Period 1: 8000 B.C.E. - 600 B.C.E.
|
Use these analysis sheets when watching Crash Course World History.
|
|
We'll use SPICE Charts to compare different civilizations throughout the unit/year.
|
Key Concepts of Unit 1:
Technological and Environmental Transformations, to 600 B.C.E.
1.1: Big Geography and the Peopling of the Earth.
I. Archeological Evidence indicates that during the Paleolithic era, hunting-foraging bands of humans gradually migrated from their origin in East Africa to Eurasia, Australia, and the New Americas, adapting their technology and cultures to new climate regions.
A. Humans used fire in new ways: to aid hunting and foraging, to protect against predators, and to adapt to cold environments.
B. Humans developed a wider range of tools specifically adapted to different environments from tropics to tundra.
C. Economic structures focused on small kinship groups of hunting-foraging bands that could make what they needed to survive. However, not all groups were self-sufficient; they exchanged people, ideas, and goods.
A. Humans used fire in new ways: to aid hunting and foraging, to protect against predators, and to adapt to cold environments.
B. Humans developed a wider range of tools specifically adapted to different environments from tropics to tundra.
C. Economic structures focused on small kinship groups of hunting-foraging bands that could make what they needed to survive. However, not all groups were self-sufficient; they exchanged people, ideas, and goods.
1.2: The Neolithic Revolution and Early Agricultural Societies.
I. Beginning about 10,000 years ago, the Neolithic Revolution led to the development of new and more complex economic and social systems.
A. Possibly as a response to climactic change, permanent agricultural villagers emerged first in the lands of the eastern Mediterranean. Agriculture emerged at different times in Mesopotamia, the Nile River Valley and Sub Saharan Africa, the Indus River Valley, the Yellow River or Huang He Valley, Papua New Guinea, Mesoamerica, and the Andes.
B. Pastoralism developed at various sites in the grasslands of Afro-Eurasia
C. Different crops or animals were domesticated in the various core regions, depending on available local flora and fauna.
D. Agricultural communities had to work cooperatively to clear land and create the water control systems needed for crop production.
E. These agricultural practices drastically impacted environmental diversity. Pastoralists also affected the environment by grazing large numbers of animals on fragile grasslands, leading to erosion when overgrazed.
A. Possibly as a response to climactic change, permanent agricultural villagers emerged first in the lands of the eastern Mediterranean. Agriculture emerged at different times in Mesopotamia, the Nile River Valley and Sub Saharan Africa, the Indus River Valley, the Yellow River or Huang He Valley, Papua New Guinea, Mesoamerica, and the Andes.
B. Pastoralism developed at various sites in the grasslands of Afro-Eurasia
C. Different crops or animals were domesticated in the various core regions, depending on available local flora and fauna.
D. Agricultural communities had to work cooperatively to clear land and create the water control systems needed for crop production.
E. These agricultural practices drastically impacted environmental diversity. Pastoralists also affected the environment by grazing large numbers of animals on fragile grasslands, leading to erosion when overgrazed.
II. Agriculture and pastoralism began to transform human societies.
A. Pastoralism and agriculture led to more reliable and abundant food supplies, which increased the population.
B. Surpluses of food and other goods led to specialization of labor, including new classes of artisans and warriors, and the development of elites.
C. Technological innovations led to improvements in agricultural production, trade, and transportation.
Examples: Pottery, Plows, Woven Textiles, Metallurgy, Wheels and Wheeled Devices.
D. In both pastoralist and agrarian societies, elite groups accumulated wealth, creating more hierarchal social structures and promoting patriarchal forms of social organization.
A. Pastoralism and agriculture led to more reliable and abundant food supplies, which increased the population.
B. Surpluses of food and other goods led to specialization of labor, including new classes of artisans and warriors, and the development of elites.
C. Technological innovations led to improvements in agricultural production, trade, and transportation.
Examples: Pottery, Plows, Woven Textiles, Metallurgy, Wheels and Wheeled Devices.
D. In both pastoralist and agrarian societies, elite groups accumulated wealth, creating more hierarchal social structures and promoting patriarchal forms of social organization.
1.3: The Development and Interaction of Early Agricultural, Pastoral, and Urban Societies.
I. Core and foundational civilizations developed in a variety of geographical and environmental settings where agriculture flourished.
|
II. The first states emerged within core civilizations.
A. States were powerful new systems of rule that mobilized surplus labor and resources over large areas. Early states were often led by a ruler whose source of power was believed to be divine or had divine support and/or who was supported by the military.
B. As states grew and competed for land and resources, the more favorably situated-including the Hittites, who had access to iron-had greater access to resources, produced more surplus food, and experiences growing populations. These states were able to undertake territorial expansion and conquer surrounding states.
C. Early regions of state expansion or empire building were Mesopotamia, Babylonia, and the Nile Valley.
D. Pastoralists were often the developers and disseminators of new weapons and modes of transportation that transformed warfare in agrarian civilizations.
Examples of New Weapons: Compound Bows & Iron Weapons
Examples of New Modes of Transportation: Chariots & Horseback Riding
A. States were powerful new systems of rule that mobilized surplus labor and resources over large areas. Early states were often led by a ruler whose source of power was believed to be divine or had divine support and/or who was supported by the military.
B. As states grew and competed for land and resources, the more favorably situated-including the Hittites, who had access to iron-had greater access to resources, produced more surplus food, and experiences growing populations. These states were able to undertake territorial expansion and conquer surrounding states.
C. Early regions of state expansion or empire building were Mesopotamia, Babylonia, and the Nile Valley.
D. Pastoralists were often the developers and disseminators of new weapons and modes of transportation that transformed warfare in agrarian civilizations.
Examples of New Weapons: Compound Bows & Iron Weapons
Examples of New Modes of Transportation: Chariots & Horseback Riding
III. Culture played a significant role in unifying states through laws, language, literature, religion, myths, and monumental art.
A. Early civilizations developed monumental architecture and urban planning. Examples of Monumental Architecture/Urban Planning: Ziggurats Pyramids Temples Defensive Walls Streets and Roads Sewage and Water Systems B. Elites, both political and religious, promoted arts and artisanship. Examples of Art/Artisanship: Sculpture Painting Wall Decorations Elaborate Weaving C. Systems of record keeping arose independently in all early civilizations and subsequently were diffused. Examples of Systems of Record Keeping: Cuneiform Hieroglyphs Pictographs Alphabets Quipu D. States developed legal codes, including the Code of Hammurabi, that reflected existing hierarchies and facilitated the rule of governments over people. E. New religious beliefs in this period continued to have strong influences in later periods. Examples of New Religious Beliefs: The Vedic Religion Hebrew Monotheism Zoroastrianism F. Trade expanded throughout this period from local to regional and trans-regional, with civilizations exchanging goods, cultural ideas, and technology. Examples of Trade: Between Egypt and Nubia Between Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley G. Social and gender hierarchies intensified as states expanded and cities multiplied. H. Literature was also a reflection of culture. Examples of Literature: The Epic of Gilgamesh The Rig Veda The Book of the Dead |
|