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 humans were already walking vertically and had a developed brain half the size of the current one. It was only 2.5 million years ago that proto-humans appeared, who are the first known human beings and who began to use crude tools, such as chipped stones.
Researchers point out that a million years ago, human migrations out of Africa began and, from there, to the rest of the world. The process ended around 10,000 BC, when most of the planet was populated.
Evolution allowed the human being to gain height, ability and intelligence. These are characteristics observed from the species Australopitheus in Homo habilis and Homo erectus , which emerged 500,000 years ago.
Neanderthal Man
It was believed that modern man, known as Homo sapiens sapiens , evolved from these ancestors. However, recent findings indicate that both Homo sapiens as for Homo neanderthalensis originated from the species Homo erectus, in Africa and Europe, respectively.
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- Homo sapiens sapiens
- Homo sapiens
It was the Neanderthal man who started the process of building shelters, the first pieces of clothing to protect from the weather and, mainly, hunting artifacts. Scientists have found evidence of the presence of Neanderthals in Africa, Europe and the Middle East.
Cro-Magnon Man
The modern man, the Homo sapiens sapiens , or Cro-Magnon , descends directly from Neanderthals and began to appear about 40,000 years ago. There is evidence of its presence in this period in Malaysia and Europe.
Cro-Magnon man, in the beginning, was similar to 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, the Cro-Magnon man walked completely vertically, had a larger brain, a thinner nose, a more pronounced chin and a skeletal structure very similar to that of today's man. With greater capacity, he moved all over the world and went on 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 parts, made from stone and animal bones, they also managed to develop ways to resist the cold.
They used the skin of animals as clothing. It was a period of low temperatures, marked by successive glaciations. The first signs of body adornment also appear, with the use of animal skin and bones.
With the warming of the climate, the population of human beings increased, as well as the geographical displacements. Thus, more developed settlements appear, around 7 thousand BC. in the Mesopotamian region, near the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
Living in permanent settlements, humans grow their own food and domesticate animals. Under these conditions, they develop handicrafts, using clay, learn to spin sheep's wool and go on to develop the first trading systems, which expanded throughout the Middle East, Europe and Asia.
Clothing is perfected by the civilization of Egypt, although animal skins are still an important part of clothing as well.
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