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CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 1. Stone Age Societies and the Earliest Civilizations of the Near East . . . Prehistory. Most of human existence is prehistory. Little is known. . Emergence of Modern Humans. Modern humans ( Homo sapiens ) emerged more than 70,000 years ago

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CHAPTER 1

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  1. CHAPTER 1 • Stone Age Societies and the Earliest Civilizations of the Near East . . .

  2. Prehistory • Most of human existence is prehistory. • Little is known.

  3. Emergence of Modern Humans • Modern humans (Homo sapiens) emerged • more than 70,000 years ago • following perhaps 60 million years of primate evolution.

  4. Human Intelligence • Humans possessed superior intelligence. • They began to create and use tools in an effort to master their natural environment. • They developed the capability to think and communicate symbolically.

  5. Nomadic Humans • The earliest humans were nomadic. • They relied on hunting and gathering as their means of sustenance.

  6. Sedentary Humans • Over time, humans established more sedentary cultures. • They relied on • grain cultivation • domestication of animals • refined tool-making skills.

  7. Human Expansion • The transition from food-gathering to food-producing cultures fostered • expansion of human settlements • elaboration of cultural activities and belief systems.

  8. Why? • Why have Homo sapiens, alone among creatures, so radically altered the conditions of existence? • The earliest period of history, which we are about to study, offers clues to the resolution of this question.

  9. Physical Advantages • In contrast to other primates, humans • have a well-developed thumb • stand erect • have the power of reflective thinking.

  10. Experience • With reflective thought, people can profit from experience. • This ability brought about the development of civilization.

  11. YOU SHOULD UNDERSTAND • The evolutionary development of early humans. • The stages of early human technological progress and cultural development. • The significance of the transition from food-gathering to food-producing economies.

  12. What is Civilization? • We take civilization to mean a society in which • many people live in towns and cities • they communicate by writing • they build monumental structures.

  13. Hunting and Gathering People • The earliest humans depended on hunting and gathering. • Where climate and topography were favorable, people began to lead more settled lives in agriculture.

  14. Agricultural People • In regions where agriculture produced a surplus, people gathered into villages.

  15. First Civilizations • Civilization first appeared along great river systems in Egypt and Mesopotamia. • Villages grew into cities and • were favored by good means of communication • developed industry and commerce to meet new needs.

  16. Further Developments • The first civilizations developed more complex • technological and economic advances • political systems • codes of justice • religious beliefs • forms of artistic expression.

  17. Surplus Economy • The creation of a surplus economy also • fostered the emergence of a more hierarchical social strata • allowed for the further specialization of vocational trades.

  18. Lasting Impacts • The vitality of the ancient Near East civilizations declined over time. • But many of their achievements survived to have a lasting impact on later civilizations.

  19. YOU SHOULD UNDERSTAND • Why and how civilization took root in Mesopotamia. • Egypt’s culture along the Nile. • The contributions of the Hittites, Phoenicians, Hebrews, Lydians, and Chaldeans. • The empires carved out by the Assyrians and the Persians.

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