Notes on Text Book

• Western world: North and South America and Europe
• Far East in China
• Pre-History: before things were written down
• 200,000 yrs. ago human species emerged in southwestern Africa
• Hairy, tough skinned, claws, and hunched over
• Earliest prehistoric age is Paleolithic (Old Stone Age)
• Agricultural Revolution:
• Known as Neolithic Revolution
• Haunting and gathering to permanent settlements
• Populations rose due to increased ability to care for young children
• Had to be lucky to make it over age 1
• Hierarchies appeared in village life
• *Own hierarchy based on what your job was*
• Men are built bigger than women so they can do harder jobs that are more appreciated
• Invention of wheel and plow made it possible to produce enough food or storage
• Villagers were polytheists, worshipped multiple nature, human, and animal gods
• Sumer:
• land between Tigris and Euphrates river
• Population increased drastically due to new irrigation techniques
• Cities and towns founded had as many as 40,000 inhabitants
• More adequate food storage allowed for diversity in jobs
• *Sumerians invented the earliest form of writing know as "cuniform."