Early Humans (Eyewitness Juniors)

By: unknown author

Book Overview

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0751651109
• ISBN13: 9780751651102
• Release Date: January 1993
• Publisher: Dorling Kindersley Education
• Length: 63 Pages
• Weight: 0.31 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Another Eyewitness Books Classic

Where have humans come from? Where have we come from? These are questions addressed in this volume. For some, this is a matter of considerable controversy. For others, this is a matter of what science tells us. And Eyewitness Books explores such issues, in this particular volume. This is a fine introduction to the subject for young readers. The book starts with a brief discussion of where humans came from--our ancestors, the Australopithecines. These precursors of humankind came from Africa, walked upright, and had larger brains than other apelike animals of the time. The volume addresses many aspects of our forebears, including food (nuts, berries, fruits, and meat), tools (starting with Homo habilis, "Handy Man"), and the development of fire (see pages 16-17). Other subjects considered include life in the Ice Age, early human art, hunting and gathering, clothing, magic, burial procedures, writing, the Bronze Age and the Iron Age, and so on. Some examples of the material--"Ancient Writing" (pages 40-41). The text notes that the earliest examples of writing came from Mesopotamia (in part of modern Iraq). "By about 3500 BC, the actual sounds of speech. . .were written down on clay tablets using a stylus" (Page 40). Another part addresses "A Bronze Age Warrior." From 2,200-700 B.C., "a more obviously Bronze Age was evolving. . . " The pages reserved for this discussion show examples of weapons of the era, including spearheads, axes, and early swords. The final segment, "Digging up the past," focuses on how we study early humans. Discussions of archaeology are included, with examples such as Heinrich Schliemann's discovery of Homer's Troy. For young readers, who are interested in what science has to tell us about our forebears and human history, this would be a nice introduction to the subject matter.