1. Assignment 1
Big History
By Melissa Skarnas, History 140

2. The Day The Universe Changed

We try to take the universe apart to see how it works – we are insatiably
curious

We are what we are today because we never stop asking questions

Questioning is what lets us 'evolve' and our way of life is a 'question
mark'

Some cultures don't change (much) because they don't want to and seem
to live 'in history', not wanting to adapt and change

3. Catastrophe!

David Keyes – writer on history
and archaeology, developed a
controversial theory about ancient
catastrophe

Tree rings tell of climactic and
environmental changes

Ice caps can indicate possible
climate changes/incidents such as
volcanic eruptions and meteor
impacts

4. Guns, Germs, and Steel
Out of Eden

Professor Jared Diamond has spent 30+ years trying to answer “Why the
world ever became so unequal? How did these advantages develop in the
first place?”

Possibly boils down to geography and the fertility of the land itself. How
it was developed and provided nourishment

5. Guns, Germs, and Steel
Out of Eden

12,500 years ago, global
temperatures dropped and the
world once again became colder
and drier

Middle East suffered an
environmental collapse

People forced to move further and
further to search for food

Wheat and barley were hardy and
could be stored long-term
therefore allowing people to settle
down more.

6. Guns, Germs, and Steel
Conquest

Modern history has been shaped
by conquests: The conquest of the
world by Europeans

The Conquistadors led the way,
with a few hundred men who
came to the new world and
decimated the native population

7. Guns, Germs, and Steel
Conquest

'Secret' of European success:
Guns, Germs, and Steel

People of European origin have
pretty much remained in
dominance of the globe with the
combination of advanced
technology, military power, and
the medical & scientific side,
such as lethal microbes

8. The World and Trade
The World in 1492

Columbus's voyages to the 'new
world' had a more lasting impact
on Europe – greater than that of
the earlier Vikings

His voyages brought on the
unification of the globe into more
of a single human community

Columbus's voyages showed that
the globe wasn't just an ecumene
(great landmass) surrounded by
small islands and a vast ocean

9. The World and Trade
The World in 1492 (cont.)

The use of ship technology,
commerce, and firepower in
Europe, was a means to move
forward in exploration

China had the potential to expand
and take over exploration on a
greater scale than Europe,
however the prosperous economy
and a sophisticated level of
technology of their own gave
official little desire to look far
beyond their own boundaries

10. The World and Trade
The World in 1492 (cont.)

Cultivation of corn, rice and
wheat as 3 staple foods by the end
of the 15th Century

The Americas, the Mediterranean
community, and China accounted
for three-quarters of the globes
population due to the 3 staple
foods

11. The World and Trade
The World in 1492 (cont.)

1492 the Eastern and Western
Hemispheres come into contact
with each other

Crops and livestock (horses, pigs,
steer) are carried across ocean
which provides additional food
sources

Disease also brought over with
people and livestock