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The Earth as Humanity’s Home . Chapter 3 Part 1- The Organization of Humanity . Spaceship Earth . The term spaceship earth is used to signify the finiteness (limited) of earth’s resources . Late Cenozoic Ice Age - last great ice age that ended 10,000 years ago
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The Earth as Humanity’s Home Chapter 3 Part 1- The Organization of Humanity
Spaceship Earth • The term spaceship earth is used to signify the finiteness (limited) of earth’s resources
Late Cenozoic Ice Age- last great ice age that ended 10,000 years ago • Global temperatures fell and rebounded repeatedly, causing polar ice caps to expand and retract • Glaciers changed the landscape & humans and animals migrated to warmer latitudes influencing humanities dispersal across the planet
Holocene epoch- the most recent 12,000 years; the warm phase that followed the latest advance of the ice • This time is know as an interglaciation • During this time the earth changed as never before • But keep in mind that as humanity & its activities expands, nature recedes
Plant Domestication • Process began in the Holocene • Carl Sauer suggested it began in southeastern Asia • He believes it started with the cultivation of root crops • Planned cultivation of seed plants is a more complex process that is believed to have developed in more than one area at different times • Most believe it first happened in southwestern Asia in the Fertile Crescent (area between the Tigris & Euphrates rivers)….Started the first Agricultural Revolution
Animal Domestication • Took place during same time period, Holocene Ex. Goats in Zagros Mountains, sheep in Turkey
Early Settlements • Plant & animal domestication allowed humans to live in stable, permanent settlements for the first time in human history • First settlements began to appear in an area near Southwest Asia
With these new settlements a social stratification developed • Society moved to a system of classes based on wealth, power, influence, etc • With this social ladder, competition developed & people rose above others & villages rose above other villages in their power • This started the transition from villages to cities
Other places where advancements in were being made in agriculture & societies developing…
Early Cities & States • Cities in the Fertile Crescent became centers of political power, economic strength & religious dominance • Babylon was one of the largest & most powerful
Babylon • The tallest structure in all of Mesopotamia was located in the middle of the city….the Ziggurat, or tower of the great temple