Transcript Prehistory, History, and the Advancement of Civilizations

Prehistory, History, and the
Advancement of Civilizations
Textbook Reference: Chapter 1
Prehistory vs. History
• What is the difference?
– Prehistory: the period of time we study prior to
the invention of WRITING
– History: everything that we study since the
invention of WRITING and dating to 10 years prior
to the present
Prehistory vs. History cont.
• Historian: scholars who study and write about the
historical past
• Artifacts: Objects made by humans
– E.g. Clothing, coins, artwork, tombstones
• Written evidence
• Photos and films
• Purpose: study the past to understand current
circumstances and possible future events, NOT to
PREDICT the FUTURE
How do they fit into the social
sciences?
Social
Studies
History
American
World
Intellectual
Social
Military
Economics
Political
Sciences
Sociology
Psychology
Anthropology
Linguistics
Archeology
Forensics
Prehistory
• Anthropology: study of the origins and
development
– Culture: the way of life of a society
• Beliefs, values, and practices
– Archeology: the study of past people and cultures
through their material remains
Anthropological Findings
• East Africa
– Mary Leakey and Louis Leakey
• Found stone tools
• 1959: Mary found a skull embedded
– Concluded it to be Hominid
» Hominid: Humans and past
relatives that walk upright
– Olduvai Gorge: deep canyon in
Tanzania
– Technology: skills and tools
people use to meet their basic
needs and wants
Anthropological Findings cont.
• 1974: Donald Johanson
– Found enough pieces of a
hominid to look at the full
skeletal structure  LUCY
– Approximately 4’ tall
– Possibly 25 years old
Anthropological Findings cont.
• Lucy compared to
modern human
• Red bones are those
actually found
Hominid Groups
• Australopithecines
– Lucy
– Footprints at Laetoli
Hominid Groups cont.
• Homo habilis – “handy
man”
– Had tools for cutting,
sawing, and scraping
Hominid Groups cont.
• Homo erectus
– Larger brains and
bones, smaller teeth
– Thought to be the
first to use FIRE
– Found in Africa,
Asia, and Europe ??
Hominid Groups cont.
• Homo sapiens
– Neanderthals and
Anatomically
Modern Humans
Neolithic Revolution
• Prehistory = Old/New Stone Ages
– Old Stone Age  Paleolithic Period (2million B.C.
to 10,000 B.C.
– New Stone Age  Neolithic Period (10,000 B.C to
end of Prehistory
Old Stone Age
• People are Nomads
– Nomads : people who move from place to place to
find food
• 20 – 30 people per group
• Hunters and gatherers
• Made tools and weapons out of stone, bone,
or wood
– Chipping technique
Old Stone Age cont.
• Had fire and used animal skin for clothing
• Developed spoken language for cooperation in
hunting and planning for the future
• Learned to cross water
– People moved from Asia to Australia at least
40,000 years ago
Old Stone Age Religion
• 100,000 years ago – bury dead with care ??
– Also buried with tools and weapons ??
• Animism: belief that forces may reside in
animals, objects, and dreams
– Found in many cave paintings and believed to be
part of religious rituals
New Stone Age
• ********FARMING**********
• Neolithic Revolution  transition from
nomadic life to farming villages
• First to domesticate plants and animals
– Probably dog is the first animal domesticated
Earliest Villages
• Catalhuyuk in Turkey and Jericho controlled by
Israel
– Two of the earliest Neolithic villages
– Both may have had several thousand people
– Men become the BOSS
• Elder councils, warfare, elite warriors
– Technology
• Plows, measurements, specialized tool makers, clay
pots, weaved cloth
Beginnings of a Civilization
• First civilizations are by RIVERS - ??
– Transportation, water supply, food, farming
• Surpluses – more than what is necessary
– Grow large populations, food for the future
– Eventually forming cities
• Traditional economy – relies on habit, custom,
or ritual and tends not to change
River Valley Civilizations
• Civilization: a complex, highly organized social
order
– Cities are the MAIN feature
– Sumer: between the Tigris and Euphrates
– Egypt: along the Nile River
– Indus: along the Indus River
– Shang: Huang River (Yellow River)
Features of a Civilization
• Organized Governments
– Councils/Chiefs turn into central governments
– Rulers/royal officials
– Taxes, laws, defense
– Priests/Warrior kings on TOP
• Complex Religions
– Polytheistic –
– Specially trained priests for ceremonies and rituals
Features of a Civilization cont.
• Job Specialization
– Artisans: skilled craftspeople
– Weapons are made of metals
• Copper then bronze
– Bricklayers, dancers, storytellers
• Social Classes
– Ranking of individuals within the society
• Priests and nobles were typically on top
Features of a Civilization cont.
• Arts and Architecture
– Artwork and buildings that display the values,
customs, and beliefs or the society
• Temples, palaces, statues, paintings
• Public Works
– Projects that are costly and benefit the city and
people
• Irrigation systems, roads, dikes, bridges, walls
Features of a Civilization cont.
• Writing
– System of communications originally used by
governments and religious leaders
• Grain collection, rituals, prayers, seasonal information
• Pictographs: picture writing
• Scribes: people that specialize in reading and
writing
Change in Civilizations
• Loss of resources
• Environmental forces
• Cultural Diffusion: the spread of ideas,
customs, and technologies
– Warfare, migration, trade
• City-state: a group of lands that includes a city
and the surrounding people and villages that
it controls
• Empire – multiple cities and people