HST103A World History | Unit 1 : Civilization Begins | Lesson 3

Student Guide
Lesson 3: Finding Our Past

Lesson Objectives
• Describe early hunter-gatherer communities.
• Explain current scientific theories on where, when, and how early human communities developed.
• Identify the types of scholars who study the lives of early humans and the methods they use.
• Describe key social, cultural, and economic characteristics of early agricultural villages and the first
cities.
• Recognize the elements that are used to define civilization.

PREPARE
Approximate lesson time is 60 minutes.

Materials
For the Student
Lesson Answer Key
World History: Our Human Story
History Journal
Keywords and Pronunciation
Lascaux (lah-SKOH)
Neanderthals (nee-AN-dur-TAWLZ)
Olduvai (OHL-duh-WAY)
personality traits : Distinguishing qualities or characteristics of a person, such as honesty, dedication,
responsibility, and courage.

LEARN
Activity 1: Lesson Checklist (Online)
Instructions
• Read Chapter 1, Section 1, pages 2–9, and answer the questions.
• Complete the Observing Lascaux activity.
• Read the Sorting Out History activity online.
• Complete the Use What You Know activities online.
• Complete the Checkpoint.

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 HST103A World History | Unit 1 : Civilization Begins | Lesson 3

Activity 2: Evidence of Our Distant Past (Online)

Instructions
Read
 
Read Chapter 1, Section 1, pages 2–9, and answer the questions.
 
Think about the following questions as you read:
 
• How do scholars reconstruct prehistory?
• What are the most widely accepted theories on how the earliest humans migrated?
 
1.According to the time line on pages 2 and 3, when did Homo sapiens first appear?
 
 
2.Define prehistory:
 
 
 
 
3.As you read “Finding the Past,” identify the types of scholars that study prehistoric humans. Write the name of
each in a box below. Then, write a definition for each. (The definition for one type is not given in the book, but you
should be able to write a definition using what you learned in the Semester Introduction lesson.)

    
 
4.Complete this chart to briefly describe the methods scientists use to study the lives of early humans:
 

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 HST103A World History | Unit 1 : Civilization Begins | Lesson 3

Method Description
radiocarbon dating
 
   
 
 
paleomagnetic dating
 
   
   
 
 
potassium-argon dating
 
 
 
 
 
 
DNA analysis
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
5.Write the number of each species of hominids in the correct space in the time line below:
 
Neanderthals Australopithecus
1. 2. Homo sapiens 3.
  afarensis
Homo habilis
4. 5. Homo erectus    
 

    
 
6.Complete the following paragraph as you read the subsection titled “Homo Sapiens.”
 
Prehistoric Homo sapiens lived in small groups, or ___________________ of 20–30 extended family members.
They lived as ____________________. Clans lived in ___________ or ____________________. They made needles
and spearheads out of ___________, carved ___________ out of stone and ivory, and painted ___________ and
symbols on cave walls.

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 HST103A World History | Unit 1 : Civilization Begins | Lesson 3

 
7.To which species do modern-day humans belong?
 
 
 
8.According to archaeological evidence, studies of human anatomy, and DNA analysis, where did humans
originate?
 
 
 
9.Describe the migration of early humans.
 
 
 
 
Observing Lascaux
 
Visit the Caves of Lascaux website: http://archeologie.culture.fr/lascaux/en.  Click “virtual tour.” Take some time to
learn how to navigate through the cave and view images of the paintings and drawings.
 
Observe
Takes notes about what you see. Use details to describe the images in your notes. (For example, instead of
writing “a bull,” you might write “a red bull with its head down.”) You also might want to note some things you don’t
see that you might expect to see in a painting.
 
Animals Objects/Signs People Activities
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
 
Analyze
Based on your tour of the Lascaux Caves, describe three things that you can infer or conclude about the

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 HST103A World History | Unit 1 : Civilization Begins | Lesson 3

lives and beliefs of the people who made the drawings, paintings, and engravings, and what led you to each
conclusion.
 
 
 
 
Inference/Conclusion Basis for Inference/Conclusion
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 
Conclude
Based on your observations and today’s reading, why do you think the prehistoric people made the drawings,
paintings, and engravings, in the Caves of Lascaux?

Activity 3: Sorting Out History (Online)

Instructions
Read the Sorting Out History activity online.

ASSESS
Lesson Checkpoint: Finding Our Past (Online)
Use your completed Student Guide for this lesson to answer the following questions.

LEARN
Activity 4: Finding Our Past (Online)

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