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From Human Prehistory to the Early Civilizations

From Human Prehistory to the Early Civilizations. 1. Chapter Overview. Getting Started Is Always Hard Human Development and Change The Neolithic Revolution Agriculture and Change Nomadic Societies.

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From Human Prehistory to the Early Civilizations

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  1. From Human Prehistory to the Early Civilizations 1

  2. Chapter Overview • Getting Started Is Always Hard • Human Development and Change • The Neolithic Revolution • Agriculture and Change • Nomadic Societies

  3. FIGURE 1.1 Crouching against a wall to shelter the first sparks from wind, a Neolithic woman spins a dried yucca stalk against a much-used fire-starter to generate heat that will kindle a fire on the dried plant material she has placed under the fire-starting stick.

  4. TIMELINE 2.5 Million B.C.E. to 10,000 B.C.E.

  5. Getting Started Is Always Hard • Paleolithic Age (Old Stone Age) • Rise of humankind until 12,000 B.C.E. • Homo sapiens by 10,000 B.C.E. • Larger brain • Tools, weapons • Homo sapiens sapiens • From Africa • Language gene

  6. FIGURE 1.2 In Lascaux, France, in 1940, four boys happened upon a long-hidden cave filled with thousands of complex and beautiful Stone Age paintings like this none. Most of the paintings are of animals, some of which were extinct by the time they were painted. No one knows for sure why Stone Age artists painted these pictures, but they remain a powerful reminder of the sophistication of so-called primitive peoples.

  7. Human Development and Change • Social organization • Equality between hunters/gatherers • Slow population growth • Better tool use • Migration to new climates • Fire • Animal skins • Neolithic Age (New Stone Age)

  8. VISUALIZING THE PAST Representations of Women in Early Art

  9. Map 1.1 The Spread of Human Populations, c. 10,000 B.C.E.As the map indicates, Homo sapiens sapiens first emerged in a single core area in east Africa and then migrated over long periods of time north to the Mediterranean and Europe, east to Asia, and then ultimately across the seas to the Americas and Oceania.

  10. The Neolithic Revolution • Invention of agriculture • Lower yield from hunting • Animals domesticated • Dogs, sheep, goats, pigs, cattle • Neolithic revolution • Agriculture developed alongside hunting and gathering • Early resistance

  11. Map 1.2 The Spread of AgricultureAgriculture appears to have spread in ways similar to human populations, but from a Middle Eastern rather than African epicenter. And in important cases, particularly in the Americas, a wide range of staple crops were known in only some parts of the world until Columbus’s voyage in the late-15th century brought together the civilizations of the Americas and Afro-Euroasia.

  12. Agriculture and Change • Tribes to villages • Irrigation, defense • Organization of labor • Çatal Hüyük • c. 7000 B.C.E., southern Turkey • Large complex • Agriculture, some trade • Shrines

  13. FIGURE 1.3 Excavation of the ancient settlement at Çatal Hüyük, in what is now southern Turkey. Movement within the settlement was mainly across the roofs and terraces of the houses. Because each dwelling had a substantial storeroom for food, the settlement was often the target of attacks by outsiders. The houses were joined together to provide protection from such attacks; when the outside entrances were barricaded, the complex was transformed into a fortress.

  14. Agriculture and Change • Bronze Age • Metal replaces stone tools. • Agricultural significance • Metalworking as specialized trade • Woodworking more elaborate • Craft manufacturing • Wheel • c. 4000 B.C.E. • Advancements in commerce, war

  15. Nomadic Societies • Nomads • Roaming herders on fringes of civilizations • Indo-Europeans • c. 1500 B.C.E. • Xionghu (Huns) • From 4th century B.C.E. • Central Asia

  16. Nomadic Societies • Nomadic Society and Culture • Seasonal travel • Harsh environment • Animals • Horses • Violence • Perceived as cruelty • Band of 30–15 people • Strong men as leaders; patriarchy

  17. Nomadic Societies • Nomads and Civilizations • Invasions • Change population structure • Political leadership • Often peaceful, mutually beneficial relationship with agricultural societies • Trade

  18. The Idea of Civilization in World Historical Perspective • Fundamental differences • Civilized vs. "savage," "inferior" • What makes one uncivilized • Greeks: barbarians = "those who cannot speak Greek" • Cultural attributes (language, dress, manners) • Shift did not happen until 18th–19th centuries.

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