The Emergence of Humanity

• The first human species appeared in Africa several million years ago.
• Evolution was gradual and non-linear, with different species coexisting.
• Three major transformations:
  • Bipedalism (freeing the hands).
  • Brain development.
  • Tool-making.

Humanity becomes a species capable of acting upon its environment and transmitting knowledge.

Mastery of the Environment

• Discovery and control of fire.
• Protection against cold and predators.
• Cooking food (improved nutrition).
• Migration into diverse environments (Europe, Asia, Oceania, Americas).

Humans no longer simply endure nature:
they begin to transform it.

Social Structuring

• Life in organized groups.
• Cooperation for hunting and survival.
• Transmission of knowledge between generations.
• Early forms of language (hypothesis).

Society becomes a central element of human survival and development.

Emergence of the Spiritual

• Appearance of the first burials.
• Presence of objects in graves.
• Development of symbolic and ritual practices.
• Representations linked to the invisible.

Humans develop an awareness of death and of a world beyond the visible.

The Neolithic Revolution

• Transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture.
• Domestication of plants and animals.
• Emergence of permanent villages.
• Population growth.

This is a major transformation:
humans begin to sustainably modify their environment.

The First Structures of the Future World

• Development of early forms of territorial organization.
• Emergence of social inequalities.
• Construction of monumental structures (megaliths).
• Large-scale collective organization.

The foundations of future civilizations are laid, even without writing.

Synthesis

• Transition from nature to culture.
• Transition from instinct to consciousness.
• Transition from survival to organization.

Prehistory is the moment when humanity becomes a species capable of transforming the world and representing itself.