FROM THE BEGINNING OF TIME is Lesson 1 in CBSE Class 11 History Book. The Story of Human Evolution is discussed in detail with THE POSITIVE FEEDBACK MECHANISM.
The Centre of Human Origin. How the early human get their food, shelter and how did they make their tools? The mode of communication of Early humans was language and art also. The notes are prepared by the expert teachers and we have tried our best to include each and everything in making the notes.

Sources to understand early human history

1. Discoveries of human fossils, stone tools, and cave paintings help us to understand early human history. Each of these discoveries has a history of its own.

2. Fossils are the remains or impressions of a very old human which have turned into stone. These are often embedded in rock and are thus preserved for millions of years.

3. Stone tools made and used by early humans are available in various parts of Africa and Europe. Stone tools such as pebbles, sharp stones, stone blades, etc were used for various purposes in early human life.

4. Paintings found on the walls of the caves in Europe and Africa are helping us to understand early human history.

5. Most scholars refused to accept that these objects were the remains of early humans. They did not believe in the ability of early humans to make stone tools or paint. Because according to the Old Testament of the Bible, the human origin was an act of Creation by God. After a few years, the true significance of these finds was realized.

   
   

6. How was Neanderthal man`s skull discovered?

   1. August 1856, workmen who were quarrying for limestone in the Neander valley a gorge near the German city of Dusseldorf, found a skull and some skeletal fragments.

   2. These were handed over to Carl Fuhlrott, a local schoolmaster and natural historian, who realized that they did not belong to a modern human.

   3. He then made a plaster cast of the skull and sent it to Herman Schaaffhausen, a professor of anatomy at Bonn University. The following year they jointly published a paper, claiming that this skull represented a form of human that was extinct.

   4. At that time, scholars did not accept this view and instead declared that the skull belonged to a person of more recent times. But later they accepted it and named as Neanderthal man.

      The Story of Human Evolution

      1. Between 36 million years and 24 million years primates, a category of mammals emerged in Asia and Africa. Primates are a subgroup of a larger group of mammals. They include monkeys, apes, and humans. They have body hair, a relatively long gestation period following birth, mammary glands, different types of teeth, and the ability to maintain a constant body temperature.

      2. Between 24 MYA and 5.6 MYA, there emerged a subgroup amongst primates, called hominoids. Hominoids are different from monkeys in a number of ways. They have a larger body and do not have a tail. Besides, there is a longer period of infant development and dependency amongst hominoids.

      3. Between 5.6 MYA and 1.8 MYA hominids have evolved from hominoids and share certain common features and have major differences as well.