Period One-5% of Questions
Period I – Technological and Environmental Transformations to
600 B.C.E
Key Concept 1.1. Big Geography and the Peopling of the Earth
Key Concept 1.2. The Neolithic Revolution and Early Agricultural
Societies
Key Concept 1.3. The Development and Interactions of Early
Agricultural, Pastoral and Urban Societies
Big Geography
• Global nature of world history
• Human migration from Africa-EurasiaAustralia-Americas
Paleolithic Age
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Human adaptation and mobility
Relatively egalitarian-small kinship groups
Hunters, gatherers, traders
Technologies-fire, tools
Culture-cave art
Transition: Paleolithic to Neolithic
1. After living for over 200,000 years as foragers…
2. 10,000 years ago, people gradually gave up a
nomadic, hunting and gathering lifestyle and
settled down.
3. Was it intentional? (sedentary trap)
Changes occurred due to:
The Great Thaw: Global Climate Change (warmer… food
production easier)
Population Growth (migration until no places left)
Separate Farming Origins
Origins of Farming
• 11,000 ya Fertile Crescent and the Nile
(wheat)
• 8000 ya China (rice) and Papua New Guinea
(taro and yams)
• 5000 ya West Africa (millet and sorghum)
• 4000 ya Mesoamerica (maize, squash) and
Andes (potatoes)
Positive Effects of Neolithic Revolution
• Increased food production (until population
catches up again)
• More diverse foodstuffs possible
• Textile production
• Metallurgy (working of gold, copper, bronze,
iron)
• Secondary Products Revolution—innovations
in agriculture and animal husbandry (milk,
stirrups, plows, tools…)
Downsides of Agriculture
• Nutrition declined (H & G varied diet)
• Starvation more likely (reliance on one crop and
on nature, increased vulnerability)
• More work (less leisure time)
• More patriarchal (public vs private sphere)
• People got shorter initially and more tooth decay
• Increased infant mortality (more kids)
• Higher disease rates (more dense pop)
• Life expectancy declined
• Increased class divisions
Social Effects of Agriculture
• Women probably first to realize plans grew from seeds and Control
which plants grew where over time
• Domestication of animals
• Women build homes and farmed; men hunted further afield
• Women involved in hearth, courtyard, and field—food production,
informal education, child-rearing, arts, music and religious ritual.
• Children became busier as they helped around the home
• Surplus over time led to specialization in the community
• Land ownership led to patriarchal societies and lower status for
women
• Status and power became more important
Human Impact on Environment
• Soil erosion
• Deforestation
• Contamination of
water sources
• Dependency on
land and certain
crops
Nomadic groups continue
• Conflict (wealth of
agricultural
surplus societies)
• Peaceful exchange
of technology,
ideas, products
and people
Civilization
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Agricultural surplus
Specialization of labor
Cities
Complex institutions
Stratified social
hierarchies
Long distance trade
Competition
Religion
Environmental challenges
Violence
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Monumental architecture
Urban planning
Arts and artisanship
Systems of record keeping
Legal codes
Literature
Social Hierarchies
Patriarchy
Technological
advancements
Period One Civilizations/Religions
• Mesopotamia
• Egypt
• Indus Valley (MohenjoDaro and Harappa)
• Shang
• Olmec
• Chavin
• Pastoral people
• Pastoral advancementsweapons and
transportation
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Polytheism
Theocracies
The Vedic Religion
Hebrew Monotheism
Zoroastrianism