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Artifact is an object remaining from a particular period.
(Jastrow 2021)
An artifact, or artefact is something made or given shape by humans, such

as a tool or a work of art, especially an object of archaeological interest. In
archaeology, however, the word has become a term of particular nuance and
is defined as: an object recovered by archaeological endeavor, which may be
a cultural artifact having cultural interest.
Tool Traditions
Oldowan tools are part of the Lower Paleolithic stage of technological

development. They were made by Homo habilis, and also by early Homo
erectus. There were two main types of Oldowan tools: core tools and flake
tools
1. Core tools- were made by using a rock as a hammer to knock flakes off
another stone, resulting in a chopping tool that could be held easily in
the hand. The tool could also be used for hammering or digging.
2. Flake tools-were the flakes of rock that were removed in the process of
making the core tools. Flake tools were used as knives. They were
used, for example, to butcher animals, as evidenced by cut marks on
animal bones found in association with the tools.
Acheulian Tools
Homo erectus developed a more complex tool from what they inherited
from Homo habilis. Using the same process of percussion flaking, Homo
erectus created hand axes that were bifacial, shaped in both sides and
with straighter and sharper edges. These stones were used in multiple
activities such as light chopping of woods, digging up roots and bulbs,
butchering animals, cracking nuts and small bones. Homo erectus made
other tools such as choppers, cleavers, and hammers as well as flakes
used as knives and scrapers.
Mousterian Tools
Was developed by Homo neaderthalensis (Neanderthals) in Europe and West

Asia. The tools from this industry combined Acheulian industry technique,
which involved the use of premade core tool and extraction of a flake tool
that has sharpened edges. This type of tool is very efficient as all the sides of
the flake tool are sharpened and are more handy.
Upper Paleolithic Tools
By about 75 thousand years ago, some early modern humans began making
tools that were significantly different from the earlier Mousterian tools. They
have been categorized in several different tool traditions in the Upper
Paleolithic stage of technological development. These new tools have been
found in sites in Europe and elsewhere in the Old World and more recently in
the New World. They range from blades of various shapes and sizes to
barbed harpoon heads.
Types of Society
Although humans have established many types of societies throughout

history, sociologists and anthropologists (experts who study early and tribal
cultures) usually refer to six basic types of societies, each defined by its level
of technology.
Hunting and Gathering Societies
The members of hunting and gathering societies primarily survive by hunting

animals, fishing, and gathering plants. Most of them were nomadic, moving
constantly in search of food and water.
Pastoral Societies Members of pastoral societies, which first emerged 12,000

years ago, pasture animals for food and transportation. Domesticating
animals allows for a more manageable food supply than do hunting and
gathering. Hence, pastoral societies are able to produce a surplus of goods,
which makes storing food for future use a possibility. Pastoral societies allow
certain of its members (those who are not domesticating animals) to engage
In non-survival activities. Traders, healers, spiritual leaders, craftspeople, and
people with other specialty professions appear.
Horticultural Societies
Horticultural societies rely on cultivating fruits, vegetables, and plants. These

societies first appeared in different parts of the planet about the same time
as pastoral societies. Like hunting and gathering societies, horticultural
societies had to be mobile. Depletion of the land’s resources or dwindling
water supplies, for example, forced the people to leave.
Agricultural Societies
Agricultural societies use technological advances to cultivate crops

(especially grains. Like wheat, rice, corn, and barley) over a large area.
Sociologists use the phrase Agricultural Revolution to refer to the
technological changes that occurred as long as 8,500 years ago that led to
cultivating crops and raising farm animals.
Feudal Societies
The 9th to 15th centuries, feudalism was a form of society based on ownership
of land. Unlike today’s farmers, vassals under feudalism were bound to
cultivating their lord’s land. In exchange for military protection, the lords
exploited the peasants into providing food, crops, crafts, homage, and other
services to the owner of the land.
Industrial Societies
Industrial societies are based on using machines (particularly fuel-driven

ones) to produce goods. Sociologists refer to the period during the 18 th
century when the production of goods in mechanized factories began as the
Industrial Revolution. As productivity increased, means of transportation
improved to better facilitate the transfer of products from place to place.
Great wealth was attained by the few who owned factories, and the
“masses” found jobs working in the factories.
Post-industrial Societies
Sociologists note that with the advent of the computer microchip, the world
is witnessing a technological revolution. This revolution is creating a
postindustrial society based on information, knowledge, and the selling of
services. That is, rather than being driven by the factory production of goods,
society is being shaped by the human mind, aided by computer technology.
Although factories will always exist, the key to wealth and power seems to lie
in the ability to generate, store, manipulate, and sell information.
Processes of Cultural and Sociopolitical Evolution

The Neolithic Revolution
This period is characterized by a major shift in economic subsistence of early

humans from foraging to agriculture. This dramatic shift affected the other
aspects of their lifestyle, as foraging made them nomads and agriculture
encouraged permanent settlement.
Early Civilization and the Rise of the State
The earliest civilizations rose by the end of the Neolithic period as the
complexities brought about by the shift in food production demanded a more
rigid social structure that would manage the opposing perspective of various
sectors. As a conflict between groups developed and intensified, the need to
create a more cohesive society became definite.
Early civilizations were characterized by the presence of city-states, a system
of writing. And a ceremonial center where public debates and decision were
made. However, it must be noted that not all societies during this period
could be considered as civilizations as not all possessed a political system
that could be equated to a state. A state is apolitical entity that has four
requisite elements: territory, sovereignty, people and government.
Democratization of Early Civilization
The traditional view on the history of democracy highlights its development

among the city states of ancient Greece, around 507 BCE. It is believed that
an Athenian statesman named Cleisthenes proposed demokratia as a
political ideology that aimed at dispersing power from the monopoly of the
elites to the masses. This allows for the closing n of social gaps between
diverging social groups.

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Artifact is an object remaining from a particular period.

An artifact, or artefact is something made or given shape by humans, such

Oldowan tools are part of the Lower Paleolithic stage of technological

Was developed by Homo neaderthalensis (Neanderthals) in Europe and West

Although humans have established many types of societies throughout

Hunting and Gathering Societies

The members of hunting and gathering societies primarily survive by hunting

Pastoral Societies Members of pastoral societies, which first emerged 12,000

Horticultural societies rely on cultivating fruits, vegetables, and plants. These

Agricultural societies use technological advances to cultivate crops

Industrial societies are based on using machines (particularly fuel-driven

Processes of Cultural and Sociopolitical Evolution

This period is characterized by a major shift in economic subsistence of early

Early Civilization and the Rise of the State

Democratization of Early Civilization

The traditional view on the history of democracy highlights its development

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