Transcript Prehistory - Barrington 220

“The Book GLOBAL
of Secrets”
STUDIES
THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD
in about… 9 months!
► Which is better: chocolate or
vanilla?
► Which is better: chocolate,
vanilla, or jubille?
► Why?
► How do you know?
► What is Ethnocentrism?
► Is it possible for you to escape
ethnocentrism?
► What is education?
► What is the purpose?
► “You cannot compare, what you
do not understand”
Activery
Unit 1
Prehistory
WORLD HISTORY
Dates Cheat Sheet
► B.C.
► Before
Christ
► A.D.
► Anno Domini
Year of Our Lord
► B.C.E.
►
Before the Common
Era
► C.E.
►
Common Era
► c.
►
Circa “around…”
1. What is LIFE?
a) What do humans need to survive?
st
b) What is the environment?
Themes
1 Quarter
2. What is CULTURE?
a) Way of life, traditions, customs,
b) Why have culture?
The First Humans
How do we know if this “ancient stuff” really happened?

Archaeology
The study of past societies through an
analysis of what people left behind them.
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Anthropology
The study of how humans live
Scientific methods for excavations

Radiocarbon dating
Method of analysis that calculates the ages
of objects by measuring the amount of
carbon left in an object
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Thermo luminescence dating
Method of analysis that dates an object
by measuring the light given off by
electrons trapped in surrounding fossils
and artifacts
Deoxyribonucleic acid tests
Genetic tests providing information on
human evolution
The Earliest Humans
 Hominids
The earliest human like
creatures in Africa. Also
known by the name of
Australopithecines.
(Apes)
 Homo Erectus
Neanderthals - The
first homo-sapiens

Homo sapienssapiens
“Wise-wise human being”
Hunters and Gatherers
“Lets go get some tools”
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Paleolithic Age
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Mesolithic Age
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Neolithic Age
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“Old Stone Age”- usage of
simple tools
“Middle Stone”-gradual
shift from food gathering
Deir el-Bahri
and hunting economy to a
food producing one
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“New Stone”- shift from
hunting to systematic
agriculture
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Adding of copper and tin to
tools.
Bronze Age
► The
Neolithic Revolution
single most important development in
human history?
► Neolithic
farming villages
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There are numerous Neolithic villages that “pop up”
across the globe at different times… We will focus
on two of them: Jericho and Catal Huyuk
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We clearly see the positives of the Agricultural
Revolution, but what are the consequences of the
Agricultural Revolution?
Consequence?
► Human Needs + Environment = Culture
► Civilization
A complex culture in which large numbers of human beings share a
number of commonalties.
6 Basic Characteristics of Civilizations
Rise of cities
Growth of governments
Role of religion
New social structure
Use of writing
Artistic activity
The Birth of Civilization
Unit 2
The First
Civilizations
Mesopotamia &
Egypt
Mesopotamian
Region
The Geography
Mesopotamia Region
“The land between the rivers”
ENVIRONMENT
Tigris and Euphrates
Rivers
► Present Day Country
of Iraq
► Flooding along the
banks of the river
► Irregularity of flooding
created insecurity
► Zero natural barriers
► Mud and dirt is
abundant in the area.
►
NEEDS
What needed to be
done?
► Irrigation
► Creation of cities
► Governing the cities
► Zero natural barriers
enabled “raiders” to
sweep in continually
► Walls were created for
defense
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Mesopotamian Society
Religion
 Theocracy
Government ruled by divine
authority
 Polytheistic
Belief in many gods and
goddesses
 Ziggurat
Temples were often built upon
this massive stepped tower.
 The tower of Babel was a
ziggurat.
Culture and Science
Patriarchal
Led and dominated by
men
 Cuneiform writing c.

3000 B.C.
“wedge shaped”
-used for record keeping
to maintain knowledge
of previous events
 The Epic of Gilgamesh
 Mathematics and
Astronomy
Cuneiform Tablets
Babylonian tablet from 87 B.C. reports the
arrival of the comet now known as Halley.
The Sumerians
3000 B.C. – 2340 B.C.
Creators of the first Mesopotamian
civilization
► Formed city-states
► City-states
Cities with political and economic control
over the surrounding countryside
► The arch
► The dome
► The wheel c. 3000 B.C.
► Sumerian city-states contained three major
classes
1) Nobles 2) Commoners 3) Slaves
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The Akkadians
2340 B.C. – 1792 B.C.
► Sargon
overruns Sumerian city-states
► The Akkadians set up the first empire in
world history
► Which is easier, to create an Empire or to
maintain it? Why?
Babylon under
Hammurabi
1792 B.C. - 1750 B.C.
Hammurabi comes to
power
► Hammurabi is best
known for his law code
► The Code of Hammurabi
► Principle of Retaliation
► “Eye for an Eye”
► Do you agree with
Hammurabi’s principle?
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Did Mesopotamian’s Invent
Soap?
► As
far back as 2500 B.C.,
clay tablets from near
the Tigris and Euphrates
Rivers were found that
make mention of the use
of soap.
► It's use for washing did
not necessarily come
first. It was first used as
a way to dress one's hair,
or as a medicament on
wounds.
Interesting Nuggets
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It was the accepted practice in
Babylon 4,000 years ago that for
a month
after the wedding, the bride's
father would supply his son-inlaw with all the mead he could
drink.
Mead is a honey beer and because
their calendar was lunar based,
this period was called the honey
month, which we know today as
the honeymoon.
The First Civilizations
Egypt
Egypt
THE ENVIRONMENT
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Like Mesopotamia, the Egyptian civilization is also a
river valley
The Nile River- The longest river in the world
Unlike the floods of Mesopotamia’s rivers, the flooding
was predictable
Unlike Mesopotamia, Egypt had excellent natural
barriers.
Deserts to the west and east, cataracts to the south, and
the Mediterranean Sea to the North
These barriers did not prevent trading however.
"For those who believe, no proof is necessary.
For those who don't believe, no proof is
possible." Stuart Chase
Egypt
Religion
Polytheistic
Osiris
► Look at Osiris… What
symbols are present?
What do they
represent?
► Try to figure out the
importance Osiris
serves in Egyptian
society
► A symbol of
resurrection
► Sun gods & land gods
► Re (Ra)
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Egyptian gods
►
Re (Ra) is shown below.
►
Who is this? How do you
know?
► Strong
Leadership
► Stability-free from
invasion
► Dynasty
A family of rulers whose
right to rule is passed
on within the family
► Monarchs
were
called Pharaohs
► Vizier
In charge of government
bureaucracy.
Old Kingdom
Age of Pyramids
► Mummification
►
Although we thought it was
so cool to learn about
mummies when we were
younger, I believe it is more
fascinating to know why
Egyptians mummified their
dead.
► Mastabas
Tombs for the Pharaoh’s
noble officials
► The Great Pyramid at
Giza
► Geometric angles are
almost precise
► The Great Sphinx
Middle Kingdom
Period of Chaos
Age of political chaos and invasion
Egyptian Society
and Culture
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Social
Classes
► Hieroglyphics
(Extra
Credit)
► Papyrus
► Scribes
Pharaoh
Vizier
High priests
Royal overseers
Scribes, artisans
Farmers, laborers
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Masters of the art of writing
and also its teachers
Read about Egyptian society and the daily life
Papyrus
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Strong military
advancements
Prosperous
gains in
wealth
New Kingdom
The Empire
KEY PHARAOHS
► Hatshepsut
► Amenhotep IV
Akhenaten
► Poly to Mono
► Tutankhamen
(King Tut)
Restored the gods
Deir el-Bahri
NEFERTITI
An Early Egyptian
Bird.
The Hebrew Civilization
Cyrus
Won the approval by using not only
Persians but also the conquered as
government officials.
Reputation of mercy
► Darius
Generous to supporters, harsh to
enemies
► Satrapies- Persian provinces
► Satrap- Persian governors
► Well maintained roads
► Immortals (Persian Guard)
► Increased taxes led to disloyalty
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Religion-Judaism- Influenced
Christianity and Islam
Old Testament
Descendants of Abraham
Saul the first Hebrew King
David- reclaims Palestine
Solomon- Building ProjectsTemple
Covenant-contract with God
Prophets-religious teachers
Persian Religion
Zoroastrianism
► Zend
Avesta
► Ahuramazda
► Ahriman
► Humans play a
strong role in
the struggle
between good
and evil
► Perform good
deeds: achieve
paradise
Other Notable
Civilizations
Assyrians
Minoans
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Built enormous palace complex on
Crete at Knossus
Decorative paintings, elaborate bath
drains
Hittites
First to make use of iron.
(Weaponry)
► Elephants in battle
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Phoenicians
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Excellent traders by sea.
Best known for its alphabet. The
Phoenician alphabet was passed
onto the Greeks.
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Leaders with absolute power
First “large” (in numbers)
armies equipped with iron
weapons