World History in a Week:The Big Picture

When did Humans arrive on the scene?

• Age of hominids? 7 million years• Age of homo sapiens? 500,000 years• Neanderthals? 140,000-50,000 y.a.

– Separate evolutionary line: First genocide?

• Cro-Magnon? 40,000 y.a. (fully modern anatomy)

Hominid Development?

Three Great Human Revolutions

• The Great Leap Forward• Agricultural (Neolithic) Revolution• Industrial Revolution

Hunter-Gatherers• Humanity’s only “economic” activity

for at least 90% of our existence.• Low population densities (small

groups of 40-60; 1 person/ mi2)• Largely egalitarian - every person

performs essential functions.

Great Leap Forward

When? 50,000 b.p. Emergence of:• Fish hooks, Arrows, Bows,

Needles, Engravers, Awls• Art• Jewelry (Beads at first)• Navigation/Boating?

(Australia from New Guinea)

Proposed Causes:• Voicebox development /

language• Brain organization

change

Lascaux Caves, France

Overkill Hypothesis• Large, slow, or tame animals become

extinct shortly after hunter-gatherer arrival in New World, Polynesia, Australia / New Guinea.– Flightless birds, giant cave bear, ground

sloth.

Skeleton of Giant Ground Sloth, Los Angeles

Giant Extinct Moa, New Zealand

Neolithic RevolutionDomestication of Plants and Animals• Seed Agriculture - Fertile Crescent, western

India, northern China, Ethiopia, southern Mexico (11,000 b.p.)

Rice, wheat, and corn account for more than 50% of world calories today.

Tigris River Valley irrigation, Turkey

Neolithic Revolution

Domestication of Animals

Dog was probably first. Early domesticated

animals: cattle, oxen, pigs, sheep, goats, guinea pigs, llama• role in agricultural

production and success Relationship to success

of particular cultures: Indo-European Horsemen

Neolithic RevolutionPrimary effects: Urbanization Social Stratification Occupational Specialization Increased population densities

Teotihuacan

Human Expansion and Ancient Empires

Urbanization and increased efficiency lead to population growth and increased density, which leads to need for more space.

Ancient Examples: Aztecs, Maya Chinese Warlords / Dynasties Polynesians Roman Empire Muslim / Ottoman Empire

Human and environmental costs are inevitable.

Human Expansion

Urbanization and increased efficiency lead to population growth, which leads to need for more space.

Human Expansion

Urbanization and increased efficiency lead to population growth, which leads to need for more space.

Agricultural and Industrial Societies Accelerate

Extinctions• Flightless birds, whales, otters• U.S. Passenger Pigeon

Dodo Bird, Mauritius, Indian Ocean

Mauritius, Indian Ocean

Dodo Bird discovered in 1598, extinct by 1681.

Age of European Discovery, Exploration, and

Colonization1492 - 1771: Bartholomew Dias (Portugal), 1488 - rounds

Cape of Good Hope Columbus, 1492 (Spanish/Italian) - first of four

voyages to “New World” Vasco De Gama (Portugal), 1498 - reaches

India Magellan (Portugal), 1519 - First

Circumnavigation James Cook (England), 1768-1771 - voyages in

Pacific / Polynesia; end of era of DiscoveryThe geographical knowledge acquired was crucial to the expansion of European political and economic power in the 16th Century.

Captain James Cook

Industrial Revolution

1733, First Cotton Mill opens in England

1793, Eli Whitney invents cotton ‘gin1800, steam engines become common

(steamboats, locomotives)1837, Morse and two Brits,

independent of Morse ) invent telegraph

1908, Henry Ford delivers first Model T1945, First Atomic bomb dropped on

Hiroshima

Geographic Effects? Migrations? Land use?

Global Communications and Transportation

RevolutionTechnology: Containerization of Cargo (1950s) Inexpensive International Air Transport

(1960s - present) Internet and earlier Arpanet (1960s) Personal Computer (1980s) Satellite Communications (1990s)

Geographic Effects?

Human Population Growth

World Population Clock

Globalization• The increasing

interconnectedness of different parts of the world through common processes of economic, political, and cultural change. The economic, cultural, and environmental effects of globalization are highly contested.

Panama, 1997

Transnational Corporations

• These companies conduct business in many countries, moving products and capital rapidly across national borders.

Name

Revenues

Yearin billion US$

USA 1,722.00 1998

Germany 977 1998

Italy 559 1998

UK 487.7 1998

Japan 407 1998

France 222 1998

Netherlands 163 1998

General Motors 161.3 1999

Daimler Chrysler 154.6 1999

Brazil 151 1998

Ford Motor 144.4 1999

Wal-Mart Stores 139.2 1999

Canada 121.3 1998

Spain 113 1998

Sweden 109.4 1998

Mitsubishi 107.1 1999

General Electrics 100.5 1999

South Korea 100.4 1998

Some other countries:    

Argentina 56 1998

India 42.1 1998

Switzerland 32.7 1998

Saudi Arabia 32.3 1998

Sierra Leone 1 1998

Angola 0.9 1998

Haiti 0.3 1998

Armenia 0.3 1998

Toyota Motor 99.7 1999

Royal Dutch / Shell Group 93.7 1999

Australia 90.7 1998

Sumitomo 89.0 1999

IBM 81.7 1999

End of Slides