Australopithecines: 2-4 million years ago
Homo-Habilis (handy human): 1-4 million
years ago, first to make tools, bigger brains
than Australopithecines
Homo-erectus (Upright human) : 100,0001.8 million years ago, first to leave Africa
and move into Europe and Asia
Homo-sapiens (wise humans) : 100,00030,000 B.C, Neanderthals were in this group
Homo-sapiens sapiens (wise, wise humans) :
emerged 200,000 B.C.
a.) The northern hemisphere was covered four times
with glaciers during this time.
b.) The earliest human or human like people
appeared during this time
c.) Their remains were found in Eastern Africa,
Northeast China near Peking, Western
Europe and Indochina
d.) Lucy discovery
e.) Archaeologist (studies artifacts) and
Anthropologists (studies the bones and the
fossils) are responsible for these discovers.
f.) Louis and Mary Leakey discovered the 1st homohabilis
a.) Brain Power-their abilities and their
experiences were helping them learn
b.) Ability to Communicate
c.) Opposable Thumb: these early humans
had the ability to grasp objects; this gave
them the ability to make tools and
weapons.
d.) Upright posture: These early humans were
able to walk upright and this allowed
them to use their hands to work freely.
*These four things allowed the early humans to
survive and to progress.
A.) Paleolithic or also known as the Old Stone Age:
2.5 million B.C. to 8,000 B.C
1.) Tools and weapons were made from chipped
stone and bone and also wood
2.) The early people were known as nomadic
herds who gathered wild nuts, berries, fruits and
plants to eat and they lived in small groups about 20
to 30 people
3.) They lived in caves and learned to make some
basic clothing
4.) They used fire
5.) Two types of early people in this time period:
Neanderthals and the Cro-Magnon
6.) The Neanderthals had the ability to have a
language, they had tools and they had a
belief in the afterlife and some type of
religion because they buried their dead
with tools, flowers, and even food.
7.) Cro-Magnons were known as the first
“artists” due to the fact that they painted
their cave walls with their history. The CroMagnons are also known as Anatomically
Modern Human. They also had the
invention of the blade in their weapons.
Their men shaved with this blade.
1.) The people of this time began to polish and ground
stone into shaper implements and weapons
2.) They began to domesticate animals
3.) They learned how to farm and stopped moving
around
4.) They began to settle in small communities
5.) They used the wheel and the axle
6.) They began to use weaving plant fibers to make
cloth and they used a fish hook and needle to begin
sewing.
7.) They also had clay pottery and therefore were able
to store food and this lead to a growth of population.
This period is also known as the Neolithic Revolution
because the people shift from food gathering to food
producing. This period, which occurred between
12,000 and 8,000 years ago, brought along many
profound changes to human society and culture,
including
1.) the creation of cities and permanent dwellings,
2.) labor specialization, the baking of bread and
brewing of beer,
3.) personal property, building of homes and storage of
goods
4.) more complex hierarchical social structures,
beginning of trade
5.) non-agricultural crafts and the beginning
of the artisans
6.) role of men and women changed
7.) development of writing
The term "Neolithic revolution" refers both to
the period of time when it occurred as well
as the enduring changes it caused. The socalled "Neolithic founder crops" include
emmer, einkorn, barley, lentil, pea,
chickpea, bitter vetch, and flax. These are
all new species created by human
intervention into wild ancestor species.
The use of fields for crop-growing and
granaries for the storage of food simplify this
whole nutrition endeavor for humans,
allowing for non-farming occupations in
society. Trade and barter systems emerged,
as well as informal currencies. Farmers
could be paid for supplying others with
food. Soldiers could be trained and armies
were raised.
The creation of personal goods and food
stores meant that plundering from raiders
became more common, necessitating a
soldier class to protect the farmers. The
Neolithic revolution was the first
fundamental restructuring of human affairs
seen in a couple hundred thousand years.
This led to the creation of Civilizations.
1.) Tools were more advance like swords,
axes, and hammers
2.) Began to use copper material, but it
is relatively too soft
3.) Copper is better when tin is added
which makes bronze which is much
harder
4.) Civilizations began to be seen
a.) organized government: duties or
jobs given to more than one person
b.) built cities
c.) irrigation
d.) “industry” and a “division of
labor”, not everyone had to be a farmer
e.) trade began
f.) written records were kept
g.) calendars were being used to
predict things like the flooding of the Nile
1.) Iron was being used in tools and they
were very strong and hard.
2.) Today, the present day civilization
are still depend on iron and steel (which
is made by the Kelley Bessemer
Process). Many scholars consider
present time to be still part of the Iron
Age.
The Cradles of Civilization grew around
four River Valleys:
Known as:
1.) Nile (Africa)
2.) Tigris and Euphrates (Middle East)
known as the Mesopotamia area
3.) Indus (India)
4.) Huang-he (or known as the Yellow
River)
6 Characteristics of a complex
culture/civilization
1.) Urban focus: Advanced cities also known
as city states
2.) Specialized workers: class structure with an
upper class, working class, and warriors
3.) Growth of Government: organize and
regulate human activity
4.) Role of Religion: explain the forces of
nature and their own existence
5.) Writing: Record keeping
6.) Art: artistic activity portrays what was
important
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Prehistory
Archaeology
Artifact
Anthropology
Nomad
Neolithic Revolution
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Systematic
Agriculture
Artisan
Bronze Age
Culture
Civilization
Monarch
Dates of Civilization: Between 2900-1800
B.C.
Location: Present day Iraq, located
between Tigris and Euphrates river
valleys, also known as Mesopotamia
Three Classes of people: free, citizens and
the slaves
Religion: Believed in many gods, religion
ruled the government
Government: Theocracy: First group to have a
government ruled by the head priest. The priest-king
ruled through a series of bureaucrats, many of them
priests, which carefully surveyed land, assigned fields,
and distributed crops after harvest. The society
divided work so that not all people in the civilization
had to be farmers.
Language: Cuneiform- a type of writing with pictures:
The oldest written story was Gilgamesh which was an
epic poem. An epic poem is a long narrative poem
about the achievement of a legendary or hero.
Scribes were the official record keepers for the
Sumerians.
1.) first urban life with four cities, Eridu, Ur,
Uruk, Umma, and Lagash
2.) built a ziggurat in center of all their cities.
The ziggurat served many purposes religious
center, storage for extra food, center of
city, important government area.
3.) 1st calendar based on the movement of
the moon
4.) developed a system of weights and
measures
5.) developed engineering system which
lead to a large scale irrigation system
6.) developed the first extensive trade
7.) developed the wagon wheel
8.) developed the measurement of time,
60 seconds = 1 minute, and 60 minutes =
1 hour
9.) First to make bronze out of copper
10.) Their number system was based on 6
11.) Used sun-dried bricks in their building
and invented the arch and the dome
Men: Could divorce and remarry, the
children were his property; the children
could be disinherited and sold into
slavery.
Women: Could own property, start a
business, and could be a witness in a trial
The great leader Sargon conquered the
city-state of Sumer from the Sumerians
and started the city of Akkad. There is
not a lot to know about this group of
people.
Dates of Civilization: 1800-1530 B.C.
Location: Euphrates River Valley and lived
in the Syrian Desert and settled in
Babylon
Government: Monarchy, their most
famous ruler was King Hammurabi
1.) The highest achievement of the Amorites was a code of laws
known as the Code of Hammurabi. These 282 laws were used to
keep control under the Monarchy without using their religion.
The Code of Hammurabi set very strict punishments. Under these
laws;
a.) women held a higher position in society
b.) foreigners were treated well
c.) laws regulated industry and trade
d.) Marriage was a legal contract
e.) False accusers received the punishment that the accused
would have received.
f.) most important from the code was the idea of an eye for an
eye
g.) The punishment of the laws depended on the class a person
was from
2.) Built on the ideas of the Sumerians and developed the
multiplication tables, exponents and wrote math textbooks.
3.) Well disciplined army of soldiers
Nile River: Interesting facts:
1.) flowed to the north
2.) longest river in the world
3.) floods once a year and re-fertilized
the land
4.) allowed for a surplus of food
5.) Provided for transportation of the
Egyptians
-Under the leadership of King Menes, both
upper and lower Egypt were united in a
single kingdom.
-The king (pharaoh) of Egypt was considered
to be a god on earth, who had absolute
power. The pharaoh did have help ruling
the kingdom.
-This was the beginning of a bureaucracy.
-The vizier was very important to the pharaoh.
The vizier was in charge of the
bureaucracy.
-Middle Kingdom is also known as the Golden age of
Egypt due to the stability.
-The role of the pharaoh in the Middle Kingdom
changed to the protector of the people. He was to
protect the people and provide for their welfare.
-The social classes became well organized during the
middle kingdom. The pharaoh was on top with
merchants and artisans next. Under the merchants
and artisans were the largest group and they were
the farmers.
-Hyksos attacked and ended the Middle Kingdom. The
Egyptians learned a lot about the Hyksos’ way of
fighting and their use of bronze in their tools and
weapons.
-The Egyptians used their new knowledge from the
Hyksos’ to overthrow them.
-In the New Kingdom, the Egyptian Empire began to be
more militaristic and became the most powerful
state in the Middle East
-The New Kingdom was very wealthy and the pharaohs
had more power
-One of the most famous pharaohs of this time was
Queen Hatshepsut, first woman. Also King
Tutankhamun ruled during the New Kingdom.
-The New Kingdom ended with the invasion of the “Sea
People”.
Religion: Egyptians believed in many gods which
provided for world order. The Egyptians also
believed in the afterlife.
Achievements:
1.) Greatest achievement: Pyramids, best
pyramids was known as the Great Pyramid
2.) Egyptian writing: Hieroglyphics: pictures and
characters that represent word, never
developed into an alphabet-the Rosetta stone
was used to help decipher the language
3.) Egyptian art-
1.) Married young (arranged by their parents) and
produced a family, but especially sons
2.) Fathers were the master of the house
3.) Mothers were in charge of household and
education of the children
4.) Women had rights-could own property and could
keep their inheritance
5.) Monogamy was stressed, divorce was allowed, and
adultery was strictly prohibited with a stiff punishmentWomen caught would be faced with having their
noses cut off or be burned at the stake.
Location: Huge Empire that spanned throughout Asia
Minor (present day Turkey) into Syria and included
parts of Mesopotamia. Their empire was broken up
into city-states and their capital was Hattisus.
The Hittites invaded and took over the old Babylonians
and was able to continue the spreading of the
Sumerian culture.
Religion: They worshipped many gods.
Language: Indo-European- combination of Greek,
Latin, Persian, Sanskrit and Germanic and Slavic
languages
Achievements:
1.) Invented the furnace
2.) Invented the iron plow and the sickle, which
allowed for the product of more food
3.) Invented the iron chariots that could carry two
soldiers and a driver
4.) Invented the first trial by jury system, where the
defendant was allowed to
question
their accuser and speak during the trial.
5.) Laws were more lenient than the Code of
Hammurabi
The Hittites were destroyed by invading groups like the
Phoenicians.
Location: modern Lebanon and Syria
Major Achievements:
1.) Excellent traders: started trading with other civilizations in 800
B.C.
2.) Traded clothes, expensive glass, art, cedar logs for ship building,
textiles dyed in purple (purple became the color for royalty)
3.) Build strong and fast ships which aided trading capabilities
4.) Established many colonies, most famous colony was Carthage
5.) Best achievement: Alphabet with 22 characters, this allowed all
people to write records like business records and bill of sales and
contracts. Scribes were no longer needed to keep the records.
*This alphabet was passed on to the Greeks and the Greek
alphabet influenced the Roman alphabet which influenced our
alphabet today.
Decline: The Assyrians and the Persians destroyed the Phoenicians
Religion: 1st civilization to practice a religion that
focuses on only one God, monotheistic. This is the
Judaism religion that will influence both Christianity
and Islam. Their God is known as Yahweh and they
became known as Jews. The history of the Hebrew
people is written in what the Christians refer to as the
Old Testament part of the bible.
There are three parts of the Jewish religion; the
covenant, the law, and the prophets.
Foundation of the people: The Hebrews are the people
of Abraham, and followed Moses out of Egypt.
Government: 12 tribes that established the United
Kingdom of Israel.
Famous leaders:
1.) Saul: 1020-1000 BC
2.) David: Saul’s lieutenants-1000 – 970 BC: Helped the
Hebrews to be a community of farmers and establish an
urban life
3.) Solomon: David’s son- 970 – 930 B.C. : Strengthen
royal power, expanded political and military
establishments, extended trade, but he is best known for
his building projects, like the Temple of Jerusalem.
After the death of Solomon, the 12 tribes of Israel split and the
10 tribes in the north formed the kingdom of Israel with a
capital of Samaria. The two tribes in the south established
the kingdom of Judah and its capital of Jerusalem.
The Assyrians destroyed Samaria and took
over the Kingdom of Israel and the Hebrew
s were deported. The Kingdom of Judah
remained independent but had to pay
tribute to the Assyrians. But the Chaldeans
conquered the Assyrians and completely
destroyed the city of Jerusalem. The
Hebrews were deported to the city of
Babylonia (the capital for the Chaldeans).
After the Persians destroyed the Chaldeans,
the people of Judah were allowed to return
to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple.
Location: Tigris River, Mesopotamia
Achievements:
1.) used iron weapons to build an empire
2.) used an effective communication system of
administers to rule their empire
3.) used a network of horse relays to carry messages from
one end of the empire to the other
4.) The Assyrian army was well organized and disciplined.
The army consisted of infantrymen and a cavalry and
horse-drawn war chariots.
5.) First large army to be equipped with iron weapons.
6.) Army used guerrilla warfare and the army was known
for their atrocities. They would destroy the land they were
attacking.
7.) Art: The Assyrian art was relief sculptures depicting the
strong masculine world of the Assyrians.
Economy:
1st: Agriculture was first in the Assyrians
society
2nd: Trade was second; they traded
metals like gold, silver, copper, and
bronze
Culture: The Assyrian culture was
assimilated much of the Mesopotamian
civilizations, like the Sumerians and the
Babylonian cultures.
Most famous ruler: Nebuchadnezzar II, King
who took the captive Jews to Babylon
Major achievements:
1.) Recorded their observations of the stars
and mapped their discoveries
2.) Recorded the phases of the moons and
the planets
3.) Predict eclipses and the lengths of the
year by studying the movement of the
moon
4.) Nebuchadnezzar built one of the seven
Ancient Wonders of the World by building
the “Hanging Gardens” for his wife.
Language: Indo-European speaking people
Captured Babylonian
Famous Rulers:
1.) Cyrus the Great: 559-530 B.C.-extended
the control of the Persian empire. He
treated captured people with respect and
made them part of his empire. He allowed
the Jews to return to Jerusalem to rebuild
the Temple. Cyrus demonstrated wisdom
and compassion to the people he
conquered and it won him approval of his
people.
2.) Darius: 521-486 B.C-Conquered parts of India and extended the
empire to the Indus River. Darius attacked the mainland of
Greece in the Battle known as the Battle of Marathon in 490 B.C.
a.) Darius used a governor or a satrap to rule his empire which
was the biggest of the ancient world. Each satrap was assigned
to a province and they were responsible for the justice and the
security of the area. They were in charge of raising an army and
commanded the army in their area.
b.) Built the “Royal Road” which connected the empire and
encouraged trade and helped with the moving of troops. There
were rest stations with fresh horses every 12 miles.
c.) Darius built many palaces and collected a large amount of
gold and silver
d.) Build a large standing army made up of all the different
types of people who formed the empire. The cavalry contained
10,000 men and the elite infantry force also had 10,000 men.
Religion: Zoroastrianism:
Zoroaster was born in 660 B.C. His teachings are
written down in Zend Avesta, the sacred book of
Zoroastrianism.
In Zoroastrianism, there is only one god, Ahuramazda,
the Wise Lord. He was the supreme leader. The evil
spirit was known as Ahriman. Humans were in the
middle. Humans had the freedom of choice and the
will to do good or evil. Zoroaster taught that there
would be an end to the struggle between good and
evil and Ahuramazda would win. Individuals were
judged on their actions of whether good and evil.
Pop Open Note’s Quiz!
 Clear everything off of your desk, except
for a writing utensil and Ch. 1 and 2
Notes!
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