1. Foundations

2. Stages of Human Development Hominids Australopithecus (Lucy) Homo Habilis Homo Erectus Homo Sapiens: Neanderthal Man, Cro- Magnon Man Homo Sapiens Sapiens

3. “Out of Africa” vs Multiregional Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic Eras Neolithic Revolution (Transition) How did Sedentary Agriculture lead to Civilization? Cultural Diffusion versus Independent Invention

4. Role of pastoral nomads Differences between hunter-gatherers and sedentary agricultural societies: gender roles, social stratification, religion

5. 4 Primary Civilizations Sumer (Mesopotamia) Egypt Harappa China River valleys, irrigation, urbanization, writing systems, organized religions

6. Secondary Civilizations Aryans (conquered Harappa) Zhou (invaded and assimilated by China) Fertile Crescent: Hebrews, Hittites, etc. Egypt: Kush, Axsum, Nubia Minoan civilization (Crete)

7. Classical Civilizations Ca 1000 BCE to 500 CE Complex, cosmopolitan societies Religions based on ethical/moral considerations Cross-cultural trade, cultural diffusion Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han Dynasty China Mauryan-Gupta India Greco-Roman (Hellenistic) in Mediterranean

8. Axial Age ca 900-200 BCE Development of complex, ethics/morality based religions Zoroastrianism (Iran) Judaism/ethical monotheism (Israel) Greek philosophy Hinduism, Buddhism (India) Confucianism, Daoism (China)

9. Classical Era trading systems Silk Road Indian Ocean Straits of Malacca Mediterranean Caravan routes in Africa, Middle East

10. End of Classical Era ca 500 CE “barbarian” invasions Diseases Economic and political decline Collapse of Gupta India, Han China. Roman Empire divided, west collapsed, east became Byzantine Empire centered around Constantinople

11. Spread of Religions Buddhism spreads from China into Korea, Japan Mahayana vs Theravada Buddhism Christianity spread into Western Europe, Byzantine Empire, divided into Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox