World History in a Week:
The Big Picture
When did Humans arrive on
the scene?
• Age of hominids? 7 million years
• Age of homo sapiens? 500,000 years
• Neanderthals? 140,000-50,000 y.a.
– Separate evolutionary line: First genocide?
• Cro-Magnon? 40,000 y.a.
(fully modern anatomy)
Hominid Development?
Three Great Human Revolutions
• The Great Leap Forward
• Agricultural (Neolithic) Revolution
• Industrial Revolution
Hunter-Gatherers
• Humanity’s only “economic” activity for at
least 90% of our existence.
• Low population densities (small groups of
40-60; 1 person/ mi2)
• Largely egalitarian - every person
performs essential functions.
Great Leap
Forward
Lascaux Caves, France
When? 50,000 b.p.
Emergence of:
• Fish hooks, Arrows, Bows,
Needles, Engravers, Awls
• Art
• Jewelry (Beads at first)
• Navigation/Boating?
(Australia from New
Guinea)
Proposed Causes:
• Voicebox development /
language
• Brain organization change
Overkill Hypothesis
• Large, slow, or tame animals become
extinct shortly after hunter-gatherer arrival
in New World, Polynesia, Australia / New
Guinea.
– Flightless birds, giant cave bear, ground sloth.
Giant Extinct Moa, New Zealand Skeleton of Giant Ground Sloth, Los Angeles
Neolithic Revolution
Domestication of Plants and Animals
• Seed Agriculture - Fertile Crescent, western India,
northern China, Ethiopia, southern Mexico (11,000 b.p.)
Rice, wheat, and corn
account for more than
50% of world calories
today.
Tigris River Valley irrigation, Turkey
Neolithic Revolution
Domestication of Animals
 Dog was probably first.
 Early domesticated animals:
cattle, oxen, pigs, sheep,
goats, guinea pigs, llama
• role in agricultural
production and success
 Relationship to success of
particular cultures: IndoEuropean Horsemen
Neolithic Revolution
Primary effects:




Urbanization
Social Stratification
Occupational Specialization
Increased population densities
Teotihuacan
Human Expansion
and Ancient Empires
Urbanization and increased efficiency lead to
population growth and increased density,
which leads to need for more space.
Ancient Examples:
 Aztecs, Maya
 Chinese Warlords / Dynasties
 Polynesians
 Roman Empire
 Muslim / Ottoman Empire
Human and environmental costs are inevitable.
Human Expansion
Urbanization and increased efficiency lead to
population growth, which leads to need for
more space.
Human Expansion
Urbanization and increased efficiency lead to
population growth, which leads to need for
more space.
Agricultural and Industrial
Societies Accelerate Extinctions
• Flightless birds, whales, otters
• U.S. Passenger Pigeon
Mauritius, Indian Ocean
Dodo Bird discovered in 1598,
extinct by 1681.
Dodo Bird, Mauritius, Indian Ocean
Age of European Discovery,
Exploration, and Colonization
1492 - 1771:
 Bartholomew Dias (Portugal), 1488 - rounds Cape of
Good Hope
 Columbus, 1492 (Spanish/Italian) - first of four
voyages to “New World”
 Vasco De Gama (Portugal), 1498 - reaches India
 Magellan (Portugal), 1519 - First Circumnavigation
 James Cook (England), 1768-1771 - voyages in
Pacific / Polynesia; end of era of Discovery
The geographical knowledge acquired was
crucial to the expansion of European political
and economic power in the 16th Century.
Captain James Cook
Industrial Revolution
1733, First Cotton Mill opens in England
1793, Eli Whitney invents cotton ‘gin
1800, steam engines become common
(steamboats, locomotives)
1837, Morse and two Brits, independent
of Morse ) invent telegraph
1908, Henry Ford delivers first Model T
1945, First Atomic bomb dropped on
Hiroshima
Geographic Effects? Migrations? Land use?
Global Communications and
Transportation Revolution
Technology:
 Containerization of Cargo (1950s)
 Inexpensive International Air Transport
(1960s - present)
 Internet and earlier Arpanet (1960s)
 Personal Computer (1980s)
 Satellite Communications (1990s)
Geographic Effects?
World
Population
Clock
Human Population
Growth
Globalization
• The increasing
interconnectedness of
different parts of the
world through common
processes of economic,
political, and cultural
change. The economic,
cultural, and
environmental effects
of globalization are
highly contested.
Panama, 1997
Revenues
Name
USA
in billion US$
Year
Transnational
Corporations
1,722.00
1998
Germany
977
1998
Italy
559
1998
487.7
1998
Japan
407
1998
France
222
1998
Netherlands
163
1998
General Motors
161.3
1999
Daimler Chrysler
154.6
1999
151
1998
Ford Motor
144.4
1999
Wal-Mart Stores
139.2
1999
Canada
121.3
1998
113
1998
Some other countries:
Sweden
109.4
1998
Argentina
Mitsubishi
107.1
1999
General Electrics
100.5
South Korea
Toyota Motor
UK
Brazil
Spain
• These companies
conduct business in
many countries, moving
products and capital
rapidly across national
borders.
56
1998
India
42.1
1998
1999
Switzerland
32.7
1998
100.4
99.7
1998
1999
Saudi Arabia
32.3
1998
Sierra Leone
1
1998
Royal Dutch / Shell Group
93.7
1999
Angola
0.9
1998
Australia
90.7
1998
Haiti
0.3
1998
Sumitomo
89.0
1999
Armenia
0.3
1998
IBM
81.7
1999
End of
Slides