Toward Civilization

(Prehistory–3000 B.C.)

CHAPTER ONE

How are geography and history linked?

How do anthropologists and archaeologists find out about early peoples?

How do historians try to reconstruct the past?

Understanding Our Past1

By showing how people lived in different times and places, geographers have added to our knowledge of human history.

Geography and History

Geography is the study of people, their environments, and the resources available to them.

History uses written evidence to tell us how people lived in the past.

1

Place

The Five Themes of Geography

Region

The Human Story

Human-environment interaction

Location

Movement

1

Geography

Location Tells where a place is on the earth. You can locate any place on a map using latitude and longitude.

Latitude – measures distance north and south of the Equator. Longitude – measures distance east or west of the Prime Meridian. Relative Location – where one place is located in relation to another –

is sometimes more important than exact location.

• Place• Geographers describe places in terms of their physical features and

human characteristics.• Physical features include landforms, bodies of water, climate, soil

quality, resources, plant and animal life.• Human characteristics include where most people live and their

economic activities, religious beliefs, and languages.

Human-Environment Interaction Since the earliest times, people have interacted with their environment. They have been shaped by the places in which they lived. As technology has advanced, we have changed the environment in

more complex ways.

• Movement• The movement of people, goods, and ideas is another key link between

geography and history.• In early times, people followed herds of animals they depended on for

food.• More recently, people have moved from place to place in search of

jobs.• Traders carry goods from one place to another.• Ideas also move carried by traders, settlers or missionaries.

• Region• Some regions are based on physical characteristics.• Regions may also be defined by political, economic, or cultural

features.

Anthropologists & Archaeologists Prehistory refers to the long period of time before people invented systems of writing.Prehistoric people had no cities, countries, organized central governments, or complex inventions.

Anthropology is the study of the origins and development of people and their societies. Some anthropologists study the origins of human life. Others focus on the variety of human cultures.

Archaeology is a specialized branch of anthropology.

Archaeologists study artifacts, objects made by human beings. By analyzing artifacts, archaeologists learn about the beliefs, values, and activities of early people.

Technology refers to the skills and tools people use to meet their basic needs.

1

Historians Reconstruct the Past

Historians study how people lived in the past. They study artifacts, from clothing and coins to artwork and

tombstones.

They rely more on written evidence. About 5000 years ago, people in different parts of the world began

keeping written records. Historians study written evidence such as letters, tax records, and

recently used evidence such as photographs or film. Historians must interpret the evidence and try to explain what it

means. By explaining why things happened in the past, the historian can help

us understand what is going on today and what may happen tomorrow.

Section 2: The Dawn of History

How can we learn about the religious beliefs of early people?

Why was the Neolithic agricultural revolution a turning point in history?

What advantages did people make during the Old Stone Age?

made simple tools and weapons out of stone, bone, or wood; traveled, moving from place to place as they followed game

animals and ripening fruit.

developed a spoken language;

invented clothing;

used caves and rocky overhangs for shelter;

learned to build fires for warmth and cooking.

During the Old Stone Age, people lived as nomads, in small hunting and food gathering groups. Anthropologists believe earliest human life began in East Africa.

These people:

Section 2: The Old Stone AgeSection 2: The Old Stone Age2

Early people left evidence of their belief in a spiritual world.

Animism is the belief that the world Is full of spirits and forces that might reside in animals, objects, or dreams.

Cave paintings may have been part of animist religious rituals.

Stone statues are believed to have had religious meaning. Statues of pregnant women suggest that early people worshiped earth-mother goddesses.

Early people began burying their dead with care, suggesting a belief in life after death. They provided the dead with tools and weapons for the afterlife.

The Old Stone AgeThe Old Stone Age2

The change from nomadic to farming life led to changes in the way people lived and to the emergence of civilizations.

THE NEOLITHIC REVOLUTION

PEOPLE BEFORE PEOPLE AFTER

Learned to farm and were able to produce their own food.

Settled into permanent villages.

Learned to domesticate, or tame, animals.

Relied on hunting and gathering.

Nomads lived in small hunting and food-gathering groups.

Waited for migrating animals to return each year.

2

Changing Ways of Life The Neolithic agricultural revolution allowed people to become food

producers for the first time. This led to:

Growth in population. More interaction among human communities.• Farmers divided work by gender and age.• Status of women declined as men dominated family, economic, and

political life.• When food was scarce: warfare increased, some men gained prestige as warriors, who asserted power over

others in the group.• Settled people also had more personal property than their nomad

ancestors.

New Technologies To farm successfully people developed new technologies. Find new ways to protect crops. Measure out seed for next year’s crop.

Measure time accurately, so they knew when to plant and harvest. Domesticate animals to help with farm work.

• Technology led to creation of separate workshops for the

creation of: Tools Weapons Cloth weaving

Language

How did the first cities emerge?

What are the basic features of civilizations?

How do cultures spread and change?

Section 3: Beginnings of Civilization3

The Rise of Cities A civilization is a complex, highly organized social order. The rise of cities was the main feature of civilization. 1st cities emerged after farmers began cultivating lands along river

valleys and producing surplus food.

As populations grew, some villages swelled into cities.

• River Valley Civilizations River valleys favored farming. Flood waters spread silt, which renewed soil. Provided a regular water supply. Were a means of transportation. Rivers also posed challenges to control flooding and channel water to

fields. Cities also required leadership and well-organized governments.

8. Writing

7. Public works

6. Arts and architecture

5. Social classes

4. Job specialization

3. Complex religions

2. Well-organized central governments

1. Cities

A civilization is a complex, highly organized social order.Historians distinguish eight basic features found in most early civilizations:

3

What Are the Basic Features of Civilizations?What Are the Basic Features of Civilizations?

Features of Civilization Organized Governments Growth of cities required a steady food supply and a more powerful form of

government than that of previous councils of elders. In early governments, priests often had the most power.

Warrior kings emerged, they claimed that right to rule came from god. Rulers issued laws, collected taxes, & organized systems of defense. Over time separate government departments developed.

• Complex Religions Most ancient people were polytheistic. Gods were believed to control natural and human activities. Full-time priests, with special training and knowledge required to attend to

gods.

• Job Specialization As new crafts were developed no one person could master all. Individuals specialized in certain jobs.

Features of Civilization Skilled craft workers, or artisans, workers who created pottery, carved or

woven goods. Specialization made people dependant on others for various needs.

• Social Classes In cities, people were ranked according to their jobs. Priests and nobles usually ranked at the top. Next, were the wealthy merchants. Then the artisan class. The vast majority were peasant farmers. At the bottom, were the slaves.

• Arts and Architecture Arts and architecture expressed the beliefs and values of the people. Temples and palaces dominated most cities.

Features of Civilization Public Works Strong rulers ordered projects to benefit the city, such as:

1. Irrigation systems

2. Roads

3. Bridges

4. Defensive walls

• Writing Earliest writing was made up of pictograms, represented objects they

looked like. With time, symbols were added, they might represent sounds or ideas. Specially trained people called scribes were taught to read and write. Women were excluded from becoming scribes because it could lead to

political power.

Civilizations spread when ancient rulers gained more power and conquered territories beyond the boundaries of their cities.

Interactions among people also cause cultures to change.

Powerful rulers created city-states and empires.

Civilizations change when the physical environment changes.

Civilizations Spread and Change3

An empire is a group of states orterritories controlled by oneruler.

A city-state included a city andits surrounding lands andvillages.

Example: A tremendous volcano may have wiped out Minoan civilization.

Cultural diffusion is the spread of ideas, customs, and technologies from one people to another. Cultural diffusion occurred through migration, trade, and warfare.

Farmers began cultivating lands along river valleys and producing surplus, or extra, food.

Surpluses helped populations expand.

As populations grew, some villages

swelled into cities.

What Are the Basic Features of Civilizations?

3

Ancient Civilizations