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Homo sapiens were the most intelligent and successful human species. They possessed a remarkable intelligence that provided a powerful edge in the contest for survival. They mainly did hunting and gatherings, they had to keep track of animals to survive.
Early human species developed in this order: Australopithecus > Homo Erectus > Homo Sapiens. -
It's the longest portion of the human experience on earth. (old stone age). They usually did hunting and gatherings instead of agriculture. And they relatively did not have social distinctions and gender inequality.
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Contemporary world Paleolithic age.
In the amazon basin of South America, the tropical forests of Africa and Southeast Asia, the deserts of Africa and Australia, and few other regions as well, small communities of hunters and gatherers follows the ways of common Paleolithic societies.
The characteristics of Hunting and gathering society is that relative social equality, relative gender equality and big-game hunting. -
PALEOLITHIC AGE There are the most visually impressive creations of early Homo sapiens. (Including cave paintings). Venus Figurines and cave paintings were made to represent something. Venus mainly refers small sculptures of women, usually depicted with exaggerated sexual features. And cave paintings are depictions of remarkable sensitivity and power.
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It is often called "new stone age." Instead of hunting and gatherings they had agriculture. Social distinctions started due to their wealth. They had some extra time to invent other things such as tools. The best-known neolithic settlements, Catal Huyuk, carried out Specialization of Labor. (Pottery, metalworking, social distinctions and social inequality.)
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Mesopotamia comes from two Greek words meaning "the land between the rivers." (Tigris and Euphrates). Since Mesopotamia was located near the rivers trading were available every time. And they could easily travel through.
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Sumerians spoke tongues in the Semitic family of languages, including Akkadian, Aramaic, Hebrew, and Phoenician. They constructed irrigation networks that helped them realize abundant agricultural harvests. They were center of political and military authority. They had stepped pyramids to represent their local deity. (Ziggurats).
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It is known as gift of Egypt because it gave many benefits to them. Egypt and Nubia were able to provide huge amount of food. People could easily transport to other places and trade. And it is also known as the longest river in the world.
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It is also called "Huang He." It supported the development of complex society in China. People could travel through Yellow River. They could provide huge amount of food which gradually led to increase of human population.
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Mesopotamian metalworkers experimented with copper metallurgy thus led to the invention of bronze. Some craftsmen devised efficient means of transportation based on wheeled vehicles and sailing ships, both of which facilitated long-distance trade. Invention of bronze and iron helped them to reinforce their army and develop their agriculture.
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Sumerian writing is known as cuneiform, a term that come from two Latin words meaning “wedge-shaped.” It is the world’s earliest known writing came from Mesopotamia. By combining pictographs and other symbols, the Sumerians created a powerful writing system. Mesopotamians also used writing to communicate abstract ideas and investigate religious problems.
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The most powerful person in ancient Egypt was the pharaoh. The pharaoh was the political and religious leader of the Egyptian people, holding the titles: 'Lord of the Two Lands' and 'High Priest of Every Temple'.
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They had more interest in pursuing commercial opportunities than in state building or military expansion. They traded overland with Mesopotamian and other peoples. They were excellent sailors, and they built the best ships of their times. They also adapted the writing system of Mesopotamia.
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They kept basic grammatical structure of their original speech, and they also kept much of their ancestors' vocabulary. They had observed horses closely and learned the animals' behavioral patterns, Indo-European speakers were able to domesticate horses. They used horses to expand their original homeland. Hitties, the most influential Indo-European migrants brings up with war chariots by using horses.
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Apart from kings and ruling families they had large class of priests. They usually maintained calender and writing systems. They also had a belief called Popol Vuh which is a creation myth of Maya, taught that gods had created humans out of maize and water. Also they had a belief called Bloodletting rituals: belief that shedding of human blood would prompt the gods to send rain for their maize.
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Writing appeared in Egypt at least by 3200 B.C.E. Their early writing was pictographic, later Egyptians supplemented their pictographs with symbols representing sounds and ideas. It is sheets of papyrus, however later people relied on hieratic script which is simplified version of heiroglyphic.
Later they also discover Meroitic writing. -
Egyptians had established a powerful kingdom, called Kush, with a capital at Kerma. However, they were not as powerful as united Egypt, the kingdom of Kush was a wealthy state that dominated the upper reaches of the Nile and occasionally threatened southern Egypt. After the decline of old Kush, Nubian leaders organized a new kingdom of Kush with a capital at Napata, located just below the Nile's fourth Cataract. King Kashta(king of new Kush) conquered Thebes.
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Harappan society developed in the valley of a river, the Indus, whose waters were available for irrigation of crops. Harappa depended on a successful agricultural economy. The wealth of Harappan society encouraged the formation of social distinctions.
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Indus river made agriculture available for Harappan society. And transportation was available. (Trading). The agricultural surplus of the Indus valley fed two large cities, Harappa and Monhenjo-daro.
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He is the creator of empire in Mesopotamia. He created a city near Kish and Babylon. He organized a coup against the king, recruited an army, and went on the offensive against the Sumerian city-states. He conquered the cities with his strong army one by one and placed the losers under his governors and administrators.
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The first efforts were made to organize public life in China on a large scale. Xia dynasty established a precedent for hereditary monarchical rule in China. The dynasty encouraged the founding of cities and the development of metallurgy.
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Most prominent of the later conquerors was the Babylonian Hammurabi. Instead of traveling around like other Sargon of Akkad they were stable in one area. He maintained his empire by providing it with a code of law. They had high standard of punishments toward the violators. He heavily relied on the principle of lex talionis: "law of retaliation," whereby offenders suffered punishments resembling their violations.
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Bronze metallurgy transformed Chinese society during Shang dynasty which enabled the rulers to replace Xia dynasty. They independently invented iron technologies. Iron technologies helped them invent horse-drawn chariots.
They relied on a large corps of political allies. -
They were nomadic and pastoral peoples speaking Indo-European languages. When they entered India, Aryans practiced limited agriculture and they relied on a pastoral economy. And Aryans fought with Dravidians very often.
Early Aryans did not use writing system, instead they had poems and songs. (Vedas)
Vedas: collections of hymns, songs, prayers, and gods.
Later they relied more on agriculture than herding => caste system. -
Egyptian peasants and slaves mostly did complex agricultural work. Instead of king ruling the empire, they had pharaoh as a supreme central ruler. Tombs of wealthy and powerful people were embellished with paintings and filled with expensive jewelry, furniture and supplies of food. They built patriarchal society, they focused on men.
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Egyptians believed that death was not an end. (Mumification). They also had strong interests toward cult of Osiris. They believed that Osiris can judge other people by looking at their fortune. If people had bad fortune they could not live again.
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They are hardy people from northern Mesopotamia who had built a compact state in the Tigris River valley. They stormed their opponents with a combination of high speed and withering firepower. They mainly used iron weapons to strengthen their army. They were known as one of the strongest empire.
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They had oracle bones which were the principal instruments used by fortune-tellers in ancient China. Zhou dynasty had book of changes and book of songs. They were both collections of Zhou literature. The use of Zhou literature could reinforce their religious beliefs and language.
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Hebrews, Israelites, and Jews, preserved memories of their historical experiences in an extensive collection of sacred writings. Hebrews were pastoral nomads who inhabited lands between Mesopotamia and Egypt. Hebrews had monotheism which is believing in one god. They believed in Yahweh.
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Zhou dynasty was much larger than Shang dynasty. They usually maintained a system called Mandate of heaven which is a link between heaven and earth. They had developed iron technologies. However, they also had conflicts during Period of the Warring States (most violent period) at the same time. Subordinates were trying to resist the central government and pursue their own interests and it was successful.
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They were hunter and gatherers for a long time. However, New Guinea peoples turned to agriculture. Austronesian peoples possessed remarkable seafaring skills. They payed close attention to weather and other natural indicators, they learned how to find distant lands reliably and returned home safely. Austronesian speaking peoples had sophisticated maritime technology as well as agricultural expertise. They settled in Pacific Islands.
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It refers to a social class of hereditary and usually unchangeable status. Aryans used the term varna, which is "color," to refer to the major social classes. Aryans built a strong patriarchal society. They had Lawbook of Manu which is proper moral behavior and social relationships including gender relationships.
- Brahmins > Kshatriyas > Vaishyas > Shudras > untouchables. -
Olmec cultural traditions influenced all complex societies of Mesoameria. The Olmec spread their influence partly by military force, but trade ( Jade and Obsidia) was a prominent link between the Olmec heartland and the other regions of Mesoamerica. They had agricultural villages and ceremonial centers in Mesoamerica. Olmec society had complex of temples, pyramids, altars, stone sculptures, and tombs for rulers. They had colossal human heads to represent the head of ruler.
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The hertland ofearly Andean society was the region now occupied by the states of Peru and Bolivia. (communication between thE Andean region and Mesoameria). The earliest cultivators of the region relied on beans, peanuts, and sweet potatoes as their man food crops. Their most important domesticated animals were camel-like llamas and alpacas.
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They were the most influential peoples of sub-Saharan Africa. They mainly traded with hunting and gathering peoples. They migrated very often and spread their languages to other state. They could make a great use of canoe by traveling through Niger, Congo, and other rivers. Agriculture enabled them their population to increase. They also effectively used iron metallurgy to develop their agriculture.
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Developed Aryan religion, gods, and ritual sacrifices. Vedas achieved fullest development in a body of work known as the Upanishads. (late Vedic age: 800~400 B.C.E). Upanishads taught that appearances are deceiving. Cycle of rebirth gave pain and suffering to many people.
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Teotihuacan was probably a large agricultural village by 500 B.C.E. The city's two most prominent monuments, the colosal pyramids of the sun and the moon, dominated the skyline. They played ball game and adapted to the calendar and writing system of Olmec. However, later they declined by the invasion from other state. Their city, books and monuments were burned.
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They built irrigation systems to support intensive agriculture and they established trade and exchange networks. Andean societies did not make use of writing, their beliefs, and values. They had their base in the Moche River, and they dominated the coasts and valley of northern Peru. Mochica was one of the several large states that dominated the central Andean region.
