The Ages of Human History

This week’s quiz will be about the ages of human history. We have been learning about the transition from the paleolithic, or “old stone” age, to the neolithic, or “new stone” age. We’ve looked at how this was a major milestone in the development of civilization, and in the process we looked at a few other giant leaps for humankind.

Study Notes:

1. The Paleolithic Age: paleo means “old” and lithic means “stone”. Humans mainly used stone weapons and tools (though they also used bones and wood). During this time, most humans were nomadic, meaning they were constantly on the move search of food. This time period began over 2 million years ago when homo habilis began using stone tools.
2. The Neolithic Age: over 10,000 years ago, the “new” stone age began. Humans continued to use stone tools, but they become more advanced. One of the most important human inventions was developed during this time: agriculture. This included farming and the domestication of animals (taming and raising animals for human use).
3. The Copper Age: around 5,000 years, humans began using the first metal tools. This is probably the time period during which Otzi the Iceman lived.
4. The Bronze Age: shortly after humans developed copper tools, they added tin to copper to create bronze, which is an alloy of two metals. These tools were much stronger and weapons became more deadly.
5. The Iron Age: around 3,000 years ago, humans learned to make tools and weapons out of iron. These were considerably stronger, and an army using iron weapons had a major advantage over an army using bronze, copper, or stone tools. Some early examples of Iron Age civilizations include the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans.
6. The Industrial Age: around 200 years ago, humans created machines to help with manual labor. This gave rise to factories and mass production. This was a major milestone; whereas before, many humans worked in fields farming, now many people worked in factories. Other important inventions that followed from industrialization include trains, automobiles, and planes.
7. The Space Age: during the 20th century, humans developed rockets that could escape Earth’s gravity. A couple important accomplishments include the launch of Sputnik in 1957 and the Apollo 11 mission that landed on the moon on July 20, 1969 (“that’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”). Also during this time, humans developed nuclear weapons, so this age overlaps with the Atomic Age.
8. The Information Age: we are currently in the Information Age. The first computer networks were developed in the 1960′s. In 1989, Time Berners-Lee designed the core components of the World Wide Web. In 1998, Google reported that there were over 1 trillion unique web pages on the Internet.

Update (November 1, 2009): Common Mistakes from the Quiz Last Week

Here are notes about common mistakes made on the quiz. Remember, students can retake a quiz during homeroom on Tuesday or Wednesday mornings.

1. The last Ice Age ended around 30,000 years ago. This would have put it during the Paleolithic Age, which ended around 10,000 years ago.
2. Many students selected that Otzi had a bronze ax. However, the video very clearly stated there was “no tin within” the ax, so it was made of copper.
3. Much of the video we watched examined when Otzi the Iceman lived. Since he had a copper ax, this means he lived during the copper age.
4. Nomads were very common during the Paleolithic Age. This was a time when humans moved constantly in search of food. During the Neolithic Age, many humans settled in permanent villages, so they were no longer nomadic.
5. A lot of students were the confused by the syntax of the some of the questions. Take a look at these statements:
   1. The Iron Age followed the Bronze Age (meaning that the Bronze Age came first).
   2. The Space Age was followed by the Information Age (meaning that the Space Age came first).