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EARLY MAN REVISION QUESTIONS

4/12/2022

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​Work to Do

  1. Explain three theories about the origin of man.
  2. Describe the stages through which man evolved and show the differences in man's physical features at each stage.
  3. Describe the way of life of early man during the Middle Stone Age period.
  4. What discoveries did early man make and of what importance were they to him?

    1. What do you understand by the term "archaeological site"? (b) Draw a map of East Africa and show the major archaeological sites.

​Suggested Activities

  • Hold a class discussion on the theories about the origin of man.
  • Organise a class visit to the National Museum or a place of archaeological importance and hold discussions with the curator about early man. Each student should write a report on the visit.

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​CULTURAL AND ECONOMIC PRACTICES OF EARLY MAN

4/12/2022

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​Cultural and Economic Practices of Early Man

​​Cultural practices depict the totality of man's way of life. Economic practices are the methods that man uses to exploit the environment for his well-being.
The evolution of man and his way of life can well be understood through the study of the Stone Age period. Through this study, we can understand events that have shaped and influenced man's life, these are:
  • Old Stone Age (lower palaeolithic): 3,000,000-200,000 years ago. The tools were still very crude.
  • Middle Stone Age (middle palaeolithic): 200,000 50,000 years ago. There was an attempt to refine the tools to suit specific jobs.
  • New Stone Age (upper palaeolithic): 5,000 - 2,500 years ago. Microlithic tools began to be fitted onto handles.

​The Old Stone Age (Lower-Palaeolithic)

​This period, also referred to as Early Stone Age, lasted approximately from 3,000,000 - 200,000 years ago, and saw important advances in the pre-historic culture of early man. These advances included:

​Weapons and Tools

​​The stone tools made by early man in the first phase of the Old Stone Age have been referred to as Oldowan or pebble tools. Some of these tools are shown in Figure below.
They were named Oldowan after Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania where they were first discovered. They were also called pebble tools because they were made from pebbles i.e., fairly large round stones. 
​Oldowan tools have been found widespread in South, Central and North Africa, suggesting that they were made and used only in Africa. The makers of Oldowan tools are believed to have been Homo habilis.
some stone tools by earlyman
some stone tools by earlyman
​​In the second phase of the Old Stone Age period, the stone tools man made have been called acheulian. These were named after Saint Acheul Valley in North France where they were first discovered. They first appeared in East Africa about 1.5 million years ago. They seem to have existed in some areas until 200.000 - 50.000 years ago.

​At Koobi Fora near Lake Turkana in Kenya and at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, stone tools dating back to about 1.5 million years old have been discovered.
In Ethiopia, interesting tools and weapons which are more than one million years old have also been found at Hadar and Gona. and are among the earliest stone tools found in the world. These include scrapers and choppers or hand axe heads.

​They were used for digging up roots. skinning animals. and cutting and scrapping animal skins. Acheulian tools were made by a more improved tool-making technique whereby a core stone was flaked on both sides to produce a sharp pointed end and longer cutting edges on both sides. Acheulian tools Hand axe

Clothing

​The Old Stone Age period must have been much colder than it is now. Therefore, as a result, man must have had a much more hairy body than he has now. He also walked naked because he had not learned how to make clothes.

​Shelter

​The Old Stone Age people had not learnt to build houses. But research carried out in the Olduvai Gorge by Louis and Mary Leakey shows that on site DK 1, a semi-circular group of natural stones suggests a hiding place. The Old Stone Age people.slept in forests and on trees to avoid attacks by wild animals. They also used stone caves and rocks as shelter.

​Food

The Old Stone Age people ate raw meat for they had not discovered the art of making fire. Typha roots at one of Bed I sites at Olduvai Gorge, the presence of fig leaves at East Turkana show that early man brought back ​to his home base the plant foods he ate. In addition to this, he ate birds, eggs and insects which he gathered and collected.

Hunting

​In addition to gathering and collecting, the Old Stone Age man also hunted wild animals. ~ Hunting was a group activity. Man hunted by chasing the wild animals. He also trapped and caught wild animals around the watering points. 
​After successfully catching his prey, man then skinned the carcass and ate the meat raw. There was a bit of specialisation during this period whereby men hunted while women spent most of the day collecting wild fruits and berries. This life required strong people.

​Communication

​Man still used a crude form of communication, based on gestures, growling and whistling.

​The Middle Stone Age (Middle Palaeolithic)

​This period lasted between 200,00-50,000 years ago. Man changed his life by improving his weapons, building better shelter and inventing fire. Life became easier than during the Old Stone Age period.

​Tools and Weapons

​The Middle Stone Age period is associated with Homo erectus. Throughout Africa and the world where this hominid is thought to have lived, there was a general attempt to try and improve the tools using the Levallois method or technique. 
​This entailed the use of cores of smaller stones to hit bigger ones in a special way in order to remove the relatively thin sharp pieces called flakes and blade forms. Man then trimmed the flakes and ades into a variety of daggers, scrappers, pear points, choppers, etc. 
​In many areas of East and CentralAfrica, there is evidence of improved weapons and the attempts to make them smaller, thinner, lighter, sharper and therefore more convenient. 
​In East Africa in particular, there was an attempt to make tools from more than one material. Wood and stone for instance could be used together.

​The Invention and use of Fire

​One of the most important developments in the Middle Stone Age period was that man had learned to make and use fire. Clear traces of fire have been discovered in places where man lived. In South Africa, there are pre-historic sites where hearths of ash and charcoal have been found. Early man must have lighted this fire by rubbing two sticks against one another or striking one stone on another as shown in figure below.
The invention of fire changed man's life in the following ways:
  • ​Man could warm himself during the cold nights.
  • The flames of the fire could give him light at night. 
  • The fire could provide him with protection by frightening and keeping dangerous animals away.
  • Man also used fire to harden the tips of his tools such as spear shafts and fishing harpoons.
  • Fire was also used in hunting to chase and scare wild animals towards muddy lakes, swamps and even over steep cliffs. 
  • Man also used fire to cook and soften his food and also remove poison from the vegetables he ate hence improving its flavour and nutritional value.

​Shelter (Housing)

​​During the Middle Stone Age period, man had started to have particular places where he took his game after hunting and where his family could retire and rest after the day's activities. This was an artificial shelter. An example of such home has been found at Orangia in Southern Africa. 
​The open site has at least six semi-circular stone structures two to three metres across and all open to the west. The ground inside each shelter had been scooped out to form a hollow perhaps for sleeping. A similar dwelling place was found at Olorgesailie pre-historic site near Magadi in Kenya.
Later on, man started to live in caves and rock shelters. At night they kept fires burning at the entrance to scare away wild animals. Examples of such caves are Matupi cave in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gamble's cave near Lake Nakuru in Kenya and Dar es Soltan in Southern Africa.

​Food

​​During the Middle Stone Age period, man continued hunting wild animals for meat which was his main food. His methods ​of hunting had now improved because he had better, lighter, sharper and highly specialised weapons like knives, spears and choppers.
 It is likely that in the equatorial areas, very large animals like elephants and hippopotamuses were preferred for meat while in the grasslands the grazing antelopes were the main sources of meat. With the invention of fire. man could now cook the meat. 
​This did not only soften it but also added flavour. Cooking also neutralised the poison in some raw vegetables that man ate. In addition to meat, man ate fruits, birds eggs, insects and fish.

​Clothing

​By this time man had learnt to wear animal skins. He scraped the skins clean to make cloaks out of them. He also made shells and necklaces and painted his body with red ochre and oil.

​Communication

​Man improved on gestures and growling and began to use clicks and grunts.

​The New Stone Age (Neolithic)

​This period, also referred to as Late Stone Age, is associated with Homo sapiens and is thought to have lasted roughly between 5,000 to 2,500 years ago. In this period there was a big change in many aspects of man's way of life. 
​Socially, politically and economically, man made great advances. He changed and improved the way he lived with his fellow men. Technologically he improved and invented new tools.

​Tools and Weapons

​​In the Old Stone Age period, man merely chipped pieces of stone into the required shape. But in the Late Stone Age further improvement of Stone Age technology was noted. This period is marked by a type of tools called microliths. Microliths were very small tools, sometimes less than a centimetre in length. It was found that by pressing one stone against another, a tool maker could flake off small pieces of microliths.
 Microliths were not used as tools alone. They were fitted or glued into wood and bone handles and used together as tools. In the Late Stone Age, emphasis was on "composite tools". These tools were made by fixing several microliths together in wooden or bone shafts. Examples of such tools include fishing harpoons, saw blades, arrow heads, sickles, bone needles for sewing skin cloths, bows and arrows. 
​Examples of these microlith tools made by New Stone Age Neolithic) man are found in places such as the Qadan site in the Nile Valley.

​Settlements

​​The tremendous technological advances enabled man to settle in villages, perhaps of about 1,000 members. As man began leading a settled life, several cultural practices developed. Man began to appreciate the need for bodily decorations. Man prepared red ochre in stone bowls and used it as body make-up. 
In addition, he decorated himself with beads made of seeds, bone and ostrich egg shells. The use of rock shelters became more widespread during this time. Man decorated them with paintings of animals, hunting scenes and other designs.

​Art and Crafts

​The New Stone Age Neolithic man also made efforts to invent and develop simple arts and crafts. Man learned how to make rough baskets, how to spin and weave flax and other natural fibre, and how to make pots by shaping clay and baking it hard using fire.

​Rock Art

​He also painted pictures of the animals he hunted like elephants and reindeer on walls of caves. The best examples of this in Africa are found in Kondoa and Singida in North Central Tanzania and in Southern Africa at Apollo II cave.
It is likely that these pre-historic men thought that painting pictures of the animals they hunted would give their hunts greater success. By drawing pictures of wild animals, man believed that he could magically have a controlling power over his prey. Occasionally, he drew arrows piercing the animals he hoped to kill. Cave paintings also showed a keen observation of animal life.
Picture

​Communication

​The New Stone Age man developed a rudimentary form of spoken language with sign language being predominant.

​Religion and Government 

​Another important cultural development was the beginning of religion and government. The first aspect of religion was the performance of rites and ceremonies by man probably with a belief that these rites and ceremonies could influence natural forces such as rain, drought and even death which were the main threats to man's life. ​
​Examples of the development of religious practices are found at Njoro River cave and Hyrax Hill in Kenya. Here cremated remains of human beings buried with some of their tools and possessions have been found. This shows that the Late Stone Age man was religious and believed in life after death.
​The New Stone Age paved way for the Iron Age. In some regions, some form of the two co-existed as iron-ore was not universally available. Gradually iron- working revolutionised agriculture and industry.
​In conclusion, the cultural development of the Stone Age man from the period of Australopithecus was rough and long. He had started with crude and rough stone tools and improved and perfected them into lighter, and sharper tools and then invented fire. 
During the New Stone Age period and after, man had developed smaller and sharper microlith tools and started moving towards a settled agricultural life; planting crops and domesticating animals. This organised systems led to the emergency of government and laws.

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Stages through which Man Evolved

4/12/2022

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​Stages through which Man Evolved

​Archaeological studies show that man evolved through various stages. At each stage man developed certain physical and cultural features. The following are the stages of the evolution of man.

​Aegyptopithecus

​The probable earliest ancestor of man was an ape-like creature whose skull was discovered in the Faiyum Valley in Egypt. This creature was herbivorous. It lived about 33 million years ago.
Features:
  1. Walked on four limbs.
  2. Had a tail.
  3. Weighed four kilograms.

​Dryopithecus Africanus (Proconsul)

The skull was discovered on Rusinga Island in Lake Victoria in 1948. It resembled a chimpanzee. It lived about 25 million years ago.
Features
  1. Had long teeth.
  2. Smooth forehead.
  3. Projecting face

​Kenyapithecus (Ramapithecus)

Also known as the grassland ape, Kenyapithecus lived between 15 million and 7 million years ago. Its remains were first discovered at Fort Ternan, near Kericho in 1961. It was more man-like than other earlier ape. Other discoveries have been made at Samburu Hills, Lake Baringo and Lake Turkana basins.
Features
  • Had small teeth.
  • Occasionally walked on two legs.
  • Weighed between 18 and 36 kilograms. 
  • Had a larger brain.

​Australopithecines

​Between four and two and a half million years ago, two varieties of small ape-like men came into existence in Southern and Eastern Africa.
These creatures are also referred to as Southern ape-men because their remains were first discovered in Southern Africa at Taung near Kimberley in 1924. 
​Similar fossils of a hominid belonging to the Australopithecus genius have been found scattered throughout Eastern Africa at such pre-historic sites as Olduvai Gorge and Lake Natron in Tanzania.
​Australopithecus used the stone tools he made for defence and to get food. They used sticks and pebble tools to kill small animals for food. They lived in small hunting camps ​near water bodies and led a nomadic life often migrating following the game they hunted. Hunting was the chief process which set man on the evolutionary path that was to lead to his dominance over all other animals.
The revolutionary stages of man
The revolutionary stages of man

​Species of Australopithecines

  • Australopithecus anamensis: This is the latest fossil found at Kanapoi and Alia Bay (on the south western and eastern sides of Lake Turkana) by Dr Mary Leakey, Dr Allan Walker and four fos hunters in the Hominid Gang. The fossil remains, a lower jaw, was given the name Australopithecus anamensis. It is believed to be the oldest Australopithecus, with an age of 4 million years.
  • Australopithecus afarensis: This lived between 4 and 3 million years ago. This name is derived from Afar Depression in Ethiopia, where the remains were found. Other remains were found at Laetoli in Tanzania and Tugen Hills in Kenya.
  • Australopithecus africanus (or A. gracillis): He lived between 3 and 2.5 million years ago.
  • Australopithecus robustus: This was the biggest and most recent. He lived between 2 and 1.5 million years ago in South Africa.
  • Australopithecus boisei: The Eastern African form of the Australopithecus robustus was named Australopithecus boisei. In 1986. a 2.5 million-year old skull of this primate was discovered near Lake Turkana.

​Features of the Australopithecines

  1. Had an upright posture as he walked on two legs.
  2. Had hairy body to keep him warm.
  3. Was short in stature with a small slender body of about four feet tall.
  4. Was strongly built with heavy shoulders. 
  5. Had a large brain capacity of about 500 cc.
  6. Had a large face with a low forehead and stereo-scopic vision.
  7. Had large jaws and teeth.
  8. Weighed between thirty to sixty eight kilograms.

​Homo Habilis

​​At Olduvai Gorge where Mrs Mary Leakey found the Zinjanthropus skull, another of her sons, Jonathan Leakey, found the skull fragments of a very young hominid. The pieces were stuck together to form the back part of the head. Later a lower jaw and the bones of a hand were found. 
​Dr Leakey, convinced that this was a true ancestor of man, called the creature Homo habilis, meaning handy man', 'man with ability' or simply practical man'. Homo habilis thus became the first species of the genus Homo or man. Homo habilis had a bigger brain capacity (775 cc) compared to Australopithecus and was the first true man to make and use tools.
It is believed that both Homo habilis and Australopithecus lived in Africa about one and three quarter million years ago. But Australopithecus then disappeared giving way to new people who had bigger brains. Homo habilis represents a stage of human evolution at which the brain and the hands were beginning to work in closer conjunction.

​Features of Homo Habilis

  1. Large brain capacity of about 775 cc.
  2. Bigger body stature of about 5 feet tall. Well developed thumb like that of modern man.
  3. Shape of face and skull like that of modern man.
  4. Teeth like those of modern man.
  5. Communicated using elementary speech.

​Homo Erectus

​The other hominid which lived in Africa about one million years ago is called Homo erectus, also referred to as the "upright man". As the name implies. Homo erectus. resembled the modern man especially the upright walking posture. Some fossils have been found of Homo erectus in Hadar in the Afar Triangle of Ethiopia, about 500 km north-east of Addis Ababa.
Homo erectus is thought to have been more intelligent than Australopithecus and Homo habilis. He had a much higher brain capacity of between 750 and 1000 cc. He could spend a long time chipping away at pieces of stone and bone to make the weapons and tools he needed. 
Evidence shows that Homo erectus lived in Africa, Europe and Asia and learnt to make many different and more refined tools like hand axes and later crude spears and arrow heads all from stone. It is believed that Homo erectus' knew how to use fire and had a primitive form of speech compared to any of his predecessors.

​Features of Homo Erectus

  1. Had an upright posture as he walked on twos.
  2. Had a large brain capacity of up to 1100 cc.
  3. Was highly intelligent as he made refined tools for specific purposes. e.g., hand axes and scrappers.
  4. Communicated well using speech. 
  5. Was large in stature of 5½ ft tall.
  6. Possessed a prominent brow ridge over the eyes.

Homo Sapiens

​Homo sapiens was divided into three species.

​Rhodesian Man

​The Rhodesian man was given this name because his skull was found in Zambia, then called Northern Rhodesia.
Rhodesian man was closer to the modern man than Homo erectus was.
  • He had straight legs and walked with long strides.
  • His brain was nearly the same size as that of modern man although he still looked like an ape, with great ridges over his eyes and a backward sloping forehead. Fossils have been found with cutting and scraping tools made of stone and others of bone which have been closely associated with the Rhodesian man. The below shows the skulls of the various hominids in different stages of evolution.
 Skulls of human species through evolutionary stages
Skulls of human species through evolutionary stages

​Neanderthal Man

​​Even closer to the modern man was a hominid called "Neanderthal Man", whose fossils were first found in Neander Valley in Europe. Traces of Neanderthal have been found scattered throughout Europe and the Near East.
  • ​Neanderthal man was heavily built with brow-ridges.
  • His cranial or brain capacity in some cases was larger than that of modern man.
  • He was quite intelligent and skilled in using his hands.
  • He ate meat from the animals like deer, pigs, wild sheep, and rhinoceros which he hunted.
​The oldest remains of the Neanderthal is dated about 250,000 years old. They consist of one nearly complete skull found in 1933 at Steinheim, Germany and three skull bones found in ancient gravels on the bank of River Thames and Swanscombe in England. More than 100 bones of this hominid have been excavated in South West France, Belgium, Gibraltar, Italy, Germany, former Yugoslavia, the middle East and North Africa.
They skillfully chipped stone tools and with them hunted a wide range of game. The arrangements of their bones found in excavations indicate ceremonial burials which show that they had developed religious practices.

​Cro-magnon

Cro-magnon lived in Western Europe about 20,000 years ago.
  • He was almost like modern man except that he was taller and had a thicker brow ridge.
  • He hunted, gathered and lived in caves and used fire.
  • He also painted ​pictures showing hunting scenes.
  • He used a variety of refined and delicate tools.

​Features of Homo Sapiens

  1. Had straight legs.
  2. Walked on twos with long strides.
  3. Had a large stature of about 6 feet tall.
  4. Had small teeth.
  5. Had a steep well rounded forehead. Had a large brain capacity of up to 1800 cc.
  6. Had heavy brows and ridges over the eyes. Was strongly built with broad shoulders.
  7. Had bushy eye-brows.

​Homo Sapiens Sapiens

​​Homo sapiens sapiens brings to the end the long struggle for early man to better himself and become civilised. This is when he made weapons and tools of flint stone, ivory, wood and horn. These tools were more refined than the earlier ones. 
​He caught fish with bone harpoons, cleaned animal hides with scrapers and made garments out of them with bone needles. Since he was intelligent and was thinking, he made fire and pots. The hunters captured and tamed animals. He began to grow crops, build huts and started leading a settled life. 
Figure below depicts the evolution stages man is thought to have gone through.

​Features of Homo Sapiens Sapiens

  1. High intellectual capacity with a large brain of over 2,000 cc.
  2. Spoke with well refined speech.
  3. Had small jaws and teeth.
  4. Was about 6 feet tall.
  5. Had well developed thumb for grasping objects.
Stages of man's Evolution
Stages of man's Evolution

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Why Africa is considered the cradle of man?

4/12/2022

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​Why Africa is considered the cradle of man?

Africa is considered the cradle of man because of the following factors:
  • There are numerous archaeological sites on the continent where early fossils that resemble man have been found.
  • The savanna grasslands provided space for early man to effectively hunt and gather his food.
  • The tropical climate was suitable for early man's existence for it was warm throughout the year.
  • There were many all-season rivers that provided fresh water and trapping for wild animals.
  • Geographically Africa was at the centre of the Pangea which made it possible for all early ape-like creatures to move to other regions during the continental drift.

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Archaeological Sites in East Africa

4/12/2022

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​Archaeological Sites in East Africa

Among the most important pre-historic sites in Kenya are: 
  1. Kariandusi
  2. Olorgesailie Koobi Fora
  3. Kanapoi
  4. Alia Bay
  5. Lokalelei.

In Tanzania there are:
  1. Olduvai Gorge Sites located in the Rift Valley basin
  2. Peninj
  3. Laetoli.

​Some of the important sites outside East Africa are Omo Valley and Hadar in Ethiopia, and the South Africa limestone cave sites of Skerkfontein, Kromdraai, Swartkrans and Maka Pansgat.
locations of the major and smaller hominid sites in East Africa
locations of the major and smaller hominid sites in East Africa

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Origin of Man

4/12/2022

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Origin of Man

Among all living creatures, man is unique because of his high level of thinking. This is one reason why the origin of man has been of great interest to scholars for ages. There are three theories which explain the origin of man. These are:

​Oral Traditions

​Throughout the ages, individuals, communities and peoples have tried to explain how they came into existence. This explanation is given through the oral traditions, for example, in myths and legends. The Agikuyu believe that Ngai (God) appeared and created their ancestors, Gikuyu and Mumbi at Mukurwe wa Gathanga. The Maasai believe that their ancestors were dropped by Enkai (God) from the sky.

​The Creation Theory

​This is explained in various Holy Books, e.g., the Bible and the Koran. In the book of Genesis, it is written that God created the universe and all the living creatures, including man, in six days. God created man and woman in his own image. He blessed them and told them to reproduce and fill the earth. He gave them authority to control the earth in all ways.

​The Evolution Theory

The evolution theory was put forward by Charles Darwin in 1859. In his book, The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, he argues that plants and animals evolved from simple life forms that transformed or changed slowly over millions of years through;
  • Mutation
  • Natural selection
  • Environmental adaptation

​Mutation

​Is an abrupt change in the form of a living thing as dictated by the climate or the genetic components of the living thing involved.

​Natural selection

​Is an instinct by which the stronger species out-compete the weaker ones for resources.

Environmental adaptation

Follows after the first two where the surviving species isolate themselves from others as they adapt to the new environment. According to the evolution theory, human beings and primates (monkeys, gorillas and chimpanzees) had a common ancestor. 
​Man then developed over millions of years through evolution. During this evolutionary period, certain creatures (hominids) who were more man-like than ape-like developed. The term hominids refers to man and his ape- like ancestors. 
​The increasing discoveries of fossil remains of the pre-historic man by archaeologists, especially his skull, bones and the tools he made and used. have made the theory of evolution more acceptable over the years.

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Evolution of Man

4/12/2022

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​Evolution of Man

​Evolution can be defined as a process of slow or gradual change. Although our knowledge about the early stages of man's evolutionary process is limited, it is certain that through evolution, man experienced both physical and cultural changes over millions of years, transforming him from a primitive form to the state he is in today.
Several millions of years ago, man and apes shared a common ancestry as primates. Man's particular family group is called Hominidae while that of the apes is Pongidae. Through evolution and environmental adaptation, man soon separated from his ape-like ancestors and took his own line of development. The first stage in this series was marked by the appearance of creatures called hominids which were more man-like than ape-like and therefore the ancestors of the human family.
Most information about the early man is obtained from archaeologists. Archaeological studies have proved that Africa was the cradle of mankind; man first originated and lived in Africa before moving into Europe and Asia. Existing evidence shows that the earliest apes and hundreds of other different kinds of animals first lived probably around what is now lake Victoria and the Rift Valley before moving into Europe and Asia, less than two million years ago.
At this time, there were thick forests near the equator, especially in Central and West Africa. Around the Great Lakes of East Africa there was savanna or grassland with scattered trees and bushes. It is in this environment that man may have had his first home.
Studies carried out in Central and East Africa show that the Great Rift Valley was formed and was still taking shape long after hominids had started roaming about in East Africa. At that time, earthquakes tilted the ground and volcanoes brought up a great deal of ash which covered places where the hominids had left their weapons and tools. Some hominids' remains even their own bones and those of other animals were covered too. The location of those remains form major archaeological sites in East Africa.

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Characteristics of Aegyptopithecus

7/4/2020

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CHAPTER 2: EARLY MAN - KCSE HISTORY & GOVERNMENT NOTES

3/5/2019

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