the beginnings of civilization chapter 1. new suffixes for years old way: uup to year 0: bc –...
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THE BEGINNINGS OF CIVILIZATION
Chapter 1
New Suffixes for Years
Old way: Up to year 0: BC – Before Christ After year : AD – Anno Domini (year of our lord)
Poses problems when describing cultures whose culture/religion/lifestyle does not revolve around Christianity
New way: Everything after year O is considered “Common Era”
Up to year O: BCE –Before Common EraAfter year O: CE – Common Era
BC = BCEAD = CE
BCECE
WHERE DO WE COME FROM?HOW DID WE GET HERE?
HOW DO WE KNOW ??
Day One
Discovering the Past
ANTHROPOLOGY: The study of humanity PREHISTORIC: the
vast period of time before the development of writing
How do we learn about the past? From what is left
behind
How do we learn about the past?
Anthropologists Study FOSSILS: preserved
remains or imprints of living things
Study CULTURE: a society’s knowledge, art, beliefs, customs, values
Archaeologists Study human material
remains ARTIFACTS: objects that
people in the past made or used Coins, pottery, tools
The Nutcracker Man
Discovered in 1959 by Mary Leakey
1.75 million years oldHeavy jaw and large
teeth Thus: “Nutcracker Man”
HOMINID: humans and early humanlike beings that walked upright
Lucy
Discovered in 1974 by Donald JohansonPartial Australopithecine (HOMINID)
skeletonLived more than 3 million years ago4 ft tall, walked upright (based on joints)
Major advancement: hands free to use tools!
Mary Leakey’s most exciting find…
Mary Leakey later found hominid footprints preserved in hardened volcanic ash
WHY?3.5 m: oldest evidence
hominds walked upright
Most exciting find of her career
Homo habilis
Based on the fossil record, more advanced hominds began appearing about 3 million years ago
1959: Leakeys found a new species
Homo Habilis (Handy Man) More humanlike features Smaller teeth Hands better to grasp objects Learned to make crude stone tools
Homo erectus
“upright man”2 to 1.5 million years agoLarger brain than earlier hominidsMore skillful hunter More advanced tools
Ax Controlled fire
Cook food Provide heat, protection Live in colder climates
Homo sapiens
“wise man”Appeared 200,000 years agoSame species as us!Larger brains
Developed more sophisticatedtools and shelter
Create Fire Develop language
AUSTRALOPITHECINE – 4-5 MILLION YEARS AGO
HOMO HABILIS – 2.4 MILLION YEARS AGO
HOMO ERECTUS – 2 – 1.5 MILLION YEARS AGO
HOMO SAPIENS -- 200,000 AGO TO PRESENT
SPREADING AROUND THE WORLD
1.6 million years ago, the world began experiencing long periods of freezing weather called the “Ice Ages” World cycled between
colder and warmer periods
Huge glaciers advanced and retreated
Glaciers advanced: ocean levels fell Bering Strait was an
exposed land bridge
Out of Africa
Homo erectus was first hominid to migrate out of Africa Fossils have been found in Asia
and EuropeWent to Southwest Asia, then
Southern Asia, AustraliaLonger to reach Europe because
of Mountains and Colder climatesDisagreement on when first
people reached AmericasBy at least 9000 BCE humans
spread to all continents
Adapting to New Environments
Adaption to new environments caused humans to develop the genetic variety that exists today
Body shapeSkin colorEating habitsHow do we adapt today?
What adaptations have you made today, this month, this year? How have we as a culture adapted? The world?
WHAT WAS LIFE LIKE DURING THE STONE AGE?
HOW DO WE KNOW??
Day 2
PALEOLITHIC ERA
PALEOLITHIC ERA: Old Stone AgeFirst Humans lived during this time
Made tools mostly from stone2.5 million years ago – 10,000 years ago
Stone Age Art – What does it say?
Stone Age People
NOMADS: people who moved from place to place as they followed migrating animal herds Lived in small bands, or groups Took cover in rock overhangs and caves
HUNTER-GATHERERS: people who hunted, fished, and gathered wild plants, berries, nuts and other foods Men hunted Women collected plants and cared for children Each role was important: men and women equal
“Stone Age” Technology
Why is it called the Stone Age?First tools made of chipped stonesOver time, people learned to make better tools
out of wood and bone as well as stone Spears allowed hunters to stand farther away from prey,
which was saferLater Stone Age people learned to make string
from plant fibers and animal sinew Nets used to fish and capture small animals Other new tools: bow and arrow, bone hooks, fishing
spears, canoes
“Stone Age” Fashion and Shelter
In colder regions, people learned to make needles from bone and used needles to sew together animal skins for clothing
Over time, skins used for shoes, hats, carrying sacks
Also learned to build shelters Pit houses: pits dug into the ground and covered
with roofs of branches and leaves Some made frames from wood, others from
mammoth bones
Stone Age Peoples
SOCIETY: community of people who share a common CULTURE
Stone Age Societies developed cultures that included language, art, and spiritual beliefs
ANIMISM: belief that all things in nature have spirits Dead buried with food and
objects belief in afterlife?
Lascaux Cave, France
Cave Art
Scholars aren’t certain what purpose early art servedRepresenting the world as they saw it?Used art to chronicle hunts?To teach hunting skills?Record movement of sun, moon, stars,
planets?Honor animal spirits?
Study Groups:
Create “cave art” that reflects your culture Group’s culture AG culture American culture Teen culture, etc
What is important, valued, in your culture?What would your drawings tell
anthropologists about you 10,000 years from now?
HOW DID AGRICULTURE DEVELOP?HOW DID AGRICULTURE CHANGE THE
WORLD?HOW DO WE KNOW??
Day 3
New Stone Age
NEOLITHIC ERA: New Stone AgeMore sophisticated tools8000 BCE – 3000 BCE People learned to polish and grind
stones to shape tools with sharper edges Specialized tools: chisels, drills, saws
Development of Agriculture
NEOLITHIC REVOLUTION
Nomads farmingDevelopment of agriculture is one of the
most important turning points in human history Radically changed how people lived Thus the “NEOLITHIC REVOLUTION”
10000 years ago warming trend ended the last Ice Age Sea levels rose Ice Age plants & animals died, new species
appeared Barley and wheat
AGRICULTURE
Gathering new plants new plants grew where seeds fell
Experimentation farmingDOMESTICATION: selective growing or
breeding of plants and animals to make them more useful for humans First domesticated animal: dogs Livestock provided more stable supply of meat,
milk, skins and wool Larger animals used to pull heavy loads and helped
with farming
AGRICULTURE
Agriculture changed Stone Age societies dramatically Population grew significantly PASTORALISTS: people who ranged over wide
areas and kept herds of livestock on which they depended for food and other items
People gave up nomadic lifestyle and formed settlements People could farm and pool labor and resources Lived close together in houses made of mud bricks
The development of Agriculture
Effects of Agriculture
New toolsNew plantsDomesticationPastoralists
Box 1:Populations grew
Villages, towns builtHunting/gathering
tending fields and livestock
Extra time specialization and craftsmanship (pottery)
Increased trade
You tell me…
Box 2: Social Stratification
Agriculture and trade made societies more complex and prosperous
Differences in social status began to emerge
Some rose to positions of authority, overseeing planting and harvesting Men performed the heavier
work in farming, and held positions of authority
Men began to gain dominance and status over women in agricultural societies
Box 3: Religion and Warfare
Religion began to become more formalized in agricultural societies Began to construct structures for religious
purposes MEGALITHS: European Neolithic monuments
made of stones for burial and spiritual purposesWarfare increased as societies began to
fight over land and resourcesMore dependence on farming = more
affected by crop failureDisease increased as people lived close
together
Box 4: New Technologies
Farmers developed hoes and hand tools for planting
6000 BCE: animals pull plows Farmers could till larger areas to produce more crops
Pestles and grindstones Prepare grains
Pottery Cooking, storing grains, oils, and water,
Metals: Copper, then bronze (mix of copper and tin) Stone Age gave way to the BRONZE AGE IN 3000 BCE
ÇATAL HÜYÜK & ÖTZI!
How Do we Know?
Çatal Hüyük
Neolithic village located in present day Turkey
More than 30 acresPeople grew crops (barley, peas, wheat)
around villageRaised sheep, goats, wild cattleTraded with people from as far away as Red
SeaHouses built close together
Entered through rooves Religious shrines with bodies buried underneath floor Interior walls covered with colorful paintings
Ötzi the Iceman
1991: hikers in Italian Alps found a frozen male body preserved by cold, icy conditions
5,300 years old: from Neolithic EraOutfit from 3 types of animal skins stitched
togetherLeather shoes padded with grassWoven grass cape, fur hat, back packDeerskin quiver with arrows, flint dagger, and ax
with copper bladeWare on front teeth suggest diet including coarse
grainsArrowhead in shoulder suggests he was murdered
CIVILIZATION ACTIVITYLET’S EXPERIMENT WITH HOW
AGRICULTURE CHANGED SOCIETIES.
Day 4
HOW DID ADVANCEMENTS IN AGRICULTURE CREATE THE FIRST
CIVILIZATIONS?
Day 5
ADVANCES IN FARMING
IRRIGATION SYSTEMS: Network of canals or ditches that
links fields of crops to nearby streams or to storage basins of water
Enable early people to farm more land and to farm in drier conditions
Could plant more crops, produce more food
SURPLUS: EXCESS OF FOOD
villages could support larger populations
Changing Economies
Because irrigation made farmers more productive, fewer people needed to farmSome people were able to work full
time jobs other than farmingMaking tools/weapons, weavers,
potters, religious leadersDIVISION OF LABOR: economic
arrangement in which each worker specializes in a particular task or job
Villages grow to Cities
First cities More densely populated More diverse populations More formal organization
Defined center Palaces Temples Monuments Government buildings Defensive walls
Served as center of trade
First Civilizations form from Cities
CIVILIZATION: COMPLEX AND ORGANIZED SOCIETY Arose in fertile river valleys
Tigris & Euphrates in ME Nile in Africa Indus in South Asia Huang He in China
Rivers flooded annually, leaving mineral-rich silt Valleys had fertile land to support growing pop. Civilizations differed, but they all had
Developed cities Organized government, Formalized Religion
Specialization of labor, social classes, record keeping, Arts
Changes in Civilizations
Environmental Influences Storms, floods, food shortages
Spread of People and Ideas CULTURAL DIFFUSION: SPREAD OF
IDEAS, BELIEFS, CUSTOMS, TECHNOLOGY FROM ONE CULTURE TO ANOTHER
Expansion and Warfare Conflicts over land, water, resources led to war Through conquest civilizations expanded
control Developed into states and kingdoms