1. Period 1 Prehistory – 600 BCE Review

2. Paleolithic vs. Neolithic
The Paleolithic Era (Old Stone Age) lasted 6+ million years ago to c years ago. The Neolithic Era (New Stone Age) began c. 10,000 BCE and ended between 4500 and 2000 BCE in various parts of the world. In the Paleolithic, there were more than one human species. Paleolithic humans lived a nomadic lifestyle in small groups. They used stone tools and their survival depended heavily on their environment and climate. Neolithic humans discovered agriculture and animal husbandry, which allowed them to settle down in one area. This led to a surplus of food, as well as the creation of civilization (with complex culture, government, religion, specialized jobs, a social hierarchy, and infrastructure built with organized labor). The downside is that proximity to domesticated animals and dependence on crop yields often led to increased disease and shortened life spans (until the development of more modern medicine and technologies).

4. River Valley Civilizations
Each early civilization developed its own unique ways of life, but they all shared some common characteristics • Complex irrigation systems • legal codes • money • art and written literature • More formal scientific knowledge, numbering systems, and calendars • Intensification of social inequality

6. Mesopotamia Geography Culture & Society Political Org.
Tigris & Euphrates rivers.
Floods more unpredictable than Egypt.
Cuneiform
Extensive trade with Egypt & the Indus
Epic of Gilgamesh
Bronze tools, chariots
Advanced astronomy; math based on 60
Pessimistic view of afterlife due to irregular floods Polytheism – gods powerful/cruel
Job specialization and social hierarchy
Marriage contracts; veils for
women; women of upper classes less equal than lower-class counterparts
City-states & warrior kings
Hammurabi’s Code
Competition among city-states as well as frequent invasions led
to less political stability than in Egypt

7. Egypt Geography Culture Political Org. Nile river
Polytheism, with pharaoh as a god
Optimistic view of life (regular, controllable flooding of the Nile River)
Strong belief in the afterlife; Book of the Dead
Hieroglyphics
Some social mobility through the
bureaucracy
Women had higher status than in Mesopotamia
Divine kingship – the pharaoh; highly centralized, authoritarian government
Generally stable government
Extensive bureaucracy;

8. Indus River Valley Geography Culture Political Org.
Writing system undecipherable
Trade with Mesopotamia & China
Cruder weapons than Mesopotamians
Polytheism
Priests have highest status based
on position as intermediaries
between gods and people.
Differences in house sizes
indicate class distinctions
Statues reflect reverence for
female reproductive function
Centralized government to allow building of Granaries, plumbing, cities designed on grid pattern indicate centralized control

9. Yellow River Valley Geography Culture Political Org.
Geographical separation from other civilizations (Gobi Desert & Himalaya Mts.), though probably traded with the Indus Valley
RIVER: Huang He (Yellow)
Oracle bones used to communicate with ancestors, formed basis for writing system
Bronze weapons & tools, horse-drawn chariot
Job specialization
Patriarchal society
Centralized government; power in the hands of the emperor
Government preoccupied with flood control of the rivers

10. Mesoamerica and South America
Geography
Culture
Political Org.
Olmecs lived on coast, in mountains, and in jungle
Chavin: agriculture based on maize
Olmecs in Mesoamerica;
Highly developed astronomy; used to predict agricultural cycles
Polytheism, ritual ball games
Giant carved stone heads, Jaguar symbol important
Chavin in Andean region
Polytheism – statues of jaguar men
Square stone architecture, no mortar
In all cultures, priests had highest status, most people were farmers
Irrigation & drainage canals
Olmecs probably not united politically
Chavin probable political
unification; public works operated by reciprocal labor obligations; had a capital city

12. Ancient Mediterranean
Geography
Culture
Political Org.
Mediterranean became basis of their economy, influenced culture and government
Phoenicians: Invented alphabet for their trade empire (colonies around Mediterranean), purple dye, likely first to circumnavigate Africa
Minoans: Linear A (undeciphered), plumbing
Mycenaeans: Linear B (earliest form of written Greek), death masks, bronze weapons
All were seafaring civilizations
All led by Kings with a strong navy

14. Africa Period One Geography Culture Political Org.
Nubia/Kush: Central Nile Valley, trade on the Red Sea, trade with Egypt
Nubia/Kush: Cultural assimilation with Egypt; more pyramids than Egypt but smaller/thinner
Writing based on an alphabet
Polytheistic
Nubian government was similar to Egyptian; controlled by pharaoh.
Had controlled Egypt

16. Changes and Continuities Prehistory – 600 BCE
Human migrations
Hunter-gatherer communities remained even in the Neolithic
Neolithic revolution  civilization
Humans continue to migrate due to climate change, changes in resources, competition…
Reduction in women’s social status
Agriculture and animal domestication continues
Technological advancements