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| 2124956409 | Hominids | Appeared 3 to 4 million years ago in southern and eastern Africa. Humanlike creatures called primates. Mary and Louis Leakey excavated hominid fossils in the Great Rift Valley. "Lucy," an australopithecine fossil, found in 1974. Three major differences from earlier primates: bipedalism (gives ability to walk upright), a sizable brain (enables abstract thought and fine motor control), and a larynx (allows for complex speech). Thought-processing ability led to alteration of the natural environment to suit human needs. | 0 | |
| 2124957442 | Homo Sapiens | Homo sapiens, modern human, emerged 100,000 to 200,000 years ago. Earliest variant, the Neanderthal, appeared 100,000 to 250,000 years ago. More advanced was Cro-Magnon, appeared 60,000 to 100,000 years ago during the Paleolithic Age. Both used advanced tools, wore clothing, created semi-permanent or permanent dwellings, and organized into social groups. Spread from Europe to Africa and Asia. | 1 | |
| 2124959105 | Paleolithic Era: Economy | Called Old Stone Age (c. 10,000 to 2.5 million years ago). Greatest concerns were steady and plentiful food supply and clothing. Stone and bone tools included spears, bows, arrows, fishhooks, harpoons, clay pots. Humans were nomadic hunters and gatherers. Predates agricultural societies. | 2 | |
| 2124960212 | Paleolithic Era: Society | Social groups: Extended families grew into clans: clans mixed with neighboring groups to form tribes with sophisticated organization, including chiefs, leaders, and religious figures. Organized warfare with weapons: rocks, knives, spears, axes, and bows and arrows. Worship of deities: religious rituals included sacrifices to gods, goddesses, and spirits. Expression through art and music: examples include cave paintings and flutes. Divisions of labor assigned by gender: men hunted, women gathered. | 3 | |
| 2124960942 | Neolithic Era: Origins | Earliest evidence of sedentary agriculture dates to between 10,000 and 8000 B.C.E. Called New Stone Age (8000-5000 B.C.E), the origins of agricultural society. Domestication of animals and cultivating of crops. The earliest method of cultivation was slash-and-burn agriculture. Earliest agricultural societies appeared in southwestern Asia and spread to India, Europe, and Asia: Mesoamerica and East Asia most likely developed agricultural techniques independently. People settled down and developed complex societies. | 4 | |
| 2124961916 | Neolithic Era: Culture | Agriculture allowed for a food surplus, which in turn led to an increase in population. Permanent villages appeared as people turned to farming and away from hunting and gathering. Jericho, in modern-day Israel, was one of the world's first Neolithic villages. Village life encouraged the development of specialized labor- everyone was no longer dedicated to food production. Early industries developed in pottery, metallurgy, and textiles. Specialized labor encouraged the accumulation of wealth and eventually led to emergence of social classes. Sedentary agricultural societies saw the role and status of women diminished compared with that of hunting and gathering societies. | 5 | |
| 2124963748 | Bantu Migrations | Movement of Africans across the continent of Africa (3000 B.C.E. - 500 C.E.) Niger-Congo related languages, and compilations, spoken by Kru, Wolof, Ibo, Mande, and Yorbe, all part of the Bantu family of languages. Possessions of iron metallurgy: tools were used to clear land for agriculture (basis for society) and herding throughout Africa. Bantus reached their limits by 1000 B.C.E: establishes decentralized governments- "segmentary societies"- that governed through family and kinship groups. Each village (usually 100 people) was ruled by a council, made up of male heads of families, and a village chief: a group of villages formed a district (usually the highest form of government). Increased conflict among Bantus led to the formation of organized militaries and formal government institutions. | 6 | |
| 2124964185 | Bronze Age | Metallurgy originated with the use of copper. In the Neolithic era, copper was combined with tin to create bronze. Bronze tools and weapons were first used in Mesopotamia c. 4000-3000 B.C.E. By c. 1500-1000 B.C.E. craftsmen in Mesopotamia developed iron tools and weapons: this technology diffused throughout southwestern Asia over time. | 7 | |
| 2124966575 | Mesopotamia | Located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in modern Iraq. Knowledge of irrigation led to an increase in food supply and in population, and by c. 5000 B.C.E. summer was established. The world's first cities emerged in this region, including Ur and Babylon. Sumerians were polytheistic and built ziggurats, pyramid-like temples, to please their gods. Sumer was organized into a series of city-states and each worked to maintain peace and stability. Large public-works projects, such as canals and bridged, were undertaken to meet the needs of society. | 8 | |
| 2124967517 | Nile River Civilization | Agricultural settlements emerged as early as 5500 B.C.E. but Egyptian history begins when King Menes united Upper (southern) and Lower (northern) Egypt. Society was ruled by a pharaoh, considered an incarnation of the sun god, who controlled access to the Nile. Many cities were built during the Middle and New Kingdom periods, and an economic network developed. Women were responsible for handling household finances and educating children. A woman had the right to divorce, receive alimony, own property, manage a business, and become a priestess. Hatshepsut, female pharaoh of Egypt. Elaborate polytheistic religion based on concept of life after death- subject of religious text the Egyptian Book of the Dead. Chie deity, Re, sun god. Worshipping dead let to mummification and the building of tombs/pyramids. Achievements: written language (hieroglyphics0, paper-making, filed irrigation, bronze tools and weapons, 365-day calendar, monumental architecture (pyramids, temples). | 9 | |
| 2124968199 | Hammurabi's Code | Established high standards of behavior and stern punishments for violators (c.1792-1750 B.C.E.) in the city-state of Babylon.. Death penalty for murder, theft, fraud, false accusations, sheltering of runaway slaves, failure to obey royal orders, adultery and incest.. Civil laws regulated prices, wages, commercial dealings, marital relationships, and conditions of slaves. Relied on the lex talionis ("law of retaliation") and social standing, upper classes were favored. Concept of a consistent written set of rules to govern society, rather than arbitrary rules, impacted later civilizations. | 10 | |
| 2124968868 | Assyrian Empire | Government consisted of combination of administrative techniques (first used by Hammurabi) and a powerful and intimidating military machine. Officers in charge of standardized military units were appointed on the basis of merit, skill, and bravery rather than noble birth and family connections. Used horse-drawn chariots to conquer standing armies. As its height (8th and 7th centuries B.C.E.), the Assyrian Empire covered much of what is now Mesopotamia, Syria, Palestine, as well as much of Anatolia and most of Egypt. | 11 | |
| 2124969484 | Iron Metallurgy | Experimentation began as early as the fourth millennium B.C.E. Mesopotamians manufactured effective iron and bronze tools and weapons by 1000 B.C.E. Craftsmen added carbon to iron to increase strength and produce harder and sharper edges. Iron metallurgy spread from Mesopotamia to Anatolia, Egypt, North Africa, and other regions (examples of cultural diffusion). Assyrians used iron tools to conquer Mesopotamia. | 12 | |
| 2124970190 | Patriarchal Society | Basis of Mesopotamia and Egyptian societies- men made decisions about the division of household chores among family members, and they arranged marriages. Men dominated public life: They rule as kings and pharaohs and made decisions about public policy. Evidence of patriarchal society seen in Hammurabi's Code, which entrusted men with all major decision making and judgment, and in Confucian society with the five relationships. Women were punished for adultery by drowning; men could engage in consensual sexual relations outside of marriage without penalty. A man could sell his wife and children into slavery to pay off debt. | 13 | |
| 2124970811 | Origins of Writing | Cuneiform, the earliest known writing, originated in Mesopotamia. Record keeping for trade purposes became necessary as society became increasingly more complex. Sumerians developed a writing system based on pictures (pictographs) in which symbols were made on wet clay and then baked. Egyptians developed hieroglyphs-symbols that represent sounds and ideas. One example of job specialization as the scribe, who prepared legal and other documents (developed as an occupation). | 14 | |
| 2124971269 | Hebrews | Nomads who originally settled between Mesopotamia and Egypt. Developed the world's first monotheistic religion- the worship of Yahweh. Hebrew Bible contains experiences and practices of Israelites during this period. About 1300 B.C.E, led by Moses, went to Palestine, where they established a kingdom, under David and Solomon. It extended from Syria to the Sinai Peninsula. Used Mesopotamian law and politics as a guide- however, devotion to Yahweh, religions texts, and righteousness distinguished Hebrews. | 15 | |
| 2124971911 | Phonecians | Lived between eastern Mediterranean Sea and Lebanon; earned a reputation as seafaring traders in the first millennium B.C.E. Establishment of city-states throughout the Mediterranean allowed them to dominate trade in the Mediterranean basin. Developed a writing of twenty-two symbols representing sounds that aided in their long-distance commercial activities. Their alphabet spread throughout the region as they traded products such as glass, textiles, and timber. The Latin alphabet emerged out of the Phoenetic dialect. | 16 | |
| 2124972698 | Indus River Civilization | Originated in the Indus River valley C. 2500 B.C.E. Two main cities, Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro, provide archaeological evidence of this society's history. The cities were well planned, fortified, and uniformly constructed. Brick size was uniform throughout the Indus Valley-indicates use of standardized weights and measures. Extensive evidence of long-distance trade-Indus Valley pottery has been found in Egypt; products from Sumer, such as olive oil, were traded in the region. Speculation as to why this civilization as to why this civilization declined continues because the written language remains untranslated. | 17 | |
| 2124973890 | Indo-European Languages | During the 18th and 19th centuries, similarities between the languages of Europe, Persia, and India were noticed. Ancient languages demonstrating these similarities are Sanskrit (sacred language of Aryan India), Old Persian, Greek, and Latin. Explanation for similarities: Speakers of Indo-European languages were all descendants of ancestors who spoke a common tongue and migrated from their original homeland. Development of individual communities- and lack of communication between them- explains the evolution of different languages and dialects. | 18 | |
| 2124975868 | Aryans | Originally pastoral nomads who spoke Indo-European languages. Migrated south through the Hindu Kush mountain range C. 1500 B.C.E. and established small communities in northern India; replaced Harappan civilization. Limited agriculture depended on pastoral economy-prized herds of cattle. Domesticated horses as means of transportation and devastating war machine when attached to chariots. Literary and religious texts were memorized and passed down as oral histories. Over time developed a complex caste system, in large part influenced by contacts with indigenous peoples and invaders. | 19 | |
| 2124976544 | Vedic Age | A period in Indian history, between 1500 and 500 B.C.E., when the Vedas- the primary texts of Hinduism- were recorded; Rig Veda is the first of these. The Aryans recorded a number of literary and religious works in Sanskrit; the earliest works, the Vedas ("knowledge" or "wisdom"), a collection of songs, hymns and prayers honoring Aryan gods, were handed down by Brahmin priests. The Vedas also provide a view of early Aryan society in India. In this period, the Aryans and Dravidians frequently fought among themselves-there was no common centralized government. Hundreds of chiefdoms based on herding communities and agricultural villages were established. Permanent communities, relying more on agriculture than herding, were established into regional kingdom C. 1000-500 B.C.E. Social hierarchy, based on caste, maintained order and stability; the Aryans also constructed a gender hierarchy based on a strong patriarchal society. | 20 | |
| 2124976875 | Vedas | Vedas, the primary text of Hinduism, is a collection of hymns, songs, prayers, and rituals honoring various Aryan gods. There are four Vedas-most important is the first, Rig Veda; with 1,028 hymns, it was compiled between 1400 and 900 B.C.E. Passed down orally until 600 B.C.E., when all four were recorded in Sanskrit. Veda means "wisdom" or "knowledge" and refers to the knowledge priests need to carry out their tasks. Vedas reveal a great deal about early Aryan society. | 21 | |
| 2124978230 | Caste System | Developed over time as the Aryans established settlements in India. Four main varnas (social classes), originally formed around skin color. Priests (Brahmins); warriors and aristocrats (Kshatriyas); cultivators, artisans, merchants (vaishyas); landless peasants and serfs (shudras); and later, untouchables, who performed unpleasant tasks (butchering animals, handling dead bodies). Occupation determined a person's jati, or subcaste. Castes and subcastes had major impact on development of Hindu society, with rules for interaction and intermarriage; severely limited social mobility. Although the Indian Constitution has outlawed caste-based discrimination, and barriers have been broken down in urban areas, the caste system continues to influence social practices of Hindus throughout rural India. | 22 | |
| 2124979788 | Yellow River Civilization: Xia Dynasty | Huang He means Yellow River and refers to the light-colored loess soil that is picks up and deposits on the riverbank. Unpredictable flooding led to its nickname, China's Sorrow. Regular rains and fertile soil eliminated the need for an extensive irrigation system and, instead, water control systems were developed. Xia dynasty first attempted to organize public life on a large scale- it established the precedent for hereditary monarchial rule in China. Legendary founder, Yu, initiated flood-control projects, organized large-scale public works, and set up formal government. | 23 | |
| 2124988153 | Shang Dynasty | Earliest recorded dynasty (1750-1027 B.C.E.); rise and success based on technology, especially bronze. Shang controlled production of bronze by monopolizing mines and employing craftsmen. Using a well-armed military, the Shang extended control to northeastern China. Kings controlled surplus agriculture, as well as an extensive network of as many as 1,000 local towns. Built extensive and lavish tombs for emperors. Practiced ancestor worship; used oracle bones to divine the future. | 24 | |
| 2124988644 | Zhou Dynasty | Ruled by proclamation; military forces and allies disseminated laws and justice. Allied with Shang, adopted customs and culture, and then overthrew Shang king. All power and loyalty transferred to Zhou Dynasty. Zhou theory of policies: Events of Heaven and Earth are closely related (see mandate of heaven card). Zhou cultural achievements: poetry, history rituals, political essays, morals, religion, and philosophy. Most writings lost, but Book of songs preserved early Zhou literature. | 25 | |
| 2124989395 | Mandate of Heaven | Events on Earth and in Heaven are directly connected. Power to rule comes from heavenly powers; this "Mandate of Heaven" is granted to an individual who is deserving, known as the "son of Heaven." Ruler, a link between Heaven and Earth, has a duty to maintain order and dispense justice; as long as things so smoothly, he will remain in power; if he fails, the Mandate of Heaven will be bestowed upon a more deserving candidate; this idea was often used to justify rebellion and revolts. Related to European concept of divine right. First used by Zhou to justify their takeover of the Shang. | 26 | |
| 2124989779 | Silk Production | Silk was first produced during the Shang dynasty (1750-1027 B.C.E.). Silk was produced by raising silkworms on mulberry trees. By the time of the Han dynasty (206 B.C.E.-220 C.E.), silk was a luxury produce in high demand, and thus its production was a highly guarded imperial secret. In the late 500s, Byzantine monks visiting China smuggled silkworms back to their empire and soon Byzantine craftsmen were producing silk textiles. | 27 | |
| 2124990424 | Chavín | Chavín cult began after 100 B.C.E., peaked in popularity 900 to 800 B.C.E., spread through Peru, and vanished approximately 300 B.C.E. Cult probably arose when maize became an important crop in South America; it was needed to support a large population. The cult may have been designed to promote fertility and abundant harvests. Achievements include large temple complexes, elaborate works of art, fishing nets, experimentation with minerals, techniques of gold, silver, and copper metallurgy used in the creation of jewelry, and small tools. | 28 |
