Fuck! This scribd thing is a pain in the ass.

Note to self, torrent books next t

ime.
Jumping through hoops to save $5. Thanks for blocking torrents trackers, public
library.

The Beginning To understandhow the Earth started; we need to start off with orig
ins of mankind and the earth's existence. The Earth came into existence about 6
billion years ago and the emergence of homo-sapiens-sapiens 200,000 years ago. T
echnology has always been closely linked to the way in which people have lived.
Before the development of civilizations, humans lived for many millennia with to
ols and techniques that allowed them to live successfully in wide variety enviro
nments. Following this development, civilization started to arise. Through disco
veries of the ancient world, we can understand the lifestyle and how these human
s have grown together. Prehistoric humans developed technologies and ways of lif
e that allowed them to increase their control over the natural world. To interpr
et the entire breadth of human existence, vast lengths of time are required. Onc
e we enter prehistoric time, we are dealing with hundred and thousands of years.
To make sense of this time scale, we start off with the first, and most ancient
, the Paleolithic Age. The term Paleolithic means old stone and gives an indicat
ion of how things were related to human existence. This era in history begins so
mewhere between 2 million years ago and ends 10,000 years before our time. It ma
rks the beginning of the existence of the ancestors of man, the homo-sapiens sap
iens. The Paleolithic people were brought up on hunting, gathering, and fishing.
In search of the new food sources and to be able to hunt animals, they moved fr
om place to place, and gathered in small groups. The dwellings of these people w
ere normally in rocky areas. Starting around 40,000 BCE, the Paleolithic people
started making simple stone tools for hunting and protection purposes. Not being
able to move much due to the glacial age climate, the primitive man utilized th
e skin of the animals. During this time of survival, the Paleolithic people were
able to discover and control fire, in turn passing an important step in their d
evelopment, which helped them be separate from the animals. The intellectual lif
e of the man was beginning. The next era brings the Neolithic Age, or new stone
age. The early emergence of this period dates around 8000 B.C.E. The Neolithic A
ge saw the most important technological breakthrough of the prehistoric period;
development of agriculture. This formed a radical new way of extracting food fro
m the environment. In fact, where hunter-gatherers had only acquired their food
by collecting what the environment offered, agriculturists - farmers - managed t
o control the environment in such ways that they actually made it produce the fo
od they needed. As a result, the outcomes were tremendous and prosperous. First,
and most significant, farmers stopped being nomadic. Now, humans that farmed be
came sedentary. Another major result was that farmers began to produce an incred
ible amount of food. For the first time, people actually had a significant surpl
us of food. It was upon this agricultural surplus that civilization first develo
ped. Between 9000 B.C.E., western civilizations came into being in Egypt and in
what historians call Ancient Western Asia. The earliest permanent settlements oc
curred between 9000-6000 B.C.E and were accompanied by the domestication of plan
ts and animals. Between 4000-3000 B.C.E., the first cities appeared in response
to the pressure of the population growth, the organizational requirements of irr
igation and the demands of more complex trade patterns. The societies of Egypt a
nd Ancient Western Asia correspond to what we would call civilizations. The hist
ory and culture of the Mesopotamian (land between two rivers) civilization is in
extricably connected to the ebb and flow of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The
earliest communities developed to the north, but by 5000 B.C.E communities had
spread south to the rich alluvial plains. Agriculture was the primary economy. D
ue to the fertile soil, Mesopotamia was given a chance to thrive. With the surpl
us of food, people were able to settle and establish a village life; creating to
wns and cities. Along with this surplus came a population increase, a well-defin
ed division of labor, organization, cooperation and kingship. The emergence of c
ities involved interaction between people. The Mesopotamian's built massive temp
les or ziggurats, which housed the priestly class, the human representatives of
gods. The priests controlled the religious life of the community, the economy, l
and ownership, and the employment of workers. Mesopotamian villages and towns ev
entually evolved into independent and self-sufficient city-states. The first inh
abitants of Mesopotamia were made by the Sumerians. The origin of the Sumerians
is really unclear, expect that they dominated Mesopotamian law, religion, art, l
iterature, and science for nearly seven centuries. The greatest contribution was
their cuneiform (wedge-shaped) system of writing. Mespotamian's viewed themselv
es as subservient to the gods and believed humans were at the mercy of the god's
arbitrary decisions. To counter the insecurity, they established codes that reg
ulated their relationships with one another. These law codes (Code of Hammurabi)
became an integral part of the Mesopotamian society. Through the Code of Hammur
abi we see an important glimpse into the values of Mesopotamian Civilization. An
cient Egypt is a land of mysteries. Mystery surrounds its origins, its religion
and its monumental architecture: colossal temples, pyramids and the enormous Sph
inx. Just as life arose from the waters, the seeds of civilization were first so
wn along the banks of the Nile River. This mighty river nourished the growth of
the pharaonic kingdom. The long, narrow flood plain was a magnet for life, attra
cting people, animals and plants to its banks. Seen as a gift from the gods, the
annual flooding of the river deposited nutrient rich silt over the land, creati
ng ideal conditions for growing wheat, flax and other crops. The first communal
project of this fledgling society was the building of irrigation canals for agri
cultural purposes. Government and religion were inseparable in ancient Egypt. Th
e pharaoh was the head of state and the divine representative of the gods on ear
th. Religion and government brought order to society through the construction of
temples, the creation of laws, taxation, the organization of labor, trade with
neighbors and the defense of the country's interests. The pharaoh was assisted b
y a hierarchy of advisors, priests, officials and administrators, who were respo
nsible for the affairs of the state and the welfare of the people. Tomb painting
s and sacred hieroglyphic texts provide a glimpse into the world of the elite, b
ut information on the lives of ordinary people remains scant. The majority of th
e population of ancient Egypt was peasants who played a vital role within the co
untry's strict hierarchical society. Artifacts related to daily activities remai
n as a testament to the labors of the workers who transformed ancient Egypt into
an earthly paradise. Many diverse ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups have
resided in the Indus River valley region. The Indus Valley civilization appeare
d around 2500 B.C.E. along the Indus River valley in Punjab and Sindh. The two m
ost important discovered sites were the Mohenjo-daro, in Sindh, and Harappa, in
Punjab. This civilization had a writing system, urban centers, and a diversified
social and economic system. How closely these places were connected to Mohenjo-
daro and Harappa is not clearly known, but evidence indicates that there was som
e link and that the people inhabiting these places were probably related. Indus
Valley civilization was essentially a city culture sustained by surplus agricult
ural produce and extensive commerce, which included trade with Sumer in southern
Mesopotamia (Iraq). Copper and bronze were in use, but not iron. Mohenjo-daro a
nd Harappa were cities built on similar plans of well-laid-out streets, elaborat
e drainage systems, public baths, differentiated residential areas, flat-roofed
brick houses and fortified administrative and religious centers enclosing meetin
g halls and granaries. Weights and measures were standardized. Distinctive engra
ved stamp seals were used, perhaps to identify property. Wheat, rice, and other
food crops were cultivated, and a variety of animals were domesticated. Wheel-ma
de pottery has been found in profusion at all the major Indus sites. A centraliz
ed administration has been inferred from the cultural uniformity revealed, but i
t remains uncertain whether authority lay with a priestly or a commercial oligar
chy. A social and political system evolved in which the Aryans dominated, but va
rious indigenous peoples and ideas were accommodated and absorbed. The caste sys
tem that remained characteristic of Hinduism also evolved. One theory is that th
e three highest castes--Brahmins, Kshatriyas, and Vaishyas--were composed of Ary
ans, while a lower caste--the Sudras--came from the indigenous peoples. During t
he sixth century B.C.E., Northern India was populated by a number of small princ
ely states that rose and fell. In this milieu, a phenomenon arose that affected
the history of the region for several centuries-Buddhism. Siddhartha Gautama, th
e Enlightened One spread his teachings in all directions by monks, missionaries,
and merchants. His teachings proved enormously popular when considered against
the more obscure and highly complicated rituals and philosophy of Vedic Hinduism
. The original doctrines of the Buddha also constituted a protest against the in
equities of the caste system, attracting large numbers of followers. Word Count:
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