The first human “gay habilis” (skilful man) seems to go back to -3 million, but their first known tools go back to -2.5 million, armed with axes and rudimentary knives of stone they drive out the animals collectively and establish camps.

Towards -1.6 million years, the “homo erectus” (man upright) leaves Africa to continue the herds in the Middle East, in Europe, in China and Indonesia. They are of bigger size, but preserve the same tools.

There is approximately -600 ' 000 years, the Earth enters the first of a series of glacial periods requiring of all the species an increased effort of adaptation. To protect the homo erectus vêt from furs, it builds huts and settles in caves. Towards -500 ' 000 years it domesticates fire, for this time the control of energy has become one of the dominant problems of the evolution of civilization and its relationships to the environment. It remains it still today moreover.

The paleolithic one

With paleolithic the appearance of the first Hominides, whose brain had same dimensions that ours, goes back to -300 ' 000 years, the “homo erectus” are relayed by two lines of homo sapiens which have already funerary tools sophisticated and rites. On the one hand, L be Neanderthal limit themselves to Europe and to the Middle East (- 120 ' 000 to -100 ' 000), they adapt to the glacial climates. In addition, L be men modern are originating in Africa and conquered the cold areas only later, arrive to Europe towards -40 ' 000 (Cro Magnon). Their passage in Australia starts towards -50 ' 000, after China. The arrival in America seems former to -40 ' 000.

Towards -40 ' 000 with Paleolithic appear the first engravings and the sculptures of the paleolithic age. -31 will have to be awaited ' 000 years to see appearing paintings (caves Chauvet, Lascaux, Altamira) and more precise indices of rites, superstitions and religions: it is the beginning of a relational vision of the world.

Between -15 ' 000 and -9 ' the 000 hunters pass from harvest to the culture at the same time to the Middle East (corn, barley), in Africa (sorghum), Asia (rice and millet) and in America (corn). The first animals with being domesticated are the dogs, then towards -12 ' 000 years the goats of which they obtain milk and make cheese. Manpower of the populations grow considerably.

Neolithic era

The dawn of civilizations starts in Mésopotamie, in particular in the area of Djeziré in Syria. After the control of fire, it is the domestication of the plants: to learn how to cultivate corn and the barley. The man thus makes a considerable jump in his evolution, agriculture causes the sedentarisation, the tribes settle close to the coasts and the lakes. The miniaturization of the tools allows the manufacture of first fabrics.

In Néolitique the war makes its entry in the life of humanity. Obliged to fight the covetousness of the nomads, the farmers must defend themselves and gather in villages built on heights. The villages become cities, the company structure, thus appear craftsmen, soldiers, merchants and controlling. Jericho in Jordan and Jarmo in Iraq are the oldest cities of the world.

As of -7000 humanity extends its influence in the area of Mésopotamie, along three rivers: Euphrate, the Tiger and the Nile. The farmers dig irrigation canals to cultivate inhospitable areas.

Around -6000 the practice of agriculture extended towards south-east from Europe and Asia Mineure, the culture of rice is one of principal food. The invention of the pottery meets the need that had the men to be able to transport food and the objects and to cook food. By braiding flax fibers, one obtains a continuous wire which revolutionizes clothing. The control of navigation is a new means of increasing the power of the man.

The tribes became foreign the ones with the others by the distance, the diversity of the languages, the beliefs and manners. But at the beginning of humanity, the man behaved like a being coherent, logical, total and complete. To the -4 E thousand-year-old, the world population is of 7 million.