Human Origins, the Paleolithic and Neolithic Eras

Studying the Distant Past

The three lessons that make up this cluster focus on how people construct and represent knowledge about the distant past and early human history. The first lesson focuses on teaching students to understand and interpret timelines, and introduces the concept of turning points. The next two lessons build upon this concept by raising the unit’s Essential Question: What were the most important turning points in early human history? Students “meet” the different types of social scientists who contribute in important ways to studying the past, then apply their knowledge through reading and object interpretation.

The Evolution of Homo Sapiens in the Paleolithic Era

This cluster chronicles the major developments that took place in the Paleolithic Era (2.5 million to 12,000 years ago), including the evolution of modern humans, Homo sapiens, and their dispersal across the planet. After opening with a look at the hominids and hominins that made up humanity’s family tree, the lessons delve into the major changes to human bodies across this long era: bipedal walking, larger brains, more dexterous hands, and smaller body parts for digestion. It also looks at the new activities made possible by these developments: sophisticated toolmaking, control of fire, use of language, successful migration out of Africa, the creation of art, and a lifestyle that had much to recommend it. Along the way, students engage repeatedly with the Essential Question about turning points, asking not only which were most important but also what constituted a turning point at all. Students continue to practice using timelines, as introduced in Cluster 1, and gain experience organizing information, arguing conclusions, integrating visual information, and determining central ideas.

The Neolithic Era and its Environmental Impact

This last cluster of the unit centers around the major turning points of the Neolithic Era, which began around 12,000 years ago in several parts of the world. In the first four lessons, students delve into the meaning of domestication, metallurgy and life in a fixed place for human communities and the environment. As these developments unfolded over thousands of years, they gradually changed the way that most people lived, from roving bands who foraged for food to sedentary populations who increasingly grew their own sustenance. The emphasis here is on students drawing meaning and organizing information from written and visual texts to understand these developments. In the subsequent three lessons, students engage in an Inquiry Cycle intended to give them an opportunity to reflect on these changes, as they ask whether farmers or foragers had a better life and write a persuasive argument. Lesson 21 introduces the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, which are subsequently used throughout the 6th and 7th grade curriculum. Here, students are exposed to the array of goals, and ponder how the people of the Paleolithic and Neolithic Eras, and their lifeways, have things to teach us for attaining the SDGs in the present. The following two class periods are dedicated to the Summative Assessment, which asks students to sequence and explain their choices regarding the most important turning points in early human history — a direct response to the unit’s Essential Question. Finally, a pair of lessons act as a bridge to Unit 2; they introduce the characteristics of a complex society, which will be elaborated with specific examples of ancient societies in all the units that follow.