Montessori History

Story of Civilization: Cavemen

In this horizontal study of history and the story of civilization, we take a look at the way of life of cavemen, particularly their food, shelter, defenses, clothing, and art.

Shelter

The first people lived in caves and moved often in search of food and shelter.

They built fires inside caves to cook food, keep themselves warm, and protect themselves from wild animals.

In some places where there were no caves, cavemen used the bones and tusks of mammoths to make huts. The bones were tied together using animal guts. Animal skins were used to cover the huts to keep those inside warm.

Food

Cavemen hunted mammoths for food.

When the Ice Age ended and mammoths disappeared, the cavemen turned to smaller animals such as deer and wild boar. They caught fish from rivers. They also learned to eat fruits, nuts, and roots. They became known as hunter-gatherers because they both hunted meat and gathered edible plants for food.

They later realized that cooking food made it taste better and easier to chew, and the cooked food also kept longer.

Clothing

Cavemen made clothing from animal skins to keep themselves warm, especially during the Ice Age.

Defense

Inside their caves, people built fires to protect themselves from wild animals.

They used flaming branches, pointed spears, and heavy rocks to hunt animals.

For tools, they used sticks, stones, and antlers to make knives and other blades.

Art

Cave art consisted mainly of pictures of animals. The cavemen used paint made from ground rocks, charcoal, and/or locally available minerals, mixed with animal fat.

Cavemen: Mastery Worksheet

You can download a printable PDF copy of this worksheet here: Story of Civilization: Cavemen (PDF)

For the Language part of the worksheet — using the table of contents of a sticker book on cavemen — the Table of Contents can be viewed here.

Note: you can reduce the size of the worksheet by zooming out your browser screen. For Windows users, scroll down the mouse wheel while pressing the Ctrl key in your keyboard.