AP World HistoryChapter 1

Before History

1

Forming the Complex Society

• Basic development:– Hunting and foraging– Agriculture– Complex society

• Key issue: surplus capital• Major development of first

complex societies 3500 B.C.E. – 500 B.C.E

3

Prehistory• What is “history”?• Documentation– Written records– Archaeological discovery

• Requisite human presence (or “natural” history)

Moai statues in PolynesiaStonehenge 2400 BCE

Cuneiform writing

4

Development of Hominids

• Animals adapt themselves to environment

• Hominids adapt environment to themselves– Use of tools– Language– Complex cooperative social

structures

5

Australopithecus

• “The southern ape” – despite name, a hominid

• Discovery of skeleton, north of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia– Nicknamed “Lucy”

• 3’5”, 55lb., bipedal, brain 500 cc (modern human: 1400 cc), limited speech but opposable digit

Lucy - 3.2 Million years old

6

Later Hominids

• Homo erectus, “upright walking human”– Larger brain capacity (1000 cc),

improved tool use, control of fire, ability to communicate complex ideas

• Homo sapiens, “consciously thinking human”– Largest brain, esp. frontal regions– Most sophisticated tools and social

organization; flexible language

• Migrations of Homo erectus and Homo sapiens

7

Global Migrations of Homo erectus and Homo sapiens

8

The Natural Environment

• By 13,000 B.C.E., Homo sapiens in every inhabitable part of the world

• Archaeological finds:– Sophisticated tools

• Choppers, scrapers, axes, knives, bows, arrows• Cave and hut-like dwellings• Use of fire, animal skins

• Hunted several mammal species to extinction– Climatic change may have accelerated

process

10

Relative Social Equality

• Nomadic culture precludes accumulation of land-based wealth– Relatively egalitarian (equal)

existence– More likely determinants of status:

age, hunting skill, fertility, personality– Possible gender equality related to

food production– Men: protein from hunting– Women: plant gathering

11

Big-Game Hunting

• Evidence of intelligent coordination of hunting expeditions– Development of weaponry– Animal-skin disguises– Stampeding tactics

• Lighting of fires, etc., to drive game into kill zones

• Required planning, communication

12

Paleolithic Settlements

• Natufian society– Modern Israel and Jordan– Wild wheat, herding

• Jomon society– Japan– Wild buckwheat, fishing

• Chinook society– Pacific northwest– Berries, acorns, salmon runs

• Groups of 1000 or more

13

Neandertal Peoples

• Neander valley, western Germany

• Flourished in Europe and southwest Asia, 200,000 to 35,000 years ago

• Also found in Africa, east Asia

• Evidence of spirituality: ritual burial

• Inhabited some of the same areas as Homo sapiens

14

Creativity of Homo sapiens

• flexible languages for communication of complex ideas

• Increased variety of tools – stone blades, spear throwers, sewing needles, barbed harpoons

• Fabricated ornamental beads, necklaces and bracelets

• The bow and arrow – a dramatic improvement in humans’ power over nature

• “Venus” figurines• Cave paintings

15

Neolithic Era (“New Stone Age”)

• Distinction in tool production– Chipped vs. polished

• Relied on cultivation for subsistence– Men: herding animals rather than

hunting – Women: nurturing vegetation

rather than foraging• Spread of agriculture – Slash-and-burn techniques– Exhaustion of soil promotes

migration– Transport of crops from one region

to another

16

Origins and Early Spread of Agriculture

Early Agricultural Society

• Emergence of villages and towns• Discoveries at Çatal Hüyük – a

prominent village located in Turkey, occupied 7250-5400 B.C.E. – Pots, baskets, textiles, leather,

stone, metal tools, wood carvings, carpets, beads, and jewelry

• Development of crafts – pottery, metallurgy, and textile production

18

Catul Huyuk

19

Social Distinctions

• Accumulation of landed wealth initiates development of social classes

• Individuals could trade surplus food for valuable items

• Archaeological evidence in variety of household decorations, goods buried with deceased members of society at Çatal Hüyük

20

Neolithic Culture

• Farmers closely observed the natural world – an early kind of applied science

• Elements of natural environment essential for functioning

• Archaeological evidence of religious worship: thousands of clay figurines, drawings on pots, tool decorations, other ritual objects– Fertility: Venus figurines

21

The Origins of Urban Life

• Craft specialization• Social stratification• Governance• Cultural workers• Development of the city –

a gradual process