UNIT 2 AGES OF HISTORY

In previous classes it was stated that history may be divided in a chronological manner, in other words through periods and ages in a timeline. History thus is divided in: Prehistory Human history

PREHISTORY, is a term used to describe the period before recorded history. This age of time goes from the appearance of the human being until the emerge of the writing process. There is a periodization of this Age of History which can be define in a Three-Age System, that consist in a three consecutive time periods.

PREHISTORY: Three Age System Each age on this system is named for their respective predominant tool-making technologies Stone Age Bronze Age Iron Age.

PREHISTORY: Stone Age The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric time period during which humans widely used stone for tool-making. It is the first age in the three-age system and its subdivisions consist into the periods Paleolithic Mesolithic Neolithic ETHIMOLOGY Lithic: Stone Paleo: Old Meso: Middle Neo: New/ Recent

PREHISTORY: Stone Age, Paleolithic era It is the era in which the stone tools were started to be developed. It covers about 99% of human history. Starting with the introduction of stone tools by the Homo Habilis about 2.6 million years ago, to the introduction of agriculture around 10,000 BC. It ended with the Mesolithic era. During this era, humans grouped together in small scale societies denominated as “hunters and gatherers” because they based their subsistence in gathering plants and hunting wild animals to survive.

PREHISTORY: Stone Age, Paleolithic era Paleolithic humans were characterize by the use of knapped stone tools, although other kind of materials (wood and bone) were used but in a minor grade. During the mid period of this era, humans develop the ability of adapting leather and vegetable fiber as clothing.

PREHISTORY: Stone Age, Paleolithic era During the end of the Paleolithic specifically the Middle and or Upper Paleolithic humans began to produce the earliest works of art and engage in religious and spiritual behavior such as burial and ritual. The climate during the Paleolithic consisted of a set of glacial and interglacial periods in which the climate periodically fluctuated between warm and cool temperatures.

PREHISTORY: Stone Age, Mesolithic era This period started at the end of the last ice age, 10,000 years ago. It consisted on a lapse about 4,000 years. Mesolithic era was characterized by rising sea levels and a need of adaptation by human being to the constant environmental changes.

PREHISTORY: Stone Age, Mesolithic era Stone tools were used such as the period before, however the tools then permitted more efficient hunting. In addition, complex settlements were set, fishing techniques were developed and probably domestication of the dog as a hunting companion dates to this period.

PREHISTORY: Stone Age, Neolothic era This era was characterized by the adoption of agriculture and the development of clay pottery and polished stone tools. In addition the Neolithic human need no more migration, settling down for longer periods.

PREHISTORY: Stone Age, Neolothic era The first Neolithic cultures started around 7000 BC, spreading culture and agriculture from North-African regions to the Mediterranean, Indus valleys, China and Southeast Asia. The first large scale constructions were built, including towers, walls, ceremonial sites, and others.

PREHISTORY: Bronze Age The term Bronze Age refers to a period in human cultural development when the most advanced metalworking with bronze included different techniques, either natural or human-casted. The place and time of the invention of bronze are debated, thus pre-historians debate the origins of this age around 4,500 to 2,500 BC.

PREHISTORY: Bronze Age The Bronze Age was a time of heavy use of metals in tools, pottery, weapons, etc and of developing trade networks. The earliest cultures arose from the spread of these metalworking techniques to Europe, Central and South Africa, China and Central Asia. Civilizations such as Mesopotamia, Egypt, Caucasian and Persian were highly affected in its development.

PREHISTORY: Iron Age This age is the last principal period of the Prehistory, preceded by the Bronze and Stone Ages. Its dates and context vary depending on the geographical region but classically is taken to begin around 1500 BC. It consisted in cutting tools and weapons mainly made of iron or steel.

PREHISTORY: Iron Age The adoption of this material coincided with many other changes in society such as agricultural practices, religious beliefs and artistic styles. The Iron Age in each area ended with the beginning of the historical period; this means the beginning of the written process.

PREHISTORY: Auxiliary Sciences Anthropology Archaeology Genetics Geology Linguistics Arts Paleontology Biology

HUMAN HISTORY The Human History is the recorded memory of the experience of Homo sapiens. It begins with the invention, independently at several sites on Earth, of writing, which created the infrastructure for lasting, accurately transmitted memories and thus for the diffusion and growth of knowledge.

HUMAN HISTORY Human history may divide in different periods of time: Old ages or antiquity Middle ages (early-low and high) Modern age Contemporary era

HUMAN HISTORY: Antiquity This period studies the written past from the beginning of recorded human history in the Old World to the Early Middle Ages in Europe. The date goes around 30th century BC with Cuneiform Script, the oldest discovered form of writing. Classically, Antiquity is often used to study to history since the beginning of recorded Greek history in 776 BC (First Olympiad), which coincides with the traditional date of the founding of Rome in 753 BC, and the founding of the Persian dynasty in 705 BC.

HUMAN HISTORY: Antiquity The ending of this period is disputed, whether it ends with the fall of the Roman Empire, the death of emperor Justinian I, the coming of Islam or the rise of Charlesmagne. We will study it ends with the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 AD.

HUMAN HISTORY: Limestones in Antiquity 776 BC: First Olympiads in Ancient Greek 753 BC: Founding of Rome (traditional date) 653 BC: Rise of Persian Empire 551 BC: Confucius, founder of Confucianism, is born 539 BC: The Fall of the Babylonian Empire and liberation of the Jews by Cyrus the Great 460 BC: First Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta 447 BC: Building of the Parthenon at Athens started 385 BC: The Greek philosopher Plato, a former disciple of Socrates, founds a philosophical school at the Akademia in Athens—later famously known as the Academy. There, Plato, and the later heads of the school, called scholarchs, taught many of the brilliant minds of the day, including the famous Greek philosopher Aristotle

HUMAN HISTORY: Limestones in Antiquity 323 BC: Death of Alexander the Great at Babylon 221 BC: Qin Shi Huang unifies China, and orders the construction of the Great Wall. 202 BC: Han Dynasty established in China, after the death of Qin Shi Huang; China started to open trading connections with the West (i.e. the Silk Road) 146 BC: Roman conquest of Greece 49 BC: Roman Civil War between Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great 44 BC: Julius Caesar murdered by Marcus Brutus and others; End of Roman Republic; beginning of Roman Empire 0 AD: Date for birth of Jesus of Nazareth 34: Crucifixion of Jesus Christ. 68: Year of the four emperors in Rome 70: Destruction of Jerusalem by the armies of Titus.

HUMAN HISTORY: Limestones in Antiquity 117: Roman Empire at largest extent under Emperor Trajan 220: Three Kingdoms period begins in China after the fall of Han Dynasty. 285: Emperor Diocletian splits the Roman Empire into Eastern and Western Empires 476: Romulus Augustus, last Western Roman Emperor is forced to abdicate by Odoacer, traditionally, the most frequently cited date for the end of the Roman Empire (although the Eastern Roman Empire, based in Constantinople, would still continue to exist until 1453)