emergence of civilization world history chapter one
TRANSCRIPT
Definitions
• History – a record of events since people first developed writing 5000 years ago
• Prehistory – long period of time before people kept written records
• Civilization – highly organized society with complex institutions and attitudes that link a large number of people together
• Anthropologists – scientists who study skeletal remains of early human like creatures and people to determine how they looked, how long they lived, and other physical characteristics
Definitions Part 2
• Archaeologists – scientists who excavate ancient settlements and study artifacts
• Artifacts – human made material objects such as tools, weapons, or coins
• Culture – what a human group acquires through living together and includes language, knowledge, skills, art, literature, law, and life styles
• Radiocarbon dating – a technique that allows the age of organic matter to be identified by measuring the rate of decay
Definitions Part 3
• Paleolithic Age – aka the Old Stone Age, when human like creatures first appeared– Most artifacts that survived were stone
• Neolithic Age – came after Paleolithic age• Ethiopia 1974 – female skeleton dated
3.7million years old (an Australopithecines named ‘Lucy’)
• Tanzania 1978 – Found a female skeleton dated 1.8 million years old in Olduvai Gorge
Early human characteristics
• Had strong jaws, receding chins, low foreheads, heavy eye ridges
• Ate veggies, seeds, fruits, nuts, plants
• Hunted small animals• Began using tools and
migrated to find food
Paleolithic Age
• Universe is approx 15 billion years old and started with tremendous explosion
• Man begins in the Paleolithic Age (3 mill years ago to 10,000 years ago)
• Birthplace of humanity: East Africa• First humans were nomadic, hunters, gatherers• Grouped up; formed labor divisions; social bonds; made
weapons; judged weather patterns• The weak died off and the strong genes survived• Developed language, tools, fire, religious beliefs, had witch
doctors(specialists that communicated with the gods)
Neanderthals
• Appeared 30, 000 to 100, 000 years ago in Germany
• Powerful, huge heads, protruding foreheads, no chins
• Buried their dead in mounds• Painted, collected flowers, had weapons• Women used utensils• Were 4-5 ft in height
Cro-Magnon
• Appeared in Europe about the same time the Neanderthals disappeared
• From Africa or Asia• Had better tools and weapons (spears)• Painted animals• Lived in caves• Died out at the end of the Stone Age
Neolithic Age
• Began 10,000 years ago with end of Paleolithic Age and with discovery of farming
• Neolithic Revolution began in the hilly regions of Iran and Iraq
• 1st domesticated animal = dog• 1st farm animals to be domesticated = sheep &
goats
Farming
• Results of farming1. Permanent settlements2. Grew barley and wheat3. Began to trade salt and iron ore4. Commerce began because of food surplus5. Private property emerged6. Farming villages led to ruling elite (government)7. Made baskets and tools to help with farming
Neolithic Settlements
• Oldest Neolithic settlements began around 8000 B.C.
• Three major ones:– Catal Hujuk– Jarmo in Iraq– Jericho in Israel
• Jericho: had 2,000 people; public works; huge walls made of mud brick; highly developed government; advanced in technology; had the wheel, pottery, good soil, wooden plow
End of Neolithic Age
• Neolithic Age ended with discovery of metal
• Copper was first• Combined copper and
tin = bronze• Bronze = more durable
and sharper cutting edge
• Bronze Age begins
Religion and Civilizations
• Religion during the Neolithic Age was polytheistic (many gods)
• Alters were erected by wealthy priests• Civilizations (large urban settlements with a
varied social structure, large number of people, highly organized government, and complex religions) began 5,000 years ago in the Middle East
First Civilizations
• Two major civilizations in Middle East:– Mesopotamia (Greek meaning “land between two
rivers” – the Tigris and Euphrates) in Iraq– Egypt area (around the Nile River)
• Reason for success: geography• River valleys flooded (fertile soil)• Drained swamps, built canals and dykes for
irrigation• Learned rules, math skills, engineering, and record
keeping
Sumer
• First people in Mesopotamia were Sumerians• Migrated to Sumer around 5000 B.C.• Developed city-states (Ur, Lagash, Babylon)• Developed cuneiform (wedge-shaped pictures
and symbols they used for writing by punching holes in clay tablets)
• Built houses, palaces, temples, and schools• Invented medicines, lunar calendar, epic poems
Sumer continued…
• Invaded in 2350 B.C. by Semites from Arabia led by Sargon the Great
• Used Sumer as a base• Semites conquered territory from the Persian Gulf to the
Mediterranean Sea• Semites collapsed around 2200 B.C. and the Ammonites
invaded (destroyed everything)• 200 years of chaos followed then Hammurabi made Babylon
powerful (Hammurabi’s code – first written law code)• Sumerian language and nationality disappeared but culture
and legal forms lived on