The first phases of human evolution began about 7 million years ago in Africa. At this stage of life on Earth, according to scientists, there were three species of higher primates, chimpanzees, gorillas and humans.
Three million years ago, the first human beings were already walking vertically and had a full-blown brain half the size of today's. Only 2.5 million years ago the proto-humans appeared, who are the first known human beings and who begin to use rough tools, such as chipped stones.
Researchers point out that a million years ago, human migrations began outside Africa and, from there, to the rest of the world. The process ended around 10,000 years a. a., when the majority of the Planet was populated.
Evolution allowed the human being to gain height, capacity and intelligence. These are characteristics observed from the species Australopitheus in homo habius and homo erectus, which emerged 500,000 years ago.
Neanderthal man
The modern man, known as homo sapiens evolved from these ancestors. Neanderthal man, considered an early subspecies of the
homo sapiens, lived between 200 thousand and 30 thousand years ago.Learn more about homo sapiens sapiens.
It was Neanderthal man who started the process of building shelters, the first garments to protect from the elements and, mainly, hunting artifacts. Scientists have found evidence of the presence of Neanderthal man in Africa, Europe and the Middle East.
Cro-Magnon man
The modern man, the homo sapiens sapiens, or Cro-Magnon, descends directly from Neanderthal man and started to appear about 40,000 years ago. There is evidence of its presence during this period in Malaysia and Europe.
Cro-Magnon man, in the beginning, was similar to the Neanderthal in the use of hunting artifacts, the methods of gathering food and the use of primitive clothing. There were, however, important physical differences between the two species.
More evolved, Cro-Magnon man walked completely upright, had a larger brain, a thinner nose, a more pronounced chin, and a skeletal structure very similar to that of modern man. With greater capacity, it moved around the world and started to constitute the first settlements.
They were hunters and gatherers, which made them nomads, in constant search of food sources. Their way of life required the existence of a small group. As soon as they perfected the manufacture of hunting pieces, made from stone and animal bones, they also managed to develop ways to resist the cold.
They wore the skin of animals as clothing. It was a period of low temperatures, marked by successive glaciations. There are also the first signs of body adornment, with the use of animal skin and bones.
As the climate warmed, the population of human beings increased, as did geographical shifts. Thus, more developed settlements appeared, around 7 thousand BC. Ç. in the Mesopotamia region, near the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
Living in permanent settlements, humans start to grow their own food and domesticate animals. Under these conditions, they develop crafts, using clay, learn to spin sheep wool and start to develop the first trading systems, which expanded across the Middle East, Europe and Asia.
Clothing is perfected by the civilization of Egypt, although animal skins are also still an important part of clothing.
Learn more about Human evolution.