Ch. 1 The Beginnings of Human Society

1. Ch. 1 The Beginnings of Human Society Section 1: Geography and History

2. Drill • P. 5 Map Master Activity • Identify and Infer Questions

3. Objectives Learn what tools are used to understand history Find out about the connections between geography & history

4. Discussion • Archaeologist • How is an archaeologist like a detective?

5. Understanding History • Before & After Writing • Prehistory is the period of time before writing was invented • Peoples in SW Asia & Africa developed a system of writing 5,000 years ago • History is the written and other recorded events of people • Prehistory: Digging up the Past • Archaeologists (scientists who examine objects to learn about past peoples & cultures) • These objects tell them something about the people who lived there • They must piece together clues to find out what happened

6. Understanding History • History: A Record in Writing • Historians study written records of human life & accomplishments to understand a society • Also look at what other societies wrote about that society • A Record of the Spoken Word • Written records often begin as oral traditions (stories passed down by word of mouth) • Important because they tell how a society lived & what the people considered important, but not necessarily historically accurate • Facts mixed with personal beliefs & exaggerations

7. Linking Geography & History • Help us understand why historic events took place • Weather patters, water supply, land all affects the lives of people who live there • Egypt • Built on the banks of the Nile • Rich soil to grow surplus crops • Allowed people to perform other jobs that helped develop the civilization • Without Nile & regular flooding, Egyptian civilization would not have been successful or even lasted at all

8. Reading Check • Complete Section 1 Reading Check in composition book • Label • Complete sentences

9. Iceman Scientists believe he lived 5,000 years ago in about 3,000 B.C. http://video.pbs.org/video/2159408847/

10. Section 2: Prehistory • Drill • P. 9 #1a & 2b • Objectives • Discover how hunter-gatherers lived during the Stone Age • Learn about the beginning of farming

11. Stone Age Hunting & Gathering • Earliest Human Culture • Stone Age: a period of time during which early humans made lasting tools & weapons mainly from stone • Continued for hundreds of thousands of years • Divided into 2 periods: • Old • No farming • Almost all of human prehistory • Middle • New

12. Fire!! • No one knows for sure how they learned to use fire • 1,400,000-500,000 years ago • First learned how to keep fire going & then how to create it • Important step • Allowed them to move to areas with colder climates

13. Settling New Areas • As they developed tools began leaving Africa (one million years ago) • Many in Old Stone Age were nomads (people who have no settled home) • Over time stretched across globe, eventually reaching Peru in South America about 10,000 B.C. • (short DVD clip)

14. The Beginning of Farming • Old Stone Age • No farming • Middle Stone Age • Used more refined (advanced) tools • New Stone Age • Began to farm • Not all areas of the world entered each stage at the same time

15. Early Farmers • 11,000 years ago in SW Asia New Stone Age begins when people learned if they planted seeds new crops would grow • No longer had to be nomads, but still depended on stone tools • Some were pastoral nomads (raised livestock & traveled in search of grazing areas for their animals) • Women were responsible for gathering plants & seeds • Men still hunted

16. Farming Around the World • Some places were better for farming than others • Fertile soil • Water for plants • Length of growing seasons • People learned this over time

17. Plant Selection • Early plants look different from the same plants today • Early farmers choose seeds from the biggest, best-tasting plants • Domesticate plants (adapt wild plants for human use) • Early corn was only about the size of your pinky

18. Raising Animals • New Stone Age • Humans learned to tame wild animals & breed them for human use • First domesticated animals may have been dogs • Helped with hunting • Also domesticated sheep, goats, pigs • Ready source of meat, milk, wool • Eventually camels, horses & donkeys to carry heavy loads

19. Challenges of Domestication • Human have tried to domesticate many species, but have failed with some • Cheetahs (hunting) • Wild elephants (for use in battle) • Hard to breed in captivity • Only a few species of large animals have been suitable to use in agriculture or transportation

20. Section 2 Reading Check

21. Section 3: The Beginnings of Civilization • Drill • P. 17 #1a, 2a, 2c • Objectives • Find out about the advantages people gained from settling down in one place • Learn about the growth of early cities • Understand how the first civilizations formed & spread

22. Advantages of a Settled Life • Farming was harder work, but greater rewards • Sometimes needed to build a system of irrigation (supplying land with water from another place using a network of canals) • Steady supply of food year round • Surplus (more than what is needed) • Enables people to have larger families & population grows (Graph p. 21) • Enabled people to do other things besides farm • Artisans (worker who is especially skilled in crafting items by hand) • Baskets, tools, pottery, cloth • No longer had to travel from place to place

23. Growth of Cities • Likely to develop where fertile soil created surpluses of food • People also needed a dependable water source & materials to build shelter • Earliest cities grew up along large rivers • Nile • Tigris • Euphrates • Huang • Indus

24. Earliest Cities • Larger than farming villages • People had a variety of occupations • Had large public buildings • Stored surplus grains • Places to worship gods • Places to buy & sell goods • As cities grew gov’t formed to keep order, provide services, settle disputes & manage public buildings & irrigation projects • (Short DVD clip)

25. First Civilizations • A civilization is a society that has cities, a central gov’t run by official leaders & workers who specialize in various jobs • Writing, art & architecture

26. Bronze Age • Artisans learned to mix copper with tin to make bronze • May have made this discovery by accident • Marks the beginning of the Bronze Age • Harder than copper so it made items more durable • Used to make weapons, tools, helmets, shields

27. Trade & the Spread of Ideas • Traders took valuable items to faraway cities • Traded over water too • Allowed different cultures to come into contact with each other • Goods & ideas began to spread • Brought new prosperity to cities • Social Classes (next slide) • Wheel & axle • Allowed goods to be loaded on carts & pushed through the city to market • More goods could be transported farther & more easily

28. Social Classes Develop • Social Class is a group of people having similar backgrounds, incomes and ways of living • King most powerful • Priests & nobles (gov’t officials & military officers) • Artisans, small traders & merchants • Common workers & farmers • Lowest ranked free members of society • Slaves • People owned as property working as laborers & servants

29. Section 3 Reading Check

30. Review • Pages 25-27 • Everyone completes: • P. 25 #1-6 • P. 26 Map Master #1-6 • P. 27 #1-4 • I will assign each of you another question that will also need to be completed.