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 History
ERA 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 24 BC(E) - 68 Battle of Actium, Augustus
Caesar (Octavian) gains
Period
AD (CE)
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 1
The Beginnings of Human Society
Up to 4000 BC (BCE)
Era 2
Early Civilizations and Cultures and the Emergence of Pastoral Peoples
4000 BC (BCE) – 1000 BC (BCE)
Era 3
Classical Traditions, World Religions, and Major Empires
1000 BC (BCE) – 300 AD (CE)
Era 4
Expanding and Intensified Hemispheric Interactions
300 AD (CE) – 1500 AD (CE)
Era 5
Emergence 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 & Effect
Complete 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?
Review
1. 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?