NAME _____________________________________ DATE _______________________ PERIOD _____
WORLD HISTORY \ GIFTED
CLASS NOTES \ CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION TO HISTORY (PART 1)
A. WHAT IS HISTORY?
 HISTORY → the study of people and events of the past
 Through the use of evidence, history explores the way things change and the way they stay
the same; explains why things are the way they are
B. WHAT DOES AN HISTORIAN DO?
 Historians study history, examining causes or reasons that something happened in the past;
also look for effects or results of the event → CAUSE AND EFFECT
 Questions historians ask → What happened? Why did it happen? How did things change? How
has it influenced today? What would have happened if…?
C. PERIODS OF HISTORY
 Historians measure and label time in different ways, such as:
— DECADE = 10 years
— CENTURY = 100 years
— MILLENIUM = 10 centuries or 1,000 years
— ERA = large blocks of time (e.g., a few thousand years)
 Major ERAS include:
— PRE-HISTORY → time before writing was developed
— ANCIENT HISTORY → time period beginning with invention of writing approximately
5,500 years ago
— MIDDLE AGES (or MEDIEVAL ERA) → time period between A.D. 500 and A.D. 1400
(approximately)
— MODERN HISTORY → time period beginning about A.D. 1400 through present day
— Example American Revolution
D. CALENDARS
 CALENDAR → system for arranging days in order; approximately 40 different calendars have
been developed by cultures around the world
 JULIAN CALENDAR → calendar developed by Roman general and statesman JULIUS CAESAR in
46 B.C.; used through A.D. 1582
— Julian calendar divided year into 12 months that alternated from 30 to 31 days, except
February, which had 28 → every four years, however, February was 29 days long
— Julian calendar was approximately 11 minutes out of sync with solar year
SOLAR YEAR = length of time for earth to complete one revolution
around sun, or 365 DAYS, 5 HOURS, and 48 MINUTES)
 GREGORIAN CALENDAR → calendar IN USE TODAY in almost all of the world; all modern
business (worldwide) uses its dates
— POPE GREGORY XIII (catholic pope) established calendar in 1582 → purpose was to
correct Julian calendar, which was off by approximately 10 days at the time
— Like Julian calendar, Gregorian calendar accounts for additional ¼ of a day
(approximately six hours) of solar year by adding one day to February every four years
→ LEAP YEAR
— Because Julian calendar was out of sync with solar year by 11 minutes, Gregorian
calendar featured following adjustment:
Years marking a century (e.g., 1700, 1800, 1900) would NOT BE LEAP YEARS
unless divisible by 400 (e.g., 1600, 2000)
— Gregorian calendar begins counting with birth of Jesus (YEAR ONE); years before and
after birth of Christ are denoted as follows:

B.C. = “Before Christ”

A.D. = “Anno Domini” (“In the Year of Our Lord”)
— Gregorian calendar features no YEAR ZERO → year before A.D. 1 is 1 B.C.
To date events BEFORE birth of Christ, historians count BACKWARDS; to date
events AFTER birth of Christ, historians count FORWARDS
435 BC
185 BC
AD 225
AD 555 (example of Chronological order)
— Historians who prefer to avoid religious references with regard to calendar use the
following:

B.C.E. = “Before Common Era” (replaces B.C.)

C.E. = “Common Era” (replaced A.D.)
— Although most of the world uses Gregorian calendar, some cultures maintain their own
(e.g., Jewish calendar begins in year 3760 B.C.; Muslim calendar begins in year A.D. 622)
E. TIMELINES
TIMELINES → another method of tracking passage of time; show order of events within a
period of time and amount of time between events; help make sense of events
Dates on a timeline are usually evenly spaced; if a timeline covers too much time, a
jagged line might be placed to show that a certain period of time was omitted (kept
out)
F. STUDYING EARLY HISTORY
Much of the study of early history, particularly pre-history, involves use of science to examine
PHYSICAL EVIDENCE left behind by our ancestors
— PALEONTOLOGY → study of fossils of animals, plants, and other organisms to learn
what world was like in pre-historic times (more than 5,500 years ago)
FOSSILS = remains of plant and animal life buried and preserved in earth
or rock
Fossil record shows that living things formed and developed over time through
EVOLUTION
— ARCHAEOLOGY → study of the remains (i.e., what’s been left behind) of past human
cultures

Archaeology is chief method available for learning about societies that existed
BEFORE INVENTION OF WRITING about 5,500 years ago; also adds to our
knowledge of ancient societies that left WRITTEN RECORDS

Archaeologists excavate (i.e., dig) earth in places where people once lived →
they study ARTIFACTS to learn what life was like in the past, while also
examining disturbances (i.e., changes) to natural surroundings to indicate type
of activities human engaged in
ARTIFACTS = objects made by people (e.g., pottery, tools, weapons,
jewelry) for a particular purpose and from a particular period of time

Archaeologists also examine why major changes occurred in certain cultures →
e.g., why ancient people stopped hunting and started farming
— ANTHROPOLOGY = study of humankind, past and present; more specifically, study of
human CULTURE, or strategies that people learn(ed) and share(d) as members of a
society or social group
Archaeology is considered a branch of anthropology
G. ORIGINS OF HUMANS
 Scientists believe HUMANS (HOMO SAPIENS) developed 150,000 to 195,000 years ago
HOMO SAPIENS = “WISE MAN”
 Oldest fossils discovered of ANCESTORS TO HUMANS are those of hominids (humanlike
creatures) given the names ARDI (4.4 million years old) and LUCY (3.2 million years old)