- Big History aims to understand history as a whole by looking for common themes across time from the Big Bang to modern times using a multidisciplinary approach. - The development of agriculture around 11,500 years ago allowed human populations to expand and civilizations to form with advanced technologies and large organized workforces. - Geographic differences between continents influenced the uneven development of societies, with Eurasia developing key technologies like guns, steel, and horses before other regions due to its ecology.

1. How Big is “big History”? HIST 140 Summer 2011 By: Le Thi My Ho

2. What is “Big History?” The desire to go beyond the specialized and self-contained fields that emerged in the 20th century during the Cold War and Space Race, and grasp history as a whole, looking for common themes across the entire time scale of history, from the Big Bang to modernity Uses a multi-disciplinary approach from the latest findings, such as biology, astronomy, geology, climatology, prehistory, archaeology, anthropology, cosmology, natural history, andpopulation and environmental studies

5. Dr.SpencerWellsfound the missing puzzle that connects us to as one, under the same African skin; as brothers and sisters; separated by 2000 generations From these 4 regions, the key were found in 4 DNAs: Arizona – Navajo Indian Russians Far East – Chukchi Reindeer Herder Crossroads Central Asia – Mixture of Mongolian, Caucasian, Black Features Australia - Australian Aborigines The journey our ancestors started years ago is complete

7. Current research indicates worldwide changes to the environment around early to mid 6th century

8. The domino effect would have changed civilizations forever

9. The pyroclastic cloud caused an ice age and set the world into the dark ages

10. Speculation of the eruption of the Krakatau volcano could have been the cause of the major change throughout the world

11. Sun grew dark, clouds dusted the earth, rained, cold reaped the land for 2 yrs then it dried, famine, disease effected the entire world and course of human history

13. The sun only shines 4hrs each day for 8 months recorded during the Roman empire in 545 AD

14. The ice/glaciers shows that there are high sulfuric evidence in the water means that it was due from a spectacular volcanic eruption

15. Without water, sunlight, and food brought famine and diseases

16. Disease from rats and mosquitoes plagued and killed many people in Europe and Roman Empire

17. Annual tree rings growth tells the weather was extremely cold during the 6th century: a winter frost, reduce sunlight, decrease in crop535 disturbs the status quo and allows history to reform itself all over the world it is the interface between the ancient world and the world we live today

18. Guns, Germs, and Steel - traces humanity's journey over the last 13,000 years – from the dawn of farming at the end of the last Ice Age to the realities of life in the twenty-first century Lays a foundation for understanding human history How chance advantages can lead to early success in a highly competitive environment With the advancement of human ingenuity, and things like the granary and cultivation around 11,500 yrs ago, the human race was beginning to expand in population All great civilizations had some things in common: Advanced technology, large populations, and well organized work force

20. Successful farming provides a food surplus, and allows some people to leave the farm behind and develop specialized skills – such as metal-working, writing, trade, politics, and war-making; to the discovery of gunpowder, steel, copper, diamonds and gold

21. European farmers: rearing cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, horses and donkeys, lived in close proximity with their animals - breathing, eating and drinking animal germs. Eventually some diseases crossed over to the human population and the resulting epidemics wiped out millions of Europeans

24. As the world economy made them valuable, the introduction of new foods no doubt had these social uses for millennia, only the transportation revolution of the sixteenth century caused these foods to occupy an important place in international trade

25. When Spain conquered much of the Americas, the excitement in Europe was over silver and gold. As other Europeans followed, interest turned to exotic agricultural exports. Tobacco, coffee, cocoa, sugar: all New World crops

26. Huge plantations were cleared, slaves imported, companies chartered, royal monopolies created, fortunes made and lost