THE Prehistory it is the period that accompanies the evolution of the Earth, man and all living beings. The study of Prehistory allows us to follow the development and the evolution of early hominids until the emergence of tools that enabled the improvement in the lifestyle of human beings.
Prehistory has as its starting point the emergence of the first hominids and ends when the first form of writing for humanity — a milestone that happened between 3500 BC. Ç. and 3000 a. Ç. This period is basically divided into Paleolithic, mesolithic and Neolithic.
One of the great milestones of Prehistory is the emergence of homo sapiens sapiens, our human species, which appeared 300,000 years ago BP (Before the Present — temporal unit defined by Archeology based on the year 1950 d. Ç.).
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Division
Prehistory is a considerably long period of time and its nomenclature originated in the 19th century. In this last epoch, scholars of the human sciences had a view that it was only possible to exist
History, as a science, if there was writing. And as this century follows human development at a time when there was no writing, this moment was named Prehistory, that is, it was considered a period before the existence of human history.Prehistory concentrates a period that goes from 3 million years BP to 6500 years BP (or 3500 a. Ç.). The periods of Prehistory are as follows:
Paleolithic
Neanderthal, hominid that appeared in Eurasia and lived during the Middle Paleolithic.*
O Paleolithic is also known as Chipped Stone Age because the objects used by human groups of that period, for their daily survival, were produced from this material. The Paleolithic is a period that extended from 3 million years ago to 10000 a. Ç., being divided into three phases, which are: PaleolithicBottom, Average and Higher.
Obviously, each of these periods has its particularity, and we will follow a summary of each of these phases:
O Lower Paleolithic its starting point is the moment when hominids developed the ability to produce tools for their survival. The first hominids to develop such skills were the homoskills it's the homoerectus (this one also known for being the first to stand upright). This phase had an extension of 3 million years BP to 250,000 years BP.
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O PaleolithicAverage, in turn, extended from 250 thousand years BP up to 40 thousand years BP, about. The great mark of this period is the presence of the Neanderthal man (homoneanderthalensis), a hominid that lived in Eurasia in the Early Paleolithic period. The Neanderthal was well known for being a hominid species with a size of less than 1.70 m, for having a more robust body and a greater capacity to retain heat in it. He lived in the same period as the homosapiens, since this appeared 300 thousand years ago.
In the Middle Paleolithic, archaeological studies indicate that the hominid lifestyle became more sophisticated, as new types of tools had been developed and the use of fire had been widespread. Experts point out that the use of fire became common between 100,000 and 50,000 years ago.
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O PaleolithicHigher it is the last phase of the Paleolithic period and extended from 50000 a. Ç. up to 10000 a. Ç. The amount of tools used by human beings was vast, and axes, hooks, needles, harpoons, darts, etc. were found. In addition food variety consumed by man increased and the human groups were becoming more complex.
This time was also marked by the development of early art forms of human beings. The most well-known prehistoric art is cave painting, which is done on the walls of caves.
In general, we can consider, then, that the Paleolithic was a period in which human beings survived exclusively from gathering and hunting and, therefore, to ensure their livelihood, especially with regard to hunting, it was necessary to develop tools (weapons) to help in obtaining the food.
The human being, therefore, was nomadic, for, once the resources of a certain area were exhausted, he moved to another, in order to be able to gather and hunt. The tools produced were made of bones, chipped stone and also ivory. The temperature of the earth was colder and this forced man to live in caves to protect himself from the cold.
In the final phase of the Paleolithic, experts point out that the first religious experiences began to be developed, and this sophistication of human life, combined with the possibility of this "religious sense", led man to develop ritesfuneral parlors to bury their dead.
mesolithic
The Mesolithic is an intermediate stage and is understood by specialists as a transition phase between Paleolithic and Neolithic. The Mesolithic, as the specialists in the field point out, was a period reserved only for the regions in which they took place intense cycles of glaciation. Thus, it is pointed out that Eurasia was a place in which the Mesolithic took place and extended, approximately, from 13000 BC. Ç. to 9000 a. Ç.
Human groups that survived only from hunting fell into decay, as those who also survived from gathering began to excel. The end of this period happened with the development of agriculture.
Neolithic
O Neolithic or Polished Stone Age it is the last prehistoric period and extended from 10000 a. Ç. up to 3000 a. Ç. The important milestones of the Neolithic are the development of agriculture and the development of first form of writing. Remembering that these dates are approximate and human development has never been uniform, that is, there are groups that were only developing a written form, for example, centuries after the first writing that emerged.
The development of agriculture has allowed humanity's lifestyle to be radically transformed, as with it, human being was able to produce his own food and was no longer dependent on what he hunted and what he collected from the nature. The impact of this was that the human being started to clear forests to create their cultivated fields and became sedentary.
The sedentarization of man provided by the development of agriculture also made it possible for him to tame animals which could mainly serve as food if agricultural cultivation did not provide the necessary sustenance. The domestication of animals was also related to agricultural work and locomotion and cargo transportation.
With this sedentarization, human groups were meeting in increasing numbers, and the growth of these groups resulted in the emergence of first cities in the world. The development of cities also caused the development of architecture, which allowed for the construction of more elaborate houses and other constructions.
THE pottery it also arose during this period, and thus pottery utensils began to be developed. During the late Neolithic, the metallurgy, and so the human being became capable of producing metal tools. During this period, as groups of human beings grew, they became more complex and more unequal, already that people who occupied relevant positions in the administration of resources became more influential and powerful.
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division of labor
Human groups became more sophisticated and, as a consequence, the division of labor was defined. With that, the convention was that the men were held responsible for hunting, and the women, for the collection and for agricultural work, when this appeared in the Neolithic.
Regarding this division, the German sociologist Maria Mies argues that human survival during the prehistoric period was largely the responsibility of female labor. This is because studies carried out in the area indicate that the percentage of foodentities consumed by means of gathering and agriculture (carried out by the woman) was greater than the amount of food from hunting.|1|
Art
Cave painting found in a cave located in Altamira, Spain.**
The study of Prehistory also includes the analysis of the art forms that were carried out during this period. Experts are still not sure why prehistoric men made such records, but suggest that they could just be a record of “art for art”, as well as could be a record that performed a man's connection to nature on a spiritual plane.
The main art form of this period is the paintingsrocks, that were carried out on the walls of caves. These paintings date back to 40,000 years ago and depicted groups of animals or humans in the midst of everyday activities. Materials such as earth, coal, blood, among others, were used in these paintings.
In the prehistoric period, small sculptures were also made. The most famous are the Venus figurines, that is, small statues of women with voluptuous body forms. The most famous of these figurines is the Venus of Willendorf, which was located in Austria and dates back to 25,000 years ago.
Finally, it is worth highlighting the buildingsmegaliths, which were basically large buildings made of stone. Experts are not sure why these monuments were built. The best known megalithic monument is the Stonehenge, located in England.
Brazilian prehistory
What is referred to here in the text as Brazilian Prehistory is named by specialists as Pre-Cabralian history of Brazil, that is, the history of the indigenous peoples who inhabited Brazil before the arrival of the Portuguese with the Pedro Álvares Cabral's expedition. Even the division of periods in the study of Brazilian Prehistory is different because that traditional division into Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic is not used in the country.
Zuzu, one of the most important fossils in the study of Brazilian Prehistory that dates back to 10,000 years ago.***
The division in the study of pre-Cabralian history uses the geological times as a milestone. So the division is in Pleistocene (over 12 thousand years ago) and holocene (from 12 thousand years ago until the arrival of the Portuguese in 1500).
The great debate that involves pre-Cabralian history is the moment when the first human groups arrived in America and penetrated Brazilian territory. Much of the evidence suggests that man arrived in America around 22,000 years ago. However, recent research has found signs of a human presence that go back 43,000 years ago. This has generated a lot of debate among experts.
Another important issue, as pointed out by geographer Aziz Nacib Ab’Sáber|2|, is the inexistence of human habitation remains on the coast in periods prior to 6000 years BP. From 6000 AP onwards, the main records are the sambaquis, deposits of organic materials made by humans. For this, experts point out that, probably, the absence of these records is related to the rise in sea level that happened around 13000 BP.
|1| MIES, Maria. Social origins of the sexual division of labor. The search for origins from a feminist perspective. To access, click on here.
|2| AB’SABER, Aziz Nacib. Incursions into the prehistory of tropical America. In.: MOTA, Carlos Guilherme. Incomplete trip: the Brazilian experience. São Paulo: Editora Senac, 1999, p. 38.
*Image credits: IR Stone and Shutterstock
**Image credits: EQRoy and Shutterstock
***Image credits: Pedro Helder Pinheiro and Shutterstock
