Interesting facts about primitive man. Interesting data about primitive people briefly History about primitive people

Lesson objectives:

1. give students an idea of ​​primitive people;
2. develop horizons, speech and memory in learning
3. cultivate interest in history.

During the classes

I. Organizational moment.

The lesson begins
It will be useful for the guys,
Try to understand everything
Interesting to know.

II. Introductory conversation.

Today we will begin studying the second book, “The World Around Us.” Open the table of contents and see what we will study in this book? (Children's answers. History)

Little son came to his father
And the little one asked:
“Is it good to know history, or is it bad?”

What is history? (Children's answers. History is the science of the past. History studies how different peoples lived, what events took place.)

Slide 1 “History is the science of the past.”

History is a science that studies how different peoples lived, what events took place in their lives, how and why people’s lives changed and became the way they are now. History is a very ancient word. Translated from Greek, it means “research, a story about the events of the past.”

Slide 2 “Ancient Greek scientist Herodotus.”

Almost 2.5 thousand years have passed since a Greek named Herodotus first introduced people to his scientific work. Herodotus called his work “History”, he became the first scientist-historian, we call him “the father of history”. History teaches us justice and helps us take a fresh look at the world around us.

History is a journey through time. It goes back centuries, into hoary antiquity.

And today we begin our journey along this road.

Slide 3 “History of Humanity.”

The history of mankind can be divided into several large eras:

Primitive history;
- ancient world history;
- history of the Middle Ages;
- history of modern times;
- history of modern times.

III. New topic.

Slide 4. The beginning of human history.

Read the topic of the lesson. What do you think will be discussed? (Children’s answers. About our ancestors, about primitive people.)

Slide 5. The primitive world.

Today we will go on a journey through the primitive world. What you need to know:

1. Why is the most ancient era of human history called primitive?
2. Find the distinctive features of primitive man from modern man.

How did people learn about primitive people? (Children's answers. Scientists are excavating, extracting from the ground things of ancient people, their bones.)
- Who knows what the scientists who carry out excavations are called? (Children’s answers. By archaeologists.)

Archeology is the science of antiquity. It studies the history of society through the remains of people's lives and activities. Scientists believe that the most ancient people, “traces” of which were found in Africa and Asia, lived more than a million years ago. Based on the remains of the skeletons of ancient people, it was possible to establish what they looked like.

Slide 6-13. Primitive man who lived about a million years ago.

The earliest man was very different from you and me - modern people - and looked like a large monkey. However, people did not walk on four legs, as almost all animals walk, but on two legs, but at the same time they leaned forward greatly. The man’s hands, hanging down to his knees, were free, and he could do simple work with them: grab, hit, dig the ground. People's foreheads were low and sloping. Their brains were larger than those of apes, but significantly smaller than those of modern humans. The ancient man could not yet speak; he made only a few abrupt sounds, with which people expressed anger and fear, called for help and warned each other about danger.

IV. Physical education minute.

Watch the video “The Origin of Man.”

Work in groups. The first group, “young historians,” receive an assignment.

Look at the pictures on page 5. Find the distinctive features of primitive man from modern man.
- Read the text on pages 4-6 and try to answer the question. Why is the most ancient era of human history called primitive?
- Second group (gifted children). Write a story about primitive man.

V. Consolidation of what has been learned.

Why did primitive people live in groups? (Children's answers: It was impossible to cope with the difficulties of life alone.)
- Why didn’t they need to worry about warm clothes? (Children's answers. They lived where it was always warm.)
- Why did primitive people build houses? (Children's answers. They needed houses in order to protect themselves from scorching sun rays, bad weather, and predators.)
- Why did they make tools? (Children's answers. Butcher, cut the skin of an animal)
-What did the men do? (We went hunting and fishing.)
-What did the women do? (They picked fruits from trees, looked for eggs of birds and turtles, dug up edible roots, collected what nature gave them.)
- Why did primitive artists paint animals? (People’s lives depended on successful hunting of these animals.)

A story about primitive man.

Example story:

The earliest man was very different from modern man; he looked like a large ape, but walked on two legs. The arms were long, hanging down to the knees. The foreheads were low and sloping. The ancient man could not yet speak; he made only a few abrupt sounds, with which people expressed anger and fear, called for help and warned each other about danger.

We lived where it was always warm. Therefore, they did not need to worry about warm clothes. Houses were built to protect themselves from the weather and predators. Most of the time of primitive people was spent searching for food. Women and children picked fruits from trees, found edible roots, and looked for bird and turtle eggs. And the men got meat by hunting. At that time, mammoths lived on earth.

What was the life of people like at the end of primitive history? (People not only engaged in hunting and fishing, but also began to engage in agriculture and cattle breeding. They taught
They tried to build strong houses, make tools, sew clothes, make pottery).

Hunting and gathering occupied a very important place in the life of primitive people. But the success of hunting and gathering depends on the vagaries of nature: either a forest fire will destroy trees with edible fruits and drive away animals, or drought will destroy the grass that gave people edible grain. And then one day the women noticed that in the place where grains were usually ground on a stone grater, spikelets with the same grains grew. They guessed that it was randomly scattered grains that had sprouted. We tried to scatter the grains on purpose - it worked, and how: where one grain fell, a whole spikelet grew, or even several. Now it was possible to grow grain near the house, and not wander through forests and meadows in search. It happened that men, having killed, for example, a wild pig while hunting, brought home the remaining piglets. They placed the cubs in a pen, fed them, raised them, and it turned out that now failure in the hunt is not scary for people: here it is, food - in the pen near the house. This is how agriculture and cattle breeding arose, and people began to depend less on the vagaries of nature.

VI. Lesson summary.

Why is the most ancient era of human history called primitive?
- How does primitive man differ from modern man?
- Children, what interesting things can you tell your loved ones about primitive man?

Homework: Write a story about primitive man.

Naturally, each time space has its own mysteries and unsolved secrets. Primitive people arouse a lot of interest and curiosity among both scientific researchers and ordinary earthly representatives of humanity.

• Where did primitive people live?
• What did the primitives eat?
• What clothes did they wear?
• Tools of labor of primitive people.
• What did the primitives paint with?
• Lifespan.
• What responsibilities did men and women have?

Where did primitive people live?

The question of how primitive people sheltered from bad weather and dangerous animals of that era is very interesting. Despite their seemingly low mental development, primitive people were well aware that they needed to organize their own nest. This says a lot and that already at that time humanity had a developed instinct of self-preservation, and the desire for comfort had its place.

Huts made from animal bones and skins. If you were lucky and managed to win the hunt for a mammoth, then from the remains of the beast, after butchering, people of the past era built huts for themselves. They installed powerful and durable animal bones deep into the ground so that they would hold and not fall out in unfavorable weather conditions. After building the foundation, they pulled fairly heavy and strong animal skins over these bones, as if on a foundation, and then secured them with various sticks and ropes to make their house unshakable.


Caves and gorges. Some were lucky enough to settle in natural gifts, for example, in a mountain gorge or in caves formed by nature itself. In such structures it was sometimes much safer than in makeshift huts. About twenty people lived in huts and caves, as primitive people lived in tribes.

What did primitive people eat?

Primitive people were alien to such foods that we are accustomed to eating today. They knew that they had to obtain and prepare food on their own, so they always did everything possible to obtain prey. In moments of luck, they managed to feast on mammoth meat. As a rule, men went after such prey, with all the hunting tools possible for their time. It often happened that many members of the tribe died during the hunt; after all, the mammoth is not a weak animal, which is also capable of defending itself. But if it was possible to kill the prey, then a tasty and nutritious diet was provided for a long period of time. Primitive people cooked meat over a fire, which they also procured themselves, because in those days there were no matches, let alone lighters.


A trip to a mammoth is dangerous and not always successful, so not every time men took risks and took such an unpredictable step. The main diet of primitive people was a raw food diet. They obtained various fruits, vegetables, roots and herbs, with which they ate their fill.

Clothes of primitive people

Primitive people often wore what their mother gave birth to. Although, clothes were also found in their everyday life. They put it on not for aesthetic reasons, but for the purpose of safety of causal places. Most often, men wore such clothes so as not to damage their genital organs during hunting. Women protected the same causative places for offspring. They made clothes from animal skins, leaves, hay, and intricate roots they found.

Tools of labor of primitive people

Both for going on a mammoth hunt and for building a hearth, primitive people, like modern people, needed tools. They independently built and figured out what shape, weight and purpose each of them should be. Of course, they also came up with what to make them from themselves. To implement the idea, sticks, stones, ropes, pieces of iron and many other details were used. Almost all the tools of labor of primitive people came to the modern world almost unchanged, only the materials from which they were made changed. Hence the conclusion is that their level of intelligence was high.

What did primitive people draw with?

Scientific researchers, investigating the secrets of the life of primitive people, often find unusual and skillful drawings in their huts. What did the primitives draw with? They came up with a lot of improvised means that could be used to depict something on the wall. These were sticks with which they knocked out patterns on the wall, and hard rocks, and iron fragments. Even the most distinguished scientists are delighted and surprised by the fact that the primitives drew. These unknown people had such a highly developed level of intelligence and such a high desire to leave a memory of themselves that they created drawings that were preserved for many millennia.

Lifespan of primitive man

Not a single scientist was able to accurately voice the exact life expectancy of primitive people. However, there is scientific evidence that virtually no primitive man did not live more than forty years. Although, their life was so eventful, full of freedom and creative ideas, that perhaps forty years was enough to fully realize everything they had planned.


Their lives were dangerous, unpredictable, full of extremes, and at the same time, they had a high probability of eating spoiled, poisonous or unfit for consumption food. In addition, hunting, implementing any ideas with one’s own hands, all this could lead to death.

In the 19th century Very few skeletal remains of ancient people were known. The most ancient ones were found in Africa, so it is believed that it was on this continent that the evolution of apes, which lasted many millions of years, led to the emergence of humans. 3.5-1.8 million years ago, creatures called Australopithecus already roamed the steppes of Africa. They had a small brain and massive jaws, but they could already move in an upright position and hold a stick or stone in their hands. Scientists believe that the first stone tools appeared about 2.5 million years ago. These were stones with sharp edges. Such tools could be used to cut a branch, skin a dead animal, split a bone, or dig a root out of the ground. A “skillful man” moved on his feet, and his hands were adapted not only to hold a stick or stone, but also to make tools. These ancient people did not yet know how to speak; like monkeys, they gave signals to each other with cries, gestures, and grimaces. In addition to plant foods, they ate the meat of animals, which they probably hunted. Their groups were small and consisted of several males, females with cubs and adolescents. About 1 million years ago, a new species appeared - “Homo erectus”. This creature still resembled its animal ancestors. It was covered with fur, had a low forehead and strongly protruding brow ridges. But the size of his brain was already quite large, approaching the size of the brain of a modern person. “The Straightened Man” learned to make various tools from stone - large regular-shaped axes, scrapers, and chisels. With such tools it was possible to chop, cut, plan, dig, kill animals, skin them, and butcher carcasses. The development of labor skills, the ability to think, and plan their activities allowed these people to adapt to life in different climatic conditions. They lived in the cold regions of Northern China and Europe, in the tropics of Java, and the steppes of Africa. During the existence of “upright man,” the Ice Age began. Due to the formation of glaciers, the level of the World Ocean dropped, and land “bridges” arose between land areas previously separated by water, along which people were able to penetrate, for example, to the island of Java, where the first bones of Pithecanthropus were found. The sites were located along the banks of rivers and lakes, in places where large herds of animals lived. Pithecanthropus sometimes lived in caves, but not in the depths, where it was dangerous, but at the exit. Brave hunters, whose prey were large and strong animals, drove herds of deer, bulls, and elephants onto cliffs, into ravines or gorges, where they killed them with spears and stones. The spoils were divided among everyone. Primitive people began to use fire, which warmed them, protected them from animals and helped them hunt. They began to cook food over the fire, which had previously been eaten raw. Hunting large animals, protection from dangers, relocation to new territories - all this required the combined efforts of many people. Their teams had to be quite numerous and united. The complication of lifestyle led to the fact that older people began to teach younger ones, and teenagers stayed with their parents and relatives longer than before. These people already knew how to speak. And yet, both their physical development and the development of culture proceeded very slowly: Pithecanthropus, like the tools they created, existed almost unchanged for about 1 million years.

Historians have determined the time of the appearance of the first man on Earth - this happened about 2.5 million years ago: then he was still covered with hair and did not have his own tongue. He is called “homo habilis” or australopithecus. About one and a half million years ago, he was replaced by “skillful man” - more developed and with the rudiments of culture.

How ancient people lived: everyday life

It was impossible to survive alone in harsh conditions, so people united in communities where they engaged in collective labor. They had common tools, and the spoils were also divided among all members of the community. Thanks to this device, it became possible to transfer knowledge from generation to generation: older members of the community taught the younger members the necessary skills, if new information appeared, it was added to the already known - this is how it accumulated.

Tools and fire

The tools of labor of ancient people were quite primitive: the main tools were made of stone, which was then used to process wood and bone. From stones, breaking off pieces of the desired shape and size, primitive people made scrapers, choppers and spears, which replaced just a sharpened stick. The dishes were mainly hollowed out from wood or animal bones. Later, man learned to weave baskets and nets for catching fish. While excavating sites of ancient people, archaeologists obtained a lot of important finds, from which these facts were reconstructed.

At that time, people already used fire, but still could not make it, so the fires were carefully preserved.

Rice. 1. Ancient man makes fire.

Hunting and gathering

Labor already at this stage was divided into women's and men's. The weaker ones, women, were engaged in gathering, looking for herbs, roots and berries in the forest, as well as bird eggs, larvae, snails, etc. Men went hunting. How did ancient people hunt?

They not only used raids, but also dug traps and made traps.

Both hunting and gathering are appropriative forms of economy that forced tribes to a nomadic way of life: having devastated one area, they moved to another. When the bow and arrows appeared, more food began to be obtained, and devastation occurred faster. In addition, the parking lots had to be located close to the water, and this complicated the search for a new place. Thus, conditions forced people to move from an appropriating form to a producing one.

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Rice. 2. Primitive hunter.

Agriculture and cattle breeding

First, people began to domesticate animals, and they were the first to domesticate the dog, which later helped herd herds and hunt, and also guarded the house. Then pigs, goats and sheep were domesticated. Having mastered the skills of breeding them, the ancient man was able to have cattle. The herds were also communal.

The horse was the last to be domesticated - this happened around the 4th century BC. e. The very first, according to archaeological evidence, were the tribes living in the western part of the Eurasian steppes.

Women did farming. The planting process looked like this: the earth was loosened with a digging stick, into which the seeds of local useful plants were thrown. Later, this primitive tool was replaced by a shovel, which was made from wood using a stone scraper, then it was replaced by a hoe: a stick with a branch, and then a stick with a sharp stone tied to it.

The emergence of Neanderthals

This type of human appeared about 200 thousand years ago. By this time, man had already learned to make fire, his life became more ritualized. Due to the onset of the Ice Age, people moved to live in caves, they developed crafts, for example, tanning skins from which they made fur coats. During the same period, art was born: drawings made by the hand of primitive man were still very primitive - just stripes and lines, but soon images of animals also appeared. Neanderthals did not have such a developed form of communication as writing.

Rice. 3. Neanderthal.

Neanderthals went extinct 30 thousand years ago, and the reason for this is still not known. The main version is displacement by more developed Cro-Magnons, “reasonable people.”

What have we learned?

From an article on the topic “Ancient people” (grade 5) we learned that, according to archaeologists, the most ancient people, according to the history of their origin, went through four stages of development from Homo erectus to Homo sapiens. They had primitive tools and weapons, they were engaged first in appropriating and then in producing forms of activity, and they lived in communities.

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How long ago it was. Evolution, Darwin's theory. Many still do not believe that man could have descended from a monkey. How could ancient prosimians produce people who, over time, made a bunch of discoveries, invented a bunch of useful things, etc. Well, actually it’s not really important right now. We are here to tell you interesting facts about primitive people that we hope you will enjoy.

1. For a very long time, primitive people could not produce fire themselves. All they could do was to maintain the existing fire, which arose due to natural phenomena. But about 500 million years ago, Homo erectus discovered that if two dry sticks were rubbed against each other for a long time, fire appeared. A little later they learned to create fire using two pieces of flint and dry grass.

2. The first animal domesticated by man was the wolf (ancestor). At first, these animals were used only for hunting, but a little later they also began to perform guard functions.

3. Primitive people, apparently, were very fond of drawing, since ancient drawings were often found in caves, which mainly depicted hunting.

4. Ancient people often hunted mammoths. But despite the fact that the mammoth is a huge and fleshy animal, it was hunted not for its meat, but mainly for its tusks and bones, from which they made various tools.

5. 40,000 years ago, people were already playing on homemade ivory flutes. This is proven by the excavations carried out. This means that we can assume that the flute is one of the oldest musical instruments.

6. How many teeth does a healthy modern person have? Yes, exactly 32. And primitive people had as many as 36. At that time, the food was coarse and tough. And to chew it you had to have big and strong teeth. But with the ability to cook meat over fire, the teeth began to shrink, and some completely disappeared over time. Cooked food became soft and tender, so the huge jaw was no longer needed and over the generations it underwent changes.

7. Primitive people quickly mastered jewelry. They made beads from the teeth of predators, amulets from shells, snake skin, etc.

8. Ancient people had their own tools, which are prototypes of modern tools. For example, there was such a tool as the “Chopper”. It had a pointed end and resembled something between a knife and an ax. But in addition to cutting and chopping, this tool was also used for crushing objects and bones.

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