Unit 1TECHNOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSFORMATIONS(8000-600 B.C.E. )

Chapter 1

BIG GEOGRAPHY AND THE PEOPLING OF THE EARTH

What is B.C.E. and C.E.?

• B.C.E. and C.E. replaced B.C. and A.D.

• B.C. was Before Christ and is now B.C.E or Before Common Era

• A.D. was Anno Domini which is Year of Our Lord in Latin. That has now been changed to C.E. which is Common Era.

Paleolithic Age (2.5 million years ago until 10,000 BCE)Humans traveled in small hunting-gathering groupsMigrated from origins in East Africa to Eurasia, Australia, and the AmericasMobile and adaptive to various climactic and geographical settingsUse of fire: to aid in hunting, protection against predators, and adapt to cold environmentsMostly hunter-gatherers; some groups exchanged people, ideas, food, and goodsCULTURAL DIFFUSION!!!!!!!!!!

Hominids

Earliest Humans

5 Stages of Hominids – Pre-History• Australopithecus – “southern ape”

• “Lucy” (Johansen) Great Rift Valley – Ethiopia• diggers; lacked language, short, furry, omnivores

• Homo Habilis – “handy man”• Louis and Mary Leakey – Kenya• Used stone tools; lacked complex language

• Homo Erectus – “upright man” - bipedal• Not only in Africa but Asia and Europe• used complex tools and fire; first spoken language

• Homo Sapiens – “wise man”–Neanderthal Man–Lived all over the world, religious rituals, advanced spoken language,

cave painting, sculpting, identified by clans• Homo Sapiens Sapiens – “wise, wise man” – US!

The Journey of Mankind – The Peopling of the World

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vD4CQ5ppm_A

Paleolithic

Old Stone Age

Hunters & Gatherers

Stories from the Stone Age

Early Hominid FindsNotice where the homo sapiens were found.

Answer Question – Turn Into Tray

• Based on your reading AND discussion/lecture:

•  What did the human species accomplish during the Paleolithic Age and what is the evidence of these accomplishments?  

• What were the advantages and disadvantages of the species?  

Chapter 2

THE NEOLITHIC REVOLUTION AND THE EARLY AGRICULTURAL

SOCIETIES

Neolithic Agricultural Revolution

9,000 B.C.E.

  

The Neolithic Revolution and the Birth of Civilization

Homo sapiens emerged in Africa 250,000 years ago100,000 years ago they began to migrate

Neolithic Revolution

Neolithic Revolution began after the last Ice Age (10,000 BCE)Humans began settling and adapting to their environmentsSome remained hunter-gatherersSwitch to agriculture and settling in an area created a more reliable food supply (but not diverse)Begin using domesticated animals for food and for laborSettlements lead to population increaseFood surplus led to specialization of labor (division of labor)

Answer Question – Turn Into Tray

• Based on your reading AND discussion/lecture:

• What technological changes occurred during the Paleolithic and Neolithic Ages?

Surplus

Irrigation Food Surplus Civilization

Chapter 3

THE DEVELOPMENT AND INTERACTIONS OF EARLY

AGRICULTURAL, PASTORAL, AND URBAN SOCIETIES

City-State

Sumer - 3200 B.C.

Ziggurat

Initial Civilization Centers

Fertile Crescent

Tigris & Euphrates Rivers

Nile River

Eight Components of Civilization:1. Cities

• Agriculture allowed for a surplus (which was difficult to move)

• River valleys: agriculture required a stable source of water

• Issues laws, collects taxes, organizes defense, monitors/rations food supply

• Bureaucracy – managing government through departments of officials

• Protecting the surplus was of the utmost importance

2. Government

Code of Hammurabi

1790 B.C.

•People believed in higher beings

•Polytheistic – many gods

•People wanted to gain favor with the gods

3. Religion

Wisdom Literature

Hymns and prayers to gods, proverbs, accounts of battles

Monotheistic

One God

Prophet

Israelites

Covenant with God

Abraham:Root of Judaism, Christianity and Islam

• Crucial skill for early civilizations

• Pictograms – simple drawings to show words

• Scribes – as writing became complex these trained experts learned to read and write

4. Writing

Cuneiform

First Written Language

Hieroglyphics

Rosetta StoneAdvanced the modern understanding of hieroglyphic writing

• People were ranked according to their jobs/occupations

• Priests and nobles were at the top level of society

• Next, came merchants, artisans, peasant farmers, and finally…..slaves.

5. Social Classes

• Monumental architecture – temples, palaces

• Irrigation systems, roads and bridges

• Defensive walls

6. Public Works

• Specialization brought expertise

• Artisans – skilled craft workers who made pottery or woven goods

7. Job Specialization

Phoenician Sea Traders

Also invented the Alphabet – “phoenemes”

• Expressed the beliefs and values of people who created them

• Temples and palaces reassured people of the strength and power of their government and religion

8. Art and Architecture

Defensive Walls

Assyria

1100 B.C.

Hittites

1400 B.C.

Invaders; learned to extract iron from ore

Persian Empire522 to 486 B.C.

Answer Question – Turn Into Tray

• Based on your reading AND discussion/lecture:

•  Where were the first civilizations and what were their names?  

• What evidences of civilization did they have?

HOMEWORK!!!

Developing a Thesis

• Compare and contrast the social and economic characteristics of agriculturally based societies with hunter-gatherer societies.