What If You Lived in the Prehistoric Era?

millions of years ago humans were near the bottom of the food chain Predators weather and diseases all posed the threat of wiping the species out but then thanks to Revolution humans went from huddling in dark caves to building full-blown cities how did that happen this mysterious era was a time when history wasn't officially recorded but it brought on a ton of ation that would be the building blocks of our world today let's hop in our time machine and take a trip back to the prehistoric era okay first what is this strange prehistoric era that you've ended up in well this was a time in history when humans began to develop the world we have today it was comprised of three main ages the Stone Age the Bronze Age and the Iron Age the names of these ages reflected the primary materials that humans were using to make their tools but these materials also provided so much more than simple instruments they inspired an entirely new society and helped humans evolve into the new world let's check it out the Stone Age the Stone Age comprised three main eras the Paleolithic Mesolithic and Neolithic periods the stone age began over 3 million years ago and this was one of the most critical ages for humans and our Evolution one of the most significant advancements of this time was the creation of stone tools early humans began making and using tools from rocks and other raw materials around them one of their tools was sharp Pebbles that were used to cut and sharpen other materials they were essentially just sharpened rocks that humans would hold to make more complex and useful tools after humans mastered this they moved on to sharpening other Stones stones used for chopping these could be used to cut wood or help prepare food next their most complex tool the hand axe these were made using multiple techniques first you needed to form the rock using a hard Hammer technique once that's done you'd refine the thin Edge using using a soft Hammer technique today these tools seem incredibly simple and you can make them yourself just by looking at them but millions of years ago these tools required a detailed understanding of how Stone Works and how it behaves under certain circumstances yeah this again sounds really simple but by figuring this out in the Stone Age humans proved they'd made a significant leap in brain function and problem solving another another major Innovation during this time was harnessing fire fire provided shelter warmth and protection for humans allowing them to begin their Journey to the top of the food chain after millions of years of humans playing around with their newly discovered tools they were able to become much more than just a hunting and Gathering Society this is where farming came into play humans in the Mesolithic period began experimenting with planting food as the climate changed it became easier to grow their own plants in the soil and more types of food became available farming also brought the domestication of animals goats pigs and cattle all had benefits for humans they could be used for food clothing even labor now once farming and domestication started to take off well it brought a shift in settlement patterns instead of nomadic humans moving from cave to Cave they were able to start building more permanent homes humans in the final period of the Stone Age the Neolithic period built on top of these inventions instead of just experimenting with seeds humans began to learn agricultural techniques and were able to plant enough crops to feed their settlements this period brought new tools and technology and a completely different social structure with more food and permanent settlements the population boomed this led to a division of labor political structures and more the Bronze Age from 3300 to 1200 BCE was the Bronze Age one of the key factors of this age was humans discovering how to use metals like copper tin and of course Bronze in their tools with these materials they made more advanced instruments and weapons ones that would last longer and could be more interesting since metal is more malleable than Stone this also opened the door for Artisans and experts to begin working with bronze they created art that was sought after and influenced culture weapons and armor made of bronze impacted how war was conducted at the time but bronze materials weren't the only New Kids on the Block the wheel was invented this made it easier to move people and supplies trade Roots between settlements were created different settlements could share or sell resources amongst each other allowing civilization to progress even faster this led the way for urbanization and the introduction of cities settlements in places like Egypt and Greece eventually grew to a point where the population was so big it required some sort of urban planning this created cities Society evolved further trade Administration and writing were all starting to come into play but all of this would have been impossible without food during the Bronze Age Humanity started to develop Mass farming techniques this was possible because of better tools and an enhanced knowledge of how crops worked humans began to understand what crops grew best where and during what seasons the Iron Age around 1200 BC parts of Europe in the Middle East began making tools with iron now this might sound like a small Innovation but this metal allowed Society to make massive technological steps iron is much stronger and more durable than copper this allowed humans to build better tools and weapons like good luck if you were at war with your bronze armor and weapons and had to face an army with all Iron gear the societies with iron tools tools were the ones in power iron was also much easier to mine and more readily available than copper this allowed humans to make more tools that were economically viable and more tools means more food that can be harvested more buildings that can be made the opportunity for society to progress and flourish now the process of making these tools also required significant Innovation smelting iron and being able to forge and temper the material required huge technological jumps but cities weren't limited to making just a few tools at a time they were becoming production powerhouses they could produce dozens or hundreds of tools whenever they needed iron working was so popular that over the next couple hundred years it expanded across the globe from Scotland to Africa societies began using iron and learning the methods of building tools this allowed more more cities and settlements to progress and prosper expanded trade routes helped with the progress more cities and cultures could communicate with each other than never before the creation of iron tools facilitated the need for different cities to trade and share resources another essential tool invented during this time was the iron plow this allowed us to farm crops more efficiently than ever before often creating a surplus of food and of course more food allowed populations to grow bigger all thanks to these new found Tools around 550 BCE the Iron Age gave way to the age of classical Antiquity marked by the beginning of humans recording and documenting our own history and the rest is well history literally now what would happen if we decided to go even further back to the Cambrian Period a time before dinosaurs existed well that sounds like a story for another what if

Channel: What If

Views: 162,459

Keywords: what if, what happens if, scifi, science documentary, what if scenario, mysteries, what if book, space documentary, prehistoric planet, prehistoric era, bronze era, iron era, stone era, dinosaur, dinosaurs, history documentary, ancient history, evolution, prehistoric animals, ice age, paleolithic period, history of the universe, educational resources, learning prehistory, human evolution, history of the world, documentary, history, science, free documentary, documentaries

Id: rR5jDovTpBw

Length: 9min 19sec (559 seconds)

Published: Sat Jan 27 2024