augustus. Wife: Trajan's grand-niece Vibia Sabina
Dates: January 24, 76 - July 10, 138
Place of Birth: Italica, in Hispania Baetica, or Rome
Answer these questions:
1) What was Hispania?
2) Where does the name of Hispania come from?
3) How did the romanization of Hispania happen?
4) What emperors were from Hispania?
5) Who was Hadrian?
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Task: Find monuments built by the Romans in Spain and important towns from that time.
