Prehistory

We explain what prehistory and its main characteristics are. In addition, what are its stages, prehistoric art and more.

What is prehistory?

It is known as prehistory to the period of history that It covers from the appearance of the first human beings, 2.5 million years ago, until the invention of writing, towards the year 3000 a. C. This concept belongs to a traditional periodization that divides the history of humanity into different ages (ancient, medium, modern and contemporary) and considers “prehistoric” to all peoples that do not have a writing system.

Prehistory covers the stone age and includes Paleolithic and Neolithic periods. During the Paleolithic period, the hominization process (the evolution of man) and the appearance of the first human beings as we know today are given.

The human species expanded by the different continents, the first forms of social organization appeared and the first work techniques were developed to create tools.

During the Neolithic period, Some human societies developed agriculture and livestockwhich led to the appearance of the first sedentary settlements and the first more complex forms of social organization.

Specialists no longer use the name “prehistory” to refer to this period, because the term implies that the history of peoples without writing cannot be known and, therefore, the idea that these are not subject to the study of historians. Currently, historians prefer to use the name “AGRAFA stage”, since civilizations that did not leave written testimonies are also part of the history of humanity and can be known through various types of sources.

Metal age. The age of metals is a form of historical dating that archaeologists use to chronologically categorize societies that developed complex work techniques to manipulate metals such as copper, bronze and iron. This ability generated other social, economic and cultural changes, which differentiated them from the rest of contemporary societies.
The age of metals is only used to describe some societies in Europe, Asia and Africa. The dating overlaps with the neolithic period of the stone age (last period of prehistory) and the ancient age (first period of the “history”).

See also: History

PREHISTORY CHARACTERISTICS

The main characteristics of human life during prehistory were the evolution of the species, nomadism, the invention of stone tools, the development of different hunting techniques and the appearance of increasingly complex forms of social organization.

• During prehistory, the human evolution process covered biological and cultural changes that led to the appearance of the current human species.
• Different work techniques on natural resources were developed, for the creation of tools, weapons and utensils: wood, stone, bones and metals.
• It went from simple social organizations based on a subsistence economy (nomadism, hunting and collection) to more complex social organizations linked to a productive economy (sedentary lifestyle, livestock and agriculture).

Stages of prehistory

Prehistory corresponds to the stone age that, in turn, is divided into the Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic periods. These periods are linked to the historical development of each human society, so the temporal division of these stages is not exact.

The main characteristics of these periods are:

• Paleolithic. It corresponds to the oldest stage of prehistory, approximately from 2,500,000 to 35,000 a. C. Its denomination comes from the Greek which means “ancient stone.” During this period there was the process of human evolution until the appearance of the human being as we know it. Towards the end of this period, human societies were organized in bands, were nomads and their economy was based on hunting and collection.
• Mesolithic. It corresponds to the stage from 10,000 to 6,000 a. C. It was characterized by the advances in the work of the polished stone and by the appearance of some changes in the form of hunting and collection, which allowed to gradually develop the passage of a subsistence economy to an economy of agricultural and livestock production. In addition, during this stage the first seasonal settlements appeared.
• Neolithic. It corresponds to the stage from 6000 to 3000 a. C. It was characterized by the work of the molded and polished stone, the progress in the practices of agriculture and the domestication of some animals. These changes consolidated the sedentary way of life and the appearance of settlements of greater population. With this process, human organizations became more complex and the first forms of social hierarchy appeared.

Human evolution in prehistory

During the Paleolithic period, the process of human evolution was given (also called hominization process) through which the different biological and cultural changes that led to the appearance of the current human being were given. Simplified, the hominization process can be organized in:

• Homo habilis. They are the oldest hominids and date from 2.5 million years ago. They inhabited Africa, they got to measure 1.40 meters and had a cranial capacity of 700 cm³. They are the genre Homo which developed speech, manufactured the first stone tools and built transient shelters.
• Homo erectus. They are the hominids that migrated by different regions of Africa, Europe, Asia and Oceania. The oldest appeared 1.5 million years ago. They reached 1.60 meters and a cranial capacity of 1000 cm³. They learned to hunt small animals and control the fire.
• Homo sapiens. The oldest fossil remains of this genre Homo They date from 200,000 years ago, but it is believed that their evolution of the Homo erectus It started 500,000 years ago. They were 1.70 meters high and a cranial capacity of 1500 cm³. Some specialists believe that their intellectual potential was equivalent to that of the current human being. They developed a complex language, improved their tool manufacturing techniques and were the first hominids to bury their dead.
• Homo Neanderthalensis. These hominids only inhabited Europe and Asia and existed between 230,000 and 30,000 years ago. They are currently considered a subspecies of Homo sapiens And the reasons for their extinction are not known. During the last time, they coexisted with the Homo sapiens sapiensanother subspecies of the genre Homo.
• Homo sapiens sapiens. It is the species to which we belong today’s human beings. The oldest remains date from 200,000 years ago. They are the only species of the genus Homo that managed to populate all the continents. They improved hunting techniques, created religious rites and developed complex forms of social organization.

Human life during prehistory

During the Paleolithic, hominid and human populations were nomads. That means they did not live in a certain place, but that they migrated constantly. They mobilized in small groups. They had a subsistence economy based on hunting and collection.

They lived in natural shelters such as caves and also built transient shelters. Paleolithic humans They created tools from different work techniques On stone, wood and bone.

During the Mesolithic some human societies developed selective hunting and the first agricultural practices. This led to the modification of migration rhythms. The first semi -fold societies appeared that built seasonal settlements. This generated a demographic increase, the emergence of more numerous societies and a more complex social organization.

During the Neolithic Societies that developed agriculture and livestock began to build permanent settlements and they turned to a sedentary way of life. This generated the development of a productive economy that increased the availability of goods.

During this period the demographic density increased and societies were organized in a more complex way, with forms of social hierarchy. The first cities appearedwith constructions of durable materials and technology for the production and accumulation of goods.

The age of metals

The age of metals is a periodization that is used to chronologically date some societies in Europe, Asia and Africa that developed metal manipulation techniques. This periodization overlaps with the Neolithic period (last stage of prehistory) and the ancient age (first stage of the “history”).

Societies developed metal work techniques at different times in history, so the chronological division of metals is a form of relative dating. An absolute periodization is not determined, but its different periods are identified in relation to each society.

The age of metals is divided into the following stages:

Copper age

During the copper age, some societies developed the first metallurgy techniques that improved the production of tools and, in turn, allowed the complexization of economic activity.

At this stage the first protourban settlements appeared in western Asia and the northeastern Africa of complex civilizations that had some forms of social hierarchy. The oldest date from 5000 a. C., but in the Iberian Peninsula, for example, these changes began towards 2000 a. C.

Bronze age

Bronze age comprises approximately 3000 and 800 a. C. During this period the alloy of certain metals was discovered.

Some societies learned to melt copper with tin and created bronzea resistant metal and, at the same time, easier to manipulate. This generated an improvement in weapons quality and corresponded to an increase in clashes between different societies.

In turn, urban life appeared in some populations in Europe and the first head companies emerged.

Iron Age

Iron age was characterized by iron work and its preference for the creation of weapons and tools. In addition, the writing appeared and the first states emerged, together with the demographic increase of societies and cities.

Continue with:

References

• Eiraa, JJ (2000). The Neolithic. In notions of general prehistory. Ariel History.
• Fernández Martínez, VM (2007). Prehistory. The long path of humanity. Editorial Alliance.
• Fernández Vega, AM, Cabrera Valdes, V. and Muñoz Amilibia, AM (2008). Prehistory. National University of Distance Education.