early human beings may have left africa—why? probably diseases, population pressure
TRANSCRIPT
Early Human Beings
May have left Africa—Why? Probably diseases, population
pressure.
We are all genetic brothers and sisters, regardless of skin color.
• We all share a common mother (proven D.N.A)
• A bottleneck of ancestors (maybe numbering less than 100 people) occurred thousands of years ago
• This means Mr. Mason is your brother. • Yuck.• Our last common ancestor lived only 600
years ago
The Ice Age
• Ended about 10,000 years ago—but was the coldest only 20,000 years ago!
• Huge ice sheets covered the land• Changed the Earth’s landscape• Created Norwegian Fjords, settlements along
the ice sheets• Many inhabitants lived in caves—drawing
pictures of now-extinct animals
Ice Age Landscapes of Europe
Ice Age Landscapes
• The Ice Sheets retreated—but still left the Alps!
• The Ice Man “Otzi
• Discovered in the Italian Alps in 1991
• 5,300 years old—caught in blizzard and died
• Typical of the Tribal Man
• Had tattoos, carried mushrooms, shoes made of straw
What Otzi looked like
• Mr. Mason back in high school.
The Continent of Europe
• The Mediterranean shielded the land from major ocean storms
Island Hopping
• The relative close proximity of islands made it easier to navigate by land sights
• Island hopping: Greek islands to Crete to Malta to Corsica to Elba to Capri
• Still, being a sailor was risky business!
• If we could drain the Mediterranean, it would be full of shipwrecks.
Many plains
• Plains are relatively flat places, ideal for growing grain.
Mountain Ranges
• Pyrenees formed barrier between Spain and the rest of Europe
• Pyrenees also contained the Muslims
Balkan Mountain Range
• Very difficult area to penetrate
• Rugged—place of many legends
• Dracula’s home
• Muslims settled here—source of conflict even today
Major Rivers
• Rivers were used for transportation
• They were worshipped—and many legends were based around rivers
• Greeks believed in River Spirits
• Throughout European History, Rivers provide borders, penetration points, and escape
Danube River—Starts in Alps
• Great Mother River
Seine, France
Rhine—Holland & Germany
• The traditional border between France & Germany.
Thames River, England
• Used by the Romans to invade England
Blessed Europe
• Europe does not have any true deserts
• Most of Europe has adequate rainfall
• There is a vast European plain that provides idea growing conditions for grains
• Ocean currents help to create a mild climate
• England is an island and less involved in European conflicts
Interesting Tidbits
Vast forests produced Amber
• Druids worshipped Oak trees
Tribes believed in superstition and magic
Superstitious customs included Bog People
• Thrown into bogs (swamps)
Dark forests, mists, fog and nighttime fostered many legends about monsters
