The Paleolithic and Neolithic Eras AP World History Chapter One Ms. Tully

The Emergence of Humankind Hominids – 2-2.5 mil years – Eastern & Southern Africa  Bipedalism Larger brains – Tools – Meat Homo Erectus Homo Sapiens – 250,000 years ago  Modern Humans Uniqueness of humans  pros and cons?

The Paleolithic Era (2.5 Million BCE – 10,000 BCE) Hunting & foraging societies Development of belief systems & culture Development of technology Peopling of the Earth  

The Spread of Human Populations Where did the human species originate from? In what part of the world are the most “sites” of humans?

The Beginning of Agriculture and the Neolithic Revolution End of the Ice Age Domestication of plants and animals New way of interacting with the environment New mutual dependence Slow “revolution”

Consequences of the Neolithic Revolution Permanent settlements & population growth Greater wealth  specializations New technologies  Iron & Bronze Ages Environmental transformations Beginning of inequality Globalization of Agriculture  diffusion & colonization

The Spread of Agriculture Where are the core areas of agriculture? Where did specialty agriculture originate from?

Catal Huyuk Neolithic settlement in Anatolia Irrigation & defense  villages Larger village w/ connected homes

Defining Civilization Civilization  Based on Latin term for city Economic surpluses Division of labor Social hierarchy  social inequalities

Defining Civilization Formal political organization Continued technological development Writing, intellectual thought, artistic expression

Does the history of civilizations include everyone? Is “civilization” a synonym for “good”? Have civilizations been beneficial to humans and/or the environment?

Mesopotamia – The Birth of Civilization “Land Between the Rivers”  Fertile Crescent By 4000 BCE  wheel, bronze & copper metallurgy By 3500 BCE  Sumerians developed cuneiform (writing)

Mesopotamia – The Birth of Civilization Ziggurats  massive towers  Ishtar Organized by city-states  Babylon, Ur, Uruk Sumerians  Akkadians  Babylonians

Egyptian Civilization – The Gift of the Nile Developed along Nile River ca. 3000 BCE Unified state under at pharaoh Dynasty rule  Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, New Kingdom

Egyptian Civilization – The Gift of the Nile 3 distinct social classes Polytheistic belief system with emphasis on afterlife Writing system  Hieroglyphics & cursive script Success in mathematics & science

Indus River Valley Civilization Two large cities by 2500 BCE  Harappa and Mohenjo Daro Evidence of strong ruling class Major trading centers Conservative and resistant to innovations Demise of Harappa  environmental changes, administrative decline, nomadic migrations

Early Civilization in China Civilization developed along Yellow River by 3000 BCE  Xia Dynasty 1500 BCE  Shang established kingdom Divine monarch w/ feudal system Emphasis on shamans/oracles  led to writing

New Societies in the Middle East River Valley Civs in decline by 1200 BCE Phoenicians  Levant, 1300 BCE Jews  Levant, 1200 BCE