How did ancient people differ from people of our time? How were ancient and ancient people different: the main differences People were different from the people of our time

According to scientific data, primitive people appeared about 4 million years ago. Over the course of many millennia, they evolved, that is, they improved not only in terms of development but also in appearance. Historical anthropology divides primitive people into several species, which successively replaced each other. What are the anatomical features of each type of primitive people, and in what period of time did they exist? Read about all this below.

Primitive people - who are they?

The most ancient people lived in Africa more than 2 million years ago. This is confirmed by numerous archaeological finds. However, it is known for certain that for the first time humanoid creatures moving confidently on their hind limbs (and this is the most important feature in defining a primitive man) appeared much earlier - 4 million years ago. This characteristic of ancient people, such as upright walking, was first identified in creatures to which scientists gave the name “australopithecus.”

As a result of centuries of evolution, they were replaced by the more advanced Homo habls, also known as “homo habilis.” He was replaced by humanoid creatures, whose representatives were called Homo erectus, which translated from Latin means “upright man.” And only after almost one and a half million years a more perfect type of primitive man appeared, which most closely resembled the modern intelligent population of the Earth - Homo sapiens or “reasonable man.” As can be seen from all of the above, primitive people slowly, but at the same time very effectively developed, mastering new opportunities. Let us consider in more detail what all these human ancestors were, what their activities were and what they looked like.

Australopithecus: external features and lifestyle

Historical anthropology classifies Australopithecus as one of the very first apes to walk on their hind limbs. The origin of this kind of primitive people began in East Africa more than 4 million years ago. For almost 2 million years, these creatures spread across the continent. The oldest man, whose height averaged 135 cm, weighed no more than 55 kg. Unlike monkeys, australopithecines had more pronounced sexual dimorphism, but the structure of the canines in male and female individuals was almost the same. The skull of this species was relatively small and had a volume of no more than 600 cm3. The main activity of Australopithecus was practically no different from that practiced by modern apes, and boiled down to obtaining food and protecting against natural enemies.

A skilled person: features of anatomy and lifestyle

(translated from Latin as “skillful man”) appeared as a separate independent species of anthropoids 2 million years ago on the African continent. This ancient man, whose height often reached 160 cm, had a more developed brain than that of Australopithecus - about 700 cm 3. The teeth and fingers of the upper limbs of Homo habilis were almost completely similar to those of humans, but the large brow ridges and jaws made it look like monkeys. In addition to gathering, a skilled person hunted using stone blocks, and knew how to use processed tracing paper to cut up animal carcasses. This suggests that Homo habilis is the first humanoid creature with labor skills.

Homo erectus: appearance

The anatomical characteristic of the ancient humans known as Homo erectus was a marked increase in the volume of the skull, which allowed scientists to claim that their brains were comparable in size to the brains of modern humans. and the jaws of Homo habilis remained massive, but were not as pronounced as those of their predecessors. The physique was almost the same as that of a modern person. Judging by archaeological finds, Homo erectus led and knew how to make fire. Representatives of this species lived in fairly large groups in caves. The main occupation of skilled man was gathering (mainly for women and children), hunting and fishing, and making clothes. Homo erectus was one of the first to realize the need to create food reserves.

appearance and lifestyle

Neanderthals appeared much later than their predecessors - about 250 thousand years ago. What was this ancient man like? His height reached 170 cm, and his skull volume was 1200 cm 3. In addition to Africa and Asia, these human ancestors also settled in Europe. The maximum number of Neanderthals in one group reached 100 people. Unlike their predecessors, they had rudimentary forms of speech, which allowed their fellow tribesmen to exchange information and interact more harmoniously with each other. The main occupation of this was hunting. Their success in obtaining food was ensured by a variety of tools: spears, long pointed fragments of stones that were used as knives, and traps dug in the ground with stakes. Neanderthals used the resulting materials (hides, skins) to make clothing and shoes.

Cro-Magnons: the final stage of the evolution of primitive man

Cro-Magnons or (Homo Sapiens) are the last ancient man known to science, whose height already reached 170-190 cm. The external resemblance of this species of primitive people to monkeys was almost imperceptible, since the brow ridges were reduced, and the lower jaw no longer protruded forward. Cro-Magnons made tools not only from stone, but also from wood and bone. In addition to hunting, these human ancestors were engaged in agriculture and the initial forms of animal husbandry (tamed wild animals).

The level of thinking of the Cro-Magnons was significantly higher than their predecessors. This allowed them to create cohesive social groups. The herd principle of existence was replaced by the tribal system and the creation of the rudiments of socio-economic laws.

When and where did the first homo sapiens (thinking man) appear? Modern research claims that this happened about 200-250 thousand years ago in the jungles of South Africa. In any case, it was then that creatures no different from us already lived. However, the human race began much earlier - there were “heroes of their time” before us. Therefore, an inquisitive researcher always wants to know: how does modern man differ from ancient man, and how deeply?

First, let's define the terms. In this article we will look at the differences between us and our closest predecessor, the Neanderthal. Scientists often call him an ancient man. We ourselves are called Cro-Magnons and are practically no different from our distant ancestors, but there are differences with Neanderthals, and significant ones.

Note. In Europe, the appearance of people with protoanderthal features dates back to 350–600 thousand years ago, and the last Neanderthals disappeared approximately 25–35 thousand years ago.

The fact is that, despite the almost complete biological similarity, there are a lot of nuances that distinguish the modern “gentleman” (Cro-Magnon) from his ancestor (Neanderthal). This applies to both the appearance and the emotional and spiritual component of people who lived hundreds of thousands of years ago.

As a reference, let us clarify that in the scientific world there have been heated debates for decades on the topic of whether we are really direct descendants of Neanderthals. Some consider them an independent branch of the human race, others consider them an evolutionary step located immediately below us. There are facts confirming both hypotheses. We are not competent enough to challenge anyone's theories. Therefore, we will adhere to the classical view that Neanderthals are our direct ancestors, at least until the contrary is irrefutably proven.

Relatives? Or not?

We meet by clothes...

If we consider ancient man from a medical point of view, he is almost completely identical to modern man. Of course, there are some differences, but they do not play a significant role. However, there are obvious external discrepancies that cannot be ignored. Let's briefly look at the main differences:

• Structure of the skull. The forehead was low and sloping. Powerful brow ridges. The gray matter was already quite voluminous - much larger than that of a monkey, and even slightly larger than the volume of the modern human brain. Small, receding chin.

• Long forelimbs, a characteristic forward bend - however, before us is still not a monkey, but a human. High body hairiness, but no longer fur.

• Poorly developed speech apparatus. Ancient man communicated using a primitive set of sounds expressing a small number of the most necessary signals - anxiety, anger, threat or love signs.

• Wider and thicker bone. A strong jaw capable of tearing large pieces of meat.

If we combine everything that we have listed into one image, we will see that ancient man is very similar to a monkey. But, despite this, he stands above her on the evolutionary step and at the same time below us. On what basis did we make this conclusion? Read on.

Note. In order not to overload the article with repetitions, we will give a description of the appearance of a modern person below, in a comparative table.

Let's go through our minds...

And now we will move on to the most interesting and significant features of the primitive inhabitant, which clearly demonstrate the difference between modern man and ancient man.

• A developed speech apparatus is of great importance. Moreover, its advancement depends on the level of thinking, skills and knowledge, life experience and skills accumulated and passed on by previous generations. Therefore, human speech is not only a wide or narrow set of words and sound signals. This is an indicator of intelligence, the ability to think, to build logical connections between various phenomena and events.

• For ancient man, all these things that are quite ordinary for us were in their infancy. In most cases, he could not connect two similar phenomena into one chain, and as a result, many of his actions were not much different from the reactions of ordinary representatives of the animal world. Ancient man was somewhat like a small child who did not have adult parents who could pass on their experience and skills to him. He was frozen in this stage for the rest of his life. The accumulation of experience and advancement along the evolutionary ladder lasted tens of thousands of years.

• Accordingly, the thinking of ancient man was based on the emotional side, creating an uncontrolled reaction to the world around him, based primarily on instincts. Logic, rationalism, common sense, which often suppress our instincts - all this was absent from our primitive ancestor or was in the initial stage of development.

• And, perhaps, another very important step is social relations in society. Modern man has been brought up on a huge number of social attitudes, which for most of us, if possible, can be violated only in exceptional circumstances. For ancient man there was only one law - the law of the pack. He didn't have any moral values ​​or virtues. In this regard, ancient people remained at the animal level for a long time.

All of the above leads us to the idea that the fundamental differences between modern people and the ancients lie not in the area of ​​“matter”, but in the area of ​​“spirit”. All that remains is to organize all the facts in a comparative table.

Comparison

Once again we would like to emphasize that the article does not present a full-fledged scientific analysis, but only a generalization and comparison of long-known facts.

And yet we are of the same blood - you and me

As a result, we can safely say that modern man is significantly different from his ancient ancestor. Moreover, the main differences are not in biology and physical data, but in the spiritual, intelligent essence. However, no matter how scientists argue about the difference between modern man and ancient man, no matter how they prove that they and we are heaven and earth, the authors adhere to a different point of view. Despite all the differences, ancient man is our ancestor, and to him the current “aristocrats of the spirit” owe their origin. It’s just that hundreds of thousands of years ago a person was very young and looked at the huge world around him with children’s eyes. Today we are adults and understand a lot. That's the whole difference. We have grown up.

External differences are probably the first thing that catches your eye when comparing prehistoric and modern people. Modern people look different, eat differently, lead a significantly different lifestyle, wear different clothes, have different skills and abilities, and so on. In addition, ancient man did not know writing, had primitive technologies and was more dependent on the forces of nature. This is true, and these are certainly significant differences. Essential, but not fundamental. Modern stories of “Robinsonades”, zones of military conflicts, and life’s ups and downs in general, show how outwardly a person can change, becoming almost indistinguishable in appearance from an ancient one, but at the same time still largely remaining modern internally.

Bibliography

1. Vishnyatsky L.B. Neanderthals: the history of failed humanity, Publisher: Nestor-Istoriya, St. Petersburg, 2010, ISBN: 978-5-98187-614-1 (5)


2. Massimo Livi Bacci. Demographic history of Europe. Per. from Italian A. Mirolyubova. St. Petersburg: “Alexandria”, 2010. 304 p. ISBN 978-5-903445-11-0 (III)


3. Buzhilova A.P. Homo sapiens. Disease history. M.: Languages ​​of Slavic culture, 2005. p. 320. ISBN: 5-9551-0087-3 (IV)


4. Dyakonov I.M. Archaic myths of the East and West, Moscow: Main editorial office of oriental literature of the Nauka publishing house, 1990. - 247 p. — ISBN 5-02-017016-Х (7)

External differences are probably the first thing that catches your eye when comparing prehistoric and modern people. Modern people look different, eat differently, lead a significantly different lifestyle, wear different clothes, have different skills and abilities, and so on. In addition, ancient man did not know writing, had primitive technologies and was more dependent on the forces of nature. This is true, and these are certainly significant differences. Essential, but not fundamental. Modern stories of “Robinsonades”, zones of military conflicts and, in general, the ups and downs of life show how outwardly a person can change, becoming almost indistinguishable in appearance from an ancient one, but at the same time still largely remaining modern internally.

What other differences are there? Life expectancy? Yes, on average it was small in ancient man, in the period under study at different stages from 20 to 35 years. It seems that this is very little, although depending on how you look at it. In the Russian Empire, for example, in the middle of the 19th century, the same figure was only about 24 years, that is, even noticeably lower than in the Late Paleolithic, where it was about 32 years. It sounds incredible at first glance, but it is true. The point here is that a significant contribution to the formation of a short average life expectancy is made by extremely high child (and female) mortality. Those who managed to overcome the barrier of childhood, even Neanderthals, quite managed to live to be 50-60 years old. Thus, it turns out that in the case of life expectancy there are no fundamental differences. Then what is the difference between modern and prehistoric man?

The fundamental difference was the changes that occurred in human consciousness. Having completed mainly biological evolution, man began cultural evolution. It is generally accepted that this happened about 35–40 thousand years ago. And just as the first representatives of biological species at the initial stages of evolution were extremely “primitive,” so human thinking at the beginning of its development was severely limited in the possibilities of conscious activity. What were these restrictions?

Yuri Verderevsky, RVS

History lesson in 5th grade

Goals: bring students to the understanding that the ability to work put ancient people in a more advantageous position compared to the rest of the animal world and helped them survive; continue to develop the skills to retell the content of the textbook text, work with it, a historical map and illustrations; correctly use and explain historical terms.

Equipment: a world map, atlases on the history of the Ancient World, a table illustrating the theory of the origin of man from apes, a plaster copy of the head of an ancient man (taken from the biology classroom).

During the classes

I. Organizational moment

Information for teachers

Since in the course of the history of the Ancient World the teacher continues to work on developing in students the ability to speak competently and beautifully, then at each lesson it is advisable to ask students to give detailed, detailed answers to one or two main questions of homework in front of their classmates. To better prepare this task, the teacher can prepare a special card in which the question itself will be formulated and a detailed plan for answering it will be given. The question is asked to the whole class, and one of the students will prepare and answer it. Having announced the task, it is necessary to give the student time to prepare it. While the student is preparing, the teacher and the class organize other forms of checking homework.

1. Preparation of an oral response on card No. 1.

CARD No. 1

Prepare a detailed answer to the question: “How do scientists learn about the lives of people in the distant past?”

To do this, remember:

—Who are called archaeologists?

— How do archaeologists work?

— How are archaeological sites found?

— What is called a historical source?

Draw a conclusion.

Sample student answer

In order to find out how people lived in the distant past, you need to use the finds of archaeologists. Archaeologists are scientists who reconstruct history from material monuments. Before leaving for excavations, they study the literature of the area where research is proposed. They then conduct reconnaissance of the area. After this they begin excavation. They dig with shovels, removing thin layers of earth. The collected material is processed and studied. The finds of archaeologists are physical monuments of history or historical sources.

2. Frontal conversation with the class on issues.

— Define the concept of “World or General History.” (The past of the peoples of the whole world from ancient times to the present day is called General History.)

— What is the name of the first part of World History? (Ancient world history.)

— What does the history of the Ancient World study? (The history of the Ancient World studies the life of primitive people, the civilizations of Egypt, India, China, Greece and Rome.)

3. The student’s detailed answer on card No. 1, checking the completion of task No. 1 in the workbooks.

III. Moving to a new topic

So, we found out that with the help of archeology and other historical sources, scientists obtain scientific information about the life of people in the distant past. We will begin our study of the history of the Ancient World by getting to know the life of primitive people.

— How did the ancient people live?

IV. Learning a new topic

Plan

1) The appearance of distant ancestors.

2) The first tool.

3) Hunting and mastering fire.

On the desk: topic of the lesson, new words: tools, human herd, digging stick, chopper.

1. Teacher's story.

According to scientific data, primitive people appeared on Earth more than 2 million years ago. Humans descended from monkeys (but not from those that now live in the southern forests, but from long-extinct monkeys whose bones are found in the ground).

2. Work on the map (p. 7 Vigasin or p. 15 Mikhailovsky).

—Where did the most ancient people live? (In East and Northeast Africa, Eurasia except its northern part.)

— Where are traces of their life not found? (In America and Australia.)

- Why do you think? (People in those distant times could only live in warm places with rich and varied flora and fauna.)

3. Independent work of students with illustrations from the textbook.

Exercise: look at the drawings (p. 8 by Vigasin or p. 13 by Mikhailovsky) and describe the appearance of the most ancient people.

4. Conversation on issues.

— How did ancient people differ from people of our time? (The ancient people were very different from modern people: they were covered with hair, looked like a monkey, had a rough face, with a wide flattened nose, protruding jaws, a forehead extending back. There was a roller above the eyes, under which the eyes were hidden. This man still could not speak. )

— How did ancient people differ from monkeys? (The ability to make primitive tools: sharpened stones and digging sticks.)

— What is called a tool? (A tool is what a person uses to work.)

(This definition is given by the teacher and written on the board, by the children in their notebooks.)

—What could primitive people do with these tools? (Crack a nut, cut down clubs with a stone, sharpen digging sticks, kill some small animal, protect yourself from attacks by predators...)

5. Work with the text of the textbook (p. 9 Vigasin or p. 18-19 Mikhailovsky).

Exercise: find out how the earliest people hunted.

6. Working with new terms.

Human herd - the oldest group of people in which they worked and passed on their skills by inheritance.

7. Teacher's story.

Think about how people could master fire? Listen to the children's arguments. Ask the children to rub their palms: “What do you feel? Warm?" A man experienced something similar when he rubbed pieces of dry wood against each other for a long time, they began to smolder and a fire gradually appeared... But a person will not learn this soon, but for now he had to tame the fire and continuously watch the fire. If the “man on duty” failed to cope, terrible things happened...

8. Working with fiction.

Read an excerpt from D’Hervilly’s book “The Adventure of a Prehistoric Boy.” Stop reading at one of the interesting places and ask for a continuation in the next lesson. This technique is often an incentive to work with additional sources of information. For example, a quote from the above book.

“... Krek told everything that happened to them, why they could not return to the cave in time. He tried to pity the old people.

“We hoped to get a lot of food for everyone,” the boy finished his story, gasping, “and only then did I leave the cave.” When leaving, I made sure that the fire would not go out, but would live until we returned.

“The fire is dead...” one boss grumbled. - And may he be avenged.

Krek and Ojo looked around in confusion. Wild cries screaming for revenge grew louder and louder. The brothers looked in vain for a glimmer of pity on the faces of the elders and hunters. All faces were distorted with despair and rage, and fierce determination shone in all their glances.

The oldest chief stood up, walked up to the children, grabbed them by the hands and...”

V. Consolidation of the studied material

1. Workbook (issue 1), task No. 2 (p. 3).

2. Fill in the missing words.

— The most ancient people lived on Earth more than... years ago. (Two million years ago.)

— The main difference between ancient people and animals was... (ability to work).

— The oldest tools were... (stone, digging stick).

— The ancient people had two main ways of obtaining food... (gathering, hunting).

VI. Summing up the lesson

Homework: read § 1 Vigasin or § 1 Mikhailovsky; prepare a detailed answer to the question: “How did the most ancient people live?”; know the definition of the concepts “tools of labor” and “human herd”; think about what the expression “labor created man” means?

Additional material

During its formation, humanity went through three stages. The first stage in the development of human fossil ancestors is represented by australopithecines, whose fossil remains were first found in South America, which is why they received the name southern apes (from the Latin. australis- southern and Greek. pitekos- monkey).

Australopithecines were approximately the same size as a modern chimpanzee, they walked on two legs, and their gait was already completely balanced. Australopithecus also differed from apes in the structure of the hand: their thumb was more developed and contrasted, like in humans, with the rest of the fingers. And finally, the main difference between Australopithecines was their labor activity and the manufacture of tools. They used animal bones, wood and stone as materials. The oldest stone tools that have reached us are rough nodules with a cutting edge. The second stage in the formation of humanity is the era of Pithecanthropus (from the Greek pitekos - monkey and anthropos - man). Their brain volume reaches up to 1000 cm 3 (in australopithecus it is 600-650 cm 3). With an increase in brain volume and the development of its frontal lobes, the sloping of the forehead and brow ridges decreased. The tools of labor of Pithecanthropus were very diverse. They learned to make hand axes, various scrapers, and crude chopping tools with one working edge. With such tools, Pithecanthropus could drive large animals. They could already use fire. The third stage is associated with the Neanderthals (from the name of the Neanderthal Valley in Germany). The first Neanderthals appeared, apparently, 250-300 thousand years ago, and in their structure they already resembled modern humans. The range of Neanderthal stone tools became even more diverse. Points, punctures, points appeared. The materials used were wood, bones of large animals and skins. Skins were also used as primitive clothing for protection from the cold.

The considered three stages of the formation of humanity preceded the appearance of people of the modern type (Cro-Magnons), with whom the process of the formation of humanity ends and true human history begins.

Encyclopedic Dictionary of a Young Historian. M., 1994. pp. 386-387.