Introduction to World History

What is History? Why Study the Past?

I. Introduction to World History

A. What is History?

1. History is the record of mankind on earth.

a. Record of mankind's accomplishments throughout the ages.

B. Age of the Earth and of Man

1. The earth was created between two and six billion years ago.

2. Man made his appearance on earth about 1,750,000 years ago.

C. Reasons for Studying World History

1. It helps us understand the past.

2. It shows how our present way of life developed.

3. We become familiar with the accomplishments of people in other countries.

Understanding Man’s Time on Earth

Man’s existence

would be about

one second on a

clock.

If the time of earth equaled the size of the Empire State

Building, man’s existence would be at the very tip.

Understanding A.D & B.C.

I. What does (B.C.) mean and what does (A.D.) mean?

A. B.C. means those years in history, "before the birth of Christ."

B. A.D. means, "anno-domini," which means, "in the year of our lord."

1. Those years in history after the death of Christ.

Centuries in BC are confusing because the timeline is moving backwards, but

time is not. Remember that the numbers are always getting smaller, not larger.

Centuries in AD are much easier because the timeline is moving forwards.

Remember that the numbers are always getting larger, not smaller.

Directions: Create at timeline in your notebook. Put the events &

dates in chronological order from the earliest to the most recent. (5

minutes)

500 B.C. Persian Wars begin

520 A.D Mohammed the Prophet is born

1800 B.C. Hebrews migrate to Egypt

1291 A.D. Crusades end

1760 B.C. Shang Family rules China

2001 A.D. YOU WERE BORN

____________________________________________________1800

B.C.

1760

B.C.

500

B.C.

520

A.D.

1291

A.D.

2001

A.D.

Do now: Fill in the blanks.

A Decade = _____________ years

A Century= ____________ years

A Millennium = ____________ years

10

100

1,000

Extended Activity #1 Timeline

Extended Activity:

Create a timeline of your life, labeling 10 important events of your

life. Select one event that you feel is the most significant, and

explain why.

1. How many years are covered by the timeline?

2. What event happened first: the fall of Constantinople or the invasion of the

Holy Land in the 1st Crusade?

3. Between which two events on the timeline would you place the destruction of

Baghdad by the Mongols in 1258?

933

Holy Land in the 1st Crusade

First Crusaders Invade the Holy Land [1096A.D.] and the Crusades End

Understanding Time Lines: Exit Slip

Directions: Answer the following [3] questions by using the time line below.

Major Periods of History

I. Major Periods of History

A. Prehistoric Period (1,000,000 B.C. to 4000 B.C.)

1. Dates back to the time before the invention of writing.

B. Historic Period (1,400 B.C. to Present)

1. Beginnings of written records of mankind's

accomplishments.

a. Earliest written records date back to Ancient Egypt and

the Middle East about 4000 B.C.

Historic Period Subdivided [Ancient History]

I. Ancient History (4,000 B.C. to A.D. 500)

A. Period of history from the beginning of civilization in the Near

East and Asia to the breakup of the Roman Empire about 500

A.D.

Historic Period Subdivided [Medieval History]

I. Medieval History (A.D. 500 to A.D. 1500 )

A. Medieval history includes the period of history from the major

developments of mankind in Europe, Asia, and the Near East

from the Fall of the Roman Empire to the discovery of America.

Historic Period Subdivided [Modern History]

I. Modern History (A.D. 1500 to Present)

A. Period of history from the Renaissance and the discovery of the

Americas to the present.

Sources of HistoryI. The Sources of History

A. Unwritten records

1. Consist of things left behind by mankind before they learned to write.

a. Tools, weapons, bones, utensils, paintings, and rough drawings.

B. Written records

1. Evidence of the past that was recorded by mankind from earlier

civilizations.

a. Documents, books, letters, newspapers, and diaries.

b. The earliest (written) historical records are about 6,000 years old.

Unwritten Records Written Records

Individuals Who Study the PastI. Individuals who study the past.

A. Historians

1. Organizes the past into an accurate, orderly, and meaningful story.

B. Paleontologists / Archaeologists

1. Use complex techniques to study fossils and evidence of early life preserved

in rocks. Human fossils often consist of small fragments of teeth, skulls, or

other bones.

C. Anthropologists

1. Anthropologists are scientists who study the development and behaviors of

human beings throughout the world, present and past, to help better

understand humanity as a whole.

AnthropologistsPaleontologists / ArchaeologistsHistorians

Earliest Civilizations

Ancient Greece

Ancient Egypt

Mesopotamia

Indus River Valley

China

Terms to Know:

B.C

A.D. (Anno-Domini)

Unwritten Records

Written Records

Historians

Paleontologists / Archaeologists

Anthropologists

Concepts to Know

•What is history and why study it?

•Describe the difference between B.C. and A.D.?

•What is the difference between written and unwritten

history sources?

•What is the difference between historians,

Paleontologists / Archaeologists , and anthropologists?