class on 1/28

Today's class, we reviewed the prehistory. And tomorrow, we have a big test which valued 100 points. This is huge, and I need to try my best to get higher score. Last semester's Human Geography, I didn't get a great score, but this time, Western Civilization, I will try my best.

The Origins and “Ages” of Human Beings

–200,000 years ago a human species emerged in southwestern Africa

–14,000 years ago, a worldwide human race existed

–Earliest prehistoric age is the Paleolithic age (Old Stone Age)

–Neolithic Age (New Stone Age) was marked by advanced tool making and the beginnings of agriculture

–Initially, humans were parts of migratory groups which hunted, fished and gathered plants for food

The Agricultural Revolution

–Also known as the Neolithic Revolution, this was a shift from itinerant hunting/gathering to more permanent settlements centered on agriculture (beginning in southwestern Asia)

–Populations rose due to increased ability to care for young children

–Hierarchies appeared in village life; the status of women was lowered as women were confined more to domestic duties

–Invention of wheel and plow made it possible to produce enough food for storage

–Villagers were polytheists, worshiped multiple nature, human and animal gods

The Earliest Cities: Mesopotamia

• the district known as Sumer occupied the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers

• Population increased dramatically due to new irrigation techniques
• Cities and towns were founded, some with as many as 40,000 inhabitants
• better food storage allowed for diversity in professions: priests, tradesmen, artisans, politicians, farmers
• Kings emerged, as did family dynasties and the concept of the “city-state”
• Sumerians invented the earliest form of writing, known as “cuneiform” the world’s first (surviving) epic was the Sumerian “Epic of Gilgamesh,” which told of a great flood Sumerians first divided the hour into sixty minutes and the minute into sixty seconds; they also organized a calendar based on moon cycles the Ziggurat was a Sumerian temple built on top of a “mountain” of earth a pantheon of Sumerian gods and goddesses emerged, with many of the deities representing the natural elements of the world

Civilization in Mesopotamia

• Wandering nomads drove herds of domesticated animals in many areas, especially to the south of Sumer in Arabia
• Sumer was conquered by the Akkadians c. 2350 B.C. - their gods took the place of previous gods and all were forced to worship them
• King Hammurabi of Babylon created a series of laws known as “Hammurabi’s Code” - laws that included “an eye for an eye” and regulations of marriage, divorce, and punishments for all sorts of crimes