BIG HISTORYBy, Aaron Bacon

History 140Prof. Michael Arguello

The Way We Are Journey of Man Catastrophe

Guns, Germs, and Steel

World Trade

BIG HISTORY. A look into the history of the human race.

From what many now believe to be the beginning of the human race in Africa, to the migration and population of nearly every corner of the earth by man. Humans had to endure catastrophes, wars, and diseases. With geographical luck some civilizations thrived more than others.The following presentation is a small look at how some scientist and historians have theorized what our history looks like.

THE WAY WE ARE

From the beginning man has ask the questions who, what, where, and why.

The documentary “The way we are” points out that the Greeks where one of the first civilizations to document the struggles for answers.

The way we are, also demonstrates the resiliency of the human race, and the ability to adapt to change.

In every culture there are some things that may never change, marrage, burial rituals, and some religious believes.

Humans like to have institutions, in return the institutions keep order, make laws, and in most cases resist change.

Spencer Wells, a geneticist, has traced the human migration all over the world, by studying the DNA of thousands of people.

Wells’ findings show that the human race began in Africa, from there moved out to populate the rest of the world.

Wells shows that humans moved from Africa to India and on into Australia. Shortly after that, Wells show the migration path, humans took to central Asia, then into northern Asia, from there across the Bering Strait into the Americas.

Some cultures, shown in the documentary, did not like the idea that Well’s information goes against their religious believes.

JOURNEY OF MAN

Spencer Wells

Both the bible and genetics show an “Adam ”, the bible’s Adam is from 4,004 BC, and the genetic Adam lived around 60,000 years ago.

Different climate and regions dictated the changes in the way humans look, i.e. cooler regions = less sun, therefore lighter skin.

The human Y chromosome can be traced all the way back to “Adam” 2,000 generations.

Using the Y chromosome, scientist have traced the geographical routs in which the human race took to populate the earth.

CATASTROPHE

Current research indicates worldwide changes to the environment around early to mid 6th century.

Speculation of the eruption of the Krakatau volcano could have been the cause of the major change throughout the world.

(Multiple clues point to the eruption taking place around 535 AD. The “Book of Kings” Near Java indicates that a volcano erupted and split Java in to two. About the same time a documented record of a “Loud Bang” in south Asia near Indonesia).

The pyroclastic cloud caused an ice age and set the world into the dark ages.

The atmospheric changes could have effected the out break of the plagues that where recorded about the same time.

The domino effect would have changed civilizations forever.

GUNS, GERMS, AND STEEL

The recent research of Jared Diamond, in the documentary of “Guns, Germs, and Steel” show the advantages of civilizations the had “geographical luck”.

Diamond shows that the people of New Guinea, have lived there for about 40,000 years and have not advanced like the rest of the world.

(he theorizes that it is due to the geographic location and the lack of food supply to support a large population. Also he points out that lack of domesticated animals and high protein plants make it very difficult for a civilization to advance).

With the advancement in human ingenuity, and things like the granary and cultivation around 11,500 years ago, the human race was beginning to expand in population.

Diamond states that all great civilizations had some things in common: Advanced technology, large populations, and a well organized work force.

He points out that some of the most fertile land was in a place called the “fertile crescent”. Here 13 of the 14 large domesticated animals of the world where indigenous to this area, know today as the middle east. The “fertile crescent” was also known to produce wheat and barley in abundance.

With the discovery of the “new world”, Europeans had a tremendous advantage over the peoples of the Americas.

The Spaniards, led by Pizzaro, adventured into South America and were confronted by the Inca’s. In just a few hours the Spaniards killed over 7,000 Incans and captured their king, and suffered no losses.

At this time, Europeans had considerably advanced technologies compared to the Incans.

(Advancement in writing, iron smelting, map making, horse riding, and many other

things).

Smallpox and other diseases brought over from Europe, gave the peoples of the Americas a huge disadvantage. Pizzaro conquers the Incans

WORLD TRADE

In the 15th century, Europeans thought that the entire world was explored until Columbus, accidently discovered the Americas while trying to circumvent the hold that the Muslims held on the Chinese trade route.

From the new world came things like potatoes, corn, tomatoes, and sugar. And from the old world came wheat, horses, cattle, and technologies.

It is hard to imagine Kansas without wheat, Americans without horses, or spaghetti without tomato sauce.

Columbus didn’t just change the world, he inadvertently created one world, where before, there were two.