Choose the paragraph in the section "Neanderthal peoples and Cro-Magnon communities" that gives one advantage Stone Age people had over modern humans. Could you live in the wild? TV shows like "Survivor" and books like "Lord of the Flies" ask this question. Small groups of people are set down on a deserted island and left to fend for themselves. Things like food, shelter and clothing are hard to get. There are no cities, no roads, no tools, no doctors and no computers.

It is interesting to think about how each of us would do in such a setting. Could you make tools, set rules, gather food or work with wood? Could you weave clothes, protect your toes, fight off a beast or know which direction is east?

Now take yourself back 20,000 years. Neanderthal man, a human ancestor, lived back then. For him, every day was a challenge. What was life like for Neanderthals? How did early humans find food, make clothing and seek shelter?

From the family Hominidae
Before answering these questions, we must understand how we know what we know about early hominids. Hominids are primates who can stand on two legs. We are hominids. Our ancestors were, too, including Java Man, Neanderthals, Beijing Man and Lucy. Apes are also hominids.

When studying humans, historians strongly rely on written records to gather information about the past. Writing was invented about 5,000 years ago. Human history is said to begin then.

Humans lived long before the invention of writing, though. The long time period before writing was invented is called "prehistory." How do we know what life was like if there were no written records of prehistory? Scientists work together to answer this question.

They use artifacts and fossils like bones. After testing and analyzing them, scientists try to figure out what life was like back then. Sometimes they are wrong, and sometimes they are right. As scientists and historians gather more information, they change their theories.

Not exactly "The Flintstones"
Early people used stone tools, so historians call prehistory "the Stone Age." It is divided into two time periods.

The Paleolithic, or Old Stone Age, began about 4.5 million years ago. It lasted until about 8000 B. C., or about 10,000 years ago. Creatures vaguely resembling modern humans lived at the beginning of the Old Stone Age.

The Neolithic, or New Stone Age, began around 8000 B. C. It lasted until around 3000 B. C., when writing was invented. Villages and farms began by the end of this time period.

Scientists believe the earliest hominids ate vegetables, seeds, fruits, nuts and other plants. They began eating meat later. They hunted small animals first, and then larger ones.

Early men had to work together to hunt. As humans became successful hunters, they traveled over great distances in search of food. During the Ice Age, however, many places were too cold. For nearly a million years, humans could only go to certain warmer places. Eventually, people learned how to use fire and make warm clothing to live in cold places.

Neanderthal peoples and Cro-Magnon communities
The Neanderthal people lived around 60,000 years ago. They had a stocky build. Neanderthals had heavy jaws, broad shoulders, thick eyebrow ridges and large noses. Unlike hominids who came before them, they made tools and wore heavy clothing made of animal skins.

Most Neanderthals lived in groups of 50 people. Some may have lived in outdoor camps along the shores of lakes and rivers. They cared for their sick and old. Neanderthals may have been the first to practice an early form of medicine.

The Cro-Magnons were one of the earliest humans. They lived in Europe, after the Neanderthals. Some lived in caves. Others built huts in forested areas. Long stone houses were also used for communities of 30 to 100 people. They used weapons like spears and bows to hunt. These weapons were used to hunt the woolly mammoth and bison from a safe distance.

How did early people compare with humans of today? We are smarter, but they were stronger. Even after thousands of years, though, there are many similarities.