Emergence of Civilization

Unit 1

Scientists use the abbreviation BCE to mean “Before Common Era.” It is the

same thing as B.C. (Before Christ). After the year 0 scientists use the term CE for Common Era. It is the same as A.D. (Anno Domini). To figure out how long ago from today a date in BCE was, add the current

year to the BCE year.

6000 5000 4000 3000 2000 1000 0 1000 2000

Before Common Era (BCE) Common Era (CE)

Years

Before Common Era (BCE)

GEOGRAPHY Study of people, their environment

and resources. Can give us contextual clues as to how they live their lives.

Every event happens somewhere Must know WHERE it happens to fully

understand WHY it happens.

GEOGRAPHY

5 Major Themes of Geographyto help us understand what and why things happen

1) LOCATION – Where, How do I get there?• exact location

• LATITUDE - North and South of equator• LONGITUDE - East and West or Prime Meridian

• Zero degrees, through Greenwich, England• Hemisphere – Half of the globe

• relative location

GEOGRAPHY

2) PLACE – What is it like to live there?• physical and human characteristics of the

LOCATION• mountains, rivers, beaches, topography, and

animal and plant life of a place• human-designed features of a place, i.e. land use,

architecture, forms of livelihood, religion, transportation communication.

GEOGRAPHY

3) Human Environment Interaction – How do people relate to the land?

• how people relate to it, are affected by it and have modified it.

• Positively and negatively

• interactions between 4 physical systems

• Earth’s atmosphere, land, water, and life.

GEOGRAPHY

4) MOVEMENT• food, religion, political, work, ideas,

products, disease • humans effect on the environment

GEOGRAPHY

5) REGIONS• areas with specific

characteristics, things in common

• Physical, political, religious, language, economic

• All can in some way be represented with or by maps

• sources for history

Terms to Know PRE-HISTORY

Period before writing was invented

used pottery, buildings, bones, etc...to determine our best guess as to what life was like for them

ARTIFACTS objects studied by

archaeologists, shaped by humans, used to make our best guess of what life was like

tools, pottery, weapons, toys.

Terms to Know

Technology A change in thinking and practice

about how we do something to become more efficient and productive with less effort.

Terms to Know ARCHAEOLOGISTS

scientists who analyze ARTIFACTS left by early people try to piece together what life was like

Three step process of gathering and analyzing 1 - find site 2 - start digging 3 - analyze artifacts found

a - determine location within/around a structure b - determine age of the artifact

ANTHROPOLOGY study of cultures, the unique way that people live. To gain a better understanding of their lives and things that

effected them.

Stone Age Peoples

Stone Age - Period when people used simple tools made of stone (arrow heads, axe heads) before writing was invented

Old Stone Age - Paleolithic New Stone Age – Mesolithic & Neolithic

Stone Age Peoples Old Stone Age

Paleolithic Era ‘Paleo’ means Old Stone Started about 2.5 Million years ago.

Africa, China, Asia, Europe, and Americas

Old Stone Age Peoples Nomadic

Move with and in search of food Fished, hunted, gathered plants, roots,

fruits, nuts and seeds. Travel in groups of related families No permanent shelters, lived in caves and

lean-tos Some organizational structures Developed limited spoken languages Clothing

Wore animal skins

Old Stone Age Peoples Learned to control fire

light, cooking, protection and warmth

Simple tools become more specialized Used bone & stone chipped to make

sharp edges Made needles, axes, fish hooks, arrow

heads, spear points

Comb

Old Stone Age Peoples Some basic

religious beliefs but no real structure

Cave drawings could help a hunt be productive

Burying dead with food – Belief in an afterlife

End of Paleolithic Era Marked by the end of the last Ice Age

Glaciers start to melt and move back towards the poles

Land bridges become covered with water as the oceans start to fill back up

Believed to be the way in which people first came to this continent from Africa and Europe, following herds

Changed the climate of many areas, deserts appeared with new plants

New Stone Age Peoples New Stone Age

Mesolithic Era ‘Meso’ meaning middle Lasted about 10,000 years

18,000 B.C.E. to 8000 B.C.E.

Africa, China, Asia, Europe, Americas and Middle East (Mesopotamia)

New Stone Age Peoples

Mesolithic Era Developed the Bow and Harpoons Tamed dogs, used for hunting small

animals Built canoes from hollowed out logs

Cross large rivers Fish in deep waters

New Stone Age Peoples Neolithic Era

‘Neo’ meaning New Lasted about 4000 years

8000 B.C.E. to 3500 B.C.E.

Started grinding and polishing tools to sharper points and edges

New Stone Age Peoples Agricultural Revolution

Change from hunting and moving to farming Domesticated Animals – For work and food

Dogs, Sheep, goats and pigs Women farmed, men hunted

Permanent settlements Villages Built houses

Some remained hunters & gatherers and nomadic

New Stone Age Peoples Growth of political structure

Council of Elders Make decisions Settle disputes

Developed more complete spoken languages

Specialized tools Hoes – Granite Cloth – Wool Nets for fishing Pottery for cooking

New Stone Age Peoples Used animals for work

Oxen to pull plows Use of organic fertilizers Work more land, harvest more crops Support larger population

Simple religions based upon nature Gods control the forces of nature

New Stone Age Peoples Transportation Improvements

Wheel is invented improved land transportation replaced the wooden sleds

Sails start to be used for water transportation Quicker, more efficient means of travel

Metals start to be used Copper is the first Bronze

mix of copper and tin - stronger metal

New Stone Age Peoples By 3000 B.C.E. all of these inventions

and items are in use in some part of the world, BUT NOT ALL.

Change in the way people lived and survived

Brings more technological advances

Emergence of Civilization CIVITAS - Latin word meaning 'cities‘

Emerges at the end of the Neolithic era

First Civilizations develops in four different areas independently of each other.

5 Characteristics of Civilization

1- Surplus of Food

2- Complex Institutions More complex government and religions High level of cooperation for the benefit of the

group Technology Advances

3- Division of Labor - Specialized workers Specialized skills & occupations Creates a class of skilled worked called Artisans Merchants and Traders

5 Characteristics of Civilization

4- Writing - Record Keeping Priests were the first to start using marks or drawings

which evolved into writing Needed to keep track of when to do important ceremonies and

rituals to keep the gods happy A sacrifice at the wrong time could ruin a crop Scribes - Those who mastered the writing and

reading of the symbols – Keep Secretive Government

Births, deaths, taxes Ownership, marriages, business contracts, etc..

Became a way to pass down traditions, learning, wisdom, information, ideas and religious beliefs

Characteristics of Civilization

5- Calendar Needed to know when river would flood Time from flood to flood was a year

Time from full moon to next full moon was a month

Not completely accurate – about 11 days off

GROWTH OF CITIES4 Areas of the world develop independently of each

other1. Valley of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers - Middle East2. Valley of the Nile River in Africa – Egypt3. Indus River Valley in South Asia – India4. Yellow River Valley East Asia - China

• All Develop around Rivers• Fertile soil

• Rivers consistently flood every year• Bring moisture to the land• Can be used for Transportation and food

• Fish and animals

GROWTH OF CITIES – Govt.

• Construction projects increased as number of people increased• Organized projects

• Clear land for farming• Irrigation systems for dry times of the

year• Temples and palaces• Defense of cities from invaders

- increased size and power of government

Religion POLYTHEISTIC - Belief in many Gods and

Goddesses that control the forces of nature Believed in spirits Believed that the Gods controlled forces of

nature Gave sacrifices to win the gods favor and get peace,

good harvests, rainfall, etc. Gave thanks to Gods when the outcome was favorable Wanted to keep the Gods happy

Priests gained power because they carried out the rituals to keep the gods happy

Powerful positions in the governments

Religion THEOCRACY - Government controlled

by a church or religion Military leaders worked in conjunction with

priests to keep the gods happy and provided a defense against enemies

Military leaders increased in power Became judges, made laws, supervised building

projects Collected taxes - earliest system of taxation

Labor for construction projects Part of harvest Used to pay for government and building projects

Economy and Society Technology was important

made work easier, faster and more efficient Bronze Age - Vessels, tool, weapons, longer lasting Farming improved

Develop use of irrigation through ditches and canals Fewer farms needed Excess food used for trading with merchants for goods

Barter Economy - Trading goods or services for something you need

Creates a demand for more specialized skills and goods Still used to some extent today

Social structure starts to change Social Classes - Defines a persons place in society Movement between classes

THEN --> No movement – born there die there NOW --> Movement is possible but still hard

Social Classes Kids generally took over

parents profession or occupation

Artisans - People with a specialized skill or trade Skilled Craftsperson

Indentured Servants - People working off debts

Family Women managed the family

Cared for children, prepared food, made clothing Probably invented weaving and pottery making Probably discovered plants could be grown from

seeds Increased women’s power and status as primary food

provider Lead to the Agricultural Revolution and drastic change

in the way people lived. As technology increased men became the

primary food providers and primary authorities in society

Important Point to Note Although civilization developed in

different areas and at different times there was still limited contact between them Trading Migration Wars Brought a spread of ideas, skills, and a

diversity of culture – Cultural Diffusion