Chapter 1- World History

• Objectives: • 1. To familiarize students with the spread of

human societies in the Paleolithic Era• 2. To explore the conditions of life in gathering

and hunting societies• 3. To examine factors that led to change in the

gathering and hunting societies.

First PeoplesPopulating the Planet to 10,000B.C.E

• Dates B.C.E.- Before Common Era rather than B.C (before Christ) and C.E. – Common Era rather than A.D. (Anno Domini)

• The Hazda of Tanzania- last gathering hunting societies on earth– Their way of life (gathering and hunting) existed for 95 percent of our

species existence– Archeologists reveal that they were the first societies and had some sort

of worldview

• Paleolithic Age (2.5 million to 12,000 years ago) stone tools. Erroneously (false) dismissed as unimportant. Why?– Language was not written– No monumental structures

• Mesolithic Age (12,000-10,000 years ago) transitional• Why are tools significant?

– Defines people, survival, hunting, ceremony, food prep., shelter construction, needles, hooks

• Australopithecines- – Earliest humanlike creatures in Africa 3-4 million years

ago – First hominids –walked upright and made simple tools.– Lucy- bipedal, sizable brain, larnx

• “Multi regional” theory– All primates developed independently

• “Out of Africa” theory – Homo Sapiens- (wise ones) emerged in eastern and southern

Africa (Rift Valley) 250,000 years ago • Stayed in Africa about 150,000 years• Migrated north into Europe and Asia then Oceania (Pacific Islands to Aus.)• Africa was home of the “human revolution” in which culture shaped

human behavior

• Humans inhabited new environments– Technological innovations: • Stone tools, fire, clothing, fishing, hunting techniques

• Patterns of exchange develop about 100,00 years ago and trade settlements develop– Ornaments and burial relics indicated a growing

sense of culture and identity– 200 mile trade networks

• Burials may indicate a growing sense of a world view such as after life belief systems

• Neanderthals in Europe buried dead and made flutes

• The peak of the Ice Age 20,000 years ago created land bridges allowing for transcontinental migrations

• Into Eurasia– 45,000 years ago expansion from Africa to the

Middle East, Europe, then Asia– Atlatl (spear thrower) and bows develop

• Rituals and sacred rites – Totemic thinking (descended from animals) are

evidenced in cave paintings – Animistic- all things possess a spirit

• Paleolithic Venus figurines date back 35,000 years ago– Figurines found across Europe– Indicates a diffusion (spread of a cultural practice)

• In the Ukraine permanent shelters found, made of mammoth bones.– Nomadic life style waned

• Into Australia 60,000 years ago from Indonesia– Use of boats and remained gatherer hunters until

1788 when Europeans arrived– Complex worldview Dreamtime • Everything was a vibration or an echo from the past

which also includes migration routes

• Into the Americas– Settled later 30,000-15,000 years ago and first culture of the

Americas • Difficult to cross Siberia• Crossed the Bering land bridge 15,000 years ago• Developed the Clovis point, a type of projectile point• Flourished 12,000 years ago• Disappeared about 10,900 years ago

– Perhaps disappeared as large species animals became extinct

• Pacific– The last phase of human migration 3,500 years ago– Water migration from the Bismarck and Solomon Islands.

• Spoke Austronesian languages originated in southern China• Settled every area in the Pacific basin within 2,500 years• Austronesian language the most widespread • Settled New Zealand ca. 900 C.E.

• Pacific settlers colonized (expanding political, social and economic institutions to another land)– Brought plants and women to colonize– Established highly stratified societies or chiefdoms

• “Big Man” concept develops– Collect and distribute, extravegant

– Deforestation, extinction of animals led to famine and conflict

• First Human Societies– Paleolithic societies were small 25-30– Kinship groups– Very low population density

• Nomadic lifestyle and low gathering and hunting provided little surplus of food

• Egalitarian (equal distribution of rights) develop– No land means little wealth or power– Free from tyranny and oppression

• Relationships between men and women were more equal than later societies.– Confirmed by Captain James Cook in 1770 – Roles of men and women were defined• Gender division of labor

– Men hunted, women gathered and food was equally distributed

• Economy and Environment– Gatherer and Hunting societies not considered primitive today

• Worked fewer hours than agricultural and industrial societies and had more leisure time.

• Life expectancy was 35 years• Altered environment

– Fire to encourage growth of plants. – Travel north– Cure wood tools such as a bow– Expand their diet by cooking food.

• Large animals became extinct

• Realm of Spirit– Difficult to interpret spirit world due to lack of

written sources– Art is difficult to interpret– Did have a rich ceremonial life• Determined by burial sites• Venus figures illustrate a Goddess culture in

feminine rejuvenation and life giving force– Cyclical view of time based on the moon and cycles of

feminine fertility

• View of the cosmos was cyclic rather than the Western linear line. – African linguistic evidence points to some cultures

believing in monotheism (one god) and others that believed in spirit realms. • Shamans were often used as intermediaries

• “The Great Transition”– Gradual change 25,000 years ago when tools were

miniaturized called micro blades.– People began to interact more – Collection of wild grains started in Africa 16,000 years

ago– Ice Age ends 16,000 years ago which generates a

global warming.

• Richer environments develop that are more compatible for humans– People begin to settle and larger, more complex societies

develop• Households are capable of storing more goods

– Egalitarianism diminishes • Hierarchies of power burgeon (grow) and material possessions

increase.

• People settle 12,000-4,000 years ago– Jomon settle in Japan near the sea and expanded their food

sources and created earliest pottery– Scandinavia settles the same time – Bow and arrows develop separately in Africa, Europe, and the

Middle East then spread to the Americas– Dogs were domesticated as evidenced by cemeteries

• Comparing Paleolithic Societies of the San of southern Africa and the Chumash of southern California

• Both survived into the modern era as gathering and hunting societies

• The San live in the Kalahari Desert in Southern Africa (present day Angola, Namibia and Botswana. Also called the Ju/ ‘hoansi)– Occupied for 5,000 years and are part of the Khoisan linguistic

family– Gatherers and hunters– Oldest rock art

• Most Khoisan speakers were absorbed by the Bantu and settled into agriculture with domesticated animals.– The geography of the San made it difficult for them

to be assimilated (brought into another culture)• There was diffusion from the Bantu, iron arrowheads and

drums

• San society characterized by mobility– Harsh and very unpredictable resources

contributed to their mobility– Bands of 10-30 people• No formal hierarchy of leadership (no priests, chiefs)

– Only 28 tools, even distribution of labor between men and women

– Short work week

• Egalitarian society– Negative comments about the size of a kill was

referred to as “insulting the meat”• This combats boastful pride• The owner of the arrow, not the hunter could decide

on how to distribute the meat. – Arrows were widely shared and sometimes owned by

women.• Trading of gifts did not have to be of equal value.

– Connection between two people who were in debt

• Divorce was permitted – Polygamy (more than one wife) was permitted but

most women resisted sharing a husband• Resources were challenging so too many people would

upset the balance of the band• Disputes were handled through discourse (talk)

• Belief system – Creator god is Goa Na, gave rise to humans, plants, animals

and watering holes. Like the Greek gods he was capricious (at a whim) and used humans to his delight.

– Gauwa was destructive, spreading disease. • Most destructive were ghosts of ancestors called, gauwasi. They

were exercised in a ritual called n/um which were all night dances. Curing dances established community.

• Please do now: List political, social, economic and religious developments of Paleolithic people and analyze how these did or did not develop.

• The Chumash of Southern California– Chumash are representative of later post-Ice Age Paleolithic Era

(settled, some agriculture, trade, division of labor, hierarchies, complex economy)

– Settled in permanent villages, more complex societies.• Lived near sea

– Drew from more resources and densely populated. Nearly 20,000 and discovered by the Spanish in the. 16th Century

• Created a new society in 1150 C.E. – Major contribution to change was the tomol, an

ocean canoe capable of carrying two tons– Building or owning a tomol contributed to social

inequality• Contributed to island trade and possession of trade

items. • Deep sea catches were also highly prized.

• Market economy– Extensive resources and trade established a market economy

(supply/demand) among gatherer and hunting society.– Money was beads– Bearskins were worn only by tomol owners indicating an

economic hierarchy contrary – Specialized labor (certain skills for specific jobs) existed

• Burials also included parts of the canoe for a special group of people called the Brotherhood of the Tomol.– Chiefdom was hereditary (sometimes women)• Big Man concept

– They led war, trade, tomol ownership, religious rituals, and taxed the rich to redistribute to the poor.

• Reflections:– Feminists, environmentalists and those critical of

modern market collapses reflect on the Paleolithic Era as a “golden age.”

– What have we lost in our quest for modernity?

• Big Picture Questions:• 1. What is the significance of the Paleolithic

era in world history?• 2. In what ways did various Paleolithic

societies differ from one another and how did they change over time?

Doing World HistoryBig Picture- a time line of the most important events of those under study, accompanied by an explanation of their ultimate significance.Diffusion- the spread of natural elements, people, artifacts, ideas or other cultural creations from one civilization to another.Syncretism – mixing of elements from two or more cultures that result in something new.Comparison- the pointing out of similarities and differences between two civilizations in terms of their histories, institutions, cultural accomplishments and economies.Common Phenomena- natural or historical events and developments that two or more societies share. Examples could be climate, disease, natural disasters, shared technologies or other human developments. Basically, “What is share.”

• Do now please: Create a Venn diagram of the San and Chumash people in regards to their political, social and economic traits.

• Compare and contrast the San and Chumash people as defined by their geography.