CHAPTER 1: THE BEGINNING OF THE UNIVERSE

PART 1: THE ICE AGEShtrakhman’s quote: “This class is not about history, it’s really about today! The thing is, in order to understand the present moment, we have to understand how we got here. Only then, if we’re lucky, will we understand where we’re going. This is true for Global Warming, immigration, the economy, religious warfare, poverty, education, economic inequality…and the rest. A person can look at any country, Russia, China, North Korea, and if he/she understands the history of that country, then they can understand why they’re acting a certain why and what their mindset is. If we don’t study the history of a time or place then we are left ignorant as to the true motives or motivations involved. Never doubt the truism: history repeats itself, for it does!”

TIME-LINEThis universe is roughly 13 billion years old. How do we know that? Because the Hubble Telescope way up in space can see the oldest light and oldest radiation in the universe. What lies “outside” the known universe? I will leave that question to the philosophers. Unless one of you can answer it.

13 billion years ago: The universe as we know it was purported to have been created by the Big Bang; a massive explosion. It was a single point, containing all the energy and matter we have today, and immediately expanded into the 13 billion light year journey we see before us. It took 100,000 years for the energy and matter to cool enough to form atoms and electrons. Galaxies did not begin to form for another billion years and the Milky Way did not form for a couple of billion years after that. Finally, 13 billion years later we get Starbucks.

4.5 billion years ago: The planet Earth and the rest of our solar system was created. At first, it was extremely hot and volcanic with only minimal oxygen and no life to speak of, not even bacteria. The volcanoes and lava of the earth and oceans were forming the land while the atmosphere was not suitable for plants or animals.

4,000,000,000 years ago: The moon broke off of the Earth when a meteor hit. We find out it is made of cheese! Scientists hope to find liquid water on 2 of Jupiter’s moons and one of Saturn’s: Ganymede and Titan, and also Europa. Actually, Europa is our best hope of finding water in the solar system and we will be sending a probe up there in the year 2020. This will be a huge leap for humankind and I can’t wait!

In fact, on one of Saturn’s moons, Enceladus, our Cassini spacecraft just detected hydrogen and massive plumes of gas emanating from the surface. Hydrogen, like oxygen and water, are one of the essential elements necessary to sustain life as we know it.

1,000,000,000 years ago: Oxygen and the first single celled organisms appear. Bacteria follow. The planet is still too hot for any major life, unfortunately.

650,000,000 years ago: The first fish and the first worms appear (Also Freshmen). Amphibians and reptiles follow. (Did u know that sharks and crocodile are pre-historic, meaning that they were around 500 million years ago?)

350 million years ago: The first dinosaurs appear.

65 million years ago: The dinosaurs are wiped out when a giant meteor wipes hits the Earth in present day Mexico. The resulting ash blocks out the sun killing all the plants and as a result the meat-eaters. .

7 million years ago: The closest relative to modern day humans appears. The age of homo-sapiens is upon us. Humans keep evolving and about 400,000 years ago Neanderthals appear (also called Cave-men).

2.5 million years ago: We start using tools. That’s why it’s called ……..THE STONE AGE!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is also known as THE PALEOLITHIC PERIOD (Paleo comes from the Greek and means ‘ancient’)

500,000 years ago: we discover fire.

250,000 years ago : modern humans appear.

WE ALL LEAVE AFRICA100,000 years ago: Archaeological evidence tells us that humans leave East Africa. In fact, all human ancestors come from Africa. How do we know that? Because that’s where every single one of the oldest human skeletons were found. Humans then begin their migration to the rest of the planet.

- 2002: A human like skull is found in Chad, Africa. It is 7,000,000 years old and is nicknamed Toumai (meaning “hope of life” in the local dialect). It is mostly primate but starts to look human.

- 1974: The first upright skeleton is found in Ethiopia. It is named “Lucy” after the Beatles song, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. It is about 4 feet tall, a female, and walks on 2 legs. This is a major transition from primate to modern humans.

Definition: Hominid: beings that walk upright, on 2 legs. From this point forward scientists keep finding species that have some traits of primates and some of modern humans.

FUN FACTS:- Did you know that primates (Gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutans) and humans are 98%

genetically identical!

A WORD ABOUT EVOLUTIONFor those of you who question the scientific foundation of evolution it is imperative that you use only scientific reasoning in your arguments. In this class, and in life in general, it is not sufficient to simply say “Because I said so”. We must be logical, we must be truthful and we must be open to new ideas.

Not only are we 96%-98% genetically identical to primates but evolution is actually happening all around us. For example, do you know why the HIV virus is hard to kill? Because it keep evolving. It reproduces so quickly that each new generation has an immunity to a drug we just created. That’s why people with AIDS have to take many different drugs ta the same time, to account for all of these genetic mutations.

We can look at humans in 2017 as well:1. It seems that people who live way up in the mountains, like the Incas in the Andes

or the Tibetans in the Himalayas, have a genetic mutation that allowed their red blood cells to carry more oxygen.

2. Did you know that desert-dwelling people, like the Arab caravans of the Middle East or the people of the Sahara in Africa, have a genetic variance that allows them to stay cooler in the daytime and warmer in the evenings.

3. And some people who live in the tropics, like Hawaii or the Polynesian islands, have a genetic mutations that makes sure they don’t lose too much salt when they sweat.

This has been going on for a long time. In fact, our tailbones are called vestigial structures because they serve no purpose and yet are left over from ancient animals. So are our appendixes which are absolutely useless. Actually, we have even found whales with legs from 500 million years ago. They then evolved for life in the sea out of necessity and natural selection!! And there are many more examples we’ll look at in class. Natural selection is the idea that only the strongest will survive and so only those genes that are helpful will be passed down to future generations. This was first reported by Charles Darwin in his book “Origin of Species”.

AND YET LOOK AT ALL THE DIVERSE CREATION MYTHS AROUND THE WORLD

1. According to the Navajo Indians the world was created by people who lived underground and were forced to the surface by a great flood.

2. In the Bible it is written that god created the world in 6 days and then rested on the 7th day

3. In ancient Greece they believed there was a cosmic egg which gave birth to the gods, then earth, and then the sky.

4. In Russia, near Siberia, some people believed there was a great ocean, with the gods setting fire to most of it, thereby exposing the land.

QUESTIONS:A. Why do you think each culture has a ‘creation myth’?

B. Why are they all different and what does this say about human beings in the first place?

HISTORICAL PERIOD 1: THE STONE AGE = THE PALEOLITHIC PERIOD (10,000 BCE to 600 BCE)(We will learn the difference between BCE (B4 Common Era) and CE (Common Era)

at another time.)

BIG GEOGRAPHYThe term ‘Big Geography’ refers to the global nature of world history, how the whole world is just one big place and that we’re all interconnected!

About 100,000 years ago early modern humans, homo-sapiens, along with their Neanderthal cousins, left East Africa and started to wander around. Eventually they went to Asia, Europe, and even the Americas. - To the Middle East 100,000 years ago- To Asia 70,000 years ago- To Europe 40,000 years ago- To America 30,000 years ago- To south America 15,000 years ago- And to the Pacific islands about 3,000 years ago

People lived in very small groups (maybe 20-25 people) that structured all social, political activity. These bands of people also exchanged people, ideas and goods.

Humans also developed increasingly diverse and sophisticated tools- including the use of fire- as they adapted to new environments. Basically, as people moved into colder, or warmer, environments, they made new tools to deal with them. Whether it was tropical jungle, cold tundra, grassy savannah, or even desert, humans were mobile and had to adapt to the changing environments. Fire is a great example of this. What is fire used for: Creating warmth, scaring off animals, making smores

60,000 years ago: modern homo-sapiens (humans) kill off all the Neanderthals. Can U think of why______________________

30,000 years ago: The first cave paintings are found in France. They are about men, women and animals. This is really the first proof of culture or art.

20,000 years ago: We start to make clothes (Soon we will have Hollister, the Gap and sagging pants!)

100,000 – 10,000 YEARS AGO (THE ICE AGE): The world is in the middle of an ice age where creatures like the wooly mammoth and saber-toothed tiger roam. Half of the planet is covered in snow and ice. THIS ICE-AGE ONLY ENDS ABOUT 10,000 YEARS AGO!!!!!

Most people were hunter-gatherers. That is, they either looked for, or hunted for, food. Eventually we will get kingdoms and pastoralists or nomads, but not yet. There are no farms, there are no cities and there are definitely no empires yet. This is all thus PRE-HISTORY!!

In addition, men and women were basically treated equally because EVERYONE had to work together to look for food, whether that be hunting meat or gathering fruit and berries. This of course all changes when the ice melts and we become a PATRIARCHAL planet. Men start to assert control and never really let it go. Or do they?

1. Groups were very small. Only 20-25 people called KINSHIP GROUPS Why do you think groups were so small?

_____________________________________

2. Life expectancy was only 30 years old. Why do you think that is?_____________________________________

3. Today, women live 4 years longer than men. Why do you think that is?

PART 2: THE AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION(THE END OF THE LAST ICE AGE)

THE LAST ICE-AGE ENDS 10,000 BCE100,000 years ago the planet was in the middle of its last Ice-Age. (Actually, the Earth goes through ice ages every once in a while, and the next one is due about……….NOW! No, actually in 90,000 years or so). This ice age only ended about 10,000 years ago and this is what allowed human being to settle down and start to form villages.

If you look at a map, you find that Russia and Alaska are REALLY close together. Only about 125 miles separates them. Well, during the last ice age, this body of water froze up

and became a land bridge named Beringia. This land bridge is how people and animals came from Asia to North America.

Today, they are separated by a body of water known as the Bering Straits and it is where the Discovery Channel films ‘The Deadliest Catch’. (Yum, Crab!).

THE ICE-AGE ENDS10,000 years ago the last ice age finally ended (Finally!).

Human beings LOVED this because it meant that they could finally stop being hunter-gatherers and start settling down. You see, when the ice melted it exposed something reallyyyy cool; soil. That’s right, dirt!!!!

You see, with this dirt human beings found that they could plant stuff like fruits and vegetables and domesticate animals like chickens and cows for food. This is known as the Agricultural Revolution. It is also when the Paleolithic Period, or the Stone Age, ended and turned into the NEOLITHIC PERIOD (Neo comes from the Greek also and means ‘new’)

THE NEOLITHIC PERIOD- The 3 most common plants for food in the world: corn, wheat and soybeans- The 3 most common domesticated animals in the world are cows, pigs and chickens.

Then come goats, sheep and ducks. - In 2015, 80% of the world eats bugs as their #1 source of protein but that’s another

story. (Remind me to show u a video of bug-eating)

Well, once people started settling down and farming, people stared to build villages and cities. Eventually these cities would become countries and even Empires. Small villages to…..cities to……..war…..to large empires!!!!!

The first countries, agricultural communities, or core and foundational civilizations, are 1. The Middle East: Mesopotamia in the Tigris and Euphrates River Valleys

2. Egypt in the Nile River Valley3. India: Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa in the Indus River Valley

4. China: Shang in the Yellow River or Huang He Valley5. Africa: Sub-Saharan Africa

6. South America: Olmecs in Mesoamerica7. Chavin in Andean South America

** Agricultural communities had to work cooperatively to clear land and create the water control systems needed for crop production, drastically affecting environmental diversity.

P.S. You’ll notice that the notes use a lot of AP language. This is very important cuz the AP Exam uses its own verbage and it’s own phrases. Bing able to read and understand them is thus VERY important.

Pastoralism also appears . These are people who move around with their animals. They keep livestock like cattle, sheep, goats, horses, and their animals are their wealth. There are many examples of pastoralists in the world today; the Masai in Africa, sheepherders in New Zealand. Even cowboys in the Midwest.

Pastoralism actually developed in Afro-Eurasia (Africa, Europe and Asia), in the grasslands, and when the people and the cattle overgrazed the land, they negatively affected the environment. This will lead to deforestation, soil erosion and the like.

*Because pastoralists will move around a lot they will also be the ones who develop and disseminate (spread) new weapons and new modes of transportation.

They also started inventing stuff.Examples of this new Neolithic technology

The wheelPlows

Mettalurgy (making metal)Pottery

Woven textiles (clothing)Wheeled vehicles

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**Technological innovations led to improvements in agricultural production, trade and transportation.

SOME PROBLEMS….Pastoralism and agriculture led to more reliable and abundant food supplies, which increased the population, and led to specialization of labor , including new classes of artisans (craftsmen) and warriors, and the development of elites (rich vs. poor)

Also, patriarchal forms of social organization developed in EVERY COUNTRY ON EARTH!!! PATRIARCHY becomes the norm.

THIS IS A MAJOR POINT: During the Stone Age men and women had to work together to survive. With the advent of cities and empires, however, men started to assert a much more superior or imbalanced role. This resulting PATRIARCHY can be seen all over the world today: Afghanistan, South America, Russia, India …even the United States.

For example, did you know that for every dollar a man gets for a job a woman only gets 78 cents for the same job!! In Latin America it’s as low as 60 cents. This means that every single country we study, every single empire, will all have varying degrees of male superiority and patriarchy. Until one of the girls in the pre-IB program becomes President, right?!

**EVERY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD IS PATRIARCHAL, IT’S JUST A MATTER OF HOW MUCH

THE NEOLITHIC REVOLUTION (AGRICULTURAL REVOUTION) GIVES US THE FOLLOWING

A) Economic Classes Upper ClassMiddle ClassLower Class

EVERY country has an economic caste system!

B) Social Classes Pharaohs, Kings, or Leaders

The priestsWarriors or Generals

The farmersThe elites and other wealthy citizens

The peasantsThe slavesPre-IB kids

EVERY country has an SOCIAL caste system!

C) Specialization of labor. We needed the following: - Leaders- Farmers- Diggers- Potters

- Water specialists- Soldiers

- Animal specialists

- Clothing weavers- Sophomores for target practice

- All of these early peoples also had to control irrigation systems to get water to these plants.

This is important too: Every single country we study will ALSO have these different social and economic classes. Who is on top? Who is on the bottom? Is it decided by $$$$$, by race, by birth?

A. LONG RESPONSE QUESTION: Does America have social classes?

B. LONG RESPONSE QUESTION: Does America have an economic caste or class system?

And every area will also have some kind of ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT(For AP World History, ENVIRONMENT can mean population, technology, disease,

migration or global warming.) The population in the year 1900: 2 billion!! The population in the year 2015: 7 billion!! The population in the year 2050: 10 billion!! (Uh-Oh!)

Sad Facts about Climate Change: - The world’s oceans have already risen by about 9 inches in the last 100 years.- The United Nations has predicted at minimum a one foot sea level rise by the year

2100 and a maximum of six feet!- The oceans have also already lost 2% of their oxygen- The oceans are so warm that 87% of the coral reefs near Australia have died in some

areas.- The North Pole is almost completely free of ice in the summer!- Good luck!!!

THEN, 5000 years ago urban societies developed and laid the foundations for new civilizations…

All civilizations will have the following:1. Trade (what and with whm). 2. Armies, bavies or whatever

3. cities which become the centers of everything4. Large societies or Powerful states

5. agricultural surpluses (extra food) that created specialization of labor6. religious hierarchies (the Priets, the kings etc.)

7. record keeping (Pinnacle )8. warfare (new technologies and urban defense)

9. Rulers usually said they were related to GOD!!!! (divine connections to power)10.complex institutions like political bureaucracies

** A BUREAUCRACY is just an organized system of government. For example, even Plantation High School has a bureaucracy: If I want something I have to ask the Assistant Principal, then she has to ask the Principal. Maybe the Principal even has to ask Superintendent Runcie and then maybe he has to ask the Legislature in Tallahassee or even Governor Rick Scott (Hint: I can beat THEM ALL in a debate!)

EVERY country has CULTURE, except for Plantation 1) Language2) Literature

3) Myths or stories and writing4) Religion

5) Monumental buildings and architecture6) Art

7) Laws

PART 3: THE FIRST CIVILIZATIONSEGYPT AND MESOPOTAMIA

Mesopotamia is located in the Middle East, where Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan are today. Egypt is in North Africa near the Sahara Desert, the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.

CULTURE: EGYPT VS. ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA Egyptian Architecture: The PyramidsMesopotamian Architecture: Different kind of pyramids called Ziggurats

Egyptian Religion: Polytheistic (Osiris, Anubis, Horus)Mesopotamian Religion: Polytheistic, although the Persians will give us our 1st monotheistic religion soon.

Egyptian government: Pharaohs

- The Pharaohs said that they were cousins of the Gods, and thus had ‘divine right to rule’. U will see this a lot throughout history: rulers and leaders saying that they had God’s permission to rule.

Mesopotamia: Kings who were friendly with but not related to God

Egyptian Writing: HieroglyphicsMesopotamian Writing: Cuneiform (the very first written language on Earth)

The Mesopotamians will also give us the very first book and the very first inscribed, or written, set of laws.

A. The Epic of Gilgamesh book. It is an epic, or really long poem, that was carved on a set of stone pillars. It tells of a monster, Gilgamesh, who did battle with the gods. It is currently at the British Museum in London since England conquered so much of the Middle East before World War One.

B. The Code of Hammurabi: The world’s 1st laws which created “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”.

The Mesopotamians were also responsible for the very first system of codified or standardized laws , called the Code of Hammurabi. These legal codes reflected the existing social hierarchies of the time (like slaves having no rights) and facilitated (made easier) the rule of government over people. By giving us “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” the Code of Hammurabi essentially gives us “The Death Penalty”.

*Of course Mahatma Gandhi once said, If it is true that we should have an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, then the whole world will be blind and toothless!”

CRAZY LAWS OF THE CODE OF HAMMURABI If we think you committed a crime we’ll throw you off a cliff into a river. If you

survive, hey you’re innocent. If you die well, you were obviously guilty. This is also how I catch cheaters!

If you steal another man’s slave, we will kill you! If a son hits his father we cut his hands off.

HOMEWORK QUESTIONS

a. How do we know that all of humanity originated in Africa?

b. What does the term ‘Big geography’ mean?

c. What is another term for Paleolithic Period and why?

d. What happened with humans 100,000 years ago?

e. What does the term ‘hominid’ mean?

f. What happened as humans starting coming into contact with new physical environments?

Women were treated equally to men because everyone had to work together. This is known as ‘Gender Equality’. This is in contrast to the ‘Patriarchy’ that exists today. Men start to run the show ONLY when human beings start to settle down and make war.

A. LONG-RESPONSE QUESTION #1: Do you think men and women are treated equally in America today? Why or why not?

B. LONG-RESPONSE QUESTION #2: Do you think women should be allowed equal access to the military, including submarines and Special Forces? Why or why not?

1. Define ‘Pastoralism’ and explain why it’s so important:

2. What is the difference between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic Ages?

3. Define ‘Domestication of plants and animals’:

4. Why do you think ‘Patriarchy’ ended and women became treated like 2nd class citizens?

5. What were some environmental effects of all this planting and human growth?

6. Define ‘Specialization of Labor’: Define ‘Social Hierarchy’ Define ‘Economic Classes’

C. LONG RESPONSE QUESTION: The Law Code of Hammurabi gave is the Death Penalty and in 2017 it is legal in 25 states in America, Florida being one of them. Do you agree or disagree with the Death Penalty and why? You may have to do your own research for this.

SHORT ESSAY QUESTIONTwo animals that lived during the last Ice Age were the wooly mammoth and the saber toothed tiger. Of course, both are now extinct because when the ice melted the planet got too warm for them.

Scientists have recently discovered a frozen and fossilized wooly-mammoth in the snows of Siberia. They think that they can extract a little bit of blood from it and use the DNA to clone the wooly mammoth.

ESSAY QUESTION: “Should we clone a wooly mammoth and bring back an extinct species?” Why or why not? 1-2 pages

(This can be typed or hand written)

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS PART 3: 1. For each of the parts of ‘CILVILIZATION’ please find proof that America has

each one: For example: Cities: Fort Lauderdale

2. For each of the characteristics of CULTURE, please find one or two things that apply to the United States.

All civilizations will have the following:Large societies…………………Powerful states…………agricultural surpluses (extra food) that

created specialization of laborCities………………………complex institutions like political bureaucracies

armies religious hierarchies

long distance trade (We LUV China ) record keeping (Pinnacle )

warfare (new technologies and urban defense) Rulers usually said they were related to GOD!!!! (divine connections to power)

CULTURE Language Literature

Myths or stories and writing Religion

Monumental buildings and architecture Art

Laws For example: Monumental architecture- the Washington Monument

EXTRA CREDIT ASSIGNMENTThe Sumerians gave us the WRITTEN WORD. Use the ‘Cuneiform’ worksheet to

write a Sumerian poem about life in Mesopotamia 5,000 years ago. I have construction paper and art supplies over on the table.

Here’s my poem:

Sun or rainThe reeds still grow.

Work and pain,slavery is all I know.

*PLEASE MOVE ON TO THE 5 AP THEMES CHART AND CHAPTER 2

**There will ALSO be a Crossword Puzzle and a Multiple Choice open note assignment that I will have ready 4 u.

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