What is the difference between a Cro-Magnon man and a Homo habilis? Cro-Magnon

BC e) they settled throughout Europe, and lived simultaneously with the last representatives Neanderthals.

The so-called paleolithic revolution- the transition to more advanced technology of production and use of tools, which occurred about 40 thousand years BC. During this period there was an explosive flowering of intellectual and cultural activities human associated with the wide spread of people of the modern physical type, replacing the ancient types of people. Bony remains were first found in the Cro-Magnon Grotto in France.

It is surprising that for tens of thousands of years, pre-Cro-Magnon humanity did not undergo any changes. At the same time modern ideas It takes isolation and a huge number of years to form the features of the Cro-Magnon skeleton.

Evolutionary anthropologists believe that the population of Cro-Magnons ranged between 1 and 10 million people, and over 100 thousand years they must have buried about 4 billion bodies with accompanying artifacts. A significant portion of these 4 billion burials should have been preserved. However, only a few thousand have been found.

Another uncertainty is the extinction of the Neanderthal. One of the prevailing hypotheses about the reasons for its extinction is its displacement (i.e. destruction) by the Cro-Magnon man, a competitor for an ecological niche, which occurred about 30 thousand years ago.

Nutrition of Cro-Magnons

It has been established that the diet of people of the Late Paleolithic era (40-12 thousand years ago), who lived in Europe, consisted of wild fruits, vegetables, leafy plants, roots, nuts, and lean meat. The results of anthropological research clearly indicate that in the course of human evolution, a large role belonged to a diet containing little fat, very little sugar, but including a large number of fiber and polysaccharides. The cholesterol content of wild game meat is approximately the same as that of livestock meat, but wild game meat contains an almost ideal ratio of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. Late Paleolithic people consumed a lot of animal protein through meat, which contributed to physical development and rapid puberty, but not longevity. An analysis of the remains of ancient people revealed characteristic diseases caused by poor nutrition, in particular vitamin deficiencies, and their life expectancy was on average 30 years.

One way or another, due to the fact that meat food predominated in the Cro-Magnon diet, they were more stately than their descendants (and ancestors), who preferred plant foods.

Cro-Magnon culture

Religion

From the end of 40 thousand BC. The heyday of Matriarchy also began - associated with the Cro-Magnons and known mainly from excavations in Europe. The worship of the mother goddess was not just a local cult, but a phenomenon on a global scale. Material from the site

Cave painting (rock)

During the life of the Cro-Magnons, there was a flourishing of cave (rock) painting, the peak of which was reached in 15-17 thousand BC. (galleries of cave paintings in Lascaux and Altamira).

A fresco in Altamira depicts a herd of bison and other

Human traits. 3 long eras of the main species. Were any Australopithecus ancestors of humans? Let's look at each form separately. Zinjanthrop. A group of fossil great apes. Paranthropus Ethiopian. Australopithecus. Australopithecus africanus. Anatomy. Reconstruction of the appearance. Australopithecus sediba. Hard plant fibers. Australopithecus afarensis. Robustus. Known forms.

“Characteristics of Cro-Magnons” - The first people of the modern type. France. Hole for lanyard. Modern people. The first modern people are neoanthropes. The art of Cro-Magnons. Bone objects of Mesolithic people. Cro-Magnons. Chalcolithic tools. Hominid evolution. Primitive art. Characteristics of Cro-Magnons.

“The Predecessors of Man” - The correct sequence of branches. Australopithecus group. Feeding on insects. Predecessors of man. Stone tools. Natural selection. Superfamily of hominoids. Hominid groups. Primates. A skillful man. Modern apes. Origin of the genus Homo. Ancestral group of great apes. Prerequisites for anthropogenesis. Human Origins. Explain the drawing. Herd lifestyle.

“Ancient people” - Brain volume. Neanderthals. A skillful man. Cro-Magnons. Australopithecines. Homo sapiens. Australopithecus. Homo habilis. Neanderthals were of average height. Phylogenetic series of humans. Homo ergaster. Australopithecines switched to upright walking. The volume of the brain is equal. Dryopithecus lived in trees. Dryopithecus. Homo erectus. The main stages of anthropogenesis. Modern view of anthropogenesis.

“Human Ancestors” - Evidence of the relationship between humans and apes. Vestigial organs. Morphological and anatomical evidence of the origin of man from animals. The most ancient people. Neanderthals. Views on the origins of man. Australopithecus species. Big races. Melanoderma. The main stages of anthropogenesis. The emergence and development of man. The man came out of the water. Human race. Australopithecus. Cro-Magnon. Human. Women should give birth in water.

"Australopithecus" - The structure of the skeleton of Australopithecus africanus. Fossil remains. Australopithecus africanus. Australopithecus afarensis. Group burial. Anatomy. Origin. Brain. Duration of coexistence. Finds. Location. South African Australopithecus. Australopithecus. Physical characteristics. Robustus. Notable finds. Paranthropus. Two incomplete skeletons of this species were found during excavations in Malapa Cave.

Who are Cro-Magnons? These are fossil people, completely similar in their appearance and development on modern man. They lived 40-10 thousand years ago in Europe. At the same time, they coexisted with Neanderthals for at least 7 thousand years. Their first skeletons and tools from the Upper Paleolithic era were found in 1868 in France in the Cro-Magnon cave.

It should be noted that such a term as “Cro-Magnon” implies several concepts at once:

1. These are people whose remains were discovered in the Cro-Magnon Grotto, and who lived on Earth approximately 40-30 thousand years ago.

2. These are the people who inhabited Europe during the Upper Paleolithic period.

3. These are all the people who lived on the globe during the Upper Paleolithic period.

It must be said that there is also such a concept as neoanthropes. It implies the general collective name Homo sapiens, that is, Homo sapiens. It includes both Cro-Magnons and modern people. That is, you and I are neoanthropes who completely replaced the paleoanthropes (Cro-Magnons) 30 or 40 thousand years ago. And the first neoanthropes appeared on Earth approximately 200 thousand years ago in Africa.

But let's not look that far, but return to more recent times. Fossil remains of Cro-Magnons were found in Africa in Fish Hook and the Cape Flats. Their age was estimated at 35 thousand years. In Europe, as already mentioned, 30 thousand years. In Asia, the age of the remains was 40-10 thousand years. In New Guinea 19 thousand years.

Cro-Magnon settlement

Ancient people also reached Australia. They lived there beautifully 20-14 thousand years ago. But in America, near Los Angeles, a settlement was found, the age of which dates back to 23 thousand years ago. But there are also later settlements from 11 to 13 thousand years ago.

At the excavation sites, experts discovered the remains of individuals of different sexes and ages. At the same time, the ancient people were buried in accordance with the funeral rites of that distant era. From modern people they differed very little in their morphological structure. However, the bones of the skeletons and skulls were more massive. At least, anthropologists came to this opinion.

Where did the modern human species originate?

Currently, experts are asking questions: which of the ancient people can be considered the ancestors of modern man and in what historical period did they appear? The first traces of people similar to us were discovered in Africa. These finds range in age from 200 to 100 thousand years. One of the finds was made in Kherto in Ethiopia in 1997. There, paleontologists from California discovered remains 160 thousand years old.

In South Africa, in Clazies River, the discovered remains are 118 thousand years old. In the north-eastern part of South Africa, a skull 82 thousand years old was discovered in Border Cave. Remains were also found in Tanzania and Sudan. They are characterized by the fact that fossil human skulls are very similar in shape to the skulls of modern people. They do not have a sharply protruding nape, large brow ridges, or a sloping chin. At the same time, the volume of the brain is extremely large. Similar finds were discovered in the Middle East in the Qafzeh and Skhul caves.

Rock paintings in a cave

As a result of the efforts of paleontologists, it turned out that 40 thousand years ago people who had a modern appearance lived in Africa, Europe, Asia and Australia. In America they appeared much later, about 11-12 thousand years ago. But there are archaeologists who call the time period 30 thousand years.

Thus it turns out that the first Cro-Magnons saw the light of day in the southeastern regions of Africa approximately 200 thousand years ago. First they populated the hot continent, and then came to the Middle East. This happened 80-70 thousand years ago. Having settled in the Middle East, they moved to Europe and Asia, developing the southern and then northern regions. We got all the way to Australia, and after that we ended up in America.

Our direct ancestors were the complete opposite of Neanderthals. They had long limbs, height up to 180 cm, proportional bodies, well-developed lower jaws and an elongated skull. Subsequently, from them came the people of the current civilization, which is 7 thousand years old.

Nowadays, there is an opinion that the modern species of people is the crown of biological evolution, which has been transformed into social evolution. However, many do not agree with this. That is, biological changes continue to this day. It’s just that very little time has passed to talk about any physical transformations. But as we all know, the Cro-Magnons have changed significantly in appearance, thanks to the emergence of races.

Burial of the Cro-Magnons

Cultural achievements of the Cro-Magnons

Our direct ancestors differed from their predecessors not only in physical features. They also had a more highly developed culture. First of all, this concerns tools. They made them from stone, horn and bone. Moreover, initially, blanks were prepared en masse, and then they were processed and the necessary tools were obtained. They came up with a bow and arrows and spears. It should be noted that the level of culture was practically no different among the ancient people who inhabited different parts of the planet. They tamed the wolf, which became a domestic dog.

But the main thing, of course, is rock painting. Beautiful specimens have been preserved in caves from Britain to Lake Baikal rock paintings. In addition to them, figurines depicting animals and people were also discovered. They are made from limestone, bones and mammoth tusks. Knife handles were carved, and clothes were decorated with beads and painted with ocher.

Our ancient ancestors lived in communities. They numbered from 30 to 100 people. Not only caves, but also dugouts, huts, and tents served as housing. And this already points to settlements. They dressed in clothes made from skins. They communicated with each other through developed speech.

The main cult was the cult of hunting. This is indicated by the fact that many images of animals are complemented by arrows and spears. That is, first they killed the prey in the drawings, and only then they went on a real hunt.

The Cro-Magnons widely practiced funeral rites. This primarily indicates that ancient people thought about the afterlife. Jewelry, hunting tools, household items and food were placed in the graves along with the deceased. The bodies were sprinkled with blood-red ocher and sometimes covered with the bones of killed animals. It was customary to bury dead bodies in the fetal position. That is, in whatever position the fetus was in the womb, it was in the same position that it passed into the other world.

Ceramic figurine of Vestonice Venus

Cro-Magnon culture is characterized as Perigord culture. It is divided into earlier chatelperon and later Gravettian culture. The latter subsequently moved to Solutrean culture. An example of Gravettian culture is Vestonitskaya Venus, found in the Czech Republic in 1925. This is the oldest ceramic figurine, 11 cm high and 4 cm wide. An ancient kiln was also discovered in which clay crafts were fired, turning them into ceramic products.

In conclusion, it should be said that during the time of fabulous antiquity, a woman appeared in south-eastern Africa, from whom the entire human race descended. This woman is designated as mitochondrial Eve by mitochondrial DNA, inherited only through the female line. What kind of woman this is and how she ended up in hot Africa is unknown. But beautiful creature was radically different from other women and marked the beginning of the human civilization that now dominates the blue planet.

Alexey Starikov

Cro-Magnon - was a person in modern sense words, naturally, more primitive, but still human. The era in which Cro-Magnon man lived falls on the period from the 40th to the 10th millennium BC. The first discoveries of the skeleton of Cro-Magnon man were made in 1868 in the southwest of France in the Cro-Magnon cave. So, about 40 thousand years ago in different areas globe There have been a number of cultural shifts in entirely new directions. The events of a person’s life begin to develop along a different path and at a different, accelerated pace, and the main driving force now becomes the person himself.

Number of achievements, changes in social organization The life of the Cro-Magnon man was so great that it was several times greater than the number of achievements of Australopithecus, Pithecanthropus and Neanderthal man combined. The Cro-Magnons inherited from their ancestors a large active brain and quite practical technology, thanks to which they took an unprecedented step forward in a relatively short period of time. This manifested itself in aesthetics, the development of communication and symbol systems, tool-making technology and active adaptation to external conditions, as well as in new forms of social organization and a more complex approach to one's own kind.

All Cro-Magnons used some kind of stone tools and were engaged in hunting and gathering. They achieved many amazing achievements and spread throughout all geographical areas suitable for habitation. The Cro-Magnons created the first primitive forms of firing pottery, built kilns for this, and even burned coal. They surpassed their ancestors in the skill of processing stone tools and learned to make all kinds of tools, weapons and devices from bone, tusks, deer antlers and wood.

All areas of activity of the Cro-Magnons were improved compared to their ancestors. They made better clothing, built hotter fires, built larger dwellings, and ate a much wider variety of foods than their predecessors.

Among other things, scientists have found that the Cro-Magnons had another important innovation - art. Cro-Magnon man was a caveman, but with one difference: his unkempt appearance hid a developed intellect and a complex spiritual life. The walls of his caves were covered with painted, carved and scratched masterpieces, very expressive and full of immediate charm.

The Cro-Magnon man differed from his predecessors in physiological characteristics. First, his bones are lighter than those of his ancestors. Secondly, the Cro-Magnon skull is in every way similar to the skull of modern people: a clearly defined chin protrusion, a high forehead, small teeth, the volume of the brain cavity corresponds to the modern one. Finally, he is characterized physical features necessary for the formation of complex speech. The arrangement of the nasal and oral cavities, the elongated pharynx (the part of the throat located directly above the vocal cords) and the flexibility of the tongue gave him the ability to form and produce distinct sounds, much more varied than those that were available early people. However, modern man had to pay for the gift of speech expensive price- of all living beings, only he can suffocate by choking on food, since his elongated pharynx also serves as the vestibule of the esophagus.

A straight gait was destined to become first a rule, and then a necessity. Meanwhile, more and more hands fell to the share of various types activities. Already in monkeys there is a well-known division of functions between the arms and legs. The hand serves primarily for collecting and holding food, as some lower mammals do with the help of their front paws. Using their hands, some monkeys build nests in trees or, like chimpanzees, canopies between branches for protection from the weather. They grab sticks with their hands to protect themselves from enemies or throw fruits and stones at them. And although the number and general arrangement of bones and muscles are the same in ape and man, the hand of even a primitive savage was capable of performing hundreds of operations inaccessible to a monkey. Not a single monkey's hand has ever made even the crudest stone tool.

When processing stone, wood, skins, and making fire, human hands developed. Particularly important was the development thumb, which helped to hold tightly both the heavy spear and the thin needle. Gradually, the hand actions became more and more confident and complex. In collective work, the mind and speech of people developed.

The beginning of dominance over nature expanded man's horizons. On the other hand, the development of labor necessarily contributed to a closer unity of members of society. As a result, the emerging people had a need to say something to each other. Need created an organ for itself: the undeveloped larynx of the monkey was slowly but steadily transformed, and the organs of the mouth gradually learned to pronounce one articulate sound after another.

When did the type of modern man, commonly called Homo sapiens, arise? All ancient finds in the Upper Paleolithic layers are dated in absolute terms to 25–28 thousand years ago. The formation of Homo sapiens led to the coexistence of later progressive forms Neanderthals and emerging small groups of modern humans over several millennia. The process of replacing the old species with a new one was quite long and complex.

The growth of the frontal lobes of the brain was the main morphological feature, which distinguished emerging people modern look from late Neanderthals. The frontal lobes of the brain are the seat of not only higher thinking, but also social functions. The growth of the frontal lobes expanded the scope of higher associative thinking, and with it contributed to the complication of public life, diversity labor activity, caused further evolution of body structure, physiological functions, and motor skills.

The brain volume of “homo sapiens” is twice as large as that of “homo habilis.” He is taller and has a straight figure. “Reasonable people” speak coherently.

In appearance, the “reasonable people” who lived in different countries, were different from each other. Such natural conditions as abundance or lack sunny days, sharp winds carrying clouds of sand, very coldy, left their mark on the appearance of people. Their division into three main races began: white (Caucasoid), black (Negroid) and yellow (Mongoloid). Subsequently, the races were divided into subraces (for example, yellow - into Mongoloid and Americanoid), areas with a population of transitional races were formed on the borders between races (for example, on the border between the Caucasoid and Negroid races, the transitional Ethiopian race appeared). However, the physiological differences between the different races are not significant; from a biological point of view, all modern humanity belongs to the same subspecies species Homo sapiens. This is confirmed, for example, genetic research: DNA variation between races is only 0.1%, and genetic diversity within races is greater than differences between races.

Thus, the process of evolution explains the presence of similarities in external and internal structure humans and mammals. Let us briefly list them: the presence of a head, torso, limbs, hair, nails. The skeletons of both humans and mammals are made of the same bones. Similar layout and functions internal organs. Like mammals, humans feed their young with milk. But a person also has significant differences, which will be discussed further.

>>History: Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons. The emergence of human races

Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons. The emergence of human races.

4. The emergence of “homo sapiens”

1. Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons.

Appeared about 200-150 thousand years ago new type ancient man. Scientists called him "Homo sapiens" (on Latin"Homo sapiens") This type includes Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon.

Neanderthal was named after the site where his remains were first found in the Neanderthal Valley in Germany. He had highly developed brow ridges, powerful jaws pushed forward with large teeth.

The Neanderthal could not speak clearly because his vocal apparatus was not sufficiently developed. Neanderthals made tools from stone and built primitive houses. They hunted large animals. Their clothing was animal skins. Neanderthals buried their dead in specially dug graves. For the first time, they had ideas about death as a transition to the afterlife.

For a long time it was believed that Neanderthals preceded the emergence of modern humans. IN last years Scientists have found that Neanderthals lived for some time at the same time as another type." Homo sapiens" - a Cro-Magnon man whose remains were first found in the Cro-Magnon cave in France. Appearance and the Cro-Magnons had brains like modern people. Cro-Magnons are our direct ancestors. Scientists They call Cro-Magnons, like modern people, “Homo sapiens, sapiens,” that is, “reasonable, intelligent man.” This emphasizes that man is the owner of the most developed mind on our planet. Cro-Magnons appeared about 40 thousand years ago.

2. Mammoth hunters.

About 100 thousand years ago, the temperature on Earth became sharply cold and the last glacial period. Very cold periods of time alternated with periods of warming. The northern part of Europe, Asia, and America was covered with a powerful glacier.

During the glaciation in Europe, only for a short time summer period the ground thawed and vegetation appeared on it. However, it was enough to feed large herbivores - mammoths, woolly rhinoceroses, bison, reindeer. Hunting these animals provided enough meat, fat and bones to feed people and even to heat and light their homes.

Hunting at that time became the most important occupation of the Cro-Magnons. They began to make tools not only from stone, but also from mammoth tusks and deer antlers. Tips made of deer antler with teeth curved at the base were attached to the spears. Such a spear was deeply stuck in the body of a wounded animal. Darts (short spears) were used to pierce small animals. Fish were caught using wicker traps and harpoons with sharp tips.

People have learned to sew clothes from fur. They invented bone needles, which they used to sew the skins of foxes, arctic foxes, wolves and smaller animals.

Residents of the Eastern European plains built houses from mammoth bones. The foundation of such a house was made from the skulls of huge animals.

3. Tribal communities.

It was impossible to hunt mammoth and other large animals and build houses from their bones alone. Dozens of people were required, organized and observing a certain discipline. People began to live in tribal communities. Such a community included several large families forming a clan. Close and distant relatives formed a single team. The clan community had common dwellings, tools, and food supplies. The men hunted together. They jointly engaged in the manufacture of tools and construction. Special respect big family used by a mother woman. Initially, the relationship was on the maternal side. In the habitats of ancient people, skillfully made female figurines are often found. Women were engaged in gathering, preparing food and storing food supplies, maintaining a fire in the hearth, sewing clothes and, most importantly, raising children.

The clan community, the clan, considered themselves descended from one ancestor - a person, an animal, or even a plant. The ancestor of the clan was called a totem. The clan bore the name of its totem. There could be a clan of a wolf, a clan of an eagle, a clan of a bear.

Communities were ruled by the wisest members of the clan - the elders. They had great life experience, preserved ancient legends and customs. The elders made sure that all members of the clan followed the established rules of behavior, so that no one would claim the share of another when distributing food, clothing and space in the home.

Children in tribal community raised together. The children knew the customs of the clan and followed them. As boys grew older, they had to pass tests to be accepted as adult male hunters. The boy had to remain silent under the hail of blows. They made cuts on his body, rubbed ashes, colored earth and plant juices into them. The boy had to spend several days and nights alone in the forest. A lot had to be endured in order to become a real man of the family.

4. The emergence of human races.

With the advent of the Cro-Magnon man, human race: Caucasoid, Mongoloid, Negroid. Representatives of different races differ in skin color, eye shape, hair color and type, skull length and shape, and body proportions.

The Caucasian (Eurasian) race is characterized by light skin, wide eyes, soft hair on the head, and a narrow and sharply protruding nose. Men grow a beard and mustache. The Mongoloid (Asian-American) race has special characteristics such as yellowish or reddish skin, straight black hair, lack of facial hair in men, narrow eyes, and high cheekbones. Negroid race He is distinguished by dark skin, curly, coarse hair, a wide nose, and thick lips.

External differences are of secondary importance. All races have equal opportunities for development.

Even before the first civilizations, peoples Caucasian divided into large groups: Semites and Indo-Europeans. Semites got their name from the biblical Shem (Sem), the son of the patriarch Noah. They settled the Middle East North Africa. Modern Semitic peoples include Arabs and Jews. The Indo-Europeans (also called Aryans) settled over a vast territory, occupying Europe, Northern and part of Central India, Iran, Central Asia, Asia Minor Peninsula. The Indo-European peoples included Indians, Iranians, Hittites, Celts, Greeks, Romans, as well as Slavs and Germans. The languages ​​they spoke are called Indo-European.

IN AND. Ukolova, L.P. Marinovich, History, 5th grade

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