Early Humans and Beginning of Civilisation Class 9 Notes SST Chapter 4

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Class 9 Early Humans and Beginning of Civilisation Notes

Class 9 SST Chapter 4 Early Humans and Beginning of Civilisation Notes

Class 9 SST Chapter 4 Notes – Early Humans and Beginning of Civilisation Notes Class 9

Human history began millions of years ago when the earliest human ancestors started adapting to different natural environments.

• One of the oldest known writing systems belonged to the Sindhu-Sarasvati civilisation, which is also called the Indus Valley or Harappan Civilisation.
• The Harappans used a pictographic script on items like seals and pottery, but this script has not been decoded yet.
• Other ancient writing systems from the same time include the cuneiform script of Sumeria and the hieroglyphic script of Egypt.
• Unlike the Harappan script, the scripts of Sumeria and Egypt have been decoded, which marks the start of the historical period about 5000 years ago.
• Around 400 BCE, a script called Brahmi was used in northern and southern parts of India.
• Emperor Ashoka formalised the Brahmi script during the 3rd century BCE, and it was used by Iron Age people across southern India.
• This chapter traces the remarkable journey of early humans and explains how their innovations laid the foundation of modem civilisation.

The Invention of Writing: Before and After

• The invention of writing marked a major turning point in human history by making it possible to record information for future generations.
• Written records provide valuable information about ancient rulers, trade, religious beliefs, social life, and important events that cannot always be understood from material remains alone.
• More than 99 per cent of human history took place before the invention of writing, from about a million years ago until 5000 years ago.
• Less than 1 per cent of human history has occurred after the invention of writing, which covers the last 5000 years up to the present day.

• Before writing, human history is reconstructed mainly through tools and other material objects made by humans.
• After writing, historians use both material remains and written documents to understand the lives of people and society.
• It is difficult to understand the thoughts and ideas of people who lived before writing was invented.
• Written literature provides clear information about names, events, and the social, political, and cultural life of people after writing developed.
• Before the invention of writing, the dates of events and cultures could only be measured approximately.
• After the invention of writing, dating becomes accurate because written documents record specific dates for events like wars and coronations like yajnas.

Why Should We Study Early Human History?

• The study of early human history helps us understand how humans gradually evolved from simple hunter-gatherers into organised societies.
• It explains the physical and cultural changes that took place over millions of years and shaped the development of modem humans.
• Biological evolution is the slow physical and genetic change where our early ancestors, called australopithecines transformed into modem humans, called Homo sapiens.
• Cultural evolution represents how humans adapted to their environment during the Quaternary Period (last 26 lakh years to present).
• Humans created tools and technology to make use of natural resources to survive the changing climatic conditions.
• During this time the human way of life shifted from hunting and gathering to farming and producing food.
• The ability of humans to produce extra food and goods created the foundation for the start of civilisations.

• Our earliest ancestors evolved and lived in Africa and started moving out of the continent about 2 million years ago.
• About 2 million years ago, Homo erectus evolved. They were the first hominin to migrate out of Africa into Asia and Europe. They used advanced stone tools such as hand axes and cleavers and learned to control fire.
• Stone tools found in Asia and Europe show that Homo erectus spread beyond Africa between 2 million and 0.5 million years ago.
• Another major migration out of Africa took place about 125,000 years ago, when early Homo sapiens began” spreading to different parts of the world.
• Homo sapiens (modem humans) evolved about 300,000 years ago in Africa. They developed language, art, better tools, and complex societies, and spread all over the world.

How Do We Know About Our Ancestors?
There are millions of sources left behind by our ancestors like bones, tools, pottery etc. Archeologists excave these clues, study them and often make similar tools to understand their functioning and relevance in ancient times

Who Were Our Human Ancestors?

• The “Old World” was consist of three major early human settlements—Africa, Asia and Europe.
• Around 3.3 million years ago, one of these ancestors made the earliest stone tools, marking the beginning of human behaviour.
• Early humans are called hominins because they were able to think, make, and use tools, unlike animals.
• Early humans used stone tools for cutting meat, hunting animals, digging the ground, scraping hides, breaking bones, and collecting food. When the tools broke-down, they were discarded and gradually buried in the upper layer of the earth.
• Similarly, over time, the buried remains of early humans changed into fossils. Both stone tools and fossils are valuable sources of evidence that help archaeologists reconstruct early human history and understand how our ancestors lived.

• Through these evidence we came to know that Homo habilis (Handy Man) lived in Africa, especially at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania and Kenya, about 2.6-1.5 million years ago. They were among the earliest tool-makers and made simple chopper stone tools.
• Homo erectus invented handaxes and cleavers, became skilled tool-makers, and were among the first human ancestors to migrate out of Africa, gradually spreading into Europe and Asia.
• Although all human ancestors made tools, Homo sapiens (modern humans) invented complex technologies, improved tools, language, art, and social life, making them the most advanced human species.

Palaeolithic Hunter-Gatherers
The Stone Age is divided into three stages—Palaeolithic (Old Stone Age), Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age), and Neolithic (New Stone Age).

The Palaeolithic period is also called the Old Stone Age, coming from the words ‘palaeo’ meaning old and Tithic’ meaning stone. It dates back to about 2 million years ago.

Some important Palaeolithic sites include Attirampakkam (Tamil Nadu), dated to about 1.5-1.7 million years ago, and Isampur (Karnataka), dated to about 1.2 million years ago.

Archaeologists have discovered animal fossils and large cutting stone tools at these sites, including handaxes, cleavers, stone scrapers, and choppers, which were mainly made of quartzite and limestone.

Early humans used these stone tools for many daily activities, such as chopping animal meat, digging out tubers, scraping animal skins, cleaving animal bones, cutting wood, and preparing food.

During the later part of the Palaeolithic Age, humans invented the bow and arrow and also developed parallel¬sided blades and microblade tools made from rocks with a glassy texture, making hunting more efficient.

Later, humans also started hunting smaller animals, printed cave walls, used pigments on their bodies, and created beads from stone, bone and shell.

A special stone tool called the burin (engraver) was also invented. It was used to engrave symbolic designs and figures on bones and shells, showing the growth of creativity and artistic expression.

Microblades were attached to handles to make them easier to use as tools.

These advancements are linked to Homo sapiens, who spread across the world, including Australia and the Americas, between 50000 and 12000 years ago.

Mesolithic Hunter-Gatherers
The Mesolithic Age (Middle Stone Age) began about 12,000 years ago, when the Earth’s climate became warmer, bringing major changes in the environment after the Ice Age.

As the climate warmed, forests and grasslands expanded into areas that were previously covered by ice sheets. This created a richer environment with abundant natural resources.

The changing landscapes provided a greater variety of food resources, including small game animals, fish, and edible wild grains. These favourable conditions led to the first-ever population explosion in human history.

Mesolithic people developed microlithic (small stone) tools, which were more efficient than earlier tools. These tools helped them hunt small animals, gather food, and perform many daily activities.

During this period, people began collecting aquatic food from both marine (sea) and freshwater resources. Fishing became the main source of their survival and the base of the economy, providing an important source of food.

Art and creative activities flourished during the Mesolithic Age. People made beautiful rock paintings, reflecting their daily life, hunting scenes, animals, and social activities.

Early humans frequently lived in caves and rock shelters.

The World Heritage Site of Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh contains hundreds of painted rock shelters, showing evidence of Mesolithic and earlier human presence.

The Neolithic Revolution

• The Neolithic Revolution was one of the most significant turning points in human history because it marked the beginning of food production.
• During this period, people gradually shifted from hunting and gathering to cultivating crops and domesticating animals for a more stable source of food.
• The practice of agriculture encouraged people to settle permanently, leading to the establishment of villages and farming communities.
• The Neolithic period also witnessed remarkable advancements in pottery, weaving, and the manufacture of polished stone tools, which improved everyday life.
• Farming and settled life promoted cooperation among people and contributed to the growth of trade, occupations, and organised societies.

Neolithic Period in Indian Subcontinent
The Neolithic Age (New Stone Age) marked the beginning of agriculture.

One of the earliest and the most important Neolithic sites is Mehrgarh, located on the Bolan River in present-day Pakistan. It dates back to about 7000 BCE and provides a valuable evidence of early farming communities.

The people of Mehrgarh built handmade sun-dried brick houses and granaries for storing food grains. They also made beautiful ornaments from semi-precious stones such as lapis lazuli, camelian, and shells, and buried their dead members in graves.

The people cultivated barley and wheat and domesticated animals such as sheep, goats, and Indian cattle, especially the zebu-humped bull, which played an important role in farming and daily life.

By about 4000 BCE, the people of Mehrgarh had started making copper tools. As they usf \ both stone and copper tools, they became popularly known as the Chalcolithic (Copper-Stone Age) peopf .

The cultural and technological developments at Mehrgarh laid the foundation for the Bronze Age Sindhu- Sarasvati civilisation, which began around 3500 BCE.

By about 2500 BCE, most of the Indian subcontinent was occupied by Neolithic agricultural communities. Their way of life was characterised by rearing cattle and cultivating cereals, millets, and pulses, leading to permanent settlements and growing villages.

During this period, Neolithic communities in some parts of the country also interacted with existing Chalcolithic cultures, resulting in the exchange of ideas, technology, and cultural practices.

Sindhu-Sarasvati Civilisation
The Neolithic way of life which began around 7000 BCE at Mehrgarh in the foothills of Baluchistan, gradually spread to the middle and upper Indus Valley and farther east.

Around 4000 BCE, some settlements learned to extract copper from their ores, becoming the earliest Chalcolithic (Copper-Stone Age) sites and marked the beginning of the Bronze Age.

By 2600 BCE, these early developments led to the emergence of the Sindhu-Sarasvati (Harappan) civilisation.

The introduction of copper tools in the fertile alluvial plains of the Indus and the Ghaggar-Sarasvati basins increased agricultural productivity and supported the growth of large settlements.

From 4000 BCE onwards, pottery making and craft production became highly developed at the early Chalcolithic sites of Baluchistan and the Indus and Ghaggar-Sarasvati basins.

Radio-carbon dating indicates that the Pre-Harappan phase began between 7000 and 5500 BCE at sites in the dried Sarasvati river belt, like Bhirrana and Kunal.

These regional styles evolved and became standard features of the Sindhu-Sarasvati civilisation by about 2500 BCE.

The Early Harappan stage shows cultural continuity in pottery, semi-precious stone beads, shell bangles, terracotta objects, and copper working.

Practices like building perimeter walls around settlements, using seals, and early forms of Harappan writing began during this Early Harappan stage.

The Harappans practised various arts and crafts, and pottery was a major craft product that helped their economy.

Early Harappan bead production took place at sites like Harappa in Pakistan, Kunal in Haryana, and Datrana in Gujarat.

The widespread use of graffiti on pottery and seals with simple animal or geometric designs served as predecessors to the later Harappan script and inscribed seals.

Technological progress and economic integration during the early Harappan period eve tually led to the development of Harappan urban centres.

Archeologists have discovered early Harappans ploughed fields at Kalibangan with both horizontal and vertical furrows that demonstrates a modem double crop system such as the seasonal Kharif and Rabi cultivation.

Timeline showing the development of Harappan Civilisation (7000 BCE to 1000 BCE)

Bronze Age Civilisations Outside India

• The Harappan or Sindhu-Sarasvati civilisation was one of the greatest Bronze Age civilisations.
• It is famous for its well-planned urban cities, efficient water management, drainage systems, standard weights beautiful stone beads, inscribed seals, and the Harappan script.
• Three other major Bronze Age civilisations existed at the same time as the Harappan Civilisation—the Mesopotamian Civilisation, the Egyptian Civilisation, and the Chinese Civilisation.

• These four early civilisations all grew in river plains, namely the Harappan along the Sir hu and Sarasvati, the Mesopotamian along the Euphrates and Tigris, the Egyptian along the Nile, and the Chinese in the Huang He basin.
• Mesopotamia and the Indus and Ghaggar-Sarasvati valleys were geographically close to each other.
• This close geographic distance helped create strong contacts and trade between the Mesopotamian and Harappan civilisations.
• There is very little physical evidence to show any direct contact between the Sindhu-Sarasvati civilisation and the Egyptian or Chinese civilisations.

Mesopotamian Civilisation

• The earliest city-based civilisation developed in Mesopotamia, which is a Greek name meaning the “land in between”. It refers to the land lying between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in West Asia, where one of the world’s earliest civilisations developed.
• Today, Mesopotamia includes Iraq and Kuwait, along with parts of Turkey and southwestern Iran.
• The crescent-shaped foothills of the Zagros and Taurus Mountains are stretched from the Mediterranean Sea in the west to the Persian Gulf in the east and are called the Fertile Crescent because of their high agricultural potential and fertile land.

• Farming in Mesopotamia began about 12,000 years ago. Around 4500 BCE, the introduction of copper tools greatly improved agriculture, craft production, and trade, leading to rapid economic development.
• During the next 2,000 years, many large settlements grew into city-states with organised systems of government, making Mesopotamia one of the earliest centres of urban civilisation.
• From about 3500 BCE onwards, four major city-based civilisations flourished in Mesopotamia: the Sumerian, Akkadian, Assyrian, and Babylonian civilisations.

Timeline showing the development of Mesopotamian Civilisation (7500 BCE to 1500 BCE)

(a) The Sumerians

• The Sumerians were the earliest people to develop into a city-based civilisation at Ur in Sumer, located in southern Mesopotamia (present-day southern Iraq).
• The Sumerians were the first to construct an irrigation system using dams and canals, which helped control river water and made agriculture more productive.
• They were also the first to use mud bricks and burnt bricks for constructing houses, defensive walls, temples, and other public buildings.
• The Sumerians believed in the worship of many gods. They believed that different gods controlled natural forces such as floods, winds, rain, and other natural phenomena.

• Every Sumerian city had a grand temple called a Ziggurat, which was dedicated to the chief god of that city. The city developed around the Ziggurat, making it the religious and administrative centre.
• The temples played a vital role in the lives of the people. Major economic activities, including agriculture, trade, and the transport of goods, were controlled by the temple authority.
• Entry into these sacred temples was restricted to high priests and priestesses, who were probably members of the ruling class. This shows that the Sumerian society had a well-defined social hierarchy.
• Kings lived in large palaces within the big cities, while ordinary people lived in small brick houses.
• The lives of common people mainly focused on farming, alongside other occupations like trading, pottery, textiles and metal working.

Ziggurat
A ziggurat was one of the most distinctive architectural structures of ancient Mesopotamia. It was a massive, tower-like temple built in the shape of a stepped pyramid, rising floor by floor to the main sanctuary at the top. Its top was considered a sacred space, while the area surrounding the ziggurat housed palaces and royal storehouses. The ziggurat also functioned as the city’s treasury with walls enclosing the complex and only a single entrance.

Harappan Water Management System
The Early Harappans in Baluchistan and nearby areas built check dams called ‘gabarbands’ across small streams to improve irrigation.

A highly advanced example of Harappan water management skills can be seen in the detailed water harvesting system built at Dholavira in Kachchh.

At Dholavira, the Harappans built dams and canals to divert water from two nearby streams into a series of deep tanks to store it inside the site boundary.

These interconnected storage tanks were constructed using stone and mud-bricks, and some tanks were carved directly into the bedrock.

The large dockyard at Lothal, which was constructed completely out of burnt bricks, is another major example of Harappan water management and engineering skills.

The Beginning of Writing

• The Sumerians are credited with developing one of the world’s earliest writing systems, known as cuneiform, around 3300 BCE.
• Scribes (Sumerian writers) wrote on soft clay tablets using a pointed reed stylus to from hundreds of distinct marks.
• Scribes held a high status in society, equal to priests and priestesses.
• By 3000 BCE, cuneiform was used across Mesopotamia by different city- states, even though the people spoke different languages.
• Cuneiform tablets record Mesopotamian myths, epics, hymns, law codes, educational treatises, and daily records of farming and craft activities.

• The Sumerians made remarkable contributions to early civilisation. They invented both the wheeled cart and the sailboat, which transformed transport and trade.
• They also applied mathematical calculations to construct buildings and measure farmland. Their number system was based on 60, giving rise to the 60 minute hour, the 60 second minute, and the 360 degree circle—concepts still used today.

(b) The Akkadians

• In 2334 BCE, the Summerians lost power to a pew city-state called Akkad, which was located in central Mesopotamia.
• The Akkadians spoke a different language than the Summerians, but they used the same cuneiform script for writing.
• The Akkadian records show that the most prominent Akkadian King, Sargon, united many independent Sumerian city-states under a single administration, creating a powerful and well-organised empire.
• One of King Sargon’s tablets mentions that the Mesopotamian trade expanded greatly with the eastern regions of Dilmun, Magan, and Meluha, creating strong commercial networks across West Asia.
• Meluha is identified with the Sindhu-Sarasvati (Harappan) civilisation, while Dilmun corresponds to present- day Bahrain and Magan to present-day Oman on the Persian Gulf.
• The Mesopotamians traded with Harappans for items like semiprecious stones, beads, ivory, timber, gold dust, and probably copper.

(c) The Assyrians

• Around 2154 BCE, the Akkadian empire lost its supremacy to the new city- state of Assur in northern Mesopotamia, marking the rise of the Assyrian civilisation.
• The Assyrian civilisation succeeded the Akkadians and continued to flourish until the early 1700 BCE, becoming one of the important powers in Mesopotamia.
• Within a short period, the Assyrians expanded their dominance across Mesopotamia and extended their control over the neighbouring regions in the west and the south.

(d) The Babylonians

• Babylonia became the dominant power in central Mesopotamia from about 1900 BCE onwards.
• The golden age of Babylonia began under King Hammurabi in 1792 BCE, who conquered nearby regions and built a powerful empire.
• He introduced a famous collection of rules and regulations for civil and social life, known as the Code of Hammurabi, which was followed throughout his empire.
• The Code of Hammurabi helped maintain law, justice, and order.
• By the end of 1400 BCE, the Babylonians lost their earlier prominence because of repeated attacks by the Hittites and other rising powers, who used technologies and natural resources more efficiently.
• Environmental damage, pressure on farming lands, and internal political and economic struggles also weakened the Babylonian control, allowing new powers to rise in West Asia.

Egyptian Civilisation
Egyptian civilisation is one of the oldest civilisations of the world. It is famous for its rich historical records and its lasting influence on many later civilisations.

Ancient Egypt was well known to the Greeks and Romans. The Greek historian Herodotus visited Egypt and wrote about it around 5th century BCE.

A 19th-century collection of works, titled “Description de L’Egypte” (De L’Egypte), also provides valuable information about Egyptian history.

Egyptian history has been reconstructed from papyrus (early paper) records.

Libraries of around 2000 BCE stored papyrus scrolls in labelled jars, which included “S’mdbad the Sailor” and stories similar to “Aesop s Fables” and “Cinderella

The Egyptian calendar was based on the rising of Sirius (the Dog Star). It had 365 days, divided into 12 months of 30 days each, with 5 extra days added at the end of the year. The year was divided into three seasons:

• Autumn (Inundation)
• Winter (Peret)
• Summer (Shemu Harvest)

Every summer, the Nile River flooded the banks and left behind a rich mud called ‘Kernet’ that was excellent for farming.

Around 3000 BCE, city-states emerged in Egypt due to growing population and enough availability of resources.

About 5,000 years ago, farmers learned to dig ditches to divert the Nile River water into their fields and store water in reservoirs, greatly improving agriculture.

The collective effort needed to dig ditches and build dams led to the creation of local governments and an administrative class.

Powerful rulers called Pharaohs gradually emerged and ruled Egypt.

After their death, they were buried in underground rectangular structure called a Mastaba, which developed into more elaborate tombs, later stacked to form pyramid like the step pyramid at Saqqara.

The Egyptians believed that every person had a Ka, or spiritual double, which continued to live after death if the body was preserved through mummification. This belief made the preservation of the dead very important.

Early Egyptians took part in leisure activities, including swimming, canoeing, playing board games, music, and dancing.

They celebrated many religious festivals dedicated to the gods and the Pharaoh. One important celebration was the Sed Festival, held to mark a king’s 30th year on the throne.

Egyptian Women

• Egyptian women held more legal rights than women in ancient Greece or Rome, as they were allowed to own property and run businesses.
• Queen Cleopatra was trained to rule from her childhood and became the queen of Egypt at eighteen years of age.

Queen Cleopatra

Timeline showing the development of Egyptian Civilisation (5500 BCE to 1000 BCE)

The Chinese Civilisation
The Huang He (Yellow River) and the Yangtze River valleys were the centres of the early Chinese Neolithic culture, dating back to about 7000 BCE. These fertile river valleys supported agriculture and the growth of permanent settlements.

Around 2000 BCE, the introduction of copper and bronze metallurgy transformed many Neolithic settlements, especially those in the Yellow River basin. The use of bronze improved tools, weapons, and agricultural activities.

By about 1600 BCE, urban centres began to develop due to increased agricultural productivity, advances in metallurgy, and the growth of craft production. These developments led to the rise of the first Chinese Bronze Age territorial empire.

The history of ancient China is divided into different dynasties. During the Bronze Age, the Shang Dynasty and the Zhou Dynasty were the two most important ruling dynasties.

By about 600 BCE, the popularity of iron became widespread throughout China, and the Han Dynasty emerged as one of the most prominent dynasties of the Iron Age.

The Chinese were highly skilled craftsmen. They made beautiful jade objects and figurines, which were used as ritual or prestige objects.

They also carved marble ornaments in the shapes of birds and animals and used marble as the foundation for wooden pillars.

The Chinese mastered bronze metallurgy and produced high-quality weapons, tools, and elaborate ritual vessels, showing their advanced technological skills during the Bronze Age.

Marble was used to carve ornaments shaped like birds or animals and served as the base foundations for wooden pillars.

The Chinese mastered bronze metallurgy to create weapons, tools, and detailed ritual vessels.

Silk production was known since the Neolithic period (4000-3000 BCE) and grew into a major external trade item during the Han dynasty around the 2nd century BCE.

The extensive trade of this fabric caused the entire network of trade roads to be named the ‘Silk Route’.

By 1500 BCE, Chinese Bronze Age society was highly divided, with the ruling class, nobles, and aristocrats at the top, followed by regular fanners and labourers.

Across the world, major Bronze Age civilisations grew independently in fertile river plains by using farming and new resources to build cities, management systems, and writing systems.

Timeline showing the development of Chinese Civilisation (7000 BCE to 500 CE)

Early Humans and Beginning of Civilisation Class 9 Short Notes

→ Adaptation: The process of adjusting to changes in the environment for survival.

→ Administration: The system of managing and governing a state or society.

→ Agriculture: The practice of growing crops and rearing animals.

→ Ancestor: A person or living being from whom others are descended.

→ Archaeologist: A person who studies the past through excavations and ancient remains.

→ Archaeology: The study of human history through material remains.

→ Artefact: An object made or used by humans in the past.

→ Astronomy: The scientific study of stars, planets, and other celestial bodies.

→ Ascendance: A position of dominance.

→ Australopithecines: An early human ancestor that walked upright.

→ Babylonians: The ancient people who ruled Babylon in Mesopotamia.

→ Base-60 Number System: A counting system developed by the Sumerians for measuring time and angles.

→ Biological Evolution: The gradual physical development of living organisms over time.

→ Brahmi Script: One of the earliest writing systems of ancient India.

→ Bronze Age: The period when bronze became the main metal for making tools and weapons.

→ Chalcolithic Age: The period when both copper and stone tools were used.

→ City-State: An independent city with its own government.

→ Citadel: A fortified part of an ancient city used for administration and defence.

→ Civilisation: An organised society with cities, writing, trade, and government.

→ Clay Tablet: A flat piece of clay used for writing in ancient Mesopotamia.

→ Code of Hammurabi: One of the earliest written collections of laws.

→ Cultural Evolution: The gradual development of human knowledge, customs, and technology.

→ Cuneiform: The wedge-shaped writing system developed by the Sumerians.

→ Decipher: To understand or interpret an unknown script or code.

→ Domestication: The process of taming animals.

→ Drainage System: A network that carries away wastewater from settlements.

→ Dynasty: A succession of rulers from the same family.

→ Engineering: The application of scientific knowledge to design and build structures.

→ Excavation: The process of digging to uncover archaeological remains.

→ Evidence: Information or objects that help prove or explain something.

→ Evolution: The gradual process of change in living organisms over time.

→ Excavation Site: A place where archaeologists,, dig to uncover ancient remains.

→ Extinction: The complete disappearance of a species.

→ Fossil: The preserved remains or traces of ancient living organisms.

→ Granary: A building used for storing grain.

→ Graffiti: To draw symbols on clay pots.

→ Habitat: The natural home or environment of a living organism.

→ Harappan Script: The writing system of the Harappan Civilisation that remains undeciphered.

→ Hieroglyphics: The picture-based writing system of ancient Egypt.

→ Hittites: The Indo European People.

→ Homo Sapiens: The scientific name of modem humans.

→ Homo Habilis: Ancestors who lived in Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania or Kenya about 2-6 million years ago.

→ Homo Neanderthalensis: Humans who lived in Europe around 40,000 years ago.

→ Homo Erectus: Human ancestors who walked upright or bipedal.

→ Hominin: Human Ancestor who made earliest tools.

→ Hunter-Gatherers: People who lived by hunting animals and gathering wild plants.

→ Inscription: Words or symbols carved on stone, metal, or other hard surfaces.

→ Irrigation: The artificial supply of water to crops.

→ Jade: A hard decorative stone widely used in ancient China.

→ Mastaba: A rectangular structure where rulers of Egypt were burned.

→ Mesolithic Age: The Middle Stone Age marked by improved tools and hunting methods.

→ Metallurgy: The science of extracting and shaping metals.

→ Microlith: A small stone tool used during the Mesolithic Age.

→ Migration: The movement of people or animals from one place to another.

→ Motifs: A decorative design, image or symbol drawn on walls or pots.

→ Mummification: The Egyptian practice of preserving dead bodies.

→ Neolithic Age: The New Stone Age marked by farming and permanent settlements.

→ Neolithic Revolution: The shift from hunting and gathering to farming.

→ Nomadic: Moving from one place to another.

→ Old World: Geographical region of the oldest human settlement during palaeolithic period.

→ Oracle Bones: Animal bones and turtle shells used for writing in ancient China.

→ Palaeolithic Age: The earliest phase of the Stone Age.

→ Papyrus: A writing material made from the papyrus plant.

→ Pharaoh: The king and religious ruler of ancient Egypt.

→ Prehistory: The period before the invention of writing.

→ Radio-Carbon Dating: A method used to determine the age of organic materials.

→ Reservoir: A large storage area for collecting water.

→ Scribes: A writer in Mesopotamia.

→ Sedentary Life: A way of life based on permanent settlement.

→ Stylus: A pointed tool used to write on clay tablets.

→ Urbanisation: The growth and development of towns and cities.

→ Ziggurat: A massive stepped temple built by the Sumerians for religious worship.