Chapter 1

The Beginnings of Human Society

Section 1 Geography and History

Understanding History /Before and After Writing

  1. The first system of writing was developed about ______years ago in ______and ______.
  1. History then formally began.
  1. History- ______

______.

  1. Long ago, people lived with no way of recording information or preserving stories.
  1. Prehistory - ______

______.

Prehistory: Digging Up the Past

  1. When studying Prehistory, Archaeology is a very helpful tool.
  1. Archaeologists- ______

______

QUESTION: The size of a spear can tell you a lot about the people who used it. What types of things do you think can be learned?

History: A Record in Writing / A Record of the Spoken Word

  1. Studying written records or human life and accomplishments help us understand a society.
  1. What examples of written records in our world today? Make a brief list. ______
  1. Examples – we can learn about ______, ______, and ______.
  1. Prior to writing, a system of storytelling existed known as oral tradition.
  1. Oral Tradition – ______

______

Section 2 – Prehistory

Stone Age Hunting and Gathering - Earliest Human Culture

1.  By studying tools, we can learn about the development of human culture…How?

2.  2.5 million years ago- early humans begin making tools, which began the Stone Age.

3.  Stone Age- ______

______

4.  Lasted for hundreds of thousands of years, when metal began to be used.

5.  In the Old Stone Age, people did not know how to ______.

6.  Hunter-gatherer culture – ______

______

7.  ______occurred in the Old Stone Age.

Fire!

1.  Between about ______and ______years ago, early humans learned how to use fire.

2.  Possibly caused by a lightning strike.

3.  There were many uses for fire. For example, ______

______.

4.  Fully grasped the power of fire when they rubbed two sticks together to create fire at will.

5.  People could then travel to colder places to live. Why? ______.

Settling New Areas

1.  With tools, people started leaving Africa about 1,000,000 years ago.

2.  Prior to this, people were nomads who moved around for food.

o  Nomads – ______.

3.  There is evidence that human ancestors were living in ______and ______at least 500,000 years ago.

4.  Many scientists believe that modern humans originated more than 100,000 years ago in ______and then spread to other parts of the world.

5.  Humans were few in number, but lived in all types of geographical conditions.

The Beginning of Farming / Early Farmers

  1. Middle Stone Age- ______.
  1. New Stone Age- ______.
  1. People could grow their own food. How did this change human life? ______

Farming Around the World

1.  Some places in the world are better for farming than others, often due to quality of fertile soil.

2.  Fertile – ______

______.

3.  Describe important factors for farming. ______

______

______

Plant Selection

  1. When people began to plant crops, they chose the biggest, best-tasting ones, and began to domesticate them.
  1. Domesticate – ______.
  1. Humans also began developing techniques for more successful farming.

Terraces – step-like areas dug into steep mountains to plant crops on.

Crop Rotation – planting crops on different fields to keep the soil fresh.

Section 3 THE BEGINNINGS OF CIVILIZATION

1.  Irrigation- ______

______.

Advantages of a Settled Life

1.  More benefits came from farming compared to hunting and gathering.

o  ______

o  Surplus- ______.

The Population Grows

1.  Larger families began to appear due to the non-nomadic lifestyle.

2.  10,000 years ago, the world population was about ______.

3.  7,000 years ago, with farming, the population was as much as ______.

Early Towns and Villages

1.  Settlements eventually grew into ______.

2.  Why would surpluses affect families? ______

The Growth of Cities

1.  Where were cities most likely to grow? Why was this? ______

__

The Earliest Cities

1.  Most of the first cities formed in ______, ______, and ______.

2.  What factors make cities different than towns? ______

3.  In villages, most people were ______. In cities, most people worked in ______and other new occupations.

Governments Form

1.  As populations of cities grew, governments began to form.

2.  The purpose of government was ______

______.

3.  Governments also settled ______and ______

______.

The First Civilizations Form

1.  Some of these New Stone Age societies grew into civilizations.

2.  Civilization- ______

______.

3.  Civilizations also have examples of ______, ______, and ______.

The Bronze Age

1.  By 6600 B.C., artisans in Europe and Asia had learned that melting a certain rock at high temperatures would separate metal copper from rock.

2.  By 3000 B.C., artisans had learned to mix tin with copper to make bronze, which marked the start of the Bronze Age.

3.  Why do you think bronze was valuable?

Trade and the Spread of Ideas

1.  People began taking goods like ______, ______, ______, ______, ______, and ______to faraway cities to trade.

2.  Merchants- ______.

Social Classes Develop

1.  Social classes- ______

______.