1. Early Civilizations Unit 1 Chapter 1 Toward Civilization (Prehistory- 3000 B.C.) Chapter 2 First Civilizations: Africa and Asia (3200-500 B.C.) Chapter 3 Early Civilizations in India and China (2500-256 B.C.)

2. Toward Civilization (Prehistory-3000 B.C.) Chapter 1 Understanding Our Past

3. Objectives Understand the methods scientists use to find out about early peoples. Explain how historians reconstruct the past. Examine how geography and history are linked.

4. Prehistory The long period of time before people invented systems of writing. Prehistoric people had no cities, countries, organized central government, or complex inventions. About 5, 000 years ago some people began writing down history in different parts of the world.

5. Evidence from the Past Prehistoric evidence is of special interest to archaeologists – scientists who find and analyze the physical remains left by early people. Such evidence include bone fragments of early people or animals and artifacts – objects made by people including tools, weapons, pottery, clothing, or jewelry. Archaeology is a branch of Anthropology – the study of humans and the societies they create. By studying thousands of items, archaeologists have traced how early people developed new technologies. Technology refers to the skills and tools people use to meet their basic needs.

6. Historians Reconstruct the Past Historians study how people lived in the past. They study artifacts, from clothing to coins to artwork and tombstones. They rely even more on written evidence, such as letters or tax records.

7. Geography and History Geography is the study of people, their environments, and the resources available to them. Five themes sum up the impact of geography on human history including location, human- environment interaction, movement, and region. Location- Longitude and Latitude are used to find location. Longitude measures distances east and west of the prime meridian and latitude measures distances north and south of the equator.