Time Line of Humans — 200,000 Years

The Time Line of Humans corrects a historical illusion. Most schooling covers the last 5,000 years; this timeline shows the other 195,000. The child meets their deep human ancestry. Indirect aim: anthropology, historical humility, preparation for formal history study.

• Framework: Montessori
• Unit: Cultural Studies
• Learning area: Time Lines
• Level: Ages 8-10

Objectives

• Unroll the Time Line of Humans — 200,000 years of Homo sapiens
• Place major events: fire, tools, agriculture, writing, cities, industrial revolution, digital age
• Recognize that 95% of human history was before agriculture
• Reshape the child's sense of 'recent' and 'ancient'

Materials

• Time Line of Humans (ribbon or chart)
• Event cards: fire, stone tools, cave painting, agriculture, cities, writing, wheel, printing, electricity, computers
• Impressionistic charts for each major transition
• Control chart with dates

Instructions

1. Unroll the Time Line along a wall or floor. 2. Orient: left = 200,000 years ago, right = today. 3. Place fire at ~1 million years ago (on a larger version) or ~400,000 (controlled-fire use). 4. Place cave painting ~40,000 years ago. 5. Place agriculture ~12,000 years ago. 6. Place writing ~5,000 years ago. 7. Place the Industrial Revolution ~250 years ago. 8. Discuss: most of human time was hunter-gatherer. What does that tell us?

Educator tip

The agricultural revolution is the major transition. Some children are shocked to learn humans lived without agriculture for 90% of our time. Follow that surprise.

Assessment

Observe accurate event placement, discussion depth about pre-agricultural life, and follow-up research into a specific era.

More from Cultural Studies

• Fundamental Needs of Humans — Cosmic Framework
• Biomes of Earth — Classification and Comparative Research
• Going Out — Visit to a Local Museum
• Ancient Civilization Study — Mesopotamia
• Ancient Civilization Study — Egypt
• Ancient Civilization Study — Ancient Greece
• Fossils and Paleontology — Field Research
• Plant Life Cycle — Angiosperms