 The study of human history has been around for a long time- the earliest being almost 4 million years ago until present day  Scientists have developed many ways to search and study humans past and present  Written documents  Archeological digs  Human remains and fossils  Artifacts: human-made objects such as tools and jewelry  Stories  Art: paintings, sculptures, pottery, cave paintings…  Clothing  Religious texts

 Culture: people’s unique way of life that results from bands of humans living near one another that start to develop shared ways of doing things: common ways of dressing, similar hunting practices. Common PracticesShared UnderstandingsSocial Organization What people eat Clothing and adornment Sports Tools and technology Social customs Work Language Symbols Religious beliefs Values The arts Political beliefs Family Class and caste structure Relationships between individuals and community Government Economic system View of authority

Government Religious Institutions School Workplace Media Family Friends Learning through direct teaching And observation and then imitation

 By about 40,000 years ago, humans developed new technology, artistic skills, and in agriculture that allowed them to enhance their way of life

 Early humans were nomads: highly mobile people who moved from place to place foraging, or searching, for new sources of food  They were known as hunter- gatherers: nomadic group whose food supply depends on hunting animals and collecting plant foods  Men hunted  Women gathered fruits, berries, roots, and grasses  Increased food supplies by:  Making  hand crated spears that killed game at greater distances  Digging sticks that helped ply pants loose at the roots

 By accident women discovered farming and started the Neolithic Revolution: the agricultural revolution and shifted humans from food-gathering to food-producing cultures Causes of the agricultural revolution Early farming methodsDomestication of animals Rising temperatures provided longer growing seasons and drier lands Rising populations meant need for new food sources Provided steady source of food Slash-and-burn farming: they cut trees or grasses and burned them to clear a field and the ashes would fertilize the soil Hunters used their knowledge for the domestication, or taming of animals [horses, dogs, goats, and pigs] Drove herds near human settlements and used them as a constant source of food

 Within a few thousand years, people in many regions around the world started to farm, especially around fertile river valleys  Africa: along the Nile River Valley and they grew wheat, barley, and other crops  China: along the Huang He River (Yellow River) and they grew a grain called millet and rice  Mexico and Central America: farmers cultivated corn, beans, and squash  Peru: first to grow tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and white potatoes

 Agriculture meant that people could live in larger, more organized communities such as farming villages and towns.. From these, cities emerges until they became great civilizations #1 Agriculture and domestication lead to #2 New technologies such as hoes, sickles and plow sticks which made farming easier and #3 They could now better control the environment and reap larger harvests #4 Larger harvest meant largest populations #5 Larger populations meant rise of CIVILIZATIONS Civilization: defined as a complex culture with five characteristics: 1.Advanced cities 2.Specialized workers 3.Complex institutions 4.Record keeping 5.Advanced technology

Look at page 112 of the WH book

Detailed DescriptionCase Study: Examples from Ur in Sumer Advanced cities Specialized workers Complex institutions Record keeping Improved technology Page Title: Characteristics of Civilizations

Interaction between humans and the Environment Development and Interaction of Cultures State-Building, Expansion, and Conflict Creation, Expansion, and Interaction of Economic Systems Development and Transformation of Social Structures #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 Page title: THEMES: Civilizations/Ur