Download
1 / 27
270 likes | 378 Vues
This guide offers an overview of the first 200,000 years of human history, focusing on key societal developments up to 600 BCE. Explore how early societies formed, governing structures emerged, and the rise of the first empires. Discover cultural exchanges, migration patterns, and environmental impacts that shaped human life, including the Clovis culture and Australian Aboriginal societies. Gain insights into the egalitarian nature of early human groups, their spiritual beliefs, and the significant lifestyle differences compared to modern society.
E N D
In the Beginning … A Crash Course of the First 200,000 years of Human History
Periodization • Period 1 – to c. 600 BCE • AP uses BCE & CE for texts, course, and exam • c. (circa) – means “approximately” • 600 BCE – by this time the world has seen the following: • How societies originated • What people did to make societies work • Rules/hierarchies/governments • The world’s first empires have existed
Human Migrations • Turn to page 14 in text
Examples of Cultural Exchange • Clovis Culture of America • Name comes from the Clovis point, a kind of projectile point
Examples of Cultural Exchange • Australian Aboriginal Societies • Continent-wide trade in stones, pigment, wood • Transmission of songs, dances, myths, & rituals
Examples of Cultural Exchange • Creation of “Venus figurines”- earliest dated at least 35,000 years ago
Environmental Impacts • Accelerated extinction of mega-fauna • Mammoths, giant wombats, saber-toothed tigers, emus, wild horses • Scorch & burn hunting – selection of desirable plants and animals • Introduction of new plant and animal species (Oceania)
The First Human Societies • Societies were small, bands of 25–50 people • Very low population density and population growth
The First Human Societies • Were seasonally mobile or nomadic • Moved in regular patterns to exploit wild plants and animals • Because of mobility; couldn’t accumulate goods • Societies were highly egalitarian • Most free people in human existence? • No specialists, most people had the same skills • Relationships between women and men were far more equal than in later societies
The First Human Societies • Hunting & gathering peoples used to be regarded as “primitive” and impoverished • They worked fewer hours on average than modern people (17 hours a week) • Wanted or needed little material goods • Life expectancy was low (35 years on average)
The Realm of the Spirit • It is difficult to decipher the spiritual world of Paleolithic peoples • Contemporary gathering and hunting peoples may not reflect ancient experience • Leads to much speculation and interpretation of art and ritual objects
The Realm of the Spirit • Rich ceremonial life • Led by part-time shamans– spiritual leaders • Wide varieties of belief • Supernatural beings that influenced the world • Impersonal forces of nature that guided life • Venus figurines – religion may have been strongly feminine, with great goddesses or fertility worship • Cyclical view of time
Eurasian Migration • Left hundreds of cave paintings:
