global 1 unit1

discovery of early hominids

in 1978 archelogist mary leaky found prehistoric footprints of modern humans in Tanzania east africa

discovery of lucy

in 1974 donald johnsons team found a unsually complete skeleton of a adult female hominid “lucy”

• lived around 3.5 mil years; oldest hominid found to that date

paleolithic era

aka old stone age era

• 250,000 bce to 10,000 bce

• hunter gathers followed wild animals+ collected plants

• nomadic

neolithic revolution 

aka new stone age era

• transition from a lifestyle of hunting and gathering to one of agriculture and domestication of plants and animals and permeant settlement 

• 10,000 BCE to 8,000 BCE 

• negatives: social inequity, unequal distribution of items 

charecteristics of civilization

1. writing system 

2. infrastructure

3. government/ law 

4. art/architecture

5. social class

6. organized religion

7. job specialization 

8. development of cities  

early river valley civilizations

1. mesopotamia

2. egypt 

3. indus valley civilization 

4. china 

ancient mesopotamia

3200 bce

1. fertile crest- large arc of fertile land in middle east 

2. tigris euphrates river: made it possible to farm 

3. Challenges: unpredictable flooding + land was vulnerable 

people of mesopotamia 

1. sumerians 3200 BCE- 1800 BCE

2. bablyonian 1800 BCE-1200 BCE

3. Assyrians 1200-539 BCE

4. Persians 539-330 BCE 

Sumerians 

• were polytheistic religion 

• showed devotion to gods and goddesses by building ziggurats 

Hammurabi

king of babylon 1792-1950 BCE

• united all of mesopotamia under the babylon empire 

code of hammurabi

288 codes of babyloian society

• tool to unify empire

• dealt with property rights marrage contracts crimes 

• built on idea of “eye for a eye”

Ancient Egypt

• made up of city states 

• lower and upper regions

• king menes united upper+lower 

• writing system: hieroglyphics ( written on papyrus) during old kingdom era

• ruled by pharohs

Indus river valley

2500 BCE- 1500 BCE

• located in south asia

• mountains isolate it from rest of asia ( himmalayas hindu kush)

• Monsoons: seasonal winds brought rain during summer

Major cities in IRV

harappa + mohenjo daro

• cities used grid system → evidence of centralized gov

Aryan invasion 

aryians enter india around 1800 bce 

aryians 

• nomadic group of herders that come from central asia 

• came through mountain passes, came to find grazing land 

aryan impact

• spoke sanskirt

• brought own language religious beliefs and social system 

• introduced vedas 

vedas

collection of books containing prayers songs etc of the aryians

caste system

set of rigid social catagories that deterimed a persons occupation and social class 

hinduhism

• began in irv ~1500 BCE

• no single founder n sacred text 

• texts: vedas upanishad 

• belief in brahman and moksha 

brahman

hindu belief that everything is part of the unchanging all powerful spiritual force 

moksha

ultimate goal of existence in hinduism

• ends reincarnation 

karma

consequences of actions

dharma

duties in ones caste

buddhism 

founded by siddharta guatama~ 563 bce 

• goal is to reach nirvana 

• rejects caste system 

• belief in 4 noble truths 

nirvana 

the state of ultimate peace and liberation, achieved by extinguishing the fires of greed, hatred, and ignorance to end the cycle of suffering and rebirth

eightfold path

rid urself of desire and hatred

ancient china

• two major rivers: yellow and yangtze river 

• belief in mandate of heaven 

• ruled by dynasties 

• dynastic cycle 

Shang dynasty 

1st recorded dynasty 

• used orcale bones to preidct future

• developed early writing bronze tools adn chariots

oracle bone

earliest form of chinese writing

• animal bone used to ask questions to the gods