Life Of Early Humans
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00:00THE STORY OF EARLY MAN
00:04Man as we know and see today
00:07has developed gradually over a period of
00:11more than 4 to 5 million years.
00:17It was a series of slow changes
00:20through which human beings developed from apes.
00:26A series of slow changes in a living thing
00:31from which it develops to its current state
00:35or form over a long period of time
00:38is called evolution.
00:43FOSSILS
00:45Fossils are formed
00:47when plant or animal remains
00:50get quickly buried in mud or sand.
00:55Layers and layers of soil get deposited on top.
01:01After thousands of years
01:04the weight of the upper layers of the soil
01:07pressed down on these remains
01:10pressing them hard into rocks.
01:16If the living things were not buried quickly
01:19they would have decayed altogether.
01:25There are several kinds of fossils.
01:30At times the complete animal
01:33even including its skin and hair
01:37have been found preserved in ice.
01:42So we know what that animal looked like.
01:48According to evidence collected by scientists
01:51man has evolved from apes.
01:55Most of this evidence comes from
01:58fossil remains.
02:03From Apes to Man
02:07Scientists have found
02:09fossils of human-like creatures.
02:14Fossil remains found in Africa
02:17show that human-like creatures
02:20lived about 4 million years ago.
02:25These people walked erect on two legs.
02:29They were around 4 to 5 feet tall.
02:35Their brains were similar in size
02:38to that of an ape
02:40i.e. one third the size of today's human brain.
02:48As evolution continued
02:50their brain got bigger and bigger.
02:55The fossil remains show
02:58that about 2 million years ago
03:01the creatures had lighter bodies
03:04smaller jaws and bigger brains.
03:11They had feet like the modern man
03:14and their hands were capable of making tools.
03:20From this point onwards
03:23scientists refer to these creatures
03:25as humans or homo
03:28the scientific term for humans.
03:33Human fossils found in Africa, Asia and Europe
03:37resemble today's man.
03:41They appeared about 1.5 million years ago.
03:48Man, who looked like as he does today
03:52appeared around 40,000 years ago.
03:58His brain was much larger
04:00and his body was lighter and less muscular.
04:05Probably this helped him to adapt
04:08or adjust to the earth's changing climate
04:11and conditions more easily.
04:17Now you know how man developed
04:19slowly over the years.
04:22Let us look at the important milestones
04:25in the development of humans.
04:304 million years ago
04:32human teeth developed for mixed diet
04:35and he started walking.
04:402 million years ago
04:42human brain developed
04:44and he began to move and use tools.
04:481.5 million years ago
04:52fire was discovered.
04:57A million years ago
05:00man started burying the dead.
05:0540,000 years ago
05:08he started farming
05:10and using symbols to communicate.
05:13Early man walked
05:15by leaning forward.
05:20His fingers were clumsy
05:22and he could do only the simplest
05:24of things with his hands
05:26like digging the ground,
05:28grasping objects
05:30and delivering blows.
05:36He could not talk
05:38but could only attack.
05:41He could not talk
05:43but could only utter a few sounds
05:45to show anger or fear.
05:50Unlike animals
05:52he did not have strong paws,
05:54sharp claws and teeth.
06:00He ate wild fruits,
06:02roots and small animals.
06:06Early man lived in caves
06:08to protect himself
06:11from bad weather
06:13and animal attacks.
06:17He lived in groups.
06:21He could not hunt
06:23as he did not have any weapons.
06:29Gradually he started
06:31using stones
06:33with sharp edges
06:35to hunt animals.
06:37This was the beginning
06:40of the stone age.
06:44Slowly he learned
06:46to shape stones.
06:48He broke the stones
06:50by hitting one stone
06:52against another.
06:54He chipped the sides of the stones
06:56to give them a sharp edge.
06:58This became
07:00a stone knife.
07:04This was used
07:06to cut meat.
07:08He also used it
07:10to scrape animal skins
07:12to make clothes.
07:17Then he started
07:19fitting pointed stones
07:21on wooden rods.
07:23These became his spears
07:25which he used
07:27for hunting.
07:31Gradually he invented
07:33other tools.
07:36Making stone
07:38weapons and tools
07:40was man's first
07:42step towards progress.
07:48The life of early man
07:50was very difficult
07:52and full of peril.
07:54He lived in
07:56constant danger
07:58from wild animals,
08:00diseases and hunger.
08:03Either wild
08:05animals killed them
08:07or they died
08:09of disease and hunger.
08:13That's why
08:15stone age men lived
08:17together in groups,
08:19wandering from one place
08:21to another in search
08:23of food.
08:25They led a nomadic life.
08:29These groups were not
08:31permanent. Man learned
08:33to work in coordination
08:35which helped them to lead
08:37a better life.
08:45Stone age man was
08:47afraid of fire and
08:49kept away from it.
08:51The forest fires
08:53that were caused by
08:55lightning were also
08:57quite scary.
09:00It was by chance that
09:02man realized that
09:04fire could also be created.
09:06It is believed
09:08that the discovery of fire
09:10must have happened accidentally.
09:14Stone age man
09:16used to make tools
09:18out of stone. Probably
09:20when two stones struck
09:22each other, a spark must
09:24have appeared.
09:27This spark might
09:29have lit up dry leaves
09:31and twigs.
09:35Then man experimented
09:37and learned the
09:39controlled use of fire.
09:43Fire
09:45not only provided humans
09:47warmth in cold weather
09:49but also banished
09:51darkness and protected
09:53them from wild animals.
09:57They also
09:59started roasting meat,
10:01plant bulbs
10:03and roots and thus
10:05learned to cook.
10:07This was the second
10:09great milestone in
10:11man's progress.
10:17The ability to make
10:19tools was the
10:21main difference between
10:23earliest man and
10:25animals. It was only
10:27due to work that
10:29man emerged from the
10:31animal kingdom around
10:332 million years ago.