Transcript The Middle Ages last about 1000 years. What were some of the

This year our
study of history
will begin in the
year 1500 C.E.
But what significant
human events took
place worldwide
before 1500 C.E.?
Although the earth is about 4.55
billion years old, it was just over
three million years ago, that
historians believe an ape (given
the name LUCY) in Africa began to
walk on two legs and took the first
step on the long road to
civilization.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/prehistoric_life/human/human_evolution/mother_of_man1.shtml
Her fossil remains were
unearthed in Ethiopia in
1974. This is what Lucy
may have looked like.
Based on the carbon dating of
fossils and artifacts,
archaeologists believe that from
about 2 million B.C.E to 10,000
B.C.E, humans lived as nomadic
hunters and gatherers.
For more information on carbon dating go to:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/first/radiocarbon.html
Then, around 10,000 B.C.E
humans stopped migrating and
began to settle in farming
communities.
It was in these farming communities
that humans began to see the need
for specialized jobs, organized
writing systems, religion, and
government. Over a period of 7,000
years, farming communities became
more organized.
Finally around 3200 B.C.E, the oldest
known civilization in the world, the
Sumerian emerged. The Sumerians
developed along the fertile banks of the
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in modern day
Iraq.
The Sumerians claim the oldest known
writing system in the world,
Cuneiform. Cuneiform is a writing
system that involves wedge-shaped
symbols carved onto clay tablets.
The Egyptian civilization followed around
2700 B.C.E. They practiced mummification,
buried their pharaohs in pyramids and
created picture-writing known as
hieroglyphics. What else were the Egyptians
known for?
http://www.thebangles.com/extras/extras.
asp
The Egyptians settled along the fertile land
along the Nile River in Northeastern Africa.
It was around 2500 B.C.E that civilizations
emerged along the Indus River in modern
day Pakistan. Can you think of any new
ideas that developed in this part of the
world?
Then around 1650 B.C.E. civilizations
developed in China along the Huang He
(Yellow) River. What inventions are
the early Chinese known for?
Each of these four early
civilizations had their own
writing system, form of
government, religion, job
specialization, major city, arts
and architecture and inventions.
As the Chinese were prospering along
the Yellow River, the earliest known
Greek civilization, the Minoans, lived
and prospered on the island of Crete
south of the Greek mainland.
The Greeks would become famous in history
for their people, their art and architecture,
their advancements in math and science,
their poetry and drama, the first Olympics,
and of course for being the first in the world
to embrace a democratic (although limited)
form of government.
Around 800 B.C.E, the ancestors of the
Romans, the Latins settled along the Tiber
River in present-day Italy. The Latins would
set the stage for one of the most powerful
empires in world history, the Romans. The
Roman civilization would last for
approximately 1,000 years.
Who were some of the famous
people of Rome? What is Roman
civilization most famous for?
After the fall of the Western Roman
Empire in 476 C.E., most of Europe
was in a state of chaos. Invasions
were frequent and people feared for
their lives. Historians call this time
period in history the Dark Ages, or
Middle Ages.
The Middle Ages last about 1,000
years. What were some of the famous
people and events of the Middle Ages?
Around 1400 C.E., Europe emerges
from the “darkness” of the Middle
Ages. Historians have named this time
period in history the Renaissance. It is
during the 1400’s that Europe sees a
rebirth of art and architecture and
kings and queens in Europe become
even more powerful then they were
during the Middle Ages.
Who were some of the famous
people of the Renaissance?
So, after a very brief world-wind look
at some of the major events of world
history prior to 1500 C.E., we are
now ready to look at history from
1500 C.E to present.