2.  Fossil evidence
shows that the
earliest humans
originate in Africa.
 People were
nomads who
moved from place
to place in search
of food and spread
across the globe.

3.  Prehistory is known as the time before the
invention of writing around 5,000 ago. (3000 BC)
 Archaeologists and anthropologists use clues from
fossils and artifacts to tell a story rather than go
by written record.

4.  Breakthroughs came
about 10,000 years
ago when humans
learned how to farm
and abandoned the
hunter-gatherer
lifestyles.
 From here, farming
villages would start
to sprout up.

6.  Civilizations start to emerge. Civilizations
are complex societies with cities,
government, religion, jobs, public works,
social classes, arts and writing.
 The four main civilizations develop on fertile
river plains in:
 Mesopotamia (Tigris, Euphrates)
 Egypt (Nile)
 Indus Valley (Indus)
 China (Huang He)

7. Organized
Religion
Central Social
Government Classes
Job
What is a Art &
Special-
civilization? Architecture
ization
System
of Cities
Roads,
writing
bridges,
temples,
etc

9. Huang-He River Indus River
Tigris-Euphrates River Nile River

10.  It was not soon
thereafter that ancient
rulers gained more
power and conquered
villages, cities and
territories beyond their
own thus creating
empires.
 An empire is a group of
states, territories
and/or people ruled by
one person.

11.  The first
civilizations in
Egypt arise along
the 4,100-mile
Nile River on
narrow strip of
fertile land

12.  Yearly flooding
brings water and
fertile black mud
—silt
 Farmers build
irrigation system
for wheat and
barley crops
 Egyptians worship
the Nile as a god
The blue figure is the Nile god Hapi

14.  Religion plays a major role in
Egyptian society.
 Egyptians are polytheistic,
belief in many gods.
 Egyptians believe in over
2,000 gods and goddesses
 Believe in life after death;
person judged by deeds at
death
 Develop mummification,
process that prevents body
from decaying
 Book of the Dead contains
prayers and spells, guides
soul after death

15.  Ra – The Sun God
 Anubis – God of the
Dead

16.  Osiris – God of the Afterlife
 Isis – Goddess of Protection
 Horus– Son of Osiris and Isis,
God of the Sky

17.  Society shaped like
pyramid, from pharaoh
down to farmers,
laborers
 Few people at top have
great power; most
people at bottom
 People move into higher
social classes through
marriage or merit
 Women have many of
the same rights as men

19.  To the Egyptians,
kings are gods;
Egyptian god-kings
called pharaohs
 Pharaohs control
religion,
government, army,
well-being of
kingdom
 Government based
on religious authority
-theocracy

20.  Kings were believed to rule
even after death and had
an eternal life force called
the ka
 Egyptians build elaborate
tombs and pyramids to
meet needs after death.
 Pyramids made with blocks
of stone, 2−15 tons each

21.  The pyramid is estimated  Every angle in the base is
to have about 2,300,000 exactly 90 degrees,
stone blocks weighing forming a perfect square.
from 2-30 tons each with  Even though it is located in
some weighing as much as Egypt, where
70 tons. temperatures can get well
 The mortar used is of an over 100 degrees
unknown origin. It has Fahrenheit, the
been analyzed and it's temperature inside The
chemical composition is Great Pyramid remains
known but it can't be constant at 68 degrees F.
reproduced. It is stronger This is the same as Earth’s
than the stone and still average temperature.
holding up today

22.  The pyramid was once covered
with a smooth mantel stone
that would reflect the sun up  Egyptians wrote
to 100 miles away.
about and kept
 Even though the builders of
the great pyramid did not have records of
accurate measuring devices, EVERYTHING!
great pyramid is within 1 However, there is
centimeter of being perfectly no written record
level. of them ever
 The Great Pyramid is located building the
at exactly 31 degrees north pyramids.
and 31 degrees east.

25.  By 3000 B.C., the Sumerians
build cities in the Fertile
Crescent or Mesopotamia
(land between rivers)
 Each is a city-state—an
independent political unit
 Sumer city-states Uruk, Kish,
Lagash, Umma, and Ur
 Each city has temple and
ziggurat; priests appeal to
gods

28.  Sumerians invent the wheel, sail, and plow;
first to use bronze
 Make advances in arithmetic and geometry
 Develop arches, columns, ramps and pyramids
for building
 Have complex system of writing—cuneiform
 Study astronomy, chemistry, medicine

30.  Other civilizations living in
the Fertile Crescent were
the Akkadians and the
Babylonians.
 Sargon was the Akkadians
ruler and he created the
first ever empire.
 King Hammurabi of Babylon
gave us the first major
collection of laws known as
Hammurabi’s Code.
Hammurabi’s Code

32.  Also living in the Fertile
Crescent were the
Hebrews, a group of
nomadic people.
 The Hebrews developed a
religion known as Judaism
which is monotheistic
(the belief in a one, true
God).
 Judaism is the oldest,
monotheistic religion to
survive to the present

33.  Prophets, or spiritual leaders
such as Abraham, told the
people to obey God and also
preached a strong code of ethics
(moral standards to live by).
 An example of these ethics would
be the Ten Commandments,
which is a covenant (an
agreement between God and
man) to obey.

34.  God told Abraham to
move his people from
Ur in Sumeria to
Canaan (modern day
Palestine/Israel).
 This is the land that
the Hebrews
believed that God
had promised them.

35.  Eventually invading
armies, such as the
Egyptians, captured
Canaan and imprisoned
the Hebrews (now called
the Jews).
 They lived in captivity for
nearly 1,000 years until
they were forced to
leave.
 Moses leads the Jews out
of captivity in Egypt
during the Exodus.

36.  Following the
exodus, Jewish
people experience
diaspora, the
scattering of
people, which
causes Jews to
settle all over the
world.
 This helps make
Judaism a major
religion worldwide.

37.  With over 3,000 years of history,
Judaism is the oldest continuous
monotheistic (just one god)
religion in the world.
 Basic laws and teachings come
from the holy text, the Torah.
 The Torah establishes claim to
Canaan, (Jerusalem/Palestine,
the Holy Land)
 Jews believe the Holy Land was
gift from Yahweh (God) to Jewish Synagogue: King Solomon’s Temple
Abraham.
 Jewish King Solomon built a great
temple to God in Jerusalem.

38.  The first Indian
civilizations build
well-planned cities on
the banks of the Indus
and Ganges Rivers.
 Two main rivers:
Indus and Ganges
(Ganga)

39.  By 2500 B.C.,
people build cities
of brick laid out on
a grid system
 Engineers create
plumbing and
sewage systems
 Indus Valley called
Harappan
civilization after
Harappa, a city

41.  City built on mud-brick platform to
protect against flood waters
 Brick walls protect city and citadel—
central buildings of the city
 Streets in grid system are 30 feet wide
 Lanes separate rows of houses (which
featured bathrooms)

42.  Signs of decline begin
around 1750 B.C.
 Earthquakes, floods,
soil depletion may
have caused decline
 Around 1500 B.C.,
Aryans enter area and
become dominant

43.  Typically we associate
Aryan’s with Nazis.
 However, Hitler
misunderstood what
Aryan’s were.
 Aryans are actually
people of Indo-Iranian
heritage and have
dark hair, dark eyes
and a darker skin
complexion.

44.  Aryans develop a complex
class society in India
which still exists today.
 These classes are known
as castes.
 In the caste system you
are born into a certain
class which you can never
leave.
 You are expected to take
on the jobs and
responsibilities of your
family.

46.  Dates back 5,000 years.
 Is a polytheistic religion with the
belief in many gods but also
believe in a spiritual force called
brahman.
 Religious requirements of the
caste system shape many aspects
of Hindu’s lives and culture.
 Animals play an important role in
religion and culture.
 Hindus also believe in
reincarnation, or the rebirth of
the soul into another bodily form
such as an animal.

47.  Another major religion to form in
India is Buddhism.
 Created around 500 B.C.,
Buddhism shares many Hindu
traditions, however, it urged
people to seek enlightenment
through meditation rather than
priests, rituals and the many gods
of Hinduism.
 Siddhartha Gautama, also known
as Buddha, taught people to live
their lives correctly.
 Buddhists seek nirvana, harmony
with the universe.

48.  The swastika has been
used in many cultures
around the world for
thousands of years
prior to the use by the
Nazis.
 In fact, it is considered
a good luck symbol in
Buddhism and
Hinduism.

49.  The first Chinese
civilizations arose on the
Haung He (Yellow) River.
 Because China is
surrounded by great
barriers such as the Gobi
Desert to the North, the
Himalaya Mountains to the
West and South, and the
Pacific Ocean to the East,
the Chinese believe their
civilization is the center of
the earth.

50.  Around 1650 B.C. Chinese
people called the Shang
came to power.
 The Shange created the
first dynasty – a time
period of a series of
rulers from the same
family.
 The Shang are eventually
overthrown by the Zhou
and so starts thousands of
years of the dynastic
cycle, the rise and fall of
dynasties.

51.  During the time of the Shang, the
Chinese developed complex religious
views.
 They prayed to different gods, spirits
and nature.
 Important aspects of religion was
balance and harmony with the universe
and the respect and honor for
ancestors.
 Having honor and respect for one’s
ancestors was said to give good fortune
to your family.
 Confucius, a scholar, preached about
the importance of respect to maintain
balance in the society.

52.  Everything has its beauty but not everyone
sees it.
 It does not matter how slowly you go so long as
you do not stop.
 Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in
getting up every time we do.
 When anger rises, think of the consequences.
 Have no friends not equal to yourself.