WW Prologue & Part 1

WW Prologue, Chp1-2 Blog

Prologue –“Explosion of creation emerged matter, energy, gravity, electromagnetism and the “”strong”” and “”weak”” forces that govern the behavior of atomic nuclei” These words carry a tremendous visual for the beginning of creation. “Every event, every historical figure, every culture, society or civilization gains significance from its inclusion in some larger context” We are all part of something much bigger than we can imagine. The three C’s: Change-“ a focus on change provides an antidote to a persistent tendency of human thinking.. or essentialism”; Comparison-“comparative discipline seeking to identify similarities/differences in the experience of the worlds’ peoples; Connection “cross-cultural connection known as globalization, has been distinguishing feature of the modern era”. These are features and questions the author will answer throughout the book for the reader to get a better understanding of the material.    
Ch1-pg14 Change – “What was the sequence of human migration across the Planet? “Human migration out of Africa led first to Middle East and from there westward into Europe about 45 years ago and eastward into Asia.”  Known as the Paleolithic era, these people traveled throughout Europe, Asia, Australia as hunters and gatherers and leaving their mark in the words in the tools they used, the drawings they created as a way for future generations to know about them.

Pg34Connection-“In what way did agriculture spread? Where and why was it sometimes resisted?”  -It spread a diffusion” gradual spread of agricultural technology and exchanging of ideas with other communities” –Farmers’ growing population pushing out the hunters/gatherers. Resist due to places not suitable for farming (desert or Artic); other regions having “natural abundance”’ Paleo’s wanting to keep their own ways.  Pg 39 Comparison-What different kinds of societies emerged out of the Agricultural Revolutions?” –Herders, Pastoralists or nomads in Central Aisa, Arabian Peninsula, the Sahara in parts of Africa each with their own natural environments, traditions, beliefs and establishing the own cultural. 

Ch2-Pg 62 Change –“When and where did the first civilizations emerge?” 3500 b.c.e to 3000 b.c.e Pg62-67  Mesopotamian (Iraq) –“cradle of the Middle East” Egyptian (pharaohs/pyramids)and Norte Chico (smaller cities, less economic specialization) were the first. “Sumerian civilization likely gave rise to the world’s earliest written language”; then there were Chinese (cultural communities), Indus Valley (early caste system) and Central Asian (Oxus-ceramics, burial techniques) civilizations. Pg 68-73 Change “What accounts for the initial breakthrough to civilization?”  “Roots from the Agricultural Era”  only this Era can be counted as able to sustain the growing population of that time. The technique of irrigation helped the people grow their crops, develop communities and settle into regions. By settling into these regions they established a way of living thus a hierarchy system evolved. Not everyone had the same. All the finest were for the top positions “political, military and religious”. Here we start to see the different clothing that people wore to identify their position in society. This same custom happened throughout the civilizations. Even in the Upper class, women throughout the civilizations were mostly treated less than men, they were “limited to the home and management of servants.” A few women also operated in roles defined as masculine, acting as rulers, priests, and scholars.. although limited.” pg74-75 Comparison “How did Mesopotamian and Egyptian patriarchy differ from each other?” Mesopotamian women had “written laws codified and south to enforce a patriarchal family life that offered women a measure of paternalistic protection while insisting on the submission to the unquestioned authority of men.” Egyptian women were recognized as legal equals to men, able to own property and slaves, to administer and sell land, to make tier own wills, to sign their own marriage contracts, and to initiate divorce.” They were also unveiled. “Royal women occasionally exercised significant political power, acting as regents for the young sons, or more rarely, as queens in their own right.” Pg80-Comparision Both Mesopotamia and Egypt “grew up in river valleys.. dependent of water to sustain agriculture. Their difference was in their vulnerability for invasion which Mesopotamia had and Egypt did not since it was surrounded by desert.