This document provides an overview of early human history from mitochondrial Eve in Africa around 200,000 years ago to the development of early civilizations like Sumer and Egypt. It discusses key topics like the origin of humans, the development of agriculture which allowed for larger settlements and specialization of labor, early forms of government and religion in places like Mesopotamia and Egypt, and the rise of early empires and trade networks that helped spread culture and technology. The document also summarizes the development of Greek city-states and different forms of government like monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy that emerged in ancient Greece.

1. What Do I Have in Common with
Cave Man?
The Earliest Human Societies
African Eve and First Humans
Mr. Ochoa
Unit 1
Chapters 1-6

2. Unit 1: African Eve (N.B.)
AFRICAN EVE
• Mitochondrial Eve Theory – M. DNA is
inherited from one common ancestor in Africa
around 200,000 yrs. Ago
• M. DNA is inherited solely from mother
• M.E.T. discovered by Allan Wilson U.C. Berkley

3. Unit 1: African Eve
Origin of Humans Today
• Primates: 85 million yrs. Ago
• Homo-Habilis: 2.3 million yrs.
Ago
• Homo-Erectus: 1.3 to 1.8
million yrs. ago, 1st to leave
Africa
• Homo-Sapiens: evolved
around 400,000 to 250,000
yrs. ago
DNA
• Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA)
• Molecule that erodes the
genetic instructions used in
the development of all known
forms of life
• African Eve – 140,000 to
200,000 yrs. ago

4. Unit 1: African Eve (pg. 1-10)
Studying Our Past
• Historians – scholars who study and write about the historical past
• Pre-History – period of time prior to writing
• Artifacts – objects made by humans
• Anthropology – origins + development of people + their societies
• Culture – way of life of a society
• Archaeology – study of past people + cultures through their
material remains
– Relative Dating – grouping similar artifacts and ordering the groups in
a series of style from earliest to latest
– Absolute Dating – determining exact age of an object

5. Unit 1: African Eve
Studying Our Past (Cont.)
• 1959 Mary Leaky found
skull in Olduvai Gorge
(Tanzania)
– Skull belonged to early
Hominid (humans + their
closest relatives
• 1974 Donald Johnson –
found many pieces of a
single Hominid skeleton
in Ethiopia
– Johnson named it “Lucy”
after a Beatles’ song

6. Unit 1: Hunter/Gatherers (pg. 11-16)
Nomad
• People how move from
place to place to find food
• Approx. 20 to 30 people
live together in small
groups
– Men hunted and fished
– Women + children
gathered berries, fruits,
nuts, grains, roots, or shell
fish
Tribe
• Social division in a
traditional society
consisting of families or
communities linked by
social, economic,
religious, or blood ties,
with a common culture +
dialect, typically having a
religious leader
– Have social rank and
prestige

7. Unit 1: Hunter/Gatherers
Earliest culture-art, language, and religion
• Culture/Art – earliest approx. 40,000 yrs. Ago in the Paleolithic era
(Old)
• Language – no consensus on its age or origin
– Lack of evidence
– Generally agreed origins closely related + tied to origins of human
behavior approx. 50,000 yrs. Ago
• Religion – a commonly held marker for the dawn of religious belief
+ practice with the advent of intentional markers
– Approx. 100,000 yrs. Ago
– Belief in afterlife
– Animism – belief that spirits and forces live within animals, objects, or
dreams

8. Unit 1: Hunter/Gatherers
Paleolithic Stone Age (Old)
• 2.6 million yrs. Ago to
10,000 B.C.
• Small societies – hunters
and gatherers
• Tools made out of stone,
bone, + wood
• Nomadic lifestyle

9. Unit 1: Agriculture Changes Everything
Domestication
• To raise plants and animals in a controlled way
that makes them best suited to human use
– Plant – may have begun with people realizing that
scattered seeds on the ground would produce
new plants the next year
– Animal – may have begun with people deciding to
round up the animals they usually hunted
Farming + Raising Animals – life just got easier!

10. Unit 1: Agriculture Changes Everything
Neolithic Stone Age (New)
• Approx. 10,000 yrs. Ago to
2,000 B.C.
• Beginning of farming
• Metal tools
• Pottery + weaving

11. Unit 1: Agriculture Changes Everything
The First Villages
• Jericho (Israeli territory)
– Built between 10,000 – 9,000 B.C.
– Size of a few soccer fields
– Few thousand people lived there
– Wall surrounded it (suggest some form of govt.)
• Catahuyuk (modern day Turkey)
– 7,000 B.C.
– Approx. 6,000 people
– 3x the size of Jericho
– Thousands of mud-brick homes

12. Unit 1: The First Communities (pg. 17-24)
Surpluses boost development
• Earliest civilizations developed by major rivers
– Water supply
– Means for transportation
– Favored farming
• Surplus – to produce more than necessary
– Faced growing population
– Store food for future
• Population – increases villages that swell into 1st
cities

13. Unit 1: The First Communities
Specialization – I’m an expert!
• Urban people developed so many new crafts
that a single person cannot master all the
skills needed to make tools, weapons, or other
goods
• Led to Artisans (skilled craftspeople, + made
pottery or finely carved or woven goods),
bricklayers, soldiers, merchants, singers +
story tellers

14. Unit 1: The First Communities (pg. 17-23)
Simple villages become more complex
• Govt. – elders or chiefs ruled villages
– Larger cities = more powerful govt.
– Need steady supply of food
– Control floods
– Building projects
• Royal Officials – helped with laws, taxes, organizing systems of defense
• Social classes
– People ranked according to their jobs
– Top – usually included priests + nobles
– Middle – wealthy merchants, artisans
– Lower – peasant farmers, slaves
– Trade – barter system to obtain needed materials
• Public Works – irrigation systems, roads, bridges, + defensive walls

15. Unit 1: The Land Between Two Rivers (pg. 30 – 43)
The land between two rivers
• The Tigris + Euphrates – The
heart of Mesopotamia
– Land between two rivers
– Modern day Turkey through
Iraq into the Persian Gulf
– Located in the Fertile Crescent
(Middle East)
• Rich soils + golden wheat fields
• Water – the gift that
keeps giving (travel,
trade, food)
– Travel – Tigris + Euphrates
led to the Persian Gulf +
Arabian Sea
– Trade – carried goods to
different regions
– Food – control river water
needed to be channeled to
water the fields

16. Unit 1: Irrigation Changes the World
Floods, + hot climate a
farmers nightmare
• Floods washed away
topsoil + destroyed mud,
brick villages
• Priests + Royal Officials
organized villagers to
work together
– Building dikes to hold back
flood waters
– Irrigation ditches to carry
water to their fields

17. Unit 1: Sumer – The First Civilizations
Sumer 3,300 B.C.
• 12 separate city-states
• Rival city-states battled for control of land +
water
– Needed rulers
– Rule by war, leaders evolved into hereditary rule

18. Unit 1: The First Civilization
5 Traits of civilization
• Advanced cities – few natural resources, used clay
+ water to build adobes, turned into city-state
• Specialized workers – ruling family priests,
artisans, scribes, + merchants
• Complex govt. – ruler responsible for maintaining
city walls + irrigation systems, enforced laws
• Record Keeping – part of govt’s. job
• Advanced Technology – credited with creating the
wheel

19. Unit 1: The City-State
A city and its nearby
villages
The Ziggarat – the heart of
the city (temple, city hall)
• A large, steeped platform
thought to have been
topped by a temple
dedicated to the city’s
chief god or goddess
– Celebrated holy days with
ceremonies
– Believed in life after death

20. Unit 1: Sumerian Religion
Polytheistic Religion
• A god for everything
– Gods thought to control every aspect of life even
forces of nature
Priests – Keep the Gods happy!
• Viewed as mediators between humans + the
cosmic and terrestrial forces
Leadership changes from priests to kings
• Overtime war leaders took control of city-states

21. Unit 1: Sumerian Science + Tech
Early inventions – plow,
wheel, and using
bronze for strength
Mathaletes – number
system based on 60

22. Unit 1: First Written Language!
Invented Writing
• Around 3,200 B.C.
Pictographs – Ancient Pictionary!
• A picture representing a word or idea; a hieroglyph
Cunieform – Wedge shaped writing with a stylus, The
Ancient iPad?
• As it evolved used it to record economic exchanges, myths,
prayers, laws, + business contracts
Scribes – Ancient humanities plus the record keepers
• Years of schooling
• Strict discipline
• Disrupting class could led to caning

23. Unit 1: Sargon of Akkad “I Created the
1st Empire in the World (pg. 36-43)
Taking over
• Approx. 2,300 B.C.
invaded + conquered city-
states of Sumer
– Expanded his territory
– Appointed local rulers -
served as king of the land
Over before it started
• Sargon died approx. 2,215
B.C.
– Invaders swept into the
wide area + destroyed it

24. Unit 1: Hammurabi Rules Babylon
Bring Babylon to power
• 1790 B.C. Hammurabi
controlled most of
Mesopotamia
Hammurabi’s Code nearly 300
laws on a stone pillar for
people to abide by
• Section dealt with civil law
– Business contracts, property
inheritance, taxes, marriage, +
divorce
• Criminal law – robbery,
assault, or murder
• Punishment usually resulted in
death

25. Unit 1: The Big, Bad Assyrians
Ancient Knowledge + Conquest
• Forged iron weapons
• By 1350 B.C. established an Empire (Mesopotamia)
• 500 yrs. Of hard core ruling
Well ordered society
• Use money from trade + conquest to build cities
• Created extensive laws regulating life within royal
household
– Ex: women were secluded to certain areas of the home
– King Assurbanipal founded one of the 1st libraries
• Cuneiform tablets from across the fertile crescent

26. Unit 1: Nebuchadnezzar Leads the
Chaldeans
New Ruler
• Assyrians collapsed after Assurbanipal’s death
Nebuchadnezzar 2nd ruler of Babylon
• Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea
• Rebuilt canals, temples, walls, and palaces
• Memorials to Gods were constructed
– Ishtar Gate – made of bricks
• Ishtar, + Marduk (God of all Gods)
– Hanging Gardens
• One of the seven wonders of the world

27. Unit 1: Persians
Persian Army
• Conquered
Nebuchadnezzar’s
Babylon
• Largest empire at the
time of 539 B.C.
– Asia Minor to India

28. Unit 1: Cyrus, The Wise Persian Leader
Tolerance
• Generous to those he
defeated
• 539 B.C. allowed more
than 40,000 Jews to
leave + return to
Palestine
• Declared certain rights
for all people

29. Unit 1: Darius Expands the Empire + Divides Into
Provinces/Appoints “Satraps”/Royal Road
Satrapy
• Division of empires into
provinces
• Governor called a satrap
– Each had to pay taxes
based on its resources and
wealth
Get it done
• Spies made sure each
governor was following
orders
Communicate
• Roads made exchanges
easier throughout the
empire
– Cultural diffusion

30. Unit 1: The Gift of the Nile (pg. 44-56)
Flows S. to N., yearly floods are predictable
Black lands near Nile were fertile
Irrigation and Shaduf led to more crops
• Shaduf= well pole
Resources= linen, wheat, flour, mud houses

31. Unit 1: Daily Life
Mined for copper, gold, turquoise (blue-green
mineral)
Fished, hunted for hippos, crocs, ducks, geese
Sailed Nile, traded surpluses (bartered)

32. Unit 1: Egyptian Social Pyramid
1. Pharaoh – God
2. Priests – cared for temples, kept Gods happy
3. Scribes/gov. officials
4. Craft peoples, merchants, + sold stuff
5. Farmers
6. Slaves/laborers
• Women had rights, rich kids went to school,
married early

33. Unit 1: Egyptian Smarts
World’s first calendar (used astronomy)
Shapes sacred – used for arch, design
World’s first surgeons
Used hieroglyphic system on papyrus, world’s
first books

34. Unit 1: Egyptian Religion
Happy after life – bury with rices
Polytheistic
• Belief in many gods
– Re (sun god)
– Osiris (god of the dead)
– Isis (emotions, love, + jealousy
Embalming and Mummification
• Preservation of dead bodies wrapped in cloth
• Approx. 70 days to complete

35. Unit 1: The Three Kingdoms
Dynasty – line of rulers from same family
Dynasties divided into Old, Middle, + New
Kingdoms
Pharaoh “Great House” describes Royal Palace
• God on Earth + had lots of governor power

36. Unit 1: Khufu Builds the Great Pyramid
of Giza
Built largest pyramid ever
• Pyramid of Giza (Khufu)
20,000 workers + 20 yrs.
to build

37. Unit 1: Queen Hatshepsut/1st Woman
Pharaoh
1st women ruler
Expanded Egypt through war + trade
• Trade with eastern Mediterranean lands, along
Red Sea, Coast of Africa
Designed obelisk
• Tall, four sided, narrow tapering monument with
pyramid like shape at top
Mysterious death
• Cause of death unknown
• Maybe diabetes which caused bone cancer

38. Unit 1: King Ramses II: 66 Years of
Greatness
66 yrs. Created stable govt.
• 1279 B.C. to 1213 B.C.
Expanded Egypt through war
• Conquered numerous temples + monuments
Peace treaty with Hittites was world’s first
peace treaty

39. Unit 1: Trade Helps Greece
Prosper/First Greek city (pg. 114-142)
Trade Helps Greece Prosper
Greece Surrounded by Med.,
Ionian (West) and Aegean
(East)
• Lacked resources – trade
was critical
– Olive oil, wine, pottery for
grain, timber, animal hides,
slaves and linen
First Greek City
Mycenaeans 1st Greek City
• King built thick walled fortress
– Ruled surrounding villages
– Amassed treasure
Phoenicians
• Lived on E. Med.
• Traded + spread their alphabet
– Led to Greek alphabet which
led to ours

40. Unit 1: Greek Religion + Culture
Created myths to explain creation and how things worked
• Polytheistic
• Believed gods lived on Mt. Olympus (Greece)
– Zeus (most powerful)
– Son was Ares (god of war)
– Aphrodite (goddess of love)
Honored the Gods through holy festivals + sports games (olympics)
Loved to tell stories
• Epic poems (long poems)
• Heroes and war
– Homer wrote the Iliad and The Odyssey (Trojan War)
• Fables – short stories that have a moral

41. Unit 1: The City-State + Forms of Govt.
City-states called Polis popped up because
geography made it difficult to under one gov.
• Mostly built on 2 levels
– Top of a hill
• Acropolis (high city) temples dedicated to Gods
– Lower Level
• Walled main city, market place, theatre, public
buildings, and homes

42. Unit 1: The City-State + Forms of Govt.
(Cont.)
Center of city was Agora – public space for
business + gatherering
Monarchy – earliest form of govt. King/Queen
• Hereditary ruler – has central power
Aristocracy – upper class descendents of rich
• Land holders

43. Unit 1: The City-State + Forms of Govt.
(Cont.)
Oligarchy – ruled by a few people had wealth +
power
Tyrants – a wealthy person that seizes power
• Acts like a king without being of royal birth
Democracy – citizens make political decisions

44. Unit 1: Greek Democracy
Invented Citizenship
• Person loyal to govt. and protected by govt.
Had to be born to free parents
Solon: ruler that worked for poor
• Freed slaves
• Allowed all citizens (rich/poor) to serve
• Challenged harsh laws
Cleisthenes
• Increased citizen’s power
• Organized groups by where you lived not by money
• All citizens could vote
• Created a legislature (law making body)
Direct Democracy – all citizens (free adult males) meet + made laws

45. Unit 1: Pericles
Three Goals
• Strengthen democracy,
expand + rebuild Athens
Pericles Changes Govt.
• Citizens took part in day
to day activities of govt.
• Assembly met several
times a month
He rebuilds Athens
• Rebuilt the Acropolis
which Persians had
destroyed

46. Unit 1: The Peloponnesian War
Sparta
• Military machine
• Part Monarchy, Oligarchy, + Democracy
• Non-citizens had no rights
• All males joined the army
• Women were tough – watch over property
Athens
• Direct democracy
• Only males were citizens
• Education was important
• Women kept family strong

47. Unit 1: The Peloponnesian War (Cont.)
Athens gains enemies
• Greeks hated Athenian domination
• Greek world split into two camps
– Delian League, Sparta + others form the
Peloponnesian League
Sparta wins the war
• Lasted 27 yrs.
• Geography helped Sparta
– Inland, Athens could not use the Navy

48. Unit 1: Alexander “World Domination”
20 yr. old takes throne
• Philip was assassinated at daughter’s wedding
Alex’s cruel tactics
• Set to take revenge for father’s death
• If others did not surrender, he took it force +
burned it to the ground
Alex creates massive empire
• Went undefeated
• Egypt to India (approx. 2,000 miles)

49. Unit 1: Alexander Spreads the
Hellenistic Love
Alex spreads Greek culture and customs – feel the love!
“I’ll have a double tall culture with a blend of Persian,
Egyptian, Indian and Greek Seasoning”
• Greek soldiers, traders, + artisans settled new cities across
the empire
• Local people assimilated (absorbed) Greek Culture
• Alexander married a Persian women + encouraged others
to follow
– Adopted Persian cultures led Hellenistic civilization
Will the real Alexandria please stand up?
• Founded 70 cities named Alexandria
• Most famous in Egypt

50. Unit 1: Greece Leaves It’s Legacy
The arts + architecture
• Sculptors
– New style that emphasized natural forms
• Carved gods, athletes, + famous me in most perfect form
• Playwrights
– Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides wrote tragedies
• Architecture
– Parthenon – temple dedicated to the goddess Athena
Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle – Great minds think alike
• Socrates – asked about people’s belief
– Socratic method – series of questions that led to examining the
implications of their answers

51. Unit 1: Greece Leaves It’s Legacy
(Cont.)
• Plato – importance of reason
– Created the academy school
– The Republic – vision of the ideal state
• Aristotle – analyzed all forms of govt.
– Set up school (Lyceum)
– Left writings on politics, ethics, logic, + biology etc.
Math + Science Galore
• Geometry (Euclid)
– Pythagoras Theorem/ A(2) + B(2) = C(2) for a right triangle
• Science
– Archimedes , the law of displacement
• When an object moves the same volume of water as the object which is place
in it
– Lever and pulley