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Partner content · Big History Project · 6. Early Humans

· 6.3—How Did the First Humans Live?

Gallery: How Did the First

Humans Live?
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Follow human migra on out of the Great Ri Valley,

examine archaeological records from early humans,
and contemplate how some of our ancestors lived as
hunters and gatherers.

Out of Africa

The Big History Project

The first humans originated in Africa's Great Ri
Valley, a large lowland area caused by tectonic plate
movement that includes parts of present-day Ethiopia,
Kenya and Tanzania. Human ancestors traveled in all
direc ons, constantly in search of abundant food
resources and new places to inhabit. Scien sts believe
there were numerous migratory routes out of Africa
by human ancestors but the latest migra on by Homo
sapiens is thought to have occurred in the last
60,000-100,000 years.

Shelter from the Elements

John Reader / Photo Researchers, Inc.

Human beings have proven themselves very capable

of adap ng to their environments. The ability to make
and use tools, our control of fire and our knack for
finding shelter from the elements all contribute to our
collec ve knowledge. Sites like Blombos Cave, shown
here, have given scien sts evidence about how early
humans lived and what they were capable of.

Blombos Cave
 The Big History Project

Blombos Cave, on the South African coast east of the

Cape of Good Hope (the Southern p of Africa), is an
important archaeological site with evidence of human
habita on from about 95,000 to about 55,000 years
ago. Materials found at the site can tell us a lot about
early human life.

Shore Dinner

John Reader / Photo Researchers, Inc.

Shell fragments found outside of Blombos Cave

indicate that the site's inhabitants used shellfish as a
significant source of food energy. There is some
evidence that human inhabitants of this site also went
deep sea fishing for larger prey. Some shells were
made into beads that have been dated at 75,000
years old, an indica on that these early humans were
also interested in adornment, a form of symbolic
expression.

Old Stone Age Wri ng?

John Reader / Photo Researchers, Inc.

These pieces of ochre (a mineralized form of iron

oxide) were found at the Blombos Cave site. Some
archaeologists have gone so far as to claim that the
geometric markings on the stones are a form of
wri ng, or recording of informa on, but there is li le
doubt that these 75,000 year old pieces at least
demonstrate an early form of symbolic thought.

Ha ing
 © Be mann/CORBIS

Ha ing, the construc on of tools that combined stone

heads or points with wooden handles or sha s, is
considered to be an important innova on by early
humans. Resin (such as the s cky sap or "pitch" you
might find on a pine tree) and/or sinew (cured bands
of animal ssue) was used to secure the sharpened
stones to their wooden counterparts. Humans are
thought to have begun making ha ed tools between
100,000 and 200,000 years ago.

Big Game
 © Gianni Dagli Or /CORBIS

Innova ons in tool technology proved extremely

important for hun ng large game, such as the wooly
mammoths shown here. Early humans used stone and
ha ed tools to bring down the game and then to cut
the meat and skins for food and clothing.

The Bushmen
 © Anthony Bannister/Gallo Images/Corbis
The Bushmen, a foraging people of Southern Africa,
con nued with the hun ng and gathering lifestyle
well into the 20th century. Today, diminishing open
lands and increasingly limited public access to stocks
of wild food sources have caused most Bushmen like
the two hunters shown here to take up a sedentary
life. Foraging cultures s ll exist in the most remote
parts of the world but they are few, and far between.

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pp 4 years ago
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Mammoths are exicnt!

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4 years
m…
Anne Mikulski ago

I believe they are ex nct, but they

weren't during the age of early
man. They were hunted during the
Ice Age in Europe by humans. I
would assume that they were not
only hunted for food, but also for
clothing made from their fur and
 skin, and for their tusks and bones
to use as tools and implements. A
wooly mammoth would be a
wonderful, useful catch that could
feed a group of humans for quite
awile.
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Jones, Braxton 2 years ago

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What did they dress like so they wouldn't get

hurt or get infected by animals or insects?

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Jones, Braxton 2 years ago

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How did they hunt?

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apetersen a year ago

more

how did people now what to kill back in the

day?
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a month
m…
Longhuen1028 ago

They dont know,they just try it

once and if its okay then they know
its good
(1
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learning:) 4 years ago

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How did early people use tools to build
communi es?
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4 years
m…
Alicea De La Cruz ago

They eventually became smarter

with their car manship, and built
be er tools.
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nathan booker 4 years ago

more

where did they get the string to the bow

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3 years
m…
Webb Glauner ago

they make string out of plants or

animal tendons
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raymondanthony79 3 years ago

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were did Adam and eve leave in terms of

shelter
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Keira 3 years ago

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Adam and Eve did not need shelter,

because the animals weren't mean,
and they had all the fruit they
 needed to survive in terms of food,
so no, they didn't need a shelter. If
it rained, they embraced it, if it was
hot, they swam in the water.
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4804154035 3 years ago

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what kinds of clothes did they have

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Adelaide Jackson 3 years ago

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why do people forage now when they could

go to the store or garden and farm
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a month
m…
Longhuen1028 ago

because they are untouched

civiliza ons or maybe they want to
keep the tradi on
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alassandra burkhardt 3 years ago

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why didnt they like make clothes like the one

we have now?
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Kush Parmar 2 years ago

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Because a Man's first priority was

to survive each day. Fashion arrived
 a er they humans were able to
survive.
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How Did The First Humans Live? Foraging