1. Unit 5, Lesson 7 Turning Points and Other Stories:
The World at the End of the Age of Empire, Around 500 CE

2. The World in Era 3…. 1,000 BCE to 500 CE What were global patterns of human development during this time? Why was this a turning point (and what is a turning point?)
Information based on overview found at worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.edu/eras/era4.php ‎

3. The Big Picture: The population of the world continued to grow.
More large cities developed.
Also, large states (large populations organized under one government… not states like Michigan) continued to emerge, and they got even bigger.
Economic systems developed in these states to support the government, including complex tax systems.

4. Connections…
Networks and trade routes connected many people across vast spaces.
Goods, technologies, and ideas moved across these networks and were exchanged between societies.
Afroeurasian regions were connected by both land and sea routes.
In the Americas, large parts of Mesoamerica, as well as the Andean region of South America, were also connected.
New belief systems spread across these networks and provided people with news ways to connect and share customs and values.

5. More food = more people…
The development of human knowledge over time led to improved technology like iron plows. These and other innovations allowed people to produce more food in places where they hadn’t before.
Surpluses of food allowed larger groups of people to live in the same spaces and continued the intensification that began in Era 2.
Larger, more concentrated societies developed across the world, from southern Africa to China, Mesoamerica, to South America, and beyond.

6. The Iron Age
The development of iron technologies -- ways to produce and use iron -- changed the world in important ways during this time.
The technologies of iron smelting and production developed independently in more than one place, but quickly spread throughout most of Afroeurasia across trade networks.
Iron tools like axes, plows, and hoes made farming easier and more productive.
Other iron tools like hammers, saws, and chisels made art and construction easier.
Iron weapons and armor changed warfare as well.
Despite its importance in Afroeurasia, iron technologies did not develop in the Americas, Australia, or Oceania during this era.

7. Population Growth
During this era, the population of the world grew at faster rates. Between 1000 BCE and 1 CE, the population of the world doubled.
Food surpluses were one factor that allowed for population growth.
However, new immunities to diseases may have also helped population growth.
As population density increased, disease spread more rapidly, but people also developed greater immunities to these diseases. Over time, large populations living in dense settlements developed immunities to diseases that had killed many people in the past.
Nevertheless, as we will see in the next unit, dense populations (more people living in the same space) also made societies more open to new diseases and epidemics.

8. Humans and the Environment
Of course, as large civilizations developed and population increased, people needed more resources.
As they took more resources from the environment, humans began to have more of a negative impact on the natural world.
In some areas, deforestation (the destruction of forests) began to take place on a large scale (even though it didn’t compare to what we do now!).
People needed wood for fires, tools, construction, and they needed to clear forests to create new farming land. Problems like increased erosion and shortages of wood began to occur in this era.

9. Number of largest cities Total population of largest cities
Turn and Talk:
The population living in cities went up at the beginning of this era. What was happening in the world that would have made the population of cities increase?
When did the population start to decline? What do you think happened to make the population in cities decrease?
Year
Number of largest cities
Size of largest cities
Total population of largest cities
BCE 1200 16
24,000-50,000
499,000
BCE 650 20
30, ,000
894,000
BCE 430 51
30, ,000
2,877,000
CE 100 75
30, ,000
5,181,000
CE 500 47
40, ,000
3,892,000
worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.edu/eras/era4.php

10. So what happened?
Populations in cities grew because of the development of large civilizations and empires.
These populations decreased as empires fell apart, and also as large epidemics killed many people in some areas.

11. It was the age of empires… but not for everyone!
worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.edu/eras/era4.php
Across many regions, large empires developed with central governments and social hierarchies that controlled people from different areas and backgrounds.
Even so, more people probably lived outside of the large empires than inside them. These societies ranged from city-states or kingdoms to nomadic societies of herders and groups of foragers.

12. Many different ways of life…
Most people were farmers, herders, or foragers. People lived based on their production. They did not live as long (life expectancy) as people generally do today.
As cities grew, so did the divisions between groups of people.
Wealthy classes of powerful people developed, as did groups of skilled people like scribes and artisans who could gain some wealth but less power.
Most people, though, were working people who toiled and produced to support themselves.
Slavery also developed and spread rapidly during this era.
As social relations shifted, males controlled most political and social power.

13. ABCDEFG….
Alphabetic writing systems became more developed and rapidly spread in this time period.
With alphabetic systems, fewer signs (letters) are used to represent specific sounds, which are combined to make words to represent ideas.
Alphabets were a more efficient way of communicating and recording information, and alphabetic writing became important to governments, scholars, and merchants.

14. Religions and belief systems also developed…
Time of appearance
Homeland
Buddhism
5th century B.C.E.
Northern India
Christianity
1st century C.E.
Southwest Asia
Confucianism
Northern China
Daoism (Taoism)
Hinduism
early 1st millennium B.C.E.
Judaism
worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.edu/eras/era4.php

15. Turning Points…
A turning point is a time when a big change occurs that has a long lasting impact. In particular, a turning point in history is when one period or way of life is changing and a new period is beginning.
Turn and Talk and then be ready to share…
How and why do you think the fall of large empires was a turning point in human history?

16. What goes up, must come down!
So… you have already learned that the large empires of this time period declined and fell apart.
Remember that empires had developed governments, trade systems, belief systems, armies, cultural production (art, literature, etc.), science and mathematical knowledge, and had established borders.
What do you think happened to these institutions when empires fell?
Working with a partner, generate a few predictions about how human societies changed in places where empires fell. Be prepared to share!

17. Predictions? List of predictions:
In the next unit, we’ll see how we did with these predictions!

18. Non-empire Societies and Information Categories for Research:
Jigsaw Group Activity
Non-empire Societies and Information Categories for Research:
World Region
Example of a society and links
Economics... trade and production of food and other surplus goods
Government and rules/laws
Social structure
Culture
East Africa
Aksum
Sub-Saharan
Africa
Bantu
Eurasian Steppes
(Mongolia)
Hun
North America
Hopewell Culture
South America
Moche
Oceania /
Polynesia
Hawaii

19. Websites for Jigsaw Research
Aksum
Bantu
Hun
Hopewell Culture
archive.archaeology.org/online/features/hopewell/who_were_hopewell.html
Moche
Hawaii

20. Roman innovations
Advances in architecture, engineering, public health, law, and art
Often borrowed and built upon the ideas and technologies of other civilizations
Had significant impact on the course of history and helped shape the modern era
Important in helping to spread and maintain the empire

21. Developed Civil Service
Han Dynasty
Advanced Technology
Paper and Ceramics
Military advances
Developed Civil Service
Guided by Confucian ideals
Organized empire
Expanded Trade
Connected to Central Asia
Opened up Silk Roads

22. Golden Age of the Gupta in India
Central rule and influence over larger area
Advances in science, math, art, and other areas
General period of peace and prosperity
Although there
were many advances, inequality still existed; not everyone had the same rights because of the caste system and gender inequality.

23. Compare / Contrast
So… how were the smaller societies you studied in your jigsaw groups SIMILAR to the empires?
How were these smaller societies DIFFERENT from the empires?
In your analysis group, brainstorm a list of possible similarities and differences and be ready to share.

24. Turn and Talk: Compare the empires and other societies in Era 3:
Compare / Similarities
Contrast / Differences