The
theory of evolution supported by an enormous body of evidence forces as to draw
far reaching conclusions. Every living species evolved from a common ancestor.
Modern humans evolved from the early men that lived in Africa. Archaeologists
say that early man evolved from Africa and migrated to other habitable
continents over the years. They migrated for several reasons such as: lack of
food, wars, and slavery. Over the years environmental factors such as extreme
cold weather and very warm weather influenced the physical features of humans.
Thus some people are white and others are black. No matter how diverse their
culture may seem, all human communities are directly related to each other,
other species and the earth. The way and manner in which one thrives today is
very different from how one’s ancestors lived. Over the past years, historians
and scientists have studied human kind to prove and document early
civilization. Three important eras of early civilization are the Paleolithic
Age, the Neolithic Civilization and the River Valley Civilizations. [1]The Stone Age is a
prehistoric cultural stage, or level of human development, characterized by the
creation and use of stone tools. The Stone Age is usually divided into three
separate periods--Paleolithic Period, Mesolithic Period, and Neolithic
Period--based on the degree of sophistication in the fashioning and use of tools.
During the Paleolithic Age (2
million B.C to 10000 B.C) people lived in smaller groups due to the limited
amount of food supply. Throughout the Paleolithic, man was a food gatherer,
depending for his subsistence on hunting wild animals and birds, fishing, and
collecting wild fruits, nuts, and berries. The men hunted for food whilst the
women gathered fruits and berried. Due to the fact that they all lived a
nomadic lifestyle, they was greater equality among themselves. It didn't matter if one was male or female, child or adult. One interesting development
in this era was “Animism”. It can be defined or described as the belief or idea
that everything in nature has a spirit. One may ask that does this mean that
the rain, stones, rocks, and trees all have spirits? Yes, the people of the
Paleolithic Age believed that all things in nature had spirits. Animism is
therefore considered as the earliest form of religion. Also, the Paleolithic
Age is divided into three groups: Lower Paleolithic, Middle Paleolithic and
Upper Paleolithic. The lower Paleolithic people have been identified as Homo
habilisÃ. They were the people who developed the earliest stone tools. Those
stone tools were known as choppers. Some historians call that period as ChopperÃ
period. They manufactured those stone tools by using pebbles or pieces of
rocks. [2]The lower Paleolithic
people survived on wild plants, fruits and collected meats. Burned rocks
discovered during the excavations suggest that people in that period learned
the use of fire at a later stage. Circles of stones, which may have served as
seats, spaced around the fire suggest that the glowing embers provided a center
for family gatherings (Schick). The earliest evidence of the people of the
lower Paleolithic communities was found in Europe. [3]The Middle Paleolithic
period began about 200,000 years ago. People in that period are known as called
as Neanderthals. They used improved version of stone tools for hunting and
self-defense purpose. The traces of these people were first discovered in
France. There were some evidences of rituals among the Neanderthals. The Upper
Paleolithic period extended from about 35,000 to between 10,000 and 15,000
years ago. [4]The
Upper Paleolithic people lived in parts of Asia, Europe and Africa. They were
more advanced than the people in the previous eras. They had knowledge about
the art and infrastructure. It became clear from the discoveries that they used
to construct temporary dwellings using branches and animal skin. The creative
skills of the people in that period are proven from the discovery of metal
tools, pendants, necklaces and bracelets of shells, bone and ivory. They
expressed their love for the nature through body art and painting on the rocks.
They worshipped mother goddess and believed in rituals.
History witnessed its first major
change between the years of 12000 B.C to 10000 B.C. This epic change is known
as the Neolithic Revolution. During this age, agriculture (farming) emerged. The
Neolithic Revolution was a fundamental change in the way people lived. The
shift from hunting & gathering to agriculture led to permanent settlements,
the establishment of social classes, and the eventual rise of civilizations.
The Neolithic Revolution is a major turning point in human history. Neolithic
villages continued to divide work between men and women. However, women's status declined as men took
the lead in in most areas of these early societies. Villages were usually run by a Council of
Elders composed of the heads of the village's various families. [5]Some of these villages may
have had a chief elder as a single leader. When resources became scarce,
warfare among villages increased. During
war, some men gained stature as great warriors.
This usually transferred over to village life with these warriors
becoming the leaders in society. Early social class divisions developed as a
result. A person's social class was
usually determined by the work they did, such as farmer, craftsman, priest, and
warrior. [6]Depending on the society,
priests and warriors were usually at the top, with farmers and craftsman at the
bottom. New technologies developed in response to the need for better tools and
weapons to go along with the new way of living.
Neolithic farmers created a simple calendar to keep track of planting
and harvesting. They also developed
simple metal tools such as plows, to help with their work. Some groups even may have used animals to
pull these plows, again making work easier.
Metal weapons were developed as villages needed to protect their
valuable resources. The food and waste generated from the farms acted as baits
for animals. Hence, the domestication of animals such as dogs and sheep during
the Neolithic Revolution.
In addition, the key to farming is
irrigation: one needs fresh water to nourish the plants. Because of this, the
Neolithic Revolution’s agriculture led to the rise of what historians call
“River Valley Civilizations”. According to EARTH
AND ITS PEOPLE, a civilization is a complex society with eight basic
features. These features include cities, writing, centralized government,
social classes, religion, job specialization, public works, and art and
architecture. [7]Approximately
5000 years ago the first complex, politically centralized civilizations began
to crystallize independently along a number of river valleys throughout the
southern half of Asia and northern Africa. Why did the first complex,
politically centralized civilizations materialize along rivers? Because rivers supplied a continuous and dependable
flow of water for farming and human consumption. These rivers along with climate, vegetation,
geography, and topography shaped the development of the early river valley
civilizations. However, while people of
these civilizations were dependent on the rivers, the rivers also inspired new
technological, economic, institutional, and organizational innovations and
developments. Between 3000 and 2000 B.C.E. such river valley civilizations
formed independently of each other along the Indus, the Nile, the Tigris and
Euphrates, and the Yellow Rivers. [8]The Nile River was the axis
of two early African civilizations, Egypt and Nubia. The Nile River shaped the development of both
civilizations, providing a reliable source of water for farming and linking
them to sub-Saharan Africa and the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile gave them limited access to various
Bantu peoples to the south and various Mediterranean peoples to the north. Although both civilizations crystallized
along the Nile, they developed along different lines. Egypt unified politically earlier and more
effectively than Nubia. The
ruler-conqueror first united Egypt about 3100 B.C.E. Subsequently, the institution of the pharaoh
as deified ruler developed during a period known as the Archaic Period
(3100-2660 B.C.E.). Ancient Egyptian history is chronologically divided by
dynasty and “kingdom”. The three
principle periods are the Old Kingdom (2660-2160 B.C.E.), the Middle Kingdom
(2040-1640 B.C.E.), and the New Kingdom (1550-1070 B.C.E.). In a number of ways the Old Kingdom is
considered the classic era in ancient Egyptian history. This period is marked by the power and
influence of the pharaoh being at its height, as manifest in the construction
of massive pyramids for burial of the pharaohs.
While pyramids were constructed during all three kingdom periods,
Egyptians built the largest pyramids for their pharaohs during the Old
Kingdom. Of course, these massive
monuments have come to define ancient Egypt in popular culture. Arguably the most famous pyramids were
constructed between 2600 and 2500 B.C.E. at Giza, two of the best known being
the Great Pyramid of the ruler Khufu and the Great Sphinx.
[9]Mesopotamia is a Greek word
that means “land between the rivers”, referring to the Tigris and the Euphrates
Rivers. These two rivers were the axes
of one of the most influential ancient civilizations in history. With the development of irrigation around
6000 B.C.E. farming villages appeared and grew into larger communities and then
cities along these rivers. Political centralization first occurred in
Mesopotamia in much the same way that it took place along the Nile River. From approximately 3200 to 2350 B.C.E.
various Sumerian cities dominated Mesopotamia.
During this period these cities, ruled by monarchs, came to control surrounding
economic hinterlands, and, in the process, evolved into city-states. These city-states were rivals who vied for
influence throughout, even dominance of Mesopotamia. In the twenty-fourth century B.C.E. Sargon,
the ruler of the city of Akkad, became the first man to unify Mesopotamia under
his control. From 2350 to 1600 B.C.E.
Mesopotamia was dominated by Babylon, a city that straddled the Tigris and Euphrates
Rivers. Mesopotamia left a number of important cultural legacies for Western
civilization. Mesopotamia culture was a
synthesis of both Sumerian and Semitic forms.
One of these legacies was various legal codes developed by a succession
of Mesopotamian rulers. Most notably
among these rulers was Hammurabi (r. 1792-1750 B.C.E.), a Babylonian ruler who
had various legal codes, guidelines, and precedents compiled. This compilation was part of his larger
effort to standardize the administration of his kingdom. Another legacy was the Epic of Gilgamesh, a
collection of stories about ancient Mesopotamia which centered around a
legendary king of Uruk, who was part god.
These stories became one of the models for later heroic epics which
celebrated the exploits of rulers and their champions.
[10]From roughly 3000 to 1500
B.C.E. a complex, urbanized civilization existed along the Indus River in what
is today northern India. This ancient
Indus River valley civilization was dominated by several large cities,
including Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro, and today is known by the name of the
former. The people of this civilization
were known as Dravidians. For a number of different reasons historians don’t
know as much about Harappan civilization as we do about its counterparts along
the Nile, the Tigris and Euphrates, and the Yellow Rivers. Unlike these other civilizations the language
of ancient Harappan civilization cannot be deciphered. These civilizations laid
the foundations for political centralization and organization upon which nearly
all subsequent civilizations are built.
They also provided many of the roots of human civilization all the way
to the present including the practices of monument building, written
articulation of legal codes, and the construction of the legal and political
infrastructures necessary to run a central government of a state. If one were transported back in time to one
of these early civilizations, one would find much that was familiar.
The evolution of human and human
history is very complex. It is full and surprises. Though the historians and
researchers have made their conclusions based on the discoveries and
excavations, the complete truth about the human history still remains a
mystery. Mankind has come a very long way, and still has a long a way to go.
All the changes that happened thousands of years ago are very crucial. The
Paleolithic age introduced religion, and language. The Neolithic Revolution
introduced civilization and farming. Paleolithic people used the caves as their
shelters. At a later stage, they built some temporary dwellings using branches
of the trees. However, Neolithic people built houses with woods and stones. The
river valley people went steps ahead and built their houses with bricks. Not
only they built houses, but also they built planned cities and other
establishments. Paleolithic people expressed their feelings by body art and
rock paintings, while Neolithic people used both the rock paintings and wall
paintings. They also used utensils in household and painted them with color.
People in the Niles and the Tigris-Euphrates civilizations showed their expertise
in art and architecture by building monuments and sculptures. Written scripts
were developed for the first time during the river valley civilizations.
Works Cited
Bolman, Katherine P. "The Facts about
Paleolithic Community." Art History Worlds. Sagar Satapathy,
n.d. Web. 14 Sept. 2014.
"An Overview of the
Paleolithic." An Overview of the Paleolithic. N.p., n.d. Web.
13 Sept. 2014.
"[Regents Prep Global History] Change &
Turning Points: Neolithic Revolution." [Regents Prep Global
History] Change & Turning Points: Neolithic Revolution. N.p., n.d. Web.
14 Sept. 2014.
[1] http://history-world.org/stone_age1.htm
[2] http://arthistoryworlds.org/the-facts-about-paleolithic-community/
[3] http://arthistoryworlds.org/the-facts-about-paleolithic-community/
[4] http://arthistoryworlds.org/the-facts-about-paleolithic-community/
[5] http://www.regentsprep.org/Regents/global/themes/change/neo.cfm
[6]http://www.regentsprep.org/Regents/global/themes/change/neo.cfm
[7] http://arthistoryworlds.org/early-river-valley-civilizations/
[8] http://arthistoryworlds.org/early-river-valley-civilizations/
[9] http://arthistoryworlds.org/early-river-valley-civilizations/
[10] http://arthistoryworlds.org/early-river-valley-civilizations/
