World History to 1500 - HIST 111 Resource Guide

The prehistoric period when people made stone tools exclusively by chipping or flaking. John Lubbock proposed and defined the term Paleolithic, or Old Stone Age, in 1865, and also defined a subsequent stage, Neolithic or New Stone Age, during which some stone tools were formed by polishing or grinding.

Four million years of biological and cultural evolution took place before the beginning of what is considered history proper, the moment when literacy developed and written records appeared, a little over five thousand years ago. The remarkable story of human prehistory ranges from the origins of humankind on the African savanna to the emergence of the first civilizations and empires.

The evolution of humans during the last ca. 300 000 years is currently explained by two competing models: the ‘out of Africa’ as based on the genetic evidence (mainly the mtDNA), the available fossil, such as Omo-Kibish, Herto, Skhul and Qafzeh, and a wealth of archaeological evidence, often related to the Moustrian industries.

A civilized society is a society characterized by the development of town and city life. Civilized societies are normally based upon trade, commerce or manufacture. The production of surpluses enables such societies to support elaborate political structures and elites dedicated to politics, religion, science, scholarship and the arts. The concept of civilization has therefore long been closely linked to ideas of progress and CULTURE.

The Indus civilization is the first urban society to emerge in northwestern South Asia, between 2600-1900 BC.

Ancient region of Asia, the territory about the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, included in modern Iraq. The region extends from the Persian Gulf north to the mountains of Armenia and from the Zagros and Kurdish mountains on the east to the Syrian Desert.

The first state-organized urban culture of China, known from both historical and archeological sources, that was ruled by the Shang dynasty from their heartland in the Yellow river region.

Farming in much of Sub-Saharan Africa is based on management of animal herds, together with cultivation of a range of indigenous savanna crops. These savanna crops include a wide range of small-seeded grasses (various millet species), sorghum, African rice, as well as pulses native to the savanna-forest margins (cowpea, hyacinth bean, Bambara groundnuts).

Perhaps the greatest of all human revolutions in science was the invention and development of agriculture nearly twelve thousand years ago in western Asia.

After the last Ice Age ended, c.10,000BC, a favourable climate and a good supply of food resulted in an expansion of the human population; a more certain source of food than the hunter-gatherer mode of living could provide was required. In the Near East from 8000BC and a little later in the Far East and Mesoamerica, wild grains were collected for food, and began to be grown in areas around settlements.

Information about Egyptian life, geography, gods and goddesses, mummification, pharaohs, pyramids, temples, time, trades, and writing. Each section includes a story, a nonlinear presentation of information ("Explore"), and an activity to develop analytical, mathematical, and observational skills within the context of the chosen topic. "Staff Room" offers resources for teachers. From the British Museum.

Catalhuyuk is one of the earliest farming communities that have been discovered. Its settlement dates from c6200 BCE, and it flourished for roughly 1000 years.