Global History Chapter 1

HUMAN ORIGINS Where did people come from?

Biblical Interpretation Genesis 1:27 God created man in his image; In the divine image he created him; Male and female he created them.

Charles Darwin (1809 – 1882)

Darwin Charles Darwin was an English naturalist, eminent as a collector and geologist, who proposed that all species of life have evolved over time from common ancestors through the process he called natural selection and mutation. The fact that evolution occurs became accepted by the scientific community in his lifetime, while his theory of natural selection came to be widely seen as the primary explanation of the process of evolution in the 1930’s and now forms the basis of modern evolutionary theory..

Darwin His 1859 book, ”On the Origin of Species” established evolution by common descent as the dominant scientific explanation of diversification in nature. There are assumptions and gaps in this naturalistic view beginning with the concept that life began as a result of spontaneous generation and from that point the development of single cell organisms eventually evolved into all the forms of life that are present today. There are assumptions and gaps in this naturalistic view beginning with the concept that life began as a result of spontaneous generation and from that point the development of single cell organisms eventually evolved into all the forms of life that are present today.

Early Human Migration

Human Evolution Chart

Human Evolutionary Chart 2 Human evolutionary chart published in 1931

Piltdown Man

Picture of Piltdown Man from a textbook published in 1922.

The Paleolithic Age and The Neolithic Age

The Paleolithic Age or Old Stone Age lasted from about 2.5 million to 8000 BC. The oldest stone tools date back to this era.

The Neolithic Age or New Stone Age lasted from about 8000 to 3000 BC. It was during this era that people began to make pottery, grow crops and domesticate animals.

Agricultural Revolution Domestication of animals Growth of villages and towns Steady source of food

Agricultural Revolution Invention of new tools Increased Population Civilization develops

5 Characteristics of Civilization Advanced cities Specialized workers Complex Institutions Record Keeping Advanced Technology

Advanced cities An advanced city is one which is the center of trade for a larger area. Farmers and traders bring goods to markets in the cities. City dwellers produce a variety of goods for exchange.

Specialized Workers As cities grow there is a need for more specialized workers such as government officials, artisans and religious figures. An abundant food supply would allow some people to become expert at jobs other than farming.

Complex Institutions Increased populations made government, a system of ruling, necessary. Laws need to be establish for order to be maintained. An economic system needs to be established and a religion becomes a formal institution.

Record Keeping As institutions become more complex, a system of writing needs to be developed because keeping records becomes necessary. Laws, economic records, tax collection, religious rituals need to be recorded.

Advanced Technology As the agricultural revolution expanded and civilizations grew, new tools and techniques were required. Plows and irrigation systems were developed. Potter’s wheels began to produce plates, jugs and bowls. People began to work with metals such as bronze and copper to make weapons and tools.

THE END