THE BEGINNINGS OF CIVILIZATION

Chapter 1

New Suffixes for Years

Old way: Up to year 0: BC – Before Christ After year : AD – Anno Domini (year of our lord)

Poses problems when describing cultures whose culture/religion/lifestyle does not revolve around Christianity

New way: Everything after year O is considered “Common Era”

Up to year O: BCE –Before Common EraAfter year O: CE – Common Era

BC = BCEAD = CE

BCECE

WHERE DO WE COME FROM?HOW DID WE GET HERE?

HOW DO WE KNOW ??

Day One

Discovering the Past

ANTHROPOLOGY: The study of humanity PREHISTORIC: the

vast period of time before the development of writing

How do we learn about the past? From what is left

behind

How do we learn about the past?

Anthropologists Study FOSSILS: preserved

remains or imprints of living things

Study CULTURE: a society’s knowledge, art, beliefs, customs, values

Archaeologists Study human material

remains ARTIFACTS: objects that

people in the past made or used Coins, pottery, tools

The Nutcracker Man

Discovered in 1959 by Mary Leakey

1.75 million years oldHeavy jaw and large

teeth Thus: “Nutcracker Man”

HOMINID: humans and early humanlike beings that walked upright

Lucy

Discovered in 1974 by Donald JohansonPartial Australopithecine (HOMINID)

skeletonLived more than 3 million years ago4 ft tall, walked upright (based on joints)

Major advancement: hands free to use tools!

Mary Leakey’s most exciting find…

Mary Leakey later found hominid footprints preserved in hardened volcanic ash

WHY?3.5 m: oldest evidence

hominds walked upright

Most exciting find of her career

Homo habilis

Based on the fossil record, more advanced hominds began appearing about 3 million years ago

1959: Leakeys found a new species

Homo Habilis (Handy Man) More humanlike features Smaller teeth Hands better to grasp objects Learned to make crude stone tools

Homo erectus

“upright man”2 to 1.5 million years agoLarger brain than earlier hominidsMore skillful hunter More advanced tools

Ax Controlled fire

Cook food Provide heat, protection Live in colder climates

Homo sapiens

“wise man”Appeared 200,000 years agoSame species as us!Larger brains

Developed more sophisticatedtools and shelter

Create Fire Develop language

AUSTRALOPITHECINE – 4-5 MILLION YEARS AGO

HOMO HABILIS – 2.4 MILLION YEARS AGO

HOMO ERECTUS – 2 – 1.5 MILLION YEARS AGO

HOMO SAPIENS -- 200,000 AGO TO PRESENT

SPREADING AROUND THE WORLD

1.6 million years ago, the world began experiencing long periods of freezing weather called the “Ice Ages” World cycled between

colder and warmer periods

Huge glaciers advanced and retreated

Glaciers advanced: ocean levels fell Bering Strait was an

exposed land bridge

Out of Africa

Homo erectus was first hominid to migrate out of Africa Fossils have been found in Asia

and EuropeWent to Southwest Asia, then

Southern Asia, AustraliaLonger to reach Europe because

of Mountains and Colder climatesDisagreement on when first

people reached AmericasBy at least 9000 BCE humans

spread to all continents

Adapting to New Environments

Adaption to new environments caused humans to develop the genetic variety that exists today

Body shapeSkin colorEating habitsHow do we adapt today?

What adaptations have you made today, this month, this year? How have we as a culture adapted? The world?

WHAT WAS LIFE LIKE DURING THE STONE AGE?

HOW DO WE KNOW??

Day 2

PALEOLITHIC ERA

PALEOLITHIC ERA: Old Stone AgeFirst Humans lived during this time

Made tools mostly from stone2.5 million years ago – 10,000 years ago

Stone Age Art – What does it say?

Stone Age People

NOMADS: people who moved from place to place as they followed migrating animal herds Lived in small bands, or groups Took cover in rock overhangs and caves

HUNTER-GATHERERS: people who hunted, fished, and gathered wild plants, berries, nuts and other foods Men hunted Women collected plants and cared for children Each role was important: men and women equal

“Stone Age” Technology

Why is it called the Stone Age?First tools made of chipped stonesOver time, people learned to make better tools

out of wood and bone as well as stone Spears allowed hunters to stand farther away from prey,

which was saferLater Stone Age people learned to make string

from plant fibers and animal sinew Nets used to fish and capture small animals Other new tools: bow and arrow, bone hooks, fishing

spears, canoes

“Stone Age” Fashion and Shelter

In colder regions, people learned to make needles from bone and used needles to sew together animal skins for clothing

Over time, skins used for shoes, hats, carrying sacks

Also learned to build shelters Pit houses: pits dug into the ground and covered

with roofs of branches and leaves Some made frames from wood, others from

mammoth bones

Stone Age Peoples

SOCIETY: community of people who share a common CULTURE

Stone Age Societies developed cultures that included language, art, and spiritual beliefs

ANIMISM: belief that all things in nature have spirits Dead buried with food and

objects belief in afterlife?

Lascaux Cave, France

Cave Art

Scholars aren’t certain what purpose early art servedRepresenting the world as they saw it?Used art to chronicle hunts?To teach hunting skills?Record movement of sun, moon, stars,

planets?Honor animal spirits?

Study Groups:

Create “cave art” that reflects your culture Group’s culture AG culture American culture Teen culture, etc

What is important, valued, in your culture?What would your drawings tell

anthropologists about you 10,000 years from now?

HOW DID AGRICULTURE DEVELOP?HOW DID AGRICULTURE CHANGE THE

WORLD?HOW DO WE KNOW??

Day 3

New Stone Age

NEOLITHIC ERA: New Stone AgeMore sophisticated tools8000 BCE – 3000 BCE People learned to polish and grind

stones to shape tools with sharper edges Specialized tools: chisels, drills, saws

Development of Agriculture

NEOLITHIC REVOLUTION

Nomads farmingDevelopment of agriculture is one of the

most important turning points in human history Radically changed how people lived Thus the “NEOLITHIC REVOLUTION”

10000 years ago warming trend ended the last Ice Age Sea levels rose Ice Age plants & animals died, new species

appeared Barley and wheat

AGRICULTURE

Gathering new plants new plants grew where seeds fell

Experimentation farmingDOMESTICATION: selective growing or

breeding of plants and animals to make them more useful for humans First domesticated animal: dogs Livestock provided more stable supply of meat,

milk, skins and wool Larger animals used to pull heavy loads and helped

with farming

AGRICULTURE

Agriculture changed Stone Age societies dramatically Population grew significantly PASTORALISTS: people who ranged over wide

areas and kept herds of livestock on which they depended for food and other items

People gave up nomadic lifestyle and formed settlements People could farm and pool labor and resources Lived close together in houses made of mud bricks

The development of Agriculture

Effects of Agriculture

New toolsNew plantsDomesticationPastoralists

Box 1:Populations grew

Villages, towns builtHunting/gathering

tending fields and livestock

Extra time specialization and craftsmanship (pottery)

Increased trade

You tell me…

Box 2: Social Stratification

Agriculture and trade made societies more complex and prosperous

Differences in social status began to emerge

Some rose to positions of authority, overseeing planting and harvesting Men performed the heavier

work in farming, and held positions of authority

Men began to gain dominance and status over women in agricultural societies

Box 3: Religion and Warfare

Religion began to become more formalized in agricultural societies Began to construct structures for religious

purposes MEGALITHS: European Neolithic monuments

made of stones for burial and spiritual purposesWarfare increased as societies began to

fight over land and resourcesMore dependence on farming = more

affected by crop failureDisease increased as people lived close

together

Box 4: New Technologies

Farmers developed hoes and hand tools for planting

6000 BCE: animals pull plows Farmers could till larger areas to produce more crops

Pestles and grindstones Prepare grains

Pottery Cooking, storing grains, oils, and water,

Metals: Copper, then bronze (mix of copper and tin) Stone Age gave way to the BRONZE AGE IN 3000 BCE

ÇATAL HÜYÜK & ÖTZI!

How Do we Know?

Çatal Hüyük

Neolithic village located in present day Turkey

More than 30 acresPeople grew crops (barley, peas, wheat)

around villageRaised sheep, goats, wild cattleTraded with people from as far away as Red

SeaHouses built close together

Entered through rooves Religious shrines with bodies buried underneath floor Interior walls covered with colorful paintings

Ötzi the Iceman

1991: hikers in Italian Alps found a frozen male body preserved by cold, icy conditions

5,300 years old: from Neolithic EraOutfit from 3 types of animal skins stitched

togetherLeather shoes padded with grassWoven grass cape, fur hat, back packDeerskin quiver with arrows, flint dagger, and ax

with copper bladeWare on front teeth suggest diet including coarse

grainsArrowhead in shoulder suggests he was murdered

CIVILIZATION ACTIVITYLET’S EXPERIMENT WITH HOW

AGRICULTURE CHANGED SOCIETIES.

Day 4

HOW DID ADVANCEMENTS IN AGRICULTURE CREATE THE FIRST

CIVILIZATIONS?

Day 5

ADVANCES IN FARMING

IRRIGATION SYSTEMS: Network of canals or ditches that

links fields of crops to nearby streams or to storage basins of water

Enable early people to farm more land and to farm in drier conditions

Could plant more crops, produce more food

SURPLUS: EXCESS OF FOOD

villages could support larger populations

Changing Economies

Because irrigation made farmers more productive, fewer people needed to farmSome people were able to work full

time jobs other than farmingMaking tools/weapons, weavers,

potters, religious leadersDIVISION OF LABOR: economic

arrangement in which each worker specializes in a particular task or job

Villages grow to Cities

First cities More densely populated More diverse populations More formal organization

Defined center Palaces Temples Monuments Government buildings Defensive walls

Served as center of trade

First Civilizations form from Cities

CIVILIZATION: COMPLEX AND ORGANIZED SOCIETY Arose in fertile river valleys

Tigris & Euphrates in ME Nile in Africa Indus in South Asia Huang He in China

Rivers flooded annually, leaving mineral-rich silt Valleys had fertile land to support growing pop. Civilizations differed, but they all had

Developed cities Organized government, Formalized Religion

Specialization of labor, social classes, record keeping, Arts

Changes in Civilizations

Environmental Influences Storms, floods, food shortages

Spread of People and Ideas CULTURAL DIFFUSION: SPREAD OF

IDEAS, BELIEFS, CUSTOMS, TECHNOLOGY FROM ONE CULTURE TO ANOTHER

Expansion and Warfare Conflicts over land, water, resources led to war Through conquest civilizations expanded

control Developed into states and kingdoms