8000 B.C.E. – 600 C.E.

Human Environment Interaction
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Beginning of the period: 8000 B.C.E.
hunting/gathering, people travelled small distances on foot
Agriculture begins around 8000B.C.E. (mostly by accident/experimental)
Stone Age: tools made of stone, bone, wood
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Paleolithic everything until 8000 B.C.E.
Neolithic associated with agriculture from 8000 B.C.E. until 2000 B.C.E.
About 8000 B.C.E. people started raising domesticated plants and animals
Very little disease
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End of the period: 600 C.E.
Agriculture main food source
Tools/technology: irrigation, metallurgy, writing, large ocean-going vessels, vehicles with wheels
Diseases widespread (plague, smallpox)

Human Environment Interaction
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Key Continuities
A fair amount of people still hunting/gathering/nomadic in certain areas
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R: in some parts of the world (far north-Siberia) and for some people
(nomads in central Asia) the climate didn’t allow for agriculture/culture preferred it
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Agriculture is used in some form
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R: it was a more efficient form of food production than hunting/gathering, raised population faster, longer life expectancy, more stable source of food

Human Environment Interaction
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Key Changes
Agriculture became the main food source/employment
 R: People who practiced agriculture had more free time than hunter/gatherers—specialized jobs led to better weapons, stronger people, creativity—and ultimately the ability to conquer neighboring people
People lived in larger groups in cities
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R: See above—specialization of jobs meant not everyone needed to work in agriculture, some could live inside the city to provide protection for the farms, make weapons, run the government, etc.
Diseases were more prominent
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R: Migration and people living in close proximity to animals because of agriculture

Culture
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Beginning of the period: 8000 B.C.E.
Religion: mostly polytheistic or animist (everything has a soul, worship nature, etc.)
Art: cave paintings
Architecture: very little; houses were temporary structures for hunter/gatherers or if agriculture was practiced, using readily available materials
Language: unknown, probably Indo-European
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End of the period: 600 C.E.
Religion: Most major monotheistic religions created (Judaism,
Christianity, Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism)
Art: mostly religious in nature, esp. Christianity
Architecture: cities meant bigger buildings for government and religion (churches, monasteries, temples, pyramids)

Culture
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Key Continuities
Some polytheistic religions remained (Africa, ancestor worship in
China, Hinduism, Mesoamerica)
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R: these cultures kept their polytheistic religions, often in the absence of learning about one of the major monotheistic religions—many would turn to Christianity or Islam later
Art was still a way to reflect what people valued—whether that was hunting images in caves or paintings of Mary with Jesus
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Leisure time because of agriculture allowed some to do art
Architecture still small dwellings for living, some monuments for government and religion
 Both cities and hunter/gatherers created dwellings and religious monuments, though they differed in their size, complexity, and function

Culture
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Key Changes
Religion: Most people belonged to a monotheistic religion
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R: The main monotheisms had been created, and offered good explanations for life, suffering, and redemption. Religion began to play a larger role in politics (sometimes the King and deity were the same thing or closely related—Egypt, China)
Art now reflects religion more than anything else
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R: religion played an increasingly important role in people’s lives, it was more commonly displayed rather than in caves
Architecture: Larger structures, many with religious significance, used in cities for dominance
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R: More cities with government infrastructure, large temples, churches, etc.
Language: many languages now
 R: Babel? People in isolation developed their own, dialects formed as people migrated more

Politics
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Beginning of the period: 8000 B.C.E.
People lived in small communities, sometimes agricultural
Fighting between nomadic groups was probably over land domination for access to animal herds
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End of the period: 600 C.E.
People lived in both cities and as farmers outside of them
Large empires dominated with various forms of government: king, emperor, etc. nearly all were “monarchy” types
Religion and politics closely related (China, Roman Empire, Africa, etc.)
Fighting between empires was about land, obtaining slaves from conquered peoples, defending agricultural areas outside of cities
Main empires: Gupta (India), Rome (Europe)

Politics
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Key Continuities
People still lived mostly in small agricultural communities
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R: Though cities had grown in importance, and many agricultural communities relied on city protection, agriculture remained the main economic activity of food production
Fighting among groups still based largely on land acquisition
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R: Because agriculture still main food source
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Key Changes
Cities grew in importance, so government structures were created to rule them
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R: Agriculture produced food, government organized its distribution, created laws and enforce them, settled disputes, and protected the agricultural outskirts of the city. Large empires dominated
Conflicts between empires included slave acquisition and bigger weapons
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R: Religion was a part of politics now, defense of agricultural land
Large empires like Rome, Han existed

Economics
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Beginning of the period: 8000 B.C.E.
Hunting/gathering and agriculture main sources of food
Little evidence of interaction between groups/little trading
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End of the period: 600 C.E.
Some hunting/gathering, mostly agriculture as source of food
A lot of trading—overland routes: Silk Road and Trans-Saharan trade, Indian Ocean Trade linked Asia, Africa, and Europe
Bartering and coin use for economic exchanges
Luxury goods from far away places were desired by upper classes (silk from China, spices from India & islands, exotic animals from Africa, etc.)

Economics
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Key Continuities
Hunting/gathering and agriculture
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Key Changes
A lot more interaction among groups for economic reasons
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R: Trading increased as people became more sedentary, living in cities.
Once people became aware of resources other areas had, they desired to obtain them through peaceful trade
Monetary system created
 R: Although a common currency was not found, sometimes coins were used because it allowed for fair trading in the absence of desirable goods
Luxury goods were traded
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R: As people settled and then travelled for trade, they encountered specialized products around the world—fads grew in upper classes

Social
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Beginning of the period: 8000 B.C.E.
Men in hunter/gather societies hunted large game and took care of animals, women gathered food and took care of families—generally equal roles
No real ethnicities, racial problems, or economic classes
End of the period: 600 C.E.
In agricultural communities, men worked the land, women often stayed with the families and took care of homes and small garden farming—women lost status by this time
In cities, men had more freedom and civil rights. Generally women could not inherit land or property, could not divorce or make legal decisions
Ethnic/cultural differences abound in separate empires
Economic classes form as a result of cities

Social
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Key Continuities
Men and women still play work/family roles
 R: Women still have the babies and are still the more nurturing gender.
As economics changed, women still needed to be around the house and fell into an antiquated role in modern circumstances

Social
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Key Changes
Women lost status
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R: Moving from hunting/gathering to agriculture/cities meant women still stayed with kids, but did not participate as much in the “work” of the economy; gradually lost equality
Social classes formed
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R: With the specialization of tasks in cities and the advancement of agriculture outside of them, and with the formation of governments, ruling classes were formed. They could afford more privileges than those economically beneath them. Religious classes often became wealthier as well, depending on the society. (India: Caste system;
Rome: Emperor; China: religion/leading class were one; Americas: leadership wealthy, large lower class)
R: With the evolution of trade, a merchant class formed
* Note: No middle class yet.