Chapter 2 : Early Hominids
Homo habilis :
Homo habilis, or handy man, existed 2.4 to 1.4 million years ago. They had larger brain cases and smaller teeth and faces than earlier hominids but retained some ape-like features such as long arms. They were named handy man because anthropologists once believed they were the first species to make stone tools. However, the earliest stone tools are older than the genus homo.The Homo habilis brain size has been shown to range from 550 cm3 to 687 cm3, rather than from 363 cm3 to 600 cm3.. |
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Australopithecus afarensis:
is an extinct hominid that lived between 3.9 and 2.9 million years ago. A. afarensis was
slenderly built, like the younger Australopithecus africanus. It is thought that A. afarensis
was more closely related to the genus Homo, whether as a direct ancestor or a close relative
of an unknown ancestor, than any other known primate from the same time.There are many
types of the hominid called Australopithecus, which means southern apes. These were small
ape-like creatures (with a height between 107cm and 152cm) that showed evidence of walking
upright. It is difficult to tell whether these begin are “humans” or “apes”.
is an extinct hominid that lived between 3.9 and 2.9 million years ago. A. afarensis was
slenderly built, like the younger Australopithecus africanus. It is thought that A. afarensis
was more closely related to the genus Homo, whether as a direct ancestor or a close relative
of an unknown ancestor, than any other known primate from the same time.There are many
types of the hominid called Australopithecus, which means southern apes. These were small
ape-like creatures (with a height between 107cm and 152cm) that showed evidence of walking
upright. It is difficult to tell whether these begin are “humans” or “apes”.
Lucy :
Lucy is the name of the nearly complete skeleton of an Austriolopithicus afarensis. She was the first nearly complete skeleton recovered for the species, found in 1974 at the Afar Locality (AL) 228, a site in the Hadar archaeological region on the Afar triangle of Ethopia Lucy is about 3.18 million years old, and is called Denkenesh in Amharic, the language of the local people.Lucy is not the only early himinin found at Hadar. |
Ardi:
Scientists today announced the discovery of the oldest fossil skeleton of a human ancestor. The find reveals that our forebears underwent a previously unknown stage of evolution more than a million years before lucy the iconic early human ancestor specimen that walked the Earth 3.2 million years ago. |
Characteristics of Civilization: SumerSocial Structure- A system of levels in society. This can be economic (jobs and wealth), social (popularity).
Stable Food Supply- When a society has enough food so it can survive, plus some extra to trade. Religion-A set of beliefs, usually in a god or gods, together with forms of worship such as holidays, prayer services, and rituals. Government-A group of people who keep law and order and make laws. Writing -Symbols and signs put together to make words. Culture-A people's unique way of life all of its forms of creative expression and entertainment Technology-.All advances, inventions, and processes created to make life easier. Four empires of mesopotamiaThe Akkadian Empire was an ancient semetic empire centered in the city of akkadmand its surrounding region, also called akkad in ancient mesopotamia The empire united all the indigenous Akkadian-speaking semi and the sumerian speakers under one rule. The Akkadian Empire controlled Mesopotamia, the levant and parts of iran.
The Akkadian Empire reached its political peak between the 24th and 22nd centuries BC, following the conquests by its founder sargon of akkad (2334–2279 BC). Under Sargon and his successors, Akkadian language was briefly imposed on neighboring conquered states such as elam. Akkad is sometimes regarded as the first empire in history,though there are earlier Sumerian claimants. After the fall of the Akkadian Empire, the Akkadian people of Mesopotamia eventually coalesced into two major Akkadian speaking nations: assyrian in the north, and, a few centuries later, babylonian in the south. Babylon : Babylon is Akkadian "babilani" which means "the Gate of God(s)" and it became the capital of the land of Babylonia. The etymology of the name Babel in the Bible means "confused" and throughout the Bible, Babylon was a symbol of the confusion caused by godlessness. The name Babylon is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Babel. Greece :geography- Located in southern Europe, Greece forms an irregular-shaped peninsula in the Mediterranean with two additional large peninsulas projecting from it: the Chalcidice and the Peloponnese. The Greek islands are generally subdivided into two groups, according to location: the Ionian islands (including Corfu, Cephalonia, and Leucas) west of the mainland and the Aegean islands (including Euboea, Samos, Chios, Lesbos, and Crete) to the east and south. North-central Greece, Epirus, and western Macedonia are all mountainous. The main chain of the Pindus Mountains extends from northwest Greece to the Peloponnese. Mount Olympus, rising to 9,570 ft (2,909 m), is the highest point in the country.
History -Indo-European peoples, including the Mycenaeans, began entering Greece about 2000 B.C. and set up sophisticated civilizations. About 1200 B.C. , the Dorians, another Indo-European people, invaded Greece, and a dark age followed, known mostly through the Homeric epics. At the end of this time, classical Greece began to emerge (c. 750 B.C. ) as a loose composite of city-states with a heavy involvement in maritime trade and a devotion to art, literature, politics, and philosophy. Greece reached the peak of its glory in the 5th century B.C. , but the Peloponnesian War (431–404 B.C. ) weakened the nation, and it was conquered by Philip II and his son Alexander the Great of Macedonia, who considered themselves Greek. By the middle of the 2nd century B.C. , Greece had declined to the status of a Roman province. It remained within the eastern Roman Empire until Constantinople fell to the Crusaders in 1204. In 1453, the Turks took Constantinople and by 1460, Greece was a province in the Ottoman Empire. The Greek war of independence began in 1821, and by 1827 Greece won independence with sovereignty guaranteed by Britain, France, and Russia. The protecting powers chose Prince Otto of Bavaria as the first king of modern Greece in 1832 to reign over an area only slightly larger than the Peloponnese peninsula. Chiefly under the next king, George I, chosen by the protecting powers in 1863, Greece acquired much of its present territory. During his 57-year reign, a period in which he encouraged parliamentary democracy, Thessaly, Epirus, Macedonia, Crete, and most of the Aegean islands were added from the disintegrating Turkish empire. Unfavorable economic conditions forced about one-sixth of the entire Greek population to emigrate (mostly to the U.S.) in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. An unsuccessful war against Turkey after World War I brought down the monarchy, which was replaced by a republic in 1923. Sparta vs. Athens :The cities of Athens and Sparta were bitter rivals in ancient Greece. Geographically they are very close to each other, but have sometimes had very different values, lifestyles, and cultures.
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Buddah :
Every living being has the same basic wish – to be happy and to avoid suffering. Even newborn babies, animals, and insects have this wish. It has been our main wish since beginning less time and it is with us all the time, even during our sleep. We spend our whole life working hard to ful fil this wish.Since this world evolved, human beings have spent much time and energy improving external conditions in their search for happiness and a solution to their many problems. What has been the result?Instead of their wishes being fulfilled, human suffering has continued to increase while the experience of happiness and peace is decreasing. This clearly shows that we need to find a true method for gaining pure happiness and freedom from misery.When things go wrong in our life and we encounter difficult situations we tend to regard the situation itself as the problem, but in reality whatever problems we experience come from the side of the mind. If we were to respond to difficult situations with a positive or peaceful mind they would not be problems for us; indeed we may even come to regard them as challenges or opportunities for growth and development. Problems arise only if we respond to difficulties with a negative state of mind. Therefore, if we want to be free from problems we must learn to control our mind.He had 3 main questions which were - why do we suffer - why do we get old - and why do we die ?
India :
One-third the area of the United States, the Republic of India occupies most of the subcontinent of India in southern Asia. It borders on China in the northeast. Other neighbors are Pakistan on the west, Nepal and Bhutan on the north, and Burma and Bangladesh on the east.The country can be divided into three distinct geographic regions: the Himalayan region in the north, which contains some of the highest mountains in the world, the Gangetic Plain, and the plateau region in the south and central part. Its three great river systems—the Ganges, the Indus, and the Brahmaputra—have extensive deltas and all rise in the Himalayas.One of the earliest civilizations, the Indus Valley civilization flourished on the Indian subcontinent from c. 2600 B.C. to c. 2000 B.C. It is generally accepted that the Aryans entered India c. 1500 B.C. from the northwest, finding a land that was already home to an advanced civilization. They introduced Sanskrit and the Vedic religion, a forerunner of Hinduism. Buddhism was founded in the 6th century B.C.and was spread throughout northern India, most notably by one of the great ancient kings of the Mauryan dynasty, Asoka (c. 269–232 B.C. ), who also unified most of the Indian subcontinent for the first time.In 1526, Muslim invaders founded the great Mogul Empire, centered on Delhi, which lasted, at least in name, until 1857. Akbar the Great (1542–1605) strengthened and consolidated this empire. The long reign of his great-grandson, Aurangzeb (1618–1707), represents both the greatest extent of the Mogul Empire and the beginning of its decay.
rises of democracy:
oligarchy- is a form of government in which most of the political power effectively rests with a small segment of society, typically the people who have the most wealth, military strength, ruthlessness or political influence. The word "oligarchy" from the Greek words olígos, which means "few," and archo, which means "to rule". Some political theorists have argued that all societies are inevitably oligarchies, regardless of their supposed political system.How Oligarchies Form.Oligarchies are often controlled by a few powerful families whose children are raised and mentored to become inheritors of power, often at some sort of expense to those governed.
Democracy -is "a system of government in which all the people of a state or polity ... are involved in making decisions about its affairs, typically by voting to elect representatives to a parliament or similar assembly. Democracy is further defined as a "government by the people; especially rule of the majority " a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections."According to political scientist Larry Dimond, it consists of four key elements: ". A political system for choosing and replacing the government through free and fair elections. The active participation of the people, as citizens, in politics and civic life.. Protection of the human rights of all citizens.. A rule of law, in which the laws and procedures apply equally to all citizens"
Tyranny-the government or rule of a tyrant or absolute ruler. a state ruled by a tyrant or absolute ruler. oppressive or unjustly severe government on the part of any ruler. a cruel or harsh act or proceeding; an arbitrary, oppressive, or tyrannical action.
Monarchy- is the oldest form of government in the United Kingdom. In a monarchy, a king or queen is Head of State. The British monarchy is known as a constitutional monarchy. This means that, while The Sovereign is Head of State, the ability to make and pass legislation resides with an elected Parliament.
Democracy -is "a system of government in which all the people of a state or polity ... are involved in making decisions about its affairs, typically by voting to elect representatives to a parliament or similar assembly. Democracy is further defined as a "government by the people; especially rule of the majority " a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections."According to political scientist Larry Dimond, it consists of four key elements: ". A political system for choosing and replacing the government through free and fair elections. The active participation of the people, as citizens, in politics and civic life.. Protection of the human rights of all citizens.. A rule of law, in which the laws and procedures apply equally to all citizens"
Tyranny-the government or rule of a tyrant or absolute ruler. a state ruled by a tyrant or absolute ruler. oppressive or unjustly severe government on the part of any ruler. a cruel or harsh act or proceeding; an arbitrary, oppressive, or tyrannical action.
Monarchy- is the oldest form of government in the United Kingdom. In a monarchy, a king or queen is Head of State. The British monarchy is known as a constitutional monarchy. This means that, while The Sovereign is Head of State, the ability to make and pass legislation resides with an elected Parliament.
china:The greater part of the country is mountainous. Its principal ranges are the Tien Shan, the Kunlun chain, and the Trans-Himalaya. In the southwest is Tibet, which China annexed in 1950. The Gobi Desert lies to the north. China proper consists of three great river systems: the Yellow River (Huang He), 2,109 mi (5,464 km) long; the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang), the third-longest river in the world at 2,432 mi (6,300 km); and the Pearl River (Zhu Jiang), 848 mi (2,197 km) long.
The earliest recorded human settlements in what is today called China were discovered in the Huang He basin and date from about 5000 B.C. During the Shang dynasty (1500–1000 B.C. ), the precursor of modern China's ideographic writing system developed, allowing the emerging feudal states of the era to achieve an advanced stage of civilization, rivaling in sophistication any society found at the time in Europe, the Middle East, or the Americas. It was following this initial flourishing of civilization, in a period known as the Chou dynasty (1122–249 B.C. ), that Lao-tse, Confucius, Mo Ti, and Mencius laid the foundation of Chinese philosophical thought. The feudal states, often at war with one another, were first united under Emperor Ch'in Shih Huang Ti, during whose reign (246–210 B.C. ) work was begun on the Great Wall of China, a monumental bulwark against invasion from the West. Although the Great Wall symbolized China's desire to protect itself from the outside world, under the Han dynasty (206 B.C.–A.D. 220), the civilization conducted extensive commercial trading with the West. In the T'ang dynasty (618–907)—often called the golden age of Chinese history—painting, sculpture, and poetry flourished, and woodblock printing, which enabled the mass production of books, made its earliest known appearance. The Mings, last of the native rulers (1368–1644), overthrew the Mongol, or Yuan, dynasty (1271–1368) established by Kublai Khan. The Mings in turn were overthrown in 1644 by invaders from the north, the Manchus. Rome:Geography of Rome is characterized by the Seven Hills and The Tiber River.
Rome city situated on the eastern banks of river Tiber has a geographical position of 41° 54' N and 12° 29' E. Rome lies to the west of the Apennine Mountains that forms the backbone of peninsular Italy. Being close to the Tyrrhenian Sea, Rome experiences a Mediterranean climate. Rome is popularly called 'the city of seven hills'. These seven hills namely, Viminal, Quirinal, Palatine, Esquiline, Capitoline, Caelian, and Aventine were separated by marshy land and the River Tiber. Of these seven hills, the Caelian, Esquiline, Quirinal and Viminal hills were portions of a volcanic ridge. The Aventine, Capitoline, and Palatine hills formed the western group of hills. In ancient Rome each of the seven hills had separate walled cities Plebians and Patricians:Roman citizens were divided into two classes, Plebeians and Patricians.The plebeians were the lower class. They included everyone who was not a patrician. They were sometimes just called plebs.The patricians were the upper class. They were the wealthy land owners.All free adult males were citizens, no matter what their class. In both classes, the oldest male was the paterfamilias or head of the family. Old age was honored, and women had no rights. If you could afford them, both classes owned slaves. The houses of both classes were designed the same way unless you were too poor to own your own home. Everyone worshipped the same gods, and observed the same festivals and holy days. Everyone spoke Latin and everyone went to the baths and enjoyed the forum.Plebeians and Patricians rarely mixed socially, although occasionally, a pleb might marry a patrician. It was unusual though, and prior to the Republic, it was against the law for a pleb to marry a patrician.
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