Transcript Unit I:Early Humans and Societies

Unit I:Early Humans
and Societies
Chapter 1
Uncovering the Past
1
Essential Question:
How do historians and
geographers study the past
in order to learn more about
the present?
Unit I: Early Humans and Societies
Chapter 1: Uncovering the Past
Section 1: Studying History
People of the ancient world did remarkable things. Among their great
feats was building huge temples, inventing writing, and discovering
the planets.
Every step that we take in our world is based on the ideas from long
ago. We are who we are because of the past!
2
What is History?
History is the study of the past, people who
study history are called historians.
Historians are people that try to learn what life is like for
individuals long ago in places around the world.
To understand history, historians study clues and evidence.
Historians will study how the earliest people gathered or hunted
for food. They would study how they made stone tools, grow
food, and raise animals.
3
Historians would want to know the problems that early people faced. How did
they solve these problems? What were these solutions?
Historians would be interested in how early people led their lives?
Where did they work?
How did they fight?
How did they trade?
How did they farm?
What did they do in their free time?
In other words, historians study the past to understand people’s culture.
Culture is the knowledge, beliefs, customs, and values of a group of people.
4
What is Archaeology?
Archeology is the study of the past based on
what people have left behind.
Archaeologists, or people who practice
archeology, explore places where people once
lived, worked, or fought.
The things people left in these places may include jewelry, dishes, or weapons.
They range from stone tools to huge buildings.
Archeologists examine the objects they find to learn what they can tell about
the past. In many cases, the objects left behind are the only clues we have to
know how they lived.
5
Understanding through History-Knowing Yourself
Here is another reason why people study history. Understanding the past
helps us to understand the world today.
History can provide us with a guide to making better decisions in the future.
History teaches us about the
experiences we have been through as a
people.
History shapes our identity and teaches us
the values that we share. Values are ideas
that people hold dear and try to live by.
6
Understanding through History-Knowing Others
History can teach you about yourself. Without your own personal
history you would have an identity.
History teaches us about the experiences we have been through as a
people.
History shapes our identity and teaches
us values that we share.
7
Knowing Others
History teaches us about other cultures that are unlike your own. You learn about
other peoples, where they lived, and what is important to them.
History teaches us how cultures are the same and different. It helps us
understand why people think the way they do and about the struggles they
have faced. You also learn how these struggles have affected the way
people view themselves and others. In other words, different cultures have
different stories to tell about their ancestor’s contributions.
8
Learning about the stories of others helps teach promote tolerance.
Tolerance is the respect and understanding the viewpoints of other peoples.
9
Knowing your World
History can provide you with a better understanding of where you live.
History lets you know you are part of a culture that interacts with the rest of
the world.
History encourages you to ask important questions
or essential questions. It promotes good decision
making skills. Did you ever hear the saying, if we
do not learn the past, history will repeat itself?
10
Using Clues
We must rely on a number of sources to learn
history. To learn about the first humans we study
fossil remains.
A fossil is a part or imprint of something that was
once alive.
Bones and footprints would be examples of fossils.
All humans learned to make things, in doing so they
accidentally created more sources of information for us.
Artifacts are objects created by early humans
Artifacts include coins, arrowheads, tools, toys, and pottery.
11
Sources of Information
Historical sources are two types.
A primary source is an account of an
event created by someone who took part
in or witnessed the event.
Treaties, letters, diaries, laws, court documents, and royal commands are
primary sources.
A secondary source is information gathered by
someone who did not take part in or witness the event.
Examples include history textbooks, journal articles, and
encyclopedias. The textbook we use in class is a secondary
source.
12
Section 2: Studying Geography
Historians need to be able to explain the
question, “Where did it happen?” In order to do
this they must understand geography.
Geography is the study of earth’s physical
and cultural features.
These features include mountains, rivers,
people, cities, and countries.
13
Physical Geography
Physical geography is the study of the
earth’s land and features. People that work in
this field are called geographers.
Geographers study landforms, the natural
features on a lands surface.
Mountains, valleys, plains, and other such places are landforms.
14
Physical geographers also study climate, the pattern of weather
conditions in a certain area over a long period of time.
Climate is not the same as weather. Weather is the conditions at a
specific time and place.
Climate affects the features of a region. For example, it affects
plant life. Plants can not grow on a desert region. Climate also
affects landforms, constant wind can wear down a mountain.
Landforms and climate are part of a places environment.
The environment includes all living and non living things that
affect life in an area.
15
Human Geography
Human geography is the study of people and the places where they live.
Human geography asks questions such as: What
kind of work do people do? How do they get
their food? What are their homes like?
Human geography also deals with how the
environment affects people. For example, how do
people who live near rivers protect themselves
from floods? How do people who live in deserts
survive? What diseases spread easily in some
environments?
16
Studying Location
Location is the exact description where something
is.
Geographers try to understand how differences in
places can lead to differences in how people live.
These differences may be evidenced in the homes
that people build or in the tools that they use.
To study various locations geographers study
maps. Some maps show physical features or
landscapes. Other maps might display physical
boundaries or borders.
17
Learning About Regions
To study geography, a geographer must study regions.
A region is an area with one or more features that
make it different from surrounding areas.
These regions might be physical, such as forests and grasslands. There
might also be differences in climate. For example, a desert.
Physical barriers, such as mountains and rivers form a region’s boundaries.
Human features can also define regions. One area may contain farms and
another region might be a
18
Geography and History- Geography Affects Resources
By studying geography we can piece together a great deal of information
about ancient cultures.
In early civilizations people could only live where they could enough food
and water.
Early people settled in places rich in resources.
Resources are materials found in the earth that
people need and value.
All through history, people have used a variety of resources to meet their basic
needs.
19
In early times, essential resources included water, animals, fertile land, and
stones for tools.
Over time, people learned to use other resources, including metals such as
copper, gold, and iron.
20
Geography Shapes Cultures
Geography influenced the early development of cultures. For example, early
people developed vastly different cultures because of their environment.
People that lived near rivers learned to fish and make boats. People that
lived near forests learned to make their home out of wood.
Some people even developed religious
beliefs based on the place they lived in.
For example, the ancient Egyptians
believed the god Hapi controlled the Nile
River.
Some graphic features could protect areas from an invasion. A region
surrounded by mountains or deserts, for example, was hard for attackers
to reach.
21
Geography Influences History
People in areas with many natural resources could use their resources to get
rich. They could build glorious cities and powerful armies.
Features like rivers made trade easier. Many societies became rich by
trading with other peoples.
On the other hand, geography could also cause
problems. Floods, for example, have killed
millions of people. Lack of rainfall has brought
deadly food shortages. Bad storms have
wrecked ships, and with them, the hopes of
conquerors.
22
The relationship between geography is not been one-sided. For
centuries people have influenced their environments in positive and
negative ways. People have planted millions of trees. They have also
created lakes in deserts. But people have also created wastelands where
forests once grew.
23