World Civilizations: The Global View Chapter 1
Chapter 1: From Human Prehistory to the Early Civilizations Paleolithic (Old Stone) Age (2.5 million-12,000 BCE) Typified by the use of crude stone tools and hunting and gathering for subsistence Nature of the human species gradually changed with a more erect posture and growing brain capacity Now termed Homo erectus and it is thought that the species originated in eastern Africa about 500,00 to 750,000 years ago Developed and spread in Africa, then to Asia and Europe Newest human breed, Homo sapiens sapiens, originated 240,000 years ago, also in Africa Men hunted only 7 hours a day, 3 days a week while women worked harder to gather fruits and vegetables, but there was significant gender equality Population growth was slow