What is History?

Why study it?Why break it into sections?Why look at cause & effect?

History

• Comes from Greek - and means "inquiry and knowledge acquired by investigation."

• It has its origins in the meaning: “To know; to see.”

• By studying history we can see and know more about ourselves and the present times that we live in.

History in Time

• Historical study often focuses on events and developments that occur in specific blocks of time. Historians give these eras (or periods) of time descriptive names in order to organize ideas and make generalizations about that time frame.

• Eras tend to be longer amounts of time.• Periods tend to be shorter blocks of time.

Early Eras of HistoryERA 1:Hunters/Gatherers

Beginnings – 4,000 BC(E)

Small groups of hunters and gathers; global migrations; slow population growth; no written language.

ERA 2:AGRARIAN

From 4,000 BC(E) – 1,000 BC(E)

Develop agriculture; cities, states, & empires develop; populations grow; writing; different histories in different world zones.

ERA 3:Empires

From 1,000 BC(E) - 300 AD(CE)

Manufacturing develops, rapid growth in energy use; increased life expectancies; machines begin to do work for us.

Periods of the “Empires Era”

Early Emperors Period

24 BC(E) - 68 AD (CE)

Battle of Actium, Augustus Caesar (Octavian) gains power, followed by Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, & Nero.

Division and the Flavian Dynasty

68 - 96 AD (CE)

Civil War (4 empires) and Flavians take over (Vespasian, Titus, Domitian).

Five Good Empires

96 - 180 AD (CE)

Period of Prosperity, ruled by Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antonius Pius, & Marcus Aurelius.

How do they use Eras & Periods?

• They use these to organize information and to show the progression of civilization or civilizations from one place to another.

• This can be either positive or negative.

Activity: Divide Your Life into 3 Different Eras and Each Era into 3 Periods

World History and Geography Eras

Era 1The Beginnings of Human Society

Up to 4000 BC (BCE)Era 2

Early Civilizations and Cultures and the Emergence of Pastoral Peoples4000 BC (BCE) – 1000 BC (BCE)

Era 3Classical Traditions, World Religions, and Major Empires

1000 BC (BCE) – 300 AD (CE)Era 4

Expanding and Intensified Hemispheric Interactions300 AD (CE) – 1500 AD (CE)

Era 5Emergence of the First Global Age

15th century – 18th century[1400’s AD (CE) - 1700’s AD (CE)]

Why Should We Study History?

“If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, it expects what never was and never will be.”

- Thomas Jefferson

“If you would understand anything, observe its beginning and its development.”

- Aristotle

Cause & EffectComplete this Web-quest:

http://www.ehhs.cmich.edu/~new192/webquest.html

When Finished Please Answer:

1. What was the effect of the Potato Famine on Immigration in the U.S.?

2. What was the effect of the Potato Famine on the population of Great Britain?

3. What impact did this have on different parts of the world?

4. What are the multiple causes for these effects?

Review1. What is History? What does History Mean?

2. Why is it Important to Study History?

3. Why do you think Historians Break it into Sections?

4. Why is Cause and Effect important to the study of History?

5. What is one Other Piece of Information You Learned?