1. PART I: THE ORIGINS OF CIVILIZATION

2. PART I Paleolithic Age Began around 9,000 BCE
Humans had spread around globe
Humans were hunter-gatherers
Life style could not support large numbers
Man makes tools of stone, bone
Began around 9,000 BCE
Rise of agriculture
Culture becomes increasingly complex

3. RISE OF NEOLITHIC Areas where Neolithic cultures arose
Harsh environments
Water shortages
Few reliable sources of foodstuffs
Causes of the Neolithic Revolution
Development, spread of agriculture
Domestication of animals
Improvement of technology

4. ASPECTS OF NEOLITHIC AGE
Effects of Neolithic Age
Sedentary culture develops
Surplus of food leads to increased populations
Rise of differentiated occupations
Complex cultures
Gender relations change
Humans begin to change environment
Communicable diseases become common

5. PALEOLITHIC vs. NEOLITHIC
Many resist sedentarism
Pastoralists
Hunter-Gatherers survive until 20th century
Development uneven across regions
Change often slow
Indigenous development vs. diffusion

6. CIVILIZATION’S 1ST PHASE
Five major centers beginning around 4,500 BCE
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers (Mesopotamia)
Nile River Valley
Indus River Valley
Northern China (Huang He)
Central America
Civilizations arose in few areas, spread out
Often arose around control of water
Called “hydraulic” (Hydro = water) civilizations
Irrigation, flood control at center of power, changes
Ancient period lasts generally to 1000 BCE

7. THE CULTURE OF CIVILIZATION
Permanent Institutions
Religious: Theocracies, priesthoods, polytheism
Political: Monarchy, aristocracy, militaries
Social: Rise of classes
Gender: Patriarchy
Trade and Commerce
Systems of Record Keeping
Intellectual Traditions
Arts, Architecture
Literatures

8. WIDER CONTACTS Each civilization had particular patterns
Effects of Geography
Either facilitated, hindered communication
Strengthened, weakened local culture
Contacts
War, Trade, Diseases
Nomads
Migration

9. PROBLEMS OF WORLD HISTORY
Role of technology, effects on environment
Comparisons between civilizations
Importance of early heritages
How much did ancient influence later cultures
How much is later, indigenous development
When did ancient period end?
Can we compare ancient, modern eras?