Week 1 - August 13 - 16. Study questions and index cards are due in class on TBD.
During the Paleolithic era hunting and foraging bands of humans migrated from East Africa to Eurasia, Australia, and the Americas, adapting their technology and cultures to new climatic regions, including the use of fire, developing a wider range of tools, and exchanging people, ideas, and goods.
In response to warming climates at the end of the last ice age (when the Neolithic era began, about 10,000 years ago) some groups adapted to the environment in new ways including settled agriculture which resulted in a more reliable but less diverse food supply. They impacted the environment through selection of plants, use of irrigation systems, and the domestication of animals for food and labor.
Others developed a way of life based on herding (pastoralism), which, while less environmentally impactful, led to social changes.
The resulting societies experienced population growth which led to more complex societies including urban life. Male dominance (patriarchy) and forced labor systems (serfdom, slavery, etc.) developed. Generally, social and economic systems became dramatically more complex with elite men accumulating wealth and power.
Technological innovation led to improvements in agricultural production, trade, and transportation including pottery, plows, woven textiles, metallurgy, and wheeled vehicles.
Urban societies developed from about 5000 years ago which led to the first civilizations which shared important features including cities, armies, religious power structures, political organizations, and specialization of labor (e.g. wheel-makers), and record keeping. Wealth was accumulated leading to warfare between settled communities and with their pastoralist neighbors, which in turn led to a demand for more technologies of war and city defense.
Core and foundational civilizations developed in a variety of