PERIOD OVERVIEW NOTES

Nomadic hunters... slowly migrated across the earth, hunting and foraging for food.
Villages grew into cities, people specialized in jobs, powerful states emerged, and people developed the first writing system due to
the development of farming and herding.
Trade expanded, spreading new goods and ideas more rapidly than before.
By 600BCE, Mesopotamia, India, Egypt, China, Mesoamerica, and the Andes had impressive civilizations that would provide the
core of later civilizations in their regions.
FROM HUNTER-FORAGERS TO SETTLED SOCITIES
Chapter 1
Introduction
Prehistoric peoples left evidence of how they lived in their bones and artifacts. By studying their physical remains such as chipped
stones, burnt logs, and valuables buried with the dead, people today can trace the earliest humans movements, understand why they
trade with each other, and learn about their developed technologies.
Migrating across the Globe
Homo sapiens sapiens (hunter-gatherers) first appeared in East
between 200,000 and 100,000 years ago. They migrated based
pushes and pulls. As animals and plants moved, so did people.
one point, the land of north-eastern Asia and what is now
Alaska was connected due to the ocean level falling about
400 below todays level. The land is now submerged under
the Bering Strait. Nomadic hunters followed herds that
wandered across this land and once temperatures increased,
first Americans were cut off from their Asian ancestors of
which moved farther south along the coast. By 10,000 B.C.E.
lived on every continent except Antarctica.

Africa
on
At

the
people

THE PALEOLITHIC PERIOD

Introduction: What is the Paleolithic Period?
The Paleolithic Period began 2.5 million years ago and ended about 10,000 year ago (8000 B.C.E.) The early years of human history
are a part of this. It is often called the stone age because humans used stone told and weapons in this period.
Adapting to the Environment
As people migrated in search of animals and edible plants, they found certain tools to be particularly useful in the new environment
they encountered. People adapted technology to new conditions; scrapers for animal fur in cold climates, nets for fish in warmer
climates, rafts for the oceans, and axes in forested areas.
Control of Fire
Control of fire changed peoples lives by providing: (1) light to be able to see once dark, (2) heat to be allowed to live in colder
climates, (3) protect against wild animals, (4) get honey faster, (5) hunting; able to scare animals to their death.
Hunter-Forager Society
The nuclear family, expanded outward to include ties between related families. Several related families that moved together in search
of food were called a kinship group (20-40 people). They could make most of or all of what they needed to survive. They were often
part of a larger group of relatives called a clan which, if multiple combine, it is then called a tribe. An individual didnt have to be
related to others to be part of the tribe, for it is for hunting or mutual defense from enemies. These groups are tied together through
trading goods and people (to help even out the numbers).
Rules in Society
Paleolithic groups did not have many layers of leaders. Hunter-forager societies were often divided by gender. This is called
patriarchal, ones dominated by men. The males took charge of hunts, warfare, and heavy labor. The women gathered and prepared
food and looked after the children. Anthropologist believes that the hunter-forager groups resemble that of earlier nomads. Also that
woman breast-fed their children for as long as five years thus providing nutrients and a form of family planning.

Religion and Art

It is believed that Paleolithics developed a system of religious beliefs centered around the worship of gods that were associated with
the forces of nature. The ritual sacrifices and burial practices suggest a belief in the afterlife that dates back 100,000 years. Artistic
expression through cave paintings- 32,000 years ago. Musical instruments- 30,000 years ago. Artistic expression many have been
connected to religious ceremonies.

NEOLITHIC REVOLUTION
Introduction: What is the Neolithic Revolution and what major developments characterized it?
Around 10,000 year ago (8000 B.C.E.), as the climate was warming up from an Ice Age, a collection of social and political
developments coalesced into what is called the Neolithic Revolution , a set of dramatic changes in how people lived based on the
development of agriculture. These changes are sometimes called the Agriculture Revolution. It can be characterized by several major
developments: (1) agriculture, (2) pastoralism, (3) specialization of labor, (4) towns and cities, (5) governments, (6) religions, and (7)
technological innovations.
Agriculture
Some hunter-forager cultures gave up their nomadic way of life to stay in one place and take up agriculture, the practice of raising
crops or livestock on a continual and controlled basis. As they learned to plant, tend, and harvest crops, people found they often has a
surplus, or more than they needed for themselves. Agriculture started in lands just east of the Mediterranean Sea. As cultivation of
the crops spread, the natural diversity of plants in a region decreased as well as the insects and animals that depended on them. By
cultivating just one or two plants, people eliminated other plants that had been part of peoples diets.
Pastoralism
Even before people settled down as farmers, people in Africa, Europe, and Asia had begun to
tame wild animal so they could be brought up to live with humans, a process called
domestication. First- dogs. Second- Goats. The animals provide labor, food, warnings, etc. As
people began to keep larger herds of animals, they began to lead them from one grazing land to
another. Their way of life is called nomadic pastoralism. Farmers and pastoralists were mobile
and controlled their food supply. Pastoralism first emerged in grassland regions of Africa and
Eurasia. Both farmers and pastoralism affected the environment dramatically. Pastoralists
would, at times, let animals graze an area so heavily, destroying the grass causing the land to
be infertile when the soil washed away from rain. Farmers stayed in place while pastoralists
moved frequently. Over 10,000 years, pastoralists have played an important role in spreading ideas and trading goods among people.
Specialization of Labor
The productivity of the new ways of producing food freed up some people to focus on other roles in society. Some people became
artisans, people who made objects people needed, or merchants, people who buy and sell goods for a living. This process of allowing
people to focus on limited tasks is called specialization of labor. The surplus of food and goods, combined with the need for religious
ceremonies and a rudimentary system of lavation , led to the invention of writing. The development of writing marked the tradition
from prehistory to history.
Growth of Villages and Towns
With the change in food production along came social satisfaction. This means that some people accumulated wealth in the form of
jewelry and other coveted items and by building larger and better decorated houses. One of humankinds first cities was Jericho,
which was built on the west bank of the Jordan River. Another ancient city, Catal Huyuk, in present-day Turkey, was founded in 7500
B.C.E. The city existed for about 2,000 years but its well-preserved remains have helped modern people understand life long ago.
Jericho has tremendous significance in the Jedeo-Christian tradition.
Governments
The surplus of food also led to the creation of governmental institutions. Powerful leaders were required to supervise religious
ceremonies, but also to explain how the behavior and rulings of leaders were based on religious doctrine. The leaders of farming
communities and towns developed the earliest forms of government. Those who owned most land or livestock became the wealthiest
and thus the most powerful. They became the leaders of local governments.
Religions

Agriculture land could lose its fertility through over farming unless it was left fallow or it was fertilized, usually be the spreading of
animal manure. Pastures could erode due to overgrazing, or the continual eating of grasses or their roots, without allowing them to
regrow. As people tried to persuade the spirits of nature to help with their crops and herds, religious ceremonies became more
elaborate. New religious beliefs became highly organized before 600 B.C.E Along the cost of the Mediterranean Sea, the Hebrews
emerged under the leadership to follow Abraham. They were one of the first to worship only one deity, a practice called monotheism.
Technological Innovations
Societies advanced as people adopted new tools and skills. Most people learned about new technology through trade, war, or other
forms of contact with other societies: (1) they invented waterproof-clay pots to store food and carry water, (2) creating the plow that
is pulled by animals of which makes cultivating crops easier, (3) people could transport everything more easily by the development
of the wheel with an axle, (4) textiles, items made of cloth; weavers learned to spin hair from animals or fibers from plants into
threads that would then get weaved into cloth, (5) copper, found in a pure state in the ground was used first. Through
experimentation, they learned that melting tin and copper made bronze. It was such an advance that it gave the period a new name:
The Bronze Age (generally between 3000 and 2300 B.C.E.).
The First Civilizations
The seven developments of the Neolithic Revolution that began around 8000 B.C.E. created the foundation for a new form of human
civilization to emerge over several thousand years. This new form of civilization, a large society with cities and powerful states.
Elites grew wealthy. The gap between rich and poor, men and women grew more noticeable. All six of the civilizations (SW Asia/
Tigris/ Mesopotamia, Nile River Valley/ Egypt, Huang He River/China, Indus River Valley/ India, Mesoamerica, and Andes
Mountains) developed ways of life that would nearly influence successor civilizations in their regions. Because of their influences,
they are examples of core and foundational civilizations.
Historical Perspectives: Was farming a mistake?
Scholars of prehistoric life disagree about the benefits and costs of the development of agriculture and pastoralism. One believes that
reducing the variety of food in peoples diets increased malnourishment. Relying on fewer food sources made people more
susceptible to famine. Living in concentrated settlements increased everyones risk for disease. Another adds on that the changes
reduced the average life span. However, one argues that agriculture and pastoralism reduced violence. He came to this conclusion
through the study that hunter-forager societies had high murder rates and frequent warfare. On the other hand, one saw through
studies that theres a height difference between people who lived before and the ones who lived after the agriculture resolution. Still
he noted that without the surplus of food you get through farming, we couldnt have the runway technology.
THE FIRST CIVILIZATIONS
Chapter 2
Introduction
Four of the civilizations emerged in river valleys of which people developed large urban areas, extensive trade, formal legal codes,
sophisticated writing systems, and other critical developments that have become standard features of civilization ever since.
THE SUMERIANS
Introduction
In Southwest Asia, the Tigris and Euphrates river flow south from modern day Turkey through what is now Iraq to empty into the
Persian Gulf. The area between the two rivers was once known as Mesopotamia A larger area; the Fertile Crescent overlaps the
Mesopotamia. Sometime before 5000 B.C.E., a group of nomadic pastoralists called Sumerians migrated into Mesopotamia setting
alongside people already living there. Overtime, these new migrants created the civilizations of Sumer.
Sumerian Government
By 3000 B.C.E., some cities in Sumer were home to between 2,000 and 10,000 people. By 2700
B.C.E., the largest city, Uruk, had a population of 50,000. Each Sumerian city and the land it
controlled formed a city-state, which typically covered several hundred square feet. The first
rulers were the city-states priests since they believed that land belonged to the gods. They began
to compete with each other causing wars to occur. Over time, Sumerian military leaders became
more important than priests. These military rulers, called kings, ruled over a territory known as
a kingdom. The practice of Kings also being priests increased social stability, since the priests is
said to be a direct link between people and the gods.
Sumerian Religion
The people of Sumer were polytheistic, worshiping many gods. They believed that the gods controlled the natural forces around them
so they made offerings and prayed that the gods would cause the rivers to flood at the right times for growing crops. They placed
temples and alters in large stepped pyramids called ziggurats. They believed that the gods punished humans in this life for bad
behavior but not in the afterlife, for they believe that the dead turn into dust.
Sumerian Economy and Trade
Sumerians learned to farm the land intensely. As a result, they were able to produce an agricultural surplus, which had all the effects
of a division of labor, chapter one. The agricultural surplus also allowed Sumerians to trade extensively, not only throughout the
region of Mesopotamia but transgionally with other civilizations. While some of the trade was over land, they also sailed sevenperson canoes into the Mediterian Sea and through the Persian Gulf and in the Arabia Sea. Through their trading networks, the
Sumerians obtained goods from even further away. Egypt-gold, Persia- tin, Southeastern Africa- beads, wood, resin, lapsslazull,
obsidian, India- pearls, copper, and ivory.
Sumerian Social Structure

As Sumerians became more specialized in their work, distinctions between classes became sharper. One sign of increase in social
stratification was that a new class of nobles and wealthy landowners joined priests and kings at the top of society. Middle classmerchants, farmers, and professionals such as architects. Lower class: slavesforeign prisoners of war or Sumerian families who
could not play their debts. About 40 percent of the peopling living in Sumerian cities may have been slaves.
Women in Sumer
Upper- class Sumerian women enjoyed some freedom such as owning property and have incomes separate from those of their
husbands However, only their boys attended school; their girls were educated at home. Also, all marriages were arranged by men.
Cultural and Scientific Contributions
To manage their surplus crops, manufacturing, and trade, the Sumerians needed to keep records so
they create the worlds first writing system, called cuneiform, which consisted of marks carved onto
wet clay tablets. The complex writing system required scribes, these individuals were changed first
with record- keeping and later with the writing of history and myths. Sumerians made several
advances in thought and technology. They pioneered many important inventions related to farming,
including carts and metal plows, as well as sundials and a 12 month calendar to predict the flooding
of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Also, a numbering system based on 60 was invented. It
was during the time of Sumers power that the Epic of Gilgamesh was produced. It was originally composed on 12 clay tablets in
cuneiform script. The epic concerns the adventurers of a real Sumerian King named Gilgamesh who ruled the city-state of Uruk
somewhere between 2750 and 2500 B.C.E.
Sumerian Decline
Mesopotamia attracted other groups who wanted to control the land because it had supplies of water and fertile land. Since there
were few natural barriers to prevent invasions and because of the independent nature of the city-states. The Sumerian city-state fell to
invaders around 2300 B.C.E. The culture they developed became the core and foundational of later empires in the region.
THE BABYLONIAN EMPIRE
Introduction
The bow, developed in Mesopotamia or by nomadic pastoralists, gave its first users an advantage over its rivals. Around 1900 B.C.E.,
Persian people from what is now Iran invading and took control over Mesopotamia. The invaders built a new capital city called
Babylon, so they became known as Babylonians. They would eventually control a large territory that includes that included diverse
cultural groups, called an empire.
King Hammurabi
The Babylonians most powerful king was Hammurabi. He conquered all of Mesopotamia and ruled for more than 40 years, until
about 1750 B.C.E. Hammurabi is famous for creating a set of laws: the code of Hammurabi, of which were 282 laws carved into
stone monuments. The codes main purpose was to protect peoples rights. His system of justice, though harsh, was not as violent or
unpredictable as the retribution people often carried out. Hammurabi brought greater stability and justice to society.
Babylonian Society and Culture
Babylonian culture resembled that of Sumer in several ways. For example, Babylonians adopted many of the Sumerians religious
beliefs and was a patriarchal society, one dominated by men. A woman could be a merchant, trader, and scribe, leave her husband if
wanted and take her property with her. In Babylonia, astronomy, the study of objects outside Earths atmosphere, was linked to the
Babylonians religious practices of fortune-telling and astrology, predicting the future by studying movements of stars and planets.
THE PHONECIANS
Introduction
The Phoenician occupied parts of present-day Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan around 3000 B.C.E. They developed a wide trade net work
exporting across the Mediterranean Sea and the eastern Atlantic Ocean. They expanded their empire around the Mediterranean
during 1200 to 1100 B.C.E. Carthage, a Phoenician colony on the coast of North Africa, became a significant outpost in the region.
The Phoenicians are remember for developing an alphabetic script, a system of symbols (letters) that represent the sounds of speech,
as an alternative to cuneiform around 1000 B.C.E.
THE HEBREWS
Introduction
The Hebrews, whose descendants became known as Israelites and later as Jews, lived in the region of Canaan. Canaan was founded
by Abraham who left Mesopotamia to settle there in approximately 2000 B.C.E. Today, Jews, Christians, and Muslims all trace their
religions heritage to him. Hebrews migrated to Egypt of where they were enslaved for several centuries. About 1300 B.C.E., they
were led out of Egypt by Moses. He introduced the Ten Commandments; a code of conduct that became very influenced the Ten
Commandments, a code of conduct that became very influential in areas dominated by Christianity.
Monotheism
Hebrews were the first group to adopt monotheism, a belief in only one deity.
Division and Diaspora
The two Hebrew kingdoms were conquered by the Assyrians and however and this movement was the beginning of the Jewish
Diaspora, the spreading of Jews throughout the Mediterranean world and the Middle East. Jews were able to return to Jerusalem only
after the Persians conquered the region in 539 B.C.E. However, many other rulers took control overtime which led Jews to migrate to
North Africa, southern Europe, and elsewhere, continuing the Jewish Diaspora.
THE GEOGRAPHY OF AFRICA
Geographers have divided Africa into four major climate zones; (1) A Mediterranean climate zone; mild seasons and temperate

weather. (2) A desert zone; the Sahara in Northern Africa and the Kalahari in southern 10% of the continent. (4) The savanna; made
up of grasslands. The bands are just north and south of the rain forest zone.
ANCIENT EGYPT
Introduction
The Nile River begins in the interior of Africa and flows north to empty into the Mediterranean Sea. It was once ideal for agriculture,
especially the papyrus plant, which was used for many things. The river no longer experiences annual flooding due to the Aswan
Dam that was built in 1968.
Introduction of Agriculture and Pastoralism
In the Nile River Valley, people began to practice agriculture and pastoralism around 6000 B.C.E or 5000
B.C.E Mesopotamia. Egyptians learned to grow wheat and barley. Savanna- Egyptians learned to grow
gourds, watermelons, and sorghum and to raise donkey and cattle. Over the span of two thousand years,
Egyptians domesticated animals, began mining copper to make jewelry and tools, and had enough agriculture
surpluses for towns to emerge. Egypt were making these advances as the climate was changing so around
5000 B.C.E., declining rainfall across North Africa was causing desertification, the creation of desert like
conditions. The Sahara was growing larger and dryer, and the Savanna region was growing smaller. The
Egyptians dug irrigation canals to spread flood water like the Sumerians which makes one think that the
Egyptians may have learned about the wheel, the plow, bronze-making, and writing from the Sumerians.
Transportation and Trade
Early Egyptians used the Nile River for transportation and trade. They not only traded locally but traded through the region of
northeast Africa such as with Mesopotamia. The dry lands to the west and east provided natural barriers against attacks. Since
Mesopotamia would get attacked frequently, Egypt got to develop for more than 1,300 years before its first major invasion.
Early Governments
Local chiefs emerged since more people setting in Egypt due to desertification. Strong leaders united the towns into two kingdoms:
Lower Egypt (north) and Upper Egypt (south). Around 3100 B.C.E., king Menes united the two kingdoms and also established his
capital as the city of Memphis. Historians have divides much of subsequent Ancient Egyptian history into three long periods of
stability: the Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, and New Kingdom.
The Old Kingdom (2660-2160 B.C.E.)
Egypt began developing a strong central government. A king or queen was known as a pharaoh, this term did not some into use until
the New Kingdom. From Memphis, they ruled as theocrats, rulers holding both religious and political power Egyptians supported
great efforts to preserve and honor their bodies after death by building large pyramids as tombs with jewelry and mummified them.
Over time, the lands and positions passed from father to son. A class of nobles developed as a result of who challenged the pharaohs.
A period of drought weakened their power causing famine and starvation that led to the collapse of the Old Kingdom. The kingdom
again split into Upper and Lower Egypt. Over 100 years, nobles completed for power and the thrown.
The Middle Kingdom (2040-1786 B.C.E.)
Mentuhotep II took power in 2040 B.C.E. and naoved the capital to Thebes where he reunited Egypt under a central government,
reducing the power of the provincial governors and eventually gaining control over all of Egypt. Many temples to the gods were built
during this period due to the creations the Pharaohs did to encourage loyalty. They also increased the size of Egypts farmland
through irrigation projects and expanded their countrys borders. The Middle Kingdom ended after an invasion by a pastoral nomadic
people called the Hyksos from modern Syria. The Hyksos used their superior technology to defeat the Egyptians.
The New Kingdom (1570-1070 B.C.E.)
As Egyptians learned to use the same battle technology. They defeated the Hyksos, beginning the era known as the New Kingdom.
Pharaohs expanded southward into Nubia and north into Mesopotamia. Around 1350 B.C.E., the pharaoh Akhenaton tried to change
Egyptians religion to only worship one god called Aten. After his death, Egypts old religion was restored and priests became even
more powerful. A powerful pharaoh, Ramses the Great, took the throne around 1290 B.C.E. and expanded the empire into southwest
Asia. Egypts empire became a target for invaders such as the Hittites who had a military advantage because they were beginning to
use iron weapons. After Ramses death, Egypt began a long period of decline. Egypt did not regain its independence until modern
times.
Egyptian Society
The social hierarchy in Egypt was complex, with royal families, nobles, and priests at the top. Artisans worked in shops and were
paid by the government. A large lower class was farmers of which their crops belonged to the owner of the land. At the lowest level
were the slaves who were usually hailed from lands conquered by Egypt. Egyptian women could own property, make contracts,
divorce, and purse legal disputes in court. Most women were uneducated and usually did not take part in government and had little
power. However, two women, Hatshepsut and Cleopatra, became pharaohs.
Religion
The ancient Egyptians were polytheistic, worshiping many gods such as Ra the son god, Osiris the god of life and death, and Iris,
wife of Osiris, goddess of nature. They prayed and made offerings to the god to win the gods favor and protection. The Egyptians
believed in life after death and that the body must be preserved in order for that. Mummification involved removing the bodys
internal organs, drying the body with salts, packing its insides, and wrapping it with chemically treated cloth. Only the rich could
afford to do this. Poor people were buried in the desert.
Continuous Egyptian Culture
The long periods of units under the Old, Middle, and New kingdoms allowed a stable Egyptian culture to develop of which remained

intact even with invaders.

Egyptian Writing
By about 3000 B.C.E, people in the Nile Valley were using a form-of-picture-writing known as hieroglyphics that was like the
Sumerians cuneiform, with the addition of symbols. They mashed papyrus, a type of plant that grew along the Nile River, using its
fibers to create a type of paper. The Book of the Dead was a paper book that Egyptians put inside the coffins of dead pharaohs and
some nobles, each version of the book was different since it told the story of the dead person.
Scientific Contributions
Egyptians cut the massive stone blocks used in their construction in distant quarries in the desert and
transported them to a construction site. They then developed math and engineering skills to build the
various pyramids. They developed a numbering system based on 10. Their knowledge of geometry
helped them to build the pyramids and to restore the boundaries of fields after a flooding of the Nile.
They also developed a 365 day calendar used for religious purposes and to monitor the flooding of the
Nile. The practice of mummification gave them much knowledge about the human body that allowed
them to be able to set broken bones, amputate limbs, and stitch up wounds. They also learned how to
prevent infection and relieve pain. Nevertheless, adult life expectancy was only about 3.5 years, and
about one third of ancient Egyptians died in infancy.
NUBIA, KUSH, AXUM
Introduction
Just south of Egypt, three other ancient kingdoms developed of which werent as wealthy as Egypt was at its peak. Each prospered
through regional trade and carried on trade.
Nubia
Nubia emerged in the Upper Nile Valley around 3500 B.C.E., Egyptian traders went to Nubia in search of gold, ivory, incents, cattle,
animal skins, and slaves. The Nubians built Egyptian-type pyramids and palaces, worshipped some Egyptian gods, burial practices,
and used Egyptian hieroglyphs in writing, but they also developed their own script, which was alphabetic. Nubia lasted for nearly a
thousand years before falling into decline, only to reemerge as the Kingdom of Kush around 2500 B.C.E.
Kush
Kush established some political power and cultural independence by about 1000 B.C.E. and even conquered Egypt before briefly
being overthrown by the Assyrians in 663 B.C.E. Kush enjoyed its greatest power from about 300 B.C.E. to 100 C.E. Afterward,
their power and influence declined partly because of deforestation. In 340s C.E., Kush was conquered by the civilization of Axum.
Axum
The civilization of Axum was founded on the plateau of present-day Ethiopia in the first century C.E. Its capital city was called
Axum. The state had an agricultural economy and established a successful trading colony. Because of their trading with the Roman
Empire, some Axum converted to Christianity, which helped make a more cohesive society, and in 330 C.E. it became decreed the
official religion. Axum defeated the Kushites in Meroe in the 340s C.E. Axum began to decline around 600 C.E.
INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATIONS
Introduction
Like civilizations in Mesopotamia and Egypt, the Indus River Valley civilizations developed near water
and became the core and foundation of later civilizations in the region. Between 2500 and 2000 B.C.E.,
indigenous peoples of the Indian subcontinent, known as Dravidians, established two sophisticated urban
centers in the Indus River Valley: Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro. Archaeological remains reveal evidence of
an advanced civilization with division of labor. They can infer that a social hierarchy existed in the Indus
River Valley because of the foundation of homes in the Harappas center were found to be of varying
sizes. And since most residents, rich and poor, had private toilets that drained into a municipal sewage
system, the cities must have had sophisticated technology and urban planning.
Agriculture and Environment
Because so few residents of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa were farmers. Archeologists conclude that rural areas were providing ample
amounts of food to these urban areas. The Indus Valley societies should be considered civilized due to the existence of agriculture
surplus and resulting division of labor. Environmental degradation probably caused the gradual decline and eventual disappearance
of the Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro civilizations. This could be due to the deforestation, the ferocious and temperamental Indus River,
or even earthquakes.
Aryan Migrations and Interactions
The group that arrived 500 years after Harappas declines left a more lasting mark on South Asian culture. Aryans, Indo-Europeanspeaking peoples originally from Central Asia, traveled from Persia through the Hindu Kush Mountains over a period of several
centuries, beginning in 1500 B.C.E. They brought the first horses into India Overtime, Aryan settlements and culture spread east
along the Ganges River and its surrounding Plains.
Importance of Clans
Each Aryan tribe was divided into clans, each with its own territory and each headed by a male chief who rules with advice from a
committee of clan members. The people had no central government. Eventually, most settled in villages and begun to farm,
intermingling with the native peoples. They had poor transportation. Early trade was by bartersystem by which one thing is
exchanged for another. By B.C.E., though, their use of silver and copper coins led to an increase in trade and in the number of
craftspeople and merchants.

Aryan Language
Aryans brought their sacred language, Sanskrit, with them to South Asia. At first, stories were passed orally from generation to
generation, but sometime between 1200 and 1000 B.C.E., the Aryans developed a writing system. They had a commonly used tongue
which would eventually evolve into Hindi. Due to the Aryans Indo-European origins, Sanskrit shares similarities to Latin, another
Indo-European language.
Aryan Religious Traditions
The Vedas, Sanskrit for knowledge, are a collection of Aryan religious hymns, poems, and songs. The Rig-Veda is the most
famous; it sheds light on ancient Indian society. The Rig-Veda outlined proper priestly (Brahmin) behavior, which included
performing several daily rituals honoring the gods. The importance of the Vedas in Indian spiritual life had waned a bit by 500 B.C.E
Aryan and Dravidian Beliefs
The late Vedic Age (800-400 B.C.E.) was marked by the Aryans growing awareness of Dravidian beliefs. The interaction of both
traditions came to fruition in the Upanishads, a collection of religious thoughts that illuminated several new religious concepts:
Brahma, dharma, karma, and moksha. Brahma is an overarching, universal soul that connects all creatures on Earth. In order to
escape the seemingly endless cycle of birth and rebirth, one must perform righteous duties and deeds, known as ones dharma. This
dharma then determines ones karma, or fate, in the next life. A souls ultimate goal should be to attain moksha, or eternal peace and
unity with Brahma. The Upanishads is a foundational text for the set of religious beliefs that later became known as Hinduism. It
reflects the blending of Aryan and Dravidian religious values and the social structure of Ancient India.
CHINAS FIRST CIVILIZATIONS
Introduction
China includes two major rivers, the Huang He (Yellow) and the Chiang Jiang (Yangtze). Huang He
River takes its name from the deposits. Two advantages are: for thousands of years, the flooding of this
river has deposited loess, a type of fertile soil that is yellow in color, across a wide area and much of
eastern China experiences a reliable, moderate climate. The Gobi Desert in the west and the Himalayas
in the southwest protect China from invasion. As early as 650 B.C.E., Neolithic people of the Yangtze
Valley were growing rice and by 3000 B.C.E., groups along the Huang He had taken up rice farming.
Both groups had begun domesticating chickens and pigs. According to Chinese tradition, the first silk
production also began at that time.
Chinas first rulers
A mad named Yu brought order to the region around 2100 B.C.E. by organizing projects to build roads to encourage trade, create
ditches to control flooding, and drain swamps to create farmland. He also organized the regions villages into zones for defense and
placed each zone under a local leader who reported to him. Yu passed his power to his son Qi, and with his rule what is known as the
Xia Dynasty began. (A dynasty is a series of rulers who all belong to the same family.) It lasted for about 40 years. The only written
information about the Xia kings was recorded more than a thousand years later.
The Shang dynasty
Around 1750 B.C.E., a local leader named Tang overthrew the Xia king and took power. This event marked the beginning of the
Shang Dynasty, which ruled for the next 600 years. The Shang rulers established a city and wielded economic and religious power.
Economy, Technology and Trade
Artisans and merchants lived in the capital and in towns across the empire. The bronze technology came from Southwest Asia viz
migrating Indo-European peoples who settled in what is now western China. Traders also brought tin from Southeast Asia and jade
from Central Asia. Their bronze weapons and armor and their horse-drawn chariots made them stronger than anyone who dared to
oppose them.
Religion
The gods worshipped during the Shang Dynasty included gods of the sun, moon, clouds, and wind. People would inscribe questions
for the gods on oracle bones, which were turtle shells, oxen bones, or the bones of other animals. Shang kings relied on the bones to
tell them such things as weather to attack an enemy and if the crops would be successful. Chinas long tradition of ancestor veneration
also began during the Shang Dynasty. The Chinese believed in life after death so when a king or noble died, some of his servants and
pets were killed so they could travel with him to the next world.
Cultural and Scientific Contributions
The Shang developed a written script of pictographs, or graphic symbols, each of which represented an
idea, concept, or object, rather than representing a single sound, as letter systems do. Their calendar had 12
alternating months of 29 and 30 days. Royal astronomers added extra days as needed to get to a 365-day
year. Shang artisans created bronze castings, ivory carvings, silk garments, and white clay pottery. Drums,
bells, stone chimes, and an ocarina were the first Chinese instruments of which appeared during the Shang
Dynasty.
The End of the Shang Dynasty
In 1045 B.C.E., a military man named Wu raised his own army and challenged Shang rule. The king was killed, the Shang Dynasty
ended, and Wu established the Zhou Dynasty in its place.
The Zhou Dynasty
Zhou kings ruled for about 900 years. The first 200 years has become known as Chinas first Golden Age, a period in a society of

relative peace, prosperity, and innovation. They expanded the territory making the reach of the Zhou Dynasty much larger than what
the Shangs had been. Another key element in the Zhou leaders success was the introduction of a concept called the Mandate of
Heaven, which was the idea that a just rulers power was bestowed by the gods. Natural events was a sign that a ruler no longer had
the Mandate of Heaven.
Government
The Zhou kings could not contol their territory directly due to the expansion so the kingdom was divided into many regions,
controlled by relatives or loyal friends. The kings made alliances with kings who ruled the territory along their borders to help shield
it from invasion by nomadic people from the north and south. The network of regional rulers, with relationships based on mutual
agreements, created the basics of feudalism, which would reappear in many cultures later in history. The Zhou government system
broke down over time due to the trusties for each region turning against the king and the developments in metals.
Trade and Agriculture
Internal trade expanded and there were some foreign trade. The first Chinese money came into use in the form of copper coins, with
different ones minted in different regions. Using iron tools, Chinese peasants built dikes, reservoirs, and irrigation canal to better
control their water supply. This changed Chinese agriculture around the sixth century B.C.E. (the Iron Age). The population growth
grew steady due to iron plows drawn by oxen allowed more land to be farmed and more food produced than ever before.
Urbanization
The trade among the regions led to the growth of towns and some cities of which attracted people to the ones that were seats of
national or regional power.
Zhou Achievements
The military and armies benefited from the invention of the crossbow and iron sword. The waters of the two major rivers were better
exploited due to the development of plows and improved irrigation systems by Zhou farmers. Roads were improved that bolstered
trade and brought increased contact with outsiders.
The Decline of the Zhou dynasty
By the 800s B.C.E., the Zhou kings had begun to lose control due to the combination of uprisings by local leaders and invasions
from the west. By the 400s B.C.E., they had little power outside their own city-state.
THE FIRST AMERICAN CIVILIZATIONS
Introduction
By 3000 B.C.E., some of the indigenous peoples, possibly first in Mexico, discovered that food could be grown and harvested. One
of the first important plants to be grown by the indigenous Americans was maize (corn). This plant, native to the Western
Hemisphere, was domesticated from wild types into several different varieties.
The Chavin
About the same time human settlements developed in Mesoamerica (Central America and what is now Mexico), settlements began
near the Andes Mountains. For example, along the coast of what is now Peru, the Chavin civilization existed from around 1000 to
200 B.C.E. Most of the Chavin people lives in the valleys growing crops and relied heavily on llamas for meat, wool, and transport.
They developed irrigation systems, three urban centers, each with more than 10,000 people, and impressive techniques in gold,
silver, and copper metallurgy. However, their political structure was weak so once the religious authority went into decline, there was
little to hold the Chavin together. Their civilization dissolved into various regional groups.
The Olmec
Mesopotamia would become home to several advanced civilization. The foundation, or core, of all these was the Olmec. The Olmec
flourished in east and central Mexico from around 1200 to 400 B.C.E. They carried on a flourishing trade with regions as far as 250
miles away, obtaining jade and obsidian. The Olmec are famous for carving enormous basalt monuments of human heads. About 17
of these have been found, with the largest about 10 feet tall and weighing many thousands of pounds. They created large earthen
pyramids of where they buried valuables and arenas for kids to play a kind of ball game. The Olmec developed a calendar, a
numbering system that included a zero (rare among early number systems), and the first writing system in America.
THE PACIFIC PEOPLES
Introduction
The first people arrived in Oceania, the vast region in the Pacific Ocean that includes more that a thousand islands of which the
hunter-foragers would have needed little more than a raft to go from island to island about 60,000 years ago.
The Austronesian Speakers
The Austronesian-speaking people probably originated in southern China and later moved to Taiwan and the Philippines. Around
5000 to 2500 B.C.E, they began to migrate to New Guinea also. Agriculture did not spread to Australias aboriginals, who remained
hunter-foragers. During the next 1,000 years, the Austronesian people migrated by boat across a distance of over 10,000 miles. To the
east, they went from one Pacific Island after another. By then, they had developed double-hull canoes that could go vast distances,
reaching the islands of Polynesia. Another group of Austronesians migrated west all the way to the African island of Madagascar.
Easter Island
The people who settled on Easter Island divided into clans, with a chief for each clan. The growing of sweet potatoes spread to other
Pacific islands. The population of the island grew until it became overpopulated, lacking the resources to support people.
Deforestation, coupled with civil unrest and wars between island factions, caused the population to plummet sometime before
Europeans first visited the island in 1722 C.E.
Historical Perspectives: Why do civilizations rise and fall?
Many historians have different theories as to why civilizations rise and fall. Oswald Spengler (1880-1936) believes that civilizations

go through a cyclical process based on the four seasons in relation to the stages describing where the civilization rises and then falls.
Fernand Braudel (1902-1985) saw development of civilization as the building of a web of relationships between people through trade
and communication. Christopher Dawson (1889-1970) believes that religion is the bond that builds these relationships and
civilization. Fernandez-Armesto (2000) viewed the development of civilization as a response to its immediate environment like many
historians have emphasized in the recent world.
Turning Point: Why 600 BCE?
600 B.C.E. was a turning point because by that period, Mesoamerica, India, Egypt, China, Mesoamerica, and the Andes had
impressive civilizations that would provide the core of later civilizations in their regions.
During this era world history was shaped by the rise of several large civilizations that grew from areas where the earlier civilizations
thrived. These civilizations were generally much larger than the earlier ones, and their political economic, cultural, and military
organizations usually were more complex. All traded extensively with others, and conquered many new territories.