Fall 2015

HONOR
S

WORLD
HISTOR

BEGINNINGS OF HUMAN
SOCIETY

LAP 1

8 Class meeting | Ms Rothweiler

Overview

So far as we know, humanity's story began in Africa. For millions of years it was mainly a
story of biological change. Then some hundreds of thousands of years ago our early
ancestors began to form and manipulate useful tools. Eventually they mastered speech.
Unlike most other species, early humans gained the capacity to learn from one another
and transmit knowledge from one generation to the next. The first great experiments in
creating culture were underway. Among early hunter-gatherers cultural change occurred
at an imperceptible speed. But as human populations rose and new ideas and techniques
appeared, the pace of change accelerated. Moreover, human history became global at a
very early date. In the long period from human beginnings to the rise of the earliest
civilization two world-circling developments stand in relief:

The Peopling of the Earth: The first great global event was the peopling of the
earth and the astonishing story of how communities of hunters, foragers, or fishers
adapted creatively and continually to a variety of contrasting, changing
environments in Africa, Eurasia, Australia, and the Americas.

The Agricultural Revolution: Over a period of several thousand years and as a

result of countless small decisions, humans learned how to grow crops,
domesticate plants, and raise animals. The earliest agricultural settlements
probably arose in Southwest Asia, but the agricultural revolution spread round the
world. Human population began to soar relative to earlier times. Communities
came into regular contact with one another over longer distances, cultural patterns
became far more complex, and opportunities for innovation multiplied.

TEACHER NAME/TEACHER EMAIL ADDRESS: Ms. Deb Rothweiler,

drothweiler@iwacademy.org
LAP 1/Beginning of Human Society
9 CLASS MEETINGS
Materials needed for LAP:
Notebook
Use of Internet
Textbook
Materials for selected project
RATIONALE:
The purpose of the is LAP is to provide the student with a greater understanding how the human
species fully emerged out of biological evolution and cultural development to become what we
deem to be human. By examining the past that we all share, the student will see how all
cultures share the common foundation as a result of the cultural forms, social institutions, and
practical techniques that emerged in the Neolithic Age. Overall, the study of human beginnings
throws into relief fundamental problems of history that pertain to all eras: the possibilities and
limitations of human control over their environment; why human groups accept, modify, or reject
innovations; the variety of social and cultural paths that different societies may take; and the
acceleration of social change through time.

OBJECTIVES: Upon Completion of this LAP students will be able to:

1. Describe the effects of the agricultural revolution.
2. List and explain the characteristics of a civilization
3. Examine the effect geography played in the development of early river valley civilizations.
4. Compare the ancient river valley civilizations in Africa, Mesopotamia, India and China on
the characteristics of a civilization.
5. Explain the link between trade and cultural diffusion.
6. Define/Identify the following:
hominids
artifacts
hunter-gatherers civilization
monotheism
scribes
cultural diffusion citadel
Mary Leakey
Donald Johanson
Neanderthal
Cro-magnon

culture
polytheism

bureaucracy
division of labor
artisan
city-state
barter
money economy
homo sapiens

Independent and/Open Lab Assignments/Enrichment:

1. Project One Handout 1 on back of Lap
2015
2.

Due Date: September 22,

Enrichment Assignments, Handout

TBA

LAP TEST/ASSESSMENT:
1.

Test:

Due Sept 12-16

CLASS MEETINGS:

DATE/DAY DUE

First Class Meeting:

Distribute LAP and Syllabus
Introduce history
Second class meeting
Reading time

Third Class Meeting:

Introduce the tools of history
Writing the Social Studies paragraph

A day August 17

Fourth Class Meeting

Continue the Archeology Activity with reading from
Motel of the Mysteries by David Macaulay
Archeology bags

F day August 24

Fifth Class Meeting

DUE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE CLASS:
1. Assignment 1. See assignment
explanation page for more details
In class activity on early man
Sixth Class Meeting
DUE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE CLASS:
1. Assignment 2. See assignment
explanation page for more details
PERSIA introduction
Seventh Class Meeting
Work in small groups on Civilization projects
Work Day for Assignment 2 and 3

H Day August 26

C Day August 19

E day August 20

J Day August 27

A day August 31

Eighth Class Meeting

DUE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE CLASS:
1, Assignment 3. See assignment
explanation page for more

details Activity on the importance of

trade
Continue working on group presentation

C day Sept 2

Ninth Class Meeting

Work Day on Presentations

E Day Sept 4

Tenth Class Meeting

Begin Presentations
Review for test

F Day Sept 8

Eleventh Class Meeting

Complete Presentation

H Day Sept 10

12th Class Meeting

Review

J Day Sept 11

Homework Assignment Explanations

Assignment One

(formative)

Read pages 1-89 in Motel of the Mysteries

As you read think about the following questions. We will discuss in class
1. What is the author's definition of a catastrophe? Do you agree? Does the definition agree with the
standard dictionary definition? What caused the catastrophe? Is it plausible? How could the catastrophe
have been avoided? Do you think anyone predicted it? If so, who? What was left after the catastrophe
ended? How were any pieces of information or artifacts discovered? Who was the most important
researcher/scientist/historian? Explain
2. The Triumphal Arch and Monument Row were considered to be significant finds regarding the ancient
culture of Usa. Discuss the various pieces of architecture as they are represented in the book. Why did
scientists think the discoveries were important? Were the explanations anywhere near the truth? Explain.
How did the scientists, archeologists and historians develop their theories? Were the theories plausible?
3. The book begins with a story of the catastrophe followed by several attempts to learn about the fallen
civilization. Discuss the characters' fascination with Usa. Why are the historians and archeologists so
interested in what happened 2000 years ago? What kind of materials do they hope to find? What might be
contained in the writing fragments? What could be learned from the fragments? Explain.

4.

The text claims that the structures along Monument Row were placed at varying heights as indications of
the level of worship to the various gods. Research and write an essay about various religious monuments
what might be found 2000 years from now. Does the height of the monument have anything to do with the
culture's measure of dedication or worship? Explain.

5.

When were the first fragments discovered and by whom? Why were the fragments so fascinating? What
kind of information did the fragments impart? What might be learned by future fragments? Who might be
the one to decipher the writings of the people of Usa?

6. Black and gray stripes were often found on the ground at various excavation sites. Discuss the theories
about the stripes. What did they mean? What was Heinrich Von Hooligan's opinion? Do you think
Hooligan had any basis for his thoughts? Did the explanation seem valid? What was the official opinion on
the stripes?
Assignment 2

formative

Using the internet or a history text in Room T 406

1. Define hominids:
2. Define artifacts:
3. Define culture:
4. Who was Donald Johanson and what did he do?

5. Who was Mary Leakey and what did she do?

6. Fill in the Venn Diagram below comparing and contrasting Neanderthal people with
Cro-Magnon people.

Continue on to the next page

Watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpny3cvwWPE
And create your own diagram explaining what is civilization
Bring work to class-

Assignment 3
In this class presentation, each student will be in a group of 2-4 students to investigate an ancient civilization
assigned by the teacher. The students will create a presentation explaining the key elements of that
civilization. These elements are: religion, government, economics, and other aspects of that civilization- such
as geography and its influence, time period, beliefs, contributions, writing, slavery, arts, rise and fall,
technology
The students will use their textbook and internet sites provided by the teacher to gather information on a
specific civilization.

For class meeting 5 all students must bring in their research which they will use to develop the group
presentation

Class meeting 7 group presentations will be given. The basic format of the presentation may be:
o

A museum display

A pamphlet

Photostory

Powerpoint

All members of the group must share with the class the information contained in their presentation.
During presentations, students will fill out the chart provided by the teacher.

See rubric at www.rothiwa.com

Handout One- LAP Project

Select one of the following for your LAP project.. You will be evaluated on neatness,
completeness, and demonstration of critical thought
1. Do research on glaciers and the ice ages. What are glaciers? What causes them? What
caused the ice ages? What were the effects of the glaciers. Include a map- you create
showing glacier movement
2. Create your own Stone Age cave art. Paint own cave art reflecting the life you are living
now that if an archaeologist found 20,000 years from now they will learn about how we
lived in our time. Draw important aspects of life, including food, family, recreation,
culture, schooling, architecture (i.e. buildings), etc.
3. Pretend you have traveled back in time approximately 35,000 years. Write a letter to a
family member or friend who lives today. Describe to this person what kind of experiences
you are having. Be as factual as possible, but be creative and use good descriptive words,
including sounds, sights, smells, etc.
4. Write a short report on how fires were made and controlled by early man. Illustrations are
required for this.
5. You are an archeologist and have found a tool. Choose the period of time (Paleolithic,
Mesolithic, Neolithic) that the tool was made. Write two paragraphs that describe where
the tool was found and what makes it unique to that period of time. Make sure that the
material the tool is made out of matches the time period it comes from. Describe the tool
in detail and how it was used.. Then neatly draw the tool
6. Who is Lucy? Please read up on who Lucy is.
Hint: www.elucy.org
Answer these questions using the website and my keynote:
1. How did she move?
2. Where did she live?
3. What did she eat?
4. Did she speak a language?
5. Did she live with other family members?

Handout 2- Enrichment
Each worth 2 points. May only do two
1. Visit a local natural history museum to learn more about pre-historic archaeological
finds. Create a class treasure hunt in which students search the museum to
discover information from the different exhibits. (Each group creates one part of the
treasure hunt focusing on one exhibit). Assemble the treasure hunt and distribute it
around the school. Offer a prize for the first student who completes the hunt and
turns it in to your classroom teacher.
2. Create an archaeological dig in a baking pan or other small self-contained vessel.
Rope off several different areas of the dig, filling each with a different organic
substance (like sand, dirt or pebbles) in which an artifact is placed. Items should be
everyday objects, such as buttons or fabric. Have classmates conduct a dig,
carefully searching through each area of the site and recording data about their
findings.
3. Learn about Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution. Create a timeline indicating
events in Darwins life and in the theory of evolution (e.g., when it was proposed,
monumental studies, and court cases). Chart the scientific communitys reactions to
the theory since its proposal as well.
4. Learn about how scientific theories have changed throughout history. Choose a
specific topic in modern science (e.g., theories of the creation of the universe,
genetics, or cell theory) and learn about what different cultures at different times
have said about this topic. Consider what the general topic for each modern topic
would be in order to identify it in history. For example, genetic might be related to
earlier theories of biological inheritance. Create a book entitled The Evolution of
the Science Textbook that follows this topic throughout time and cultures.
5. Write and perform a persuasive speech on the topic Connecting Prehistory to the
Present. Defend or challenge the notion that this field of science has an impact on
our lives today, offering examples from other fields of study, such as medicine,
anthropology and psychology. Also suggest how or whether this field should be
taught in high schools.
6. Different cultures and religions have different understandings about the origin of the
Earth. Create a map labeled with synopses of the various creation stories from
around the world. Also include a picture to accompany each synopsis that indicates
the general plot or concept behind the story.
7. Watch the movie Castaway. HAND write a one page (front only) summary

about the movie including aspects of a civilization that Tom Hanks had to
create and why he created them
For example:
why did he create Wilson? What need did that fulfill?
why did he bury the dead airline guy? What need did that fulfill?

why did he draw pictures on his cave wall?

why the calendar?
Think of the characteristics of a civilization how did he try to fulfill
them?