Part 1: Going All the Way Back

The first part of the History of Western Civilization series is exploring prehistory and our very first ancestors.

Introduction

The very beginning of modern human history in the western civilization is a futilely debated topic, and very obscure aspect of historical studies. Due to the lack of evidence most conclusions are drawn from unproven theories. However, History Now works hard to account for the most accurate information and will provide the most logical and widely regarded ideas. 

The Very Beginning  

It is believed humans first arrived to the western lands around 40,000 years ago. During this part of human prehistory, Europe was living through a succession of Ice Ages that had significant effects on habitat and landscape. The first modern humans likely came from north-east Africa and the Near East, where humans have been living for around 90,000 years. Europe was a place of varied weather, being much colder in the north and warmer in the south. At this point, open spaces dominated much of the landscape with much wilderness and forests. The open areas were home to large herds of grazing animals, including bison, aurochs, horses, and mammoths, characterizing Ice Age animals.  

The most plausible conclusion is that most of the earliest humans in Europe lived off of finding dead animals. However, as time progressed, humans also evolved and developed way of killing large mammals. Hunting is a daunting task that required the use of tools and a high degree of organization. Modern day historians have collected a variety of stone tools—chisels, blades, spears, knives, awls—demonstrating the early European’s creativity, innovation, and ingenuity.  

Prehistorical Weapons

Due to the effects of weather, humans imitated the animals they hunted by becoming seasonal migrants. They moved north in the summer and retreated south during the winter. Dating all the way back as far as 30,000 years ago, hunters was attracted to the major migration routes of various grazing animals. As time progressed, the human communities also became larger. Expansion occurred and more humans became settled. In this way, they did not need to follow herds along the animal migration routes; they could wait for them to arrive. Europe was still largely unpopulated at this point, but population densities increased along with the rise of large settlements. This was especially common in areas where there was a large supply of animals.  

Common Question:  

Who are the Neanderthal humans?  

Neanderthal humans are an extinct member of the Homo genus. Modern humans are classified as Homo sapiens while Neanderthal humans belong to another species. It is thought Neanderthal humans have inhabited the earth since as early as 130,000 years ago. It is also a common belief that modern humans lived alongside Neanderthal humans for some time before the latter died out around 40,000 years ago.  

                             A Reconstruction of a Neanderthal Human

    (Thank you Wikipedia for Picture)