Instructor Manual: Fichner-Rathus, Cultures and Values: A Global View of the Humanities, 10e, 9780357640081; Chapter 1: 2,500,000-3000 BCE
Instructor Manual
Fichner-Rathus, Cultures and Values: A Global View of the Humanities, 10e, 9780357640081;
Chapter 1: 2,500,000-3000 BCE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
This Chapter Explores..........................................................................................................2
Figure List.........................................................................................................................2
Chapter Highlights..............................................................................................................2
Chapter Outline.................................................................................................................3
Discussion Questions...........................................................................................................3
Activities and Assignments...................................................................................................4
Additional Resources...........................................................................................................4
Spotify Playlist............................................................................................................................................4
Internet and Media Resources.................................................................................................................. 4
Cengage Supplements.........................................................................................................5
Appendix..........................................................................................................................5
Generic Rubrics.......................................................................................................................................... 5
Standard Writing Rubric.............................................................................................................................6
Standard Discussion Rubric........................................................................................................................6
© 2026 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly 1
accessible website, in whole or in part.
,Instructor Manual: Fichner-Rathus, Cultures and Values: A Global View of the Humanities, 10e, 9780357640081; Chapter 1: 2,500,000-3000 BCE
THIS CHAPTER EXPLORES
• Deep time and the history of prehistory
• Neanderthals and modern humans
• Homo sapiens: The global species
• Paleolithic technology and material culture
• Stone Age shelter and sanctuary
• Cave and rock art: Global origins
• Climate change and climate refugees: The Mesolithic Age
• The world in the Neolithic Age
• The walls of Jericho
• Çatal Höyük: The road to wealth, paved with obsidian
• Megalithic temples in the Mediterranean
• The enduring enigma of Stonehenge
• Yangshao: China’s earliest culture
• The Jomon of Japan
• A bridge between hemispheres: Settling the Americas
[return to top]
FIGURE LIST
Refer to the Complete List of Figures, located in the Instructor Companion Site. This spreadsheet
contains all the figures in Cultures and Values, 10th edition and is designed for easy searching and
filtering.
[return to top]
CHAPTER HIGHLIGHTS
Refer to the Transition Guide for information about the exciting features in this chapter.
[return to top]
CHAPTER OUTLINE
The following section outlines the chapter content.
© 2026 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly 2
accessible website, in whole or in part.
,Instructor Manual: Fichner-Rathus, Cultures and Values: A Global View of the Humanities, 10e, 9780357640081; Chapter 1: 2,500,000-3000 BCE
I. 2,500,000—3000 BCE
a. Before Writing
b. The Stone Age
i. The Paleolithic Age: Neanderthals and Modern Humans
ii. Paleolithic Technology and Material Culture
iii. Climate and the Mesolithic Age
c. The World in the Neolithic Age
i. The Middle East
ii. Western Asia
iii. Africa
iv. The Mediterranean
v. Megalithic Europe
vi. East Asia
vii. The Americas
[return to top]
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Regardless of whether your class is taught in-person or virtually, you can assign these questions several
ways: in a discussion forum in your LMS; as content for creating in-class polls using online polling tools
or the MindTap mobile application; as whole-class discussions in person; or as a partner or group activity
in class.
1. What kinds of objects serve as archaeological evidence that prehistoric humans practiced
religion? Do any current-day religious practices make use of objects in similar ways, and if so,
how?
2. What are some of the difficulties involved with trying to reconstruct early cultures?
3. Archaeologists have found evidence that humans have made music since the Stone Age.
Archaeological evidence has a limited ability to inform us about how ancient cultures made
music; what are its limitations? Yet, even with these limitations, how does that evidence show
aspects of prehistoric music-making that survive in contemporary musical traditions?
[return to top]
ACTIVITIES AND ASSIGNMENTS
The following are activities and assignments developed by Cengage but not included in the text, PPTs, or
courseware – they are for you to use if you wish.
1. Speculate on what your life would be like if there was no form of writing. How would you
transmit or preserve what you hold most sacred or important in your life?
2. Architecture is dependent upon available materials and technology, function, and aesthetic
judgments. Using the architecture of several cultures discussed in this chapter, explain how each
example reflects these factors and how these factors come together in each example to create
an overall effect.
© 2026 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly 3
accessible website, in whole or in part.
, Instructor Manual: Fichner-Rathus, Cultures and Values: A Global View of the Humanities, 10e, 9780357640081; Chapter 1: 2,500,000-3000 BCE
3. Choose four objects of early 21st-century American culture, and explain why each would tell
archaeologists 2,000 years in the future something central about life nowadays. (Examples of
objects: architecture, books, photographs, sound recordings, artworks, machines, other pieces
of technology, etc.)
[return to top]
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
SPOTIFY PLAYLIST
Cultures and Values (10e) Playlist Curated playlists for all musical and spoken-word references
in Cultures and Values, 10e.
Playlists are available for the following chapters:
o Chapter 9
o Chapter 10
o Chapter 11
o Chapter 13
o Chapter 14
o Chapter 15
o Chapter 16
o Chapter 17
o Chapter 18
INTERNET AND MEDIA RESOURCES
From The History Channel:
o Cave of Forgotten Dreams
From Films for the Humanities:
o Before the Alphabet
[return to top]
CENGAGE SUPPLEMENTS
The following product-level supplements provide additional information that may help you in preparing
your course. They are available at www.cengage.com in the Instructor Resource Center.
MindTap Educator Guide
o A detailed list of the activities and assets in your MindTap course.
PowerPoints
© 2026 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly 4
accessible website, in whole or in part.
Instructor Manual
Fichner-Rathus, Cultures and Values: A Global View of the Humanities, 10e, 9780357640081;
Chapter 1: 2,500,000-3000 BCE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
This Chapter Explores..........................................................................................................2
Figure List.........................................................................................................................2
Chapter Highlights..............................................................................................................2
Chapter Outline.................................................................................................................3
Discussion Questions...........................................................................................................3
Activities and Assignments...................................................................................................4
Additional Resources...........................................................................................................4
Spotify Playlist............................................................................................................................................4
Internet and Media Resources.................................................................................................................. 4
Cengage Supplements.........................................................................................................5
Appendix..........................................................................................................................5
Generic Rubrics.......................................................................................................................................... 5
Standard Writing Rubric.............................................................................................................................6
Standard Discussion Rubric........................................................................................................................6
© 2026 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly 1
accessible website, in whole or in part.
,Instructor Manual: Fichner-Rathus, Cultures and Values: A Global View of the Humanities, 10e, 9780357640081; Chapter 1: 2,500,000-3000 BCE
THIS CHAPTER EXPLORES
• Deep time and the history of prehistory
• Neanderthals and modern humans
• Homo sapiens: The global species
• Paleolithic technology and material culture
• Stone Age shelter and sanctuary
• Cave and rock art: Global origins
• Climate change and climate refugees: The Mesolithic Age
• The world in the Neolithic Age
• The walls of Jericho
• Çatal Höyük: The road to wealth, paved with obsidian
• Megalithic temples in the Mediterranean
• The enduring enigma of Stonehenge
• Yangshao: China’s earliest culture
• The Jomon of Japan
• A bridge between hemispheres: Settling the Americas
[return to top]
FIGURE LIST
Refer to the Complete List of Figures, located in the Instructor Companion Site. This spreadsheet
contains all the figures in Cultures and Values, 10th edition and is designed for easy searching and
filtering.
[return to top]
CHAPTER HIGHLIGHTS
Refer to the Transition Guide for information about the exciting features in this chapter.
[return to top]
CHAPTER OUTLINE
The following section outlines the chapter content.
© 2026 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly 2
accessible website, in whole or in part.
,Instructor Manual: Fichner-Rathus, Cultures and Values: A Global View of the Humanities, 10e, 9780357640081; Chapter 1: 2,500,000-3000 BCE
I. 2,500,000—3000 BCE
a. Before Writing
b. The Stone Age
i. The Paleolithic Age: Neanderthals and Modern Humans
ii. Paleolithic Technology and Material Culture
iii. Climate and the Mesolithic Age
c. The World in the Neolithic Age
i. The Middle East
ii. Western Asia
iii. Africa
iv. The Mediterranean
v. Megalithic Europe
vi. East Asia
vii. The Americas
[return to top]
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Regardless of whether your class is taught in-person or virtually, you can assign these questions several
ways: in a discussion forum in your LMS; as content for creating in-class polls using online polling tools
or the MindTap mobile application; as whole-class discussions in person; or as a partner or group activity
in class.
1. What kinds of objects serve as archaeological evidence that prehistoric humans practiced
religion? Do any current-day religious practices make use of objects in similar ways, and if so,
how?
2. What are some of the difficulties involved with trying to reconstruct early cultures?
3. Archaeologists have found evidence that humans have made music since the Stone Age.
Archaeological evidence has a limited ability to inform us about how ancient cultures made
music; what are its limitations? Yet, even with these limitations, how does that evidence show
aspects of prehistoric music-making that survive in contemporary musical traditions?
[return to top]
ACTIVITIES AND ASSIGNMENTS
The following are activities and assignments developed by Cengage but not included in the text, PPTs, or
courseware – they are for you to use if you wish.
1. Speculate on what your life would be like if there was no form of writing. How would you
transmit or preserve what you hold most sacred or important in your life?
2. Architecture is dependent upon available materials and technology, function, and aesthetic
judgments. Using the architecture of several cultures discussed in this chapter, explain how each
example reflects these factors and how these factors come together in each example to create
an overall effect.
© 2026 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly 3
accessible website, in whole or in part.
, Instructor Manual: Fichner-Rathus, Cultures and Values: A Global View of the Humanities, 10e, 9780357640081; Chapter 1: 2,500,000-3000 BCE
3. Choose four objects of early 21st-century American culture, and explain why each would tell
archaeologists 2,000 years in the future something central about life nowadays. (Examples of
objects: architecture, books, photographs, sound recordings, artworks, machines, other pieces
of technology, etc.)
[return to top]
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
SPOTIFY PLAYLIST
Cultures and Values (10e) Playlist Curated playlists for all musical and spoken-word references
in Cultures and Values, 10e.
Playlists are available for the following chapters:
o Chapter 9
o Chapter 10
o Chapter 11
o Chapter 13
o Chapter 14
o Chapter 15
o Chapter 16
o Chapter 17
o Chapter 18
INTERNET AND MEDIA RESOURCES
From The History Channel:
o Cave of Forgotten Dreams
From Films for the Humanities:
o Before the Alphabet
[return to top]
CENGAGE SUPPLEMENTS
The following product-level supplements provide additional information that may help you in preparing
your course. They are available at www.cengage.com in the Instructor Resource Center.
MindTap Educator Guide
o A detailed list of the activities and assets in your MindTap course.
PowerPoints
© 2026 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly 4
accessible website, in whole or in part.
