From Pre History to Civilization

The first humans: appear in Africa.

How do we know about the pre-history period?

Archeology-the study of the ways of life of early people by studying what they left behind (artifacts)

Historians-study all evidence about the past, including archeology, written documents, pictures, films, etc.

The Stone age

The stone age is divided into two parts.

1) Paleolithic (Old stone age)

2) Neolithic (New stone age)

During the stone age, civilization had not yet emerged. People were pre-civilized.

At its most basic element, civilization is based on the food supply. Uncivilized man lives at the mercy of the land and weather. He does not provide for times of need.

“Three meals a day area a highly advanced institution. Savages gorge themselves or fast.” People lived at extremes: life was a feast or a famine. There was little thought of providing enough food for the next day.

Hunting and Gathering

People grubbed food from the earth with their bare hands, then used simple tools made from stones or animal bones. Thousands of generations tried countless types of plants and roots, as man learned by experience which ones could be eaten. He gathered insects, small reptiles and small animals. Large insects were dried in the sun for future meals. Man is known to have eaten shellfish, frogs, snails, mice, snakes, dogs, horses, roots, lice, insects,

It was nature that finally taught man to save for tomorrow. People took example from animals and insects: dogs that bury bones, squirrels that hide acorns, bees that fill the comb with honey, ants that store up food in the hill.

This style of living is called Paleolithic. Its characteristics are:

1) limited population group

2) no permanent settlements

3) social equality

a. no gender divisions: men and women both committed to search for food

b. no separation of people according to occupation or trade. No hierarchies as we know of them today.

Paleolithic people have left us works of art that depict their lives. These are mainly paintings on the walls of caves. These served religious purposes; they were ways to bring good luck or the blessings of the gods on an up and coming hunt.

The change from Paleolithic to Neolithic societies

1) From hunting to domestication of animals.

Instead of hunting, people learned to keep animals in a pen or pasture. Domestication: to tame something, to take it from the wild to live under the care of humans. Probably started when wounded animals were brought back to camp. It brought a more stable food source

2) From gathering to agriculture

Perhaps the greatest discovery in the course of human history was the discovery of the function of the seed. Every plant has the ability to reproduce. This was probably discovered when some stray gathered seeds grew identical plants.

The Neolithic Revolution

The ability to acquire food on a regular basis drastically changed life: there was more stability and order. Life developed according to special patterns; they had to follow seasons. Religion worshipped reproduction and fertility. Aspects of nomadic life were given up.

Food production increase as people learned new ways of producing and storing more food. A surplus of food emerged. Surplus=having more than one needs, extra.

Results:

1) This freed some people from having to spend all their time producing food. They could learn other skills. Artisans made weapons and jewelry. Specialty products could be made that were not available to nomadic people.

2) Surplus of food could be sold or traded with other communities. Neolithic communities came in contact with other communities around them.

Changes of Neolithic Revolution:

1) people needed to build permanent houses for protection and storing food

2) People began to specialize in certain crafts, social divisions began, laborers/merchants

3) Gender roles changed hunters and gatherers assigned similar roles to men and women. In the Neolithic revolution, the work that produced food became relegated to men, and household chores became the women’s job. Men came to be the dominant gender in society.

4) New forms of political arrangement were needed. The state was born.

The Bronze Age

During this age people discovered how to use metals instead of stone. The use of metals (copper + tin = bronze) brought the Neolithic period to an end, although many of the skills learned during that time would continue

Bronze was a hard, durable metal. It made better tools.

1) Farming: food production drastically increased. This meant that people did not have to move around. They could stay in one place and build permanent homes. Once the problem of the food supply was solved, people could also group together in larger numbers and build cities. This is called urbanization.

3) Weapons: Because people grouped together in larger numbers, more security was needed. Cities needed walls and large armies for protection.

4) Government: all these changes made it necessary to provide more organization. Questions of “who is in control and will make the final decisions?” had to be answered. Kings emerged.

In short, The Bronze Age led directly to the birth of a new form of human organization: Civilization.

Civilization

The study of history begins with civilization. This is because civilized man has the ability to write things down, and these written records provide historians with clues about their lives. There are several things that make up civilizations:

1) cities

2) governments

3) religion

4) social distinctions

5) artistic expression

6) written language

The first civilizations in the world emerged in river valleys in China, India, Africa, and the Middle East. Here is a brief comparison of the river valley civilizations in Africa and the Middle East.

	Egypt (Africa)	Mesopotamia (Middle East)
Geography	Egypt was protected by natural barriers on all sides. The Nile provided the perfect waterway for trade. Also, the Nile flooded each year at about the same time.	The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers flooded randomly and violently without much warning. Also, Mesopotamia had no natural barriers protecting them from enemy neighbors.
Culture	Egyptian culture was generally optimistic. They welcomed life and believed life would go on much the same after death. Life was eternal and the gods, they thought, loved them and provided for them.	Mesopotamian life was hard and cruel. They were invaded constantly and felt the gods did not care about them. They believed there was no afterlife and men just died.
Politics	Egypt was united under one central government. Egyptians believed the king, or Pharaoh, was a god. This helped keep order because people were more inclined to obey the king if he was a god. Religious myths reinforced this belief.	Mesopotamian civilization was made up of many independent city-states that never were able to unit. This made them weak and vulnerable to invasion. However, sometimes the people had to unite to build irrigation canals for their agriculture.
Religion	They were polytheistic, which means they believed in many gods. The pharaoh was a god.	Polytheistic. They believed the gods did not care much for them so they had to make sacrifices to keep the gods happy.
Society and Economics	Women had more rights than in most early civilizations. There were certain jobs, however, that women were not allowed to do. The vast majority of people in Egypt worked in agriculture. The Nile allowed Egyptians to trade with other civilizations and were influenced by them.	Women had some rights and could do some occupations, but as time went by most came to depend on their husbands. Like in Egypt, most people in Mesopotamia were farmers. Certain cities traded and grew rich. We know they traded with Egypt and India.
Contributions	The yearly flooding of the Nile made the Egyptians aware of the cycles of time. It is not surprising that they invented the first real calendars. They also excelled in astronomy and mathematics.	The idea of consistent laws for everyone was invented in Mesopotamia by Hammurabi. Laws were written down in public so everyone could see them. The Mesopotamians also invented the wheel and writing.