McDougal Littell: World History Patterns of Interaction

McDougal Littell: World History Patterns of Interaction

Chapter 1

World History

Prehistory- 2500 B.C.

Chapter 1: The Peopling of the World, Prehistory- 2500 B.C. 

Chapter 1.1: Human Origins in Africa 

  • Archaeologists: specially trained scientists who work like detectives to uncover the story of prehistoric peoples. 
    • Archaeologists excavate and study the traces of early settlements. 
    • They also analyze existing evidence (bones, & artifacts). 
      • Artifacts: human-made objects, such as tools and jewelry.
  • Anthropologists: study culture, or a people's unique way of life 
    • Anthropologists examine artifacts at archeological digs to recreate a picture of early people behavior. 
  • Paleontologists: study fossils; evidence of early life preserved in rocks 
    • Fossils consists of small fragments of teeth, skulls, or other bones 
  • 1970s Mary Leakey led a scientific expedition to the region of Laetoli in Tanzania in East Africa 
    • Both her and her team looked for clues about human origins.
    •  1978 they found prehistoric footprints that resembled those of modern humans preserved in volcanic ash. 
      • The footprints were made by humanlike beings called australopithecines. 
  • Hominids: humans and other creatures that walk upright, such as australopithecines
  • 1974 Johanson's team found a adult female hominid named "Lucy". 
    • Lucy lived around 3.5 million years ago, the oldest hominid found to that date.
  • Stone Age: the time in which the invention of tools, mastery of fire and the development of language took place.
    • The earlier and longer part of the Stone Age was called the Old Stone Age or Paleolithic Age. 
      • lasted from about 2.5 million to 8000 B.C.
    • New Stone Age or Neolithic Age: began around 8000 B.C. and ended in 3000 B.C.
      • People learned to polish some tools as well as make pottery, grow crops, and raise animals. 
  • In 1960, archaeologists Louis and Mary Leakey discovered a hominid fossil at Olduvai Gorge in northern Tanzania. 
    • The fossil was named Homo Habilis (man of skill) 
    • The tools that they found were tools of lava rock, which were believed to be used to cut meat and crack open bones= task of survival easier. 
  • technology: ways of applying knowledge, tools, and inventions to meet their needs.
  • 1.6 million years ago, the Homo Erectus appeared in East Africa. 
    • They gradually became skillful hunters and invented more sophisticated tools for digging, scraping, and cutting. 
    • They were the first to migrate, or move from Africa. 
      • Bands of Homo Erectus were found in India, China, Southeast Asia, and Europe.
    • Homo erectus were the first to use fire. 
      • Fire was used to provide warmth, cooking food, and scared away predators.
    •  Homo erectus developed the beginnings of spoken language. 
    • Homo erectus may have named objects, places, animals, plants, and exchanged ideas. 
  • Homo Sapiens: the species name for modern humans 
    • Homo sapiens means "wise men", they had much larger brains. 
  • In 1997, DNA tests on a Neanderthal skeleton indicated that Neanderthals were not ancestors of modern humans. 
    • Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons competed with each other for land and food. 
  • In 1856 quarry workers were digging for limestone and found fossilized bone fragments. 
    • The remains were those of Neanderthals. 
      • Neanderthals had heavy slanted brows, well developed muscles, and thick bones. 
      • They lived between the timeframe of 200,000- 300,000 years ago. 
      • They had developed religious beliefs and performed rituals. 
        • 60,000 years ago they held a funeral for a man in Shanidar Cave, which was located in northeastern Iraq.
      • They made temporary shelters or lived in caves made up of animal skins and wood. 
  • Around 40,000 years ago Cro-Magnons emerged . 
    • They are identical to modern humans. 
    • They were generally 5'1 and they were probably strong. 
    • They migrated from North Africa to Europe and Asia. 
    • They planned their hunts, and studied animals' habits and stalked their prey. 
    • They had advanced skill in spoken language. 
  • Cave paintings depicted to researchers how life may have been like in much earlier times. 

Chapter 1.2: Humans Try to Control Nature

  • For tens of thousands of years, men and women of the Old Stone Age were nomads. 
    • Nomads: highly mobile people who moved from place to place foraging, searching, for new sources of food. 
    • hunter- gatherers: nomadic groups whose food supply depends on hunting animals and collecting plant foods. 
      • Pre- historic hunter gatherers increased their food supply by inventing tools. 
        • Hunters crafted special tools that enabled them to kill game at greater distances. 
        • Digging sticks helped food gatherers pry plants loose at the roots. 
    • Early modern humans then came up with a technological revolution in which knives, fish hooks, and harpoons were developed. 
    • There was artistic expression in the Paleolithic Age in which necklaces of seashells, lion teeth and bear claws, were worn by both men and women. 
      • people grounded mammoth tusks into polished beads.
      • They carved small sculptures of animals that inhabited their world. 
      • Stone Age peoples on all continents created cave paintings 
    • For thousands of years humans survived by hunting game and gathering edible plants. 
      • Men did the hunting. 
      • Women gathered fruits, berries, roots, and grasses.
    • Neolithic Revolution: the agricultural revolution, the far- reaching changes in human life resulting from the beginnings of farming. 
      • This shift was one of the great break throughs in history. 
    • Changes in climate could be a prime reason for the beginning of agriculture. 
      • warmer climate provided longer growing seasons and drier land for cultivating crops. 
      • rich grain supply helped support a small population boom. 
      • As the populations rose, the hunter gatherers felt a need to find new food sources. 
    • Slash- and- burn farming: in which they cute trees and grasses and burned them to clear a field. 
      • The ashes that remained after this technique fertilized the soil. 
      • The farmers planted crops for a year or two and then moved to another land area. 
        • Eventually this land was re-inhabited by another farmer later down the line.  
    • Hunters' expert knowledge of wild animals played a key role in the domestication of animals. 
      • Domestication: the taming of animals.
      • Hunters tamed animals such as horses, dogs, goats, and pigs. 
      • Pastoral nomads, or wandering herders tended sheep, goats, camels, and other animals. 
        • They moved their animals to new pastures and watering places. 
  • Wild wheat and barely along with some animals thrived in the foothills of the Zagros Mountains. 
    • In the 1950s Robert Braidwood led an archaeological dig at a site called Jarmo. 
      • It was concluded that there was an agricultural settlement about 9,000 years ago. 
    • Villages like Jarmo laid the foundation for modern life. 
  • Africa The Nile River Valley developed into an important agricultural center from growing wheat, barley, and other crops
  • China About 8,000 years ago, farmers along the middle stretches of the Huang He (Yellow River) cultivated a grain called millet. About 1,000 years later, farmers first domesticated wild rice in the Chang Jang River delta.
  • Mexico and Central America Farmers cultivated corn, beans, and squash.
  • Peru Farmers in the Central Andes were the first to grow tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and white potatoes.
  • Catal Huyuk: was discovered in 1958 by archaeologists, it was an agricultural village. It was also known as the "forked mound" 
    • It was located on as fertile plain in south-central Turkey, near a twin-coned volcano. 
    • It was home to 5,000-6,000 people who lived in about 1,000 dwellings. 
      • The dwellings were made of brick that were arranged side by side. 
    • This land produced large amounts of wheat, barley, and peas. 
    • Here, they were also able to raise sheep and cattle. 
    • They supported a large number of skilled workers such as potters and weavers. 
    • The village was best known for its obsidian products. 
      • Obsidian was used to produce products such as mirrors, jewelry, and knives for trade. 
    • There were many religious shrines that were dedicated to a mother goddess. 
      • She apparently controlled the supply of grain. 

Chapter 1.3: Civilization 

  • The invention of new tools, hoes, sickles, and plow sticks made the task of farming easier. 
    • With the new developments, this led to larger harvests. The greater supply of food, led to the ability to support larger populations. 
  • The increase in populations complicated social relations. 
  • There were both economic and social changes. 
    • To cultivate more land and to produce extra crops, ancient people in larger villages built irrigation systems. 
      • These systems allowed for people to develop skills other than farming. 
      • Individuals were able to become valuable parts of the village., by creating valuable new products, such as pottery, metal objects, and woven cloth. 
        • Inventions like the wheel and the sail enabled traders to move goods over longer distances. 
    • Social classes with varying wealth, power, and influence emerged as economy prospered. 
    • religion was more organized. 
      • Prehistoric religious beliefs centered around nature, animal spirits, and some idea of an afterlife. 
      • During the New Stone Age farming peoples worshiped gods and goddesses who had power over the rain, wind, and other forces of nature.
    • One of the first civilizations arose in Sumer. 
      • Sumer was located in Mesopotamia, a region that is part of modern Iraq. 
      • Civilization: often defined as a complex culture with 5 characteristics: advanced cites, specialized workers, complex institutions, record keeping, and advanced technology.
    • Cities were the birthplaces of the first civilizations.
      • A city is a center of trade for a larger area 
        • Ancient city dwellers depended on trade 
        • Farmers, merchants, and traders brought goods to market in the cities, and so did city dwellers.
      • With the growth of cities, there was an increase in the need for specialized workers such as traders, priests, and government officials. 
        • Specialization: the development of skills in a specific kind of work.
        • Artisans: skilled workers who make goods by hand.
    • institution: a long-lasting pattern of organization in a community. 
      • Complex institutions include government, religion, and economy are another characteristic of civilization. 
        • Most cities had temples where priests took charge of religious duties. 
        • The temple was a hub for both religious and government affairs. 
  • As both the government, religion and economy became more complex, the government started keeping records. 
    • Government officials documented tax collections, the passage of laws, and the storage of grain. 
    • Priests started to keep track of calendar and important rituals 
    • Merchants needed to record accounts of debts and payments. 
  • Civilizations eventually developed a system of writing 
    • Scribes: professional record keepers who used a stylus to press into moist clay to create symbols when writing.
    • cuneiform: a system of writing, meaning wedge-shaped
      • Eventually major events and disasters, and wars were written about, not just the keeping of records. 
  • New technological developments arose, so it would be easier to solve problems. 
    • Farmers started using ox-drawn plows to turn the soil. 
    • 3500 B.C. was the first use of the potter's wheel to shape jugs, plates, and bowls. 
    • 2500 B.C, metal workers in Sumer's cities turned out bronze spearheads by the thousands. 
  • Bronze Age: The period of time when people began using bronze, rather than copper and stone to make tools and weapons. It started around 3000 B.C.
  • Ur was one of the earliest cities in Sumer 
    • Stood on the banks of the Euphrates River 
    • 30,000 people lived in this city. 
    • There were well defined social classes 
      • Priests and Priestesses wielded great power. 
    • It had an agricultural economy, with irrigation systems that helped provide food surpluses. 
    • People lived in windowless one-story boxlike houses. The wealthy occasionally lived in two-story houses with an inner courtyard. 
    • Trade currency was pots of grain, due to money not being invented yet. 
      • Barter: the way of trading goods and services without money.
    • Ziggurat: A pyramid-shaped monument, a temple; meaning "mountain of god".
      • Priests conduct rituals here to worship the city god.
      • Sacrifices are also done here, oftentimes a sheep or a goat. 
      • The temple also serves as a place for storage of goods and offerings.