Investigating the past

1
Investigating the past

• Studying History involves investigating what
  happened in the past and why.
• People who study history are a lot like
  detectives conducting an investigation.
• They ask questions, study evidence for clues, and
  form hypothesis.

2
Investigating the past

• On September 12, 1940 four teenagers found cave
  paintings in Lascaux, France.
• Scholars would study these type of cave
  paintings.
• Scholars who study human society are called
  social scientists.

3
Investigating the past

• Many social scientists help us study the past.
• The history detectives are archaeologists,
  historians, and geographers.

4
Investigating the past

• Archaeologists study the past by examining
  objects that people have left behind.
• An artifact is anything made or used by humans,
  such as clothing, tools, weapons, and coins.

5
Investigating the past

• Historians are recorders of the past.
• Historians focus on the last few hundred years
  when people began leaving written records.
• To find out these answers historians study
  artifacts and documents, which include diaries
  and letters to discover these answers

6
Investigating the past

• Geographers study the natural features on earth,
  such as water, landforms, plants, and animals.
• Geographers also look at human made features such
  as towns, roads, bridges, and dams.

7
Investigating the past

• Cave paintings like those at Lascaux, France
  provide clues to what life was like before
  writing was invented.
• The paintings were large in size and taller than
  a persons height, therefore social scientists
  theorized that prehistoric artists built
  scaffolding, or planks raised above to produce
  these paintings.

8
Investigating the past

• The paintings of humans are rare in cave art. The
  paintings depict a scene where animals are much
  more realistic than humans.
• Many social scientists think that the paintings
  were a ritual before the hunt.

9
Investigating the past

• The Cave paintings at Lascaux were created 17,00
  years ago and show many prehistoric animals such
  as bulls, bison, and horses.
• Scientists hypothesize that the artists were
  trying to capture the magical powers of certain
  animals or that they were creating art to honor
  or influence their gods.

10
Investigating the past

• Cave paintings in Argentina, South America show a
  circular shape, a sticklike animal, and several
  handprints.
• Many scientists believed that the handprints were
  a way to sign their paintings.
• The handprints found were very small and
  scientists have theorized that people were
  probably smaller than they are today.

11
Investigating the past

• The prehistoric spear thrower was found in France
  and made from a reindeer antler bone 18,000 years
  ago.
• The spear thrower had a detailed leaping horse on
  the front. The carving may have been a good luck
  charm or identifying his name or clan.

12
Investigating the past

• Clay sculptures of two bison were another
  artifact found in France.
• They were made about 10,000 to 14,000 years ago.
• Scientists believe that it represented a specific
  clan or a ritual.

13
Investigating the past

• The prehistoric materials and tools cave artists
  used were colored minerals, grindstone, and a
  sculptors pick, and engraving tool.

14
Investigating the past

• Scientists studied the tools used and believed
  that the cave artists made paints by grinding
  colors into powder.
• They probably mixed the powder with animal fat or
  vegetable oil to create different colors.
• They also believe that they may have used brushes
  made of moss, fur, or human hair.