STUDY GUIDES: ALL CHAPTERS WORLD IN THE MAKING: A GLOBAL HISTORY BONNIE G. SMITH RUTGERS UNIVERSITY MARC VAN DE MIEROOP COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY RICHARD VON GLAHN UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES KRIS LANE TULANE UNIVERSITY PART 1 The Ancient World from Human Origins to 500 C. THE STORY WE TELL in this book begins around 4 million years ago, when the lines of human ancestors diverged from those of the great African apes, and our exploration of the ancient period of world history ends at about the year 500 C. If one wrote a four-hundred-page book that gave equal space to every century in all of world history, the period from 500 C.
to today would take up only one sixth of the final page. All previous pages would treat what we call the ancient world. It would be hard for a historian to fill many of the four hundred pages of this book, however. The first 399 would describe foraging peoples who moved around during most of the year and consequently left little evidence for us to study.
All the evidence is archaeological—that is, the material objects humans left behind. Only late in the period, some five thousand years ago, did people invent writing. That skill had a limited geographical spread, however, and even in societies that had developed writing, it was restricted by social class and to a small number of people. Archaeological remains provide much information, but they have limitations; they do not reveal what languages people spoke, their names, and many other things we know about those people to whom we have access through their writings.
This was the era of origins, the period in which human populations invented all the major elements we associate with culture. The modern human species itself originated over millions of years, and our ancestor species invented basic tools, some of which—such as the needle—we still use today. Humans migrated across the globed, sometimes helped by natural events; the last ice age, for instance, lowered sea level to create a land bridge that allowed people to move into the Americas. About ten thousand years ago, modern humans in various parts of the world invented agriculture, which remains an important livelihood for some of the world’s peoples into the twenty-first century C.
The development of agriculture allowed villages and, later, cities to arise, where people with special skills had an opportunity to invent and refine new technologies. As cities and states grew larger and people interacted more closely, they needed means of regulating their societies. This gave rise to such developments as laws, diplomacy, and tools for managing financial transactions, among many others. All of the writing systems we use today had their roots in these early times.
Some ancient scripts died out before 500 C., including Babylonian cuneiform, Egyptian hieroglyphs, and Greek Linear B. Others, such as Chinese script, have remained in use from the second millennium B. The alphabet invented in western Asia in the second millennium B. had particularly widespread success, with Greeks, Romans, Indians, and many other adopting and then modifying it to serve their specific needs.
In later history, it sometimes replaced long existing writing systems, such as those of the Americas. Peoples of the ancient world also developed a wide variety of political structures. The overall trend was toward larger and more complex organizations, from small bands of up to forty gatherer-hunters to enormous empires incorporating millions of people. Eurasia’s classical empires—so called because the revolutionary ideas that shaped these empires long outlived them Chapter 1: Peopling the World, to 4000 B.
and gave rise to the fundamental, or “classical,” cultural traditions of Eurasia—flourished form about 500 B. Among them were the Qin Empire, which gave its name to the country of China, and the Old Persian Empire of Iran, whose Parthian and Sasanid successors inspired the people of the region until very recently. In wester Eurasia, the Roman Empire gave us the term empire itself, which is derived from imperium (meaning “rule”), and its history inspired ideas of political domination up to modern times. We consider the classical period of antiquity to have ended at the time when many empires disappeared: the Roman in the Mediterranean, Sasanid in the Middle East, Gupta in India, and Han in China.
Political organization was far from uniform in this era, however, and states we give the same label— empire—took varied approaches to rule. Some states gave power to one individual, others to a group of bureaucrats. Still others professed ideals of popular participation in government, but even in these only a select group of people was involved in governing. Although many people lived in relative isolation, ancient societies were often in contact over great distances.
Trade routes ran across Eurasia, for example, and women in China made silk cloth that people in Rome would wear. Those contacts waxed and waned over time, but they ignored political boundaries, and often continued even between societies at war. Migrant peoples sometimes carried technologies over vast expanses; Bantu speakers, for instance, spread agriculture and ironworking over much of sub-Saharan Africa. Not all historical developments and innovations resulted from contact and migration, however.
Often people living far apart separately created similar technologies and tools. Pottery, for example, was invented independently in Japan, the Middle East, Mesoamerica, and the Andes. The ancient world produced the classical eras of the literate cultures of Eurasia. Many religions and philosophies begun in this period remain influential to this day, including Indian Buddhism and Hinduism, Chinese Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism, and in the Mediterranean region Judaism, Christianity, and Greek philosophies.
Major genres of literature stem from this period, and authors from a variety of cultures wrote works still read today, including Greek and Sanskrit epics and tragedies, the Five Classics of Chinese literature, and historical accounts, among many others. Some were short poems, others volumes of vast length. World History was not a uniform process, however, as people everywhere chose the lifestyles and livelihoods best suited to their environments. Sometimes this led them to abandon techniques that most others saw as advances.
People in Polynesia stopped making pottery for example; people in Australia opted not to farm. In certain regions, structures that elsewhere provided the foundation for later developments suddenly ceased to exist. The urban cultures of the Oxus River Valley disappeared, for instance. Perhaps the primary characteristic of early world history is the sheer variety of the cultures that flourished in this period.
Chapter 1: Peopling the World, to 4000 B. Chapter One: Peopling the World, to 4000 B. Chapter One Focus Questions: 1. What physical and behavioral adaptations and innovations characterized human evolution? 2.
In the absence of written sources, what have scholars learned about the Paleolithic economy, adaptations to the natural world, and technological innovations? 3. In what ways does the Neolithic agricultural economy reveal humans’ increasing intent and ability to manipulate the natural world to their advantage? 4. Why did Australian Aborigines, in contrast to many of the world’s other peoples, choose not to farm? Chapter One Summary: Over the past two centuries, archaeologists have uncovered fossils all over the world that show a startling range of human society. With the evidence of early human society, it is necessary to see when, why, and how early humans adapted to their environment, and eventually developed agriculture.
Starting with an anthropological background, this chapter traces the activities of early humans from their evolution through the Paleolithic gatherer-hunter stages, to the discovery of agriculture and the Neolithic communities. This record serves to help see how early humans were able to prepare themselves for the advances that were to come. In addition, the Counterpoint of this chapter examines how certain groups, like the Aborigines of Australia, chose to continue a gatherer-hunter way of life, although agricultural livelihoods were possible. Chapter One Annotated Outline: I.
Neanderthals, Archaeologists, and Darwin II. Evolution of the Human Species 1. Over the past two centuries archaeologists have uncovered fossils all over the world that show a startling range of human society. Human evolution was not a process of constant, steady development, rather it unfolded unevenly over time.
Chapter 1: Peopling the World, to 4000 B. Around 5 to 4 million years ago, hominids moved out of dense forests into more open regions. Three main physical traits distinguish humans from apes: a. Communication through speech 5.
Australopithecus: “Southern Ape,” longer arms, walked upright 6. Hominins: Larger brains, taller, shorter arms 7. Homo erectus: Use of fire allowed humans to migrate out of Africa 8. Homo neanderthalensis: Larger brains, stockier, long, large faces 9.
Homo sapiens: Larger brains allowed for improved skills and communication B. Out of Africa 1. Various human ancestors migrated out of Africa at different times, probably due to climate change, food supply, and social pressures. Migration of Homo sapiens was very successful, and only believed hominid species to enter the Americas.
Diversity of languages is one of the main features that distinguish human populations, and it shows how they adjust habits to situations. Paleolithic Food Gatherers 1. Paleolithic—“Old Stone Age.” People hunted and gathered. Neolithic—“New Stone Age.Transition from one to the other was not simultaneous worldwide.
The Gatherer-Hunter Economy 1. Use of stone tools gave human ancestors advantage in food supply. Over time tools became better and more advanced. Usually not great hunters, and women collected most of the food.
Life in Paleolithic Communities 1. Typically lived in smaller groups of about 15-40. Connections usually based on family relationships. Paleolithic communities were egalitarian in character.
Chapter 1: Peopling the World, to 4000 B. Start to see the emotional ties lead to burial rituals. Also start to see “art” in this period. The First Neolithic Farmers 1.
Agriculture was one of the most important technological developments in human history. This shift to a fully agricultural livelihood began the Neolithic period. The Origins of Agriculture 1. Of thousands of plant species that humans potentially could have domesticated, very few were selected to become main staples.
This skill developed independently in various parts of the world. The advent of farming also caused long-term changes in human interactions. Fertile Crescent—first location of human cultivation 4. Once Neolithic people developed agriculture, the technology spread rapidly 5.
Agricultural life was more difficult than gatherer-hunting life, but it did allow for larger communities, expanded social interactions and better survival rates. Life in Neolithic Communities 1. Agricultural changes led to changes in dwellings as well. The house became the center of people’s activities.
These changes also led to advances in pottery (for food storage), metal working (for decorative objects), and textile weaving (for clothing and fabrics). Women were mostly responsible for turning raw agricultural products into usable goods. Farming and agriculture also led to the development of a hierarchical social structure. Although evidence points to possible matrilineal descent, it is risky to assume matriarchy.
Chapter 1: Peopling the World, to 4000 B. Shift in Neolithic communities to single families being primary social unit. Changes in the Neolithic period led to an increasingly complex human society. Counterpoint: Gatherer-Hunters by Choice: Aborigines of Australia 1.
Although agriculture spread rapidly, some locales where both livelihoods are possible, some chose to continue a gatherer-hunter way of life. Understanding the History of Aborigines 1. In Australia, before European settlers arrived, none of the native inhabitants, Aborigines, farmed. Europeans believed that they were not intelligent enough to farm, but remains show they consciously decided not to practice agriculture.
A Lifestyle in Harmony with the Natural World 1. Aborigines realized that foraging was more suitable for their environment. Although migratory, they were strongly attached to regions, and migration patterns were fixed. They developed highly effective specialized skills and tools to harvest nature’s resources.
The Conscious Choice to Gather and Hunt 1. While they were aware of crops that could grow well, they were content with the resources nature provided. Especially as farming could be difficult in the poor soil in many parts of the continent. Religious Life and Social Organization 1.