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Homo sapiens interbreeds with Neanderthals in the Middle East. Many people living today have traces of Neanderthal DNA in their genomes.
d'Vinci Interactive
The shockingly well-preserved, frozen mummy of the Tyrolean Iceman, “Ötzi,” was discovered in 1991 in the Italian Alps.
Genetic analysis of the 5,300-year-old Copper Age man began in 1994, recovering partial mitochondrial sequences, and ended in 2012 with whole genome sequencing of a sample from his hip bone.
Instructions: Discover details about Ötzi by selecting the info dots.
Researchers looking at unusual genetic markers on the Iceman's male sex chromosome (Chromosome Y) found at least 19 genetic relatives of Ötzi in Austria's Tyrol region, matching samples of 3,700 anonymous blood donors.
Thirty different types of pollen were found in Ötzi’s stomach leading scientists to decide that he died in the spring or early summer, and allowing researchers to trace his final movements through different mountain elevations.
A number of studies have been done on the contents of Ötzi’s intestines showing up that his last meal was red deer meat and possibly cereal grains.
Whole genome sequencing in 2012 revealed Ötzi probably had brown eyes, Type O blood, and couldn't digest milk (lactose intolerance trait). He was genetically at risk for coronary heart disease and suffered from Lyme disease.
DNA found in hair shafts from Ötzi’s clothes demonstrated that sheep belonging to this particular population group were already domesticated in the Alps more than 5,000 years ago.
Ötzi’s genetic profile most closely resembles modern-day Sardinians. Sardinians hail from a western Mediterranean island, and an autonomous region of Italy known as Sardinia. Scientists believe that most of the Neolithic farmers in Central Europe would have had similar DNA.
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Domestic plants and animals are raised for food, work, clothing, medicine, transportation, as pets and for many other uses. Domesticated species are not wild and can look very different from their wild ancestors. That is because humans breed animals and plants to promote certain traits.
The first plant to be domesticated was probably barley in Mesopotamia, about 10,000 years ago. Other plants that were cultivated by early civilizations included rice (in Asia) and potatoes (in South America).
About the same time they domesticated plants, people in Mesopotamia began to tame goats and sheep.
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Continue to ConclusionDomestication is the process of cultivating wild plants and taming wild animals for human use.
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Go!Early domestication involved changes to many genes, each with a small effect in the traits of rice. This resulted in two important features found in rice today: a reduced tendency of the rice grains to fall off the plant (shattering); and the ability to stay alive during harsh environmental conditions or between plantings (dormancy).
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Go!Early stages of domestication involved major changes in a small number of genes that produced important physical changes to the plant including a stalk-like appearance (tb1 gene) and changes to the kernel shape and covering (tga1 gene).
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Go!Modern potatoes mainly come from two different species of South American potatoes that were originally very bitter tasting and looked like gnarled fingers.
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Go!Domestication of livestock involved the selection of variants in genes controlling muscle production and organization, coat color, and behavioral traits.
Check Out These Fun Facts!
On average an ear of corn has 800 kernels in 16 rows.
Goats were the first animal to be domesticated, according to many historians.
Potato plants are usually pollinated by insects such as bumblebees.
In the year 2003, the world produced about 589 million tons of rice.
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During evolution, humans survival became dependent on tool-making to allow them to compete with each other and other animals.
Killing animals from a longer distance helps lessen the chance of them running away, or attacking back. Digging tools and agricultural technologies allowed for growing, gathering, and storing of larger amounts of food.
Humans were creating jewelry well before the use of metals like gold (around 6,000-6,500 years ago). Symbols influence social connections and carry messages. Personal ornaments told individual status and group membership in alliances, war, and other social circumstances.
Long before the beginning of the global economy, foreign goods were transported, traded, and exchanged over distances. Trade also led to an exchange of cultural experiences, and created alliances that could be called on for survival when times were tough.
In 2011, archaeologists working in the Kenyan Rift Valley discovered the oldest known stone tools in the world. These include dozens of tools like flakes, cores, and anvils collectively known as “Lomekwian” technology, and predate our genus Homo by about half a million years. This discovery suggests that tool-making began not with Homo, but with an earlier member of the human evolutionary family.
Oldest tool on record: Lomekwi, Kenya, 3.3 million years ago
Oldest known Homo fossils: Ledi-Geraru, Ethiopia, 2.8 million years ago
Oldest known Homo sapiens fossil: Omo Kibish, Ethiopia, 195,000 years ago
Early tool-makers used an astonishing array of natural materials to craft their tools.
| Material | Some Tool Types | Uses |
|---|---|---|
| Stone | Arrowheads, Awls, Axes, Net Weights, Knifes | Cutting, Scraping, Piercing, Hunting, Fishing |
| Wood | Spears, Bows, Arrows | Hunting |
| Shell | Beads | Ornaments |
| Grass & Fibers | Woven Baskets, Cloths | Transport, Clothing |
| Bone | Needles, Fish Hooks | Sewing, Fishing |
| Fur | Cloths, Skin Bags | Clothing, Cooking, Transport |
“We shape our tools. And then our tools shape us.”
~ Marshall McLuhan, philosopher (1911 – 1980)
Humans have an enhanced ability for imitating and innovating, including imagining and planning for the future; and understanding the minds and intentions of others.
Tool making is fueled by distinctive human traits such as:
| Creativity | Teaching Ability | Language |
| Symbolism | Abstract Thinking | Complex Social Behaviors |
About 3.3 million years ago (during the Stone Age), technology began with early humans, who made and used stone tools to gather and cut up food like meat and plants. Over millions of years, they began to make fire, bury their dead, and create art and music. By about 10,000-12,000 years ago, agriculture and domestication resulted in a shift from a nomadic lifestyle to a more settled lifestyle, with more varied and sophisticated tools and ornaments including metal ones.
| Earliest Uses | Ancient Tool Types |
|---|---|
| Butchering | Lomekwian Tools - 3.3 million years ago, Lomekwi (Kenya) |
| Cooking | Campfires - 1 million years ago, Wonderwerk Cave (South Africa) |
| Rituals | Intentional Burials - 100,000 years ago, At Qafzeh (Israel) |
| Jewelry | Shell Beads - 75,000 years ago, Blombos Cave (South Africa) |
| Carrying and Storing | Eggshell Canteens - 60,000 years ago, Diepkloof (South Africa) |
| Clothing | Bone Needles - 60,000 years ago, Sibudu Cave (South Africa) |
| Art & Music | Flute - 40,000 years ago, Geissenklösterle Cave (Germany) |
Natural materials (like wood, grass, and animal remains) usually decay naturally. Without proper preservation, much of the history of tool making has been lost. Much is speculated based on indirect evidence.
| Older Archaelogical Records | Recent Archaelogical Records |
|---|---|
Tuna Bones
Tuna Bones and Fishing Tools140,000 years ago |
Woven Fiber Baskets
Woven Fibers, Clay Impressions27,000 years ago |
Stone Awl
Bone Awl77,000 years ago |
Fishing Nets
Fishing Nets8,300 years ago |
Eggshell Canteens
Eggshell Canteens60,000 years ago |
Leather Shoe
Leather Shoe5,900 years ago |
Tool-making was an important step in the evolution of humans.
The oldest archeological record predates the oldest Homo fossil record by about half a million years.
Click to see more information on this topic...The only tools that have been found are those made with long-lasting materials.
Click to see more information on this topic...Our society has changed and evolved with the use of new tools and improvements to existing ones.
Click to see more information on this topic...By inventing tools, ancient humans were able to accomplish tasks that their bodies could not.
Click to see more information on this topic...Just because some tools have not been found, it does not mean they did not exist.
Click to see more information on this topic...Using the information you just reviewed, click the Next arrow > to play two Tool Making matching games.
Answer all the questions above, then move on to the next set.
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Identify symbolism in tools and objects from the past and their modern-day equivalent.
Answer all the questions above to complete the activity.
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Next SectionIdentify uses for objects from the past and their modern-day equivalent.
Instructions:
Use the ˄ ˅ arrows to match MODERN and ANCIENT examples of each SYMBOL. Then click GO to check your answers.
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Go!Ostrich eggshells engraved with geometric designs were used around 60,000 years ago by African hunter-gatherers. A number of different designs have been identified on the ostrich eggshell likely representing families, individual makers, or different groups within the society. There are cross hatched, banded, and other patterns.
Instructions:
Use the ˄ ˅ arrows to match MODERN and ANCIENT examples of each SYMBOL. Then click GO to check your answers.
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Go!These 90,000 year old beads or pendants have been found in Border Cave in South Africa, and were worn (around the neck) and/or sewn onto clothing. We classify beads and other jewelry as symbolic artifacts because they don’t have any clear survival function.
Instructions:
Use the ˄ ˅ arrows to match MODERN and ANCIENT examples of each SYMBOL. Then click GO to check your answers.
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Go!The flattened areas on these hematite (left) and limonite (right) pieces of pigment are signs of grinding or rubbing, telling us that they were held and used like chunky crayons.
Our ancestors used pigments to mark objects and possibly their own skin. Colors were used to identify individuals and their groups.
Instructions:
Use the ˄ ˅ arrows to match MODERN and ANCIENT examples of each TOOL. Then click GO to check your answers.
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Go!Humans in Central Africa used some of the earliest barbed points, like this harpoon point, to spear huge prehistoric catfish weighing as much as 150 pounds - enough to feed 80 people for two days.
Later, humans used harpoons to hunt large, fast marine mammals.
Instructions:
Use the ˄ ˅ arrows to match MODERN and ANCIENT examples of each TOOL. Then click GO to check your answers.
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Go!Burins are specialized stone flakes with sharp, chisel-like tips. Humans used them to carve bone, antler, ivory, and wood and to create designs and images on the surfaces of these materials.
Instructions:
Use the ˄ ˅ arrows to match MODERN and ANCIENT examples of each TOOL. Then click GO to check your answers.
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Go!Awls and perforators were probably invented in Africa and carried to colder climates where they were used to pierce holes in clothing.
These tools resemble today’s bradawls, which are used to ease the insertion of a nail in wood, or other materials.
Instructions:
Use the ˄ ˅ arrows to match MODERN and ANCIENT examples of each TOOL. Then click GO to check your answers.
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Go!Early humans may have made bags from skin long ago. Around 26,000 years ago, they were weaving plant fibers to make cords and perhaps baskets.
Some of the oldest known pottery from Japan’s Jomon culture, seen here, is about 18,000 years old.
The way humans make and use tools makes us unique from other species. Scientists find creative ways to learn about human tool-making and what it can tell us about our evolution.
Human skin color is quite variable around the world. This is due primarily to the presence of a pigment called melanin. Melanin is made in special skin cells called melanocytes found in the epidermis.
Skin color is influenced by the combined effects of the environment and of many genes (a polygenic trait). Exposure to Ultraviolet Radiation (UVR) is one factor that affects skin color. Over long periods of time, UVR also affects skin color.
Populations native to the tropics (areas surrounding the equator) tend to have darker skin to screen out excessive UVR. Dark skin protects against skin cancer. It also avoids the breaking down of folic acid, a vitamin that is important for healthy newborns.
Populations native to northern or southern latitudes (such as Northern Europe, Northern Asia, and some areas of North and South America) have lighter skin to allow for adequate UVR penetration. Light skin stimulates the synthesis of vitamin D, which is important for healthy bones.
The interactive screen that follows lets you adjust the activity of several genes: Notice how the skin becomes darker or lighter, redder or yellower, as individual genes affect the person’s coloring.
Instructions: Select arrows for each gene to see how they affect skin pigmentation. Or, select the Random button.
“In and Beyond Africa” shows how humans have developed and migrated over the last 200,000 years, but what does the future hold for human beings?
The Deep Future eLearning game encourages you to think – and share your ideas – about the near and distant future. After entering your responses, use the bar graphs or word clouds to compare your ideas with those submitted by others.
Choose a timeline to explore
How will human life and medicine change in the next 10 years? 100 years? 1000 years? Deep Future has given you a chance to consider these questions and share your ideas.
Are your predictions correct? Keep learning about technology, medicine, genetic engineering, and evolution to encounter new ideas every day. What does the future hold? Only time will tell!
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