A History of Human Civilization Jeff Feasel 17 Feb 2006

What we’ll learn Brief overview of human history. What does the archeological record show? Discuss which factors contributed to human civilization.

When Did Human History Happen? [See Timeline] 200,000 BC: Split from all other Homonid species 100,000 BC: Anatomically Modern Humans as shown by fossil bones 50,000 BC: Cro-Magnons (“Mentally Modern”) as shown by archaeology 8,000 BC: First signs of settled life 4,000 BC: Written record begins We know this from archaeology, genetic dating, written records. Early man tree diagram?

Ice Core Sample

Early Migration of Humans

Early Migration of Humans [See Migration Map] Long before the last Ice Age, people were already spread out through most of Eurasia, Africa, and Australia. Lived as hunter gatherers. No evidence of farming/herding before Holocene.

Arriving in The New World “Clovis” people Broke from Mongoloid population living in Siberia. Already adapted to arctic conditions Entered North/South America via land-bridge on Bering Strait. Exact timing is known because of “airlock” effect. Tremendous boom! Spread from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego in less than 1000 years. Mass extinction of large land mammals Get the exact dates for the “airlock” effect of passage through alaska.

The Pace of Civilization 10,000 BC: End of last Ice Age Humans had reached every habitable area. Everyone has roughly the same lifestyle: hunter-gatherer. 1400-1600 AD: European Expansion Guns vs. Spears Why did civilization proceed so much faster in some parts of the world than in others? And what does this tell us about civilization?

Who Had What, and Why? Mesopotamia Egypt Indus River China Mesoamerica Andes hunter-gatherers: Southern Africa Australia / New Guinea Northern / Western Europe North Asia [See tables: Earliest Domestication of Animals/Plants]

Natural Resource: Animals [Table of Domesticated Animals] Uses?? food, clothing, hunting, transportation, traction [Necessary for domestication:] Pack behavior – dominance heirarchy Able to live in dense groups Willing to breed in captivity Usually herbivorous Usually relatively large (>50 lbs) (often the same animals you’d hunt) [No new animals domesticated until after the Industrial Revolution.] Compare New World to Old World. Why such an imbalance of useful domesticatable animals available? Luck-of-the-Draw or Mass Extinction Why weren’t Old World animals hunted to extinction?

Earliest Domestication of Animals Dog >15,000 BC Near-East? China? Sheep 8,000 BC Near-East Goat Pig China, Near-East Silkworm 7,500 BC China Cow 6,000 BC Near-East, India Cat Egypt Horse 4,000 BC Ukraine Donkey Water buffalo Turkey 3,500 BC Mesoamerica Llama/Alpaca Andes Guinea Pig Camel 2,500 BC Central Asia, Arabia Chicken 1,000 BC Pacific Asia

Natural Resource: Plants [Table of Domesticated Plants] Grains and legumes form most of the human diet. (70% of calories come from cereal) [Necessary for domestication:] Fast-maturing Large-enough seeds or fruits Storable Not quite as imbalanced as animals, but still... Compare New World to Old World Why did some areas take to farming more than others? Climatic advantage. Incoming solar energy gradient. What are the “sweet-spots”? Band near, but not on, Equator. Which are suitable for GRASSES to grow?

Earliest Domestication of Plants Area Cereals/Grasses Legumes Tubers Near-East Wheat, Barley Pea, Lentil, Chickpea — West Africa Sorghum, Millet, Rice Cowpea, Groundnut Yam India [Wheat, Barley, Rice, Sorghum, Millet] Hyacinth bean, Black gram, Green gram Ethiopia Teff, Millet, [Wheat, Barley] [Pea, Lentil] China Millet, Rice Soybean, Adzuki bean, Mung bean Mesoamerica Corn Common bean, Tepary bean, Scarlet runner bean Jicama Andes Quinoa, [Corn] Common bean, Lima bean, Peanut Potato, Sweet Potato Mississippi Valley Maygrass, Barley, Knotweed, Goosefoot Artichoke Deleted: New Guinea Sugar cane — Yam, Taro [Bracketed crops were borrowed from other cultures]

The Effects of Geography Climate Migration of people. Diffusion (or stimulus diffusion) of domesticated plants/animals and technology.

So, what happened to the Native Americans when the Europeans came?

Putting it all together What is Civilization? What factors allow it to happen?

Factors Climate Geographical location Available domesticatable species Food production (animals, plants)  Surplus Sedentary Lifestyle Specialization Increased Population Density Germs & Immunity Infrastructure Exchange of ideas within culture across culture

Recommended Reading Cook, Michael. (2005) A Brief History of the Human Race. W. W. Norton and Company, New York. Diamond, Jared. (1997) Guns, Germs, and Steel. W. W. Norton and Company, New York. Diamond, Jared. (1992) The Third Chimpanzee. HarperCollins Publishers, New York.