BOOK8-Unit5Meetingyourancestors優(yōu)質(zhì)課比賽一等獎

StoneAge

Obsidianprojectilepoint

TheStoneAgeispartofthehistoryoftheworldthatencompassesthefirstwidespreaduseoftechnologyinhumanevolutionandthespreadofhumanityfromthesavannasofEastAfricatotherestoftheworld.Itendswiththedevelopmentofagriculture,thedomesticationofcertainanimalsandthesmeltingofcopperoretoproducemetal.Itistermedprehistoric,sincehumanityhadnotyetstartedwriting-thetraditionalstartofhistory,.recordedhistory.

TheStoneAgereceivesitsnamefromthefactthatmosthumantoolspreservedfromthatareaaremadeofstone-althoughundoubtedlytoolsofwoodandanimalpartssuchasboneandsinewswerealsoinuse,thesewererarelypreserved.Thealmostcompleteunavailabilityofmetal,withtheexceptionofgold,isanimportantmarkoftheStoneAge.

Asadescriptionofpeopleslivingtoday,thetermstoneageiscontroversial.TheAssociationofSocialAnthropologistsdiscouragesthisuse.

Humandevelopment

Paleolithic

TheOldStoneAgeorPaleolithiccomprisesmorethanamillionyears,andduringthisperiodmajorclimateandotherchangesoccurredwhichaffectedtheevolutionofhumans.HumansthemselvesevolvedintotheircurrentmorphologicalformduringthelaterperiodoftheStoneAge.

Epipalaeolithic/Mesolithic

Theperiodbetweentheendofthelasticeage,10,000yearsagotoaround6,000yearsago,wascharacterisedbyrisingsealevelsandaneedtoadapttoachangingenvironmentandfindnewfoodsources.Thedevelopmentofmicrolithtoolsbeganinresponsetothesechanges.TheywerederivedfromthepreviousPalaeolithictools,hencethetermEpipalaeolithic.However,inEuropethetermMesolithic(MiddleStoneAge)isused,asthetools(andwayoflife)wasimportedfromtheNearEast.There,microlithtoolspermittedmoreefficienthunting,whilemorecomplexsettlements,suchasLepenskiVirdevelopedbasedaroundfishing.Domesticationofthedogasahuntingcompanionprobablydatestothis.

Neolithic

JapaneseJomonpotteryisthe2ndoldestintheworld.RecentpotteryfindsinHunterdoncounty,MusconetcongRiverarea,NWNJhavebeendatedtobeover12,000yearsold

SkaraBrae,Scotland.Europe'smostcompleteNeolithicvillage

TheNeolithic,NewStoneAge,wascharacterizedbytheadoptionofagriculture,theso-calledNeolithicRevolution,thedevelopmentofpotteryandmorecomplex,largersettlementssuchas?atalHüyükandJericho.ThefirstNeolithicculturesstartedaround7000BCinthefertilecrescent.AgricultureandthecultureitledtospreadtotheMediterranean,theIndusvalley,ChinaandSoutheastAsia.

Duetotheincreasedneedtoharvestandprocessplantsgroundstoneandpolishedstoneartifactsbecamemuchmorewidespread,includingtoolsforgrinding,cutting,choppingandadzing.Thefirstlarge-scaleconstructionswerebuilt,includingsettlementtowersandwalls,eg:Jerichoandceremonialsites,eg:Stonehenge.Theseshowthattherewassufficientresourcesandco-operationtoenablelargegroupstoworkontheseprojects.Towhatextentthiswasabasisforthedevelopmentofelitesandsocialhierarchiesisamatterofon-goingdebate.TheearliestevidenceforestablishedtradeexistsintheNeolithicwithnewlysettledpeopleimportingexoticgoodsoverdistancesofmanyhundredsofmiles.SkaraBraelocatedonOrkneyislandoffScotlandisoneofEurope'sbestexamplesofaNeolithicvillage.Thecommunitycontainsstonebeds,shelvesandevenanindoortoiletlinkedtoastream.

Materialculture

Foodanddrink

Foodsourcesofthehunter-gathererhumansoftheStoneAgeincludedbothanimalsandplantsthatwerepartofthenaturalenvironmentinwhichthesehumanslived.Thesehumanslikedanimalorganmeats,includingthelivers,kidneysandbrains.Theyconsumedlittledairyproductorcarbohydrate-richplantfoodslikelegumesorcerealgrains.

NeartheendoftheWisconsinglaciation,15,000to9,000yearsagotheMegafaunaoccurredinAsia,Europe,NorthAmericaandAustralia.ThiswasthefirstHoloceneextinctionevent.Thiseventpossiblyforcedmodificationinthedietaryhabitsofthehumansofthatageandwiththeemergenceofagriculturalpractices,plant-basedfoodsalsobecamearegularpartofthediet.

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Thefirstwine-tastingmayhaveoccurredwhenNeolithichumansslurpedthejuiceofnaturallyfermentedwildgrapesfromanimal-skinpouchesorcrudewoodenbowls.

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—WilliamCocke,NationalGeographicNews

Shelterandhabitat

PoulnabronedolmeninCountyClare,Ireland

Around2millionyearsago,"Homohabilis"isbelievedtohaveconstructedthefirstman-madestructureinEastAfrica,consistingofsimplearrangementsofstonestoholdbranchesoftreesinposition.Asimilarstonecirculararrangementbelievedtobearound500thousandyearsoldwasdiscoveredatTerraAmata,nearNice,France.SeveralhumanhabitatsdatingbacktotheStoneAgehavebeendiscoveredindifferentpartsoftheearth,including:

Atent-likestructureinsideacaveneartheGrotteduLazaret,Nice,France.

Astructurewithroofsupportedwithtimber,discoveredinDolniVestonice,Czechoslovakia,datestoaround23,000BC.Thewallsweremadeofpackedclayblocksandstones.

ManyhutsmadeofmammothboneswerefoundinEasternEuropeandSiberia.Thepeoplewhomadethesehutswerespecialisedmammothhunters.ExampleshavebeenfoundalongtheDnieprrivervalleyofUkraine,includingnearChernihiv,inMoravia,CzechRepublicandinsouthernPoland.

Ananimalhidetentdatedtoaround15,000to10000BC,intheMagdalenian,wasdiscoveredatPlateauParain,France.

Megalithictombs,multi-chamberedanddolmens,single-chambered,weregraveswithahugestoneslabstackedoverothersimilarlylargestoneslabs.TheyhavebeendiscoveredallacrossEuropeandAsiaandwerebuiltintheNeolithic.Severaltombswithcopperandbronzetoolshavealsobeendiscovered,illustratingtheproblemsofattemptingtodefineperiodsbasedontechnology.

Art

Pre-historicartcanonlybetracedfromsurvivingartifacts.Prehistoricmusicisinferredfromfoundinstruments,whileparietalartcanbefoundonrocksofanykind.Thelatterarepetroglyphsandrockpaintings.Theartmayormaynothavehadareligionfunction.

Rockpainting

ArockpaintingatBhimbetka,India,aWorldheritagesite

Rockpaintingswere"painted"onrockandweremorenaturalisticdepictionsthanpetroglyphs.InPaleolithictimes,therepresentationofhumansincavepaintingswasrare.Mostly,animalswerepainted,notonlyanimalsthatwereusedasfoodbutalsoanimalsthatrepresentedstrengthliketherhinocerosorlargeFelidae,asintheChauvetCave.Signslikedotsweresometimesdrawn.Rarehumanrepresentationsincludehandprintsandhalf-human/animalfigures.TheChauveytCaveintheArdècheDepartmentsofFrancecontainsthemostimportantpreservedcavepaintingsofthePaleolithicera,paintedaround31,000BC.TheAltamiracavepaintingsinSpainweredone14,000to12,000BCandshow,amongothers,bisons.ThehallofbullsinLascaux,Dordogne,France,isoneofthebestknowncavepaintingsfromabout15,000to10,000BC.

Ifthereismeaningtothepaintings,itremainsunknown.Thecaveswerenotinaninhabitedarea,sotheymayhavebeenusedforseasonalrituals.Theanimalsareaccompaniedbysignswhichsuggestapossiblemagicuse.Arrow-likesymbolsinLascauxaresometimesinterpretedascalendaroralmanacuse.Buttheevidenceremainsinconclusive.ThemostimportantworkoftheMesolithicerawerethemarchingWarriors,arockpaintingatCingledelaMola,Castellón,Spaindatedtoabout7,000to4,000BCE.Thetechniqueusedwasprobablyspittingorblowingthepigmentsontotherock.Thepaintingsarequitenaturalistic,thoughstylized.Thefiguresarenotthree-dimensional,eventhoughtheyoverlap.

Ritualsandbeliefs

Modernstudiesandthein-depthanalysisoffindsdatingfromtheStoneAgeindicatecertainritualsandbeliefsofthepeopleinthoseprehistorictimes.ItisnowbelievedthatactivitiesoftheStoneAgehumanswentbeyondtheimmediaterequirementsofprocuringfood,bodycoveringsandshelters.Specificritesrelatingtodeathandburialwerepracticed,thoughcertainlydifferinginstyleandexecutionbetweencultures.Otherritualsincludedbirth,pubertyandmarriage.SeveralStoneAge-datedsitesindifferentpartsoftheworldindicatetracesofdancing,dancinginfilesandinitiationrites.

Popularculture

Asaslangterm,"StoneAge"issometimesusedtodescribelivingtribalpeoples,toimply"backwardness".In2007,theAssociationofSocialAnthropologistscalledtheterm"offensive"whenappliedtoanylivingpeoples,sayingsuchlanguagehasbeenused"asapretextfordeprivingsuchpeoplesoflandandotherresources".

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Allanthropologistswouldagreethatthenegativeuseoftheterms"primitive"and"stoneage"todescribetribalpeopleshasseriousimplicationsfortheirwelfare.

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TheimageofthecavemaniscommonlyassociatedwiththeStone