World History in a Week: The Big Picture
Dec 18, 2015
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)
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.
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