Unit 1

 The period before people developed writing.

 Homo-habilis – man had ability
 Homo-erectus – man could walk upright
 Homo-sapiens – man could think

 A highly organized society marked by knowledge of a written language, the arts, sciences, and government.

 Scientists who study past human civilizations; they compare bones, looking for changes in size and structure.

 Scientists who study the life and culture of ancient peoples by excavating ancient living sites.

 An object made by humans, such as a tool, ornament, weapon, or pottery, that has historical or archaeological importance.

 The ideas, customs, skills, and arts of a given people at a given time.

 Language
 Foods
 Religion
 Achievement in art and music
 Use of tools
 Technology

 The skills and knowledge available to a people.

 A person without a permanent home who moves about canstantly in search of food.

 When population was small, had a nomadic lifestyle – men traveled in small groups
(tribes) usually following and hunting wild herds of animals. They had no permanent home; people traveled constantly. There emerged a single leader. (Usually, the ruler of each tribe was the 1. Strongest, 2. Eldest, 3.
Wisest, and 4. The highest religious leader.)

 Neanderthals
 Originated in Africa and spread to Europe.
 Hunters/gatherers.
 Used fire for warmth and cooking. Use of fire and clothing made migration to cooler climates possible.

 Neanderthals (Cont.)
 Lived in caves
 Some built shelters with skins.

 Cro-Magnons
 Originated in Asia; artifacts in France
 Either lived at the same time as
Neanderthals or came to be when
Neaderthals disappeared.
 Develop knife and chisel
 Chopped down trees and built canoes.

 Cro-Magnons (Cont.)
 Developed bow and arrow tohunt larger animals and have a better food suply.
 Left behind cave paintings

 Human Race
 Creation of Adam. Story of Genesis in the
Old Testament in the Bible. Genesis 3 shows how nomadic lifestyle began.

 The development of Agriculture changed the nomadic lifestyle as farming tied people down to the land in one permanent place/spot. Thus, villages started to form and grow into cities, and civilizations formed.

 People shifted from gathering/hunting food to producing food.
 New innovations allowed this:
 Agriculture
 Domestication of animals
 Villages
 Plow
 Fertilizer
 Loom
 Wheel
 Metalworking for weapons

 The domestication of plants and animals led to the domestication of humankind, meaning hunters lived in nature, while farmers tried to control nature.

 First highly organized societies that developed out of river valleys:
 Mesopotamia (Iraq – on the Tigris and
Euphrates Rivers)
 Ancient Egypt (on the Nile River)
 India (on the Indus River)
 China (on the Huang/Yellow River that empties into the Yellow Sea)

 “The test of civilization is the power of drawing the most benefits out of cities”-Emerson. What do cities provide for people?
Jobs, government

 A highly, organized society marked by knowledge of a written language, the arts, sciences, & government.

 Nile
 Tigris/Euphrates
 Indus
 Huang

 1. Food supply (is stable; often, a surplus thanks to an Irrigation
System: rainfall fell to ditches, which ran into canals, & into reservoirs.)

 Why must there be a surplus of food before a city can develop and grow?
 In order to free others to engage in other activities.

 2. Specialized labor
 Artisan-A skilled craftworker, such as a builder, potter, & textile worker.
 -worked one task
 -very skilled
 -produced large quantities
 -improved quality

 Metalworking-introduced the Bronze
Age; used bronze which was easier to pour into a mold and shape weapons.
Artisans had a major effect on the economy.

 Economy-a system of producing, distributing, and consuming wealth to meet people’s needs.
 Trading-the exchange of goods and services thanks to the ability to travel.
 HOW?
– A. Overland by animals or caravans
B. Water by small canoes and later, ships

 3. Government
 Govt. needed a way to supervise and protect agriculture and trade.
 a. Government officials were created to oversee collection, storage, & distribution of the food surplus.
 b.
Soldiers guarded the city’s territory and trade routes.
c. The king was the head of government.

 4. Social levels followed the city’s layout.
 a. In the center were the government and religious buildings;
 b. Then, houses of the ruling class;
 c. Then, groups of artisans;
 d. On the outskirts, farmers.
 Compare to the city of Glasgow.

 5. System of writing; tools of writing were a quill pen and berry ink.
 -Writing originated when priests would record a surplus of food and the distribution of food.
 -Early people used pictograms.
 -Early people also wrote true stories and myths.

 6. Organized large-scale projects
 To control flooding, dams and earthen dikes were built