The document provides an overview of early human history from 4-5 million years ago to the emergence of early civilizations. It discusses the emergence of homo sapiens around 200,000 years ago and the development of tools, language, and cooperation that distinguished humans from other primates. It then describes the Paleolithic era as the earliest and longest period of human prehistory characterized by nomadic hunting and gathering societies. The Neolithic era saw the transition to settled agricultural societies and the beginning of urbanization around 4000 BCE. Early civilizations developed along major rivers in different regions, including Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus River valley, and along the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers in East Asia. Key

1. Chapter 1: Before History
The emergence of the human race is predated by the
existence of pre-human hominids whom are now recognized as
our ancestors. The time line for hominids begins about four to
five million years ago, and our own species emerges around two
hundred thousand years ago. It is noted that the human species
shares nearly the same DNA as other primates, like
chimpanzees. Because of small differences in genetic makeup
and chemistry, human beings are distinguished by a higher
intelligence and an ability to exercise much greater control over
the natural world. For example, humans have been able to
devise tools, technologies, language skills, and sophisticated
means of cooperation and communication that other primates do
not rival. It is evident that this higher intelligence possessed
among humans was the source of potential for sophisticated
cultural and social developments.
The Old Stone Age or the Paleolithic society was the
earliest, longest period of the human species’ history on Earth,
and they were foraging and hunting for good, and principally
were made up of hunting-and-gathering societies. This was a
period when humans had to stalk animals for food and therefore
they were nomadic in lifestyle. There was no wealth or private
property. Many scholars assert that humans were able to
construct powerful languages and thus able to communicate
complex ideas. This meant that humans could pass on
knowledge to new generations based on this transmission of
abstract symbols and that each new generation could use the
knowledge accumulated in previous generations. One of the
common links between generations is creativity. The earliest
known examples of the cave paintings show how these early
humans were exercising their creative imaginations and how
they were able to provide a glimpse into their sensitivity and
creative power.
The New Stone Age or the Neolithic era is defined by the

2. transition from hunting-and-gathering societies to agricultural
societies. These New Stone Age societies were settled
societies and producing edible crops and created opportunities
for human civilization to begin to flower. It is cited in the text
around 9000 B.C.E. that peoples almost at the same time around
the globe began to domesticate animals and cultivate crops.
These societies were distinctive by remaining settled in one
place and growing larger over time. These societies also
developed hierarchies of authority in both religion and
government. This is also a transition period when people in
these settled societies began to evolve division of labor and
social ranks. Private property also evolved as an important
means of wealth. This ownership of land became an important
source of economic and political power in the Neolithic era.
The Neolithic religion reflected the same interest in fertility as
the Paleolithic peoples, but also celebrated the particular
aspects of the governed agricultural society.
Within four thousand years, the agricultural revolution
also generated the origins of urban life for human beings.
These were a natural outgrowth of complex societies and they
were distinctive from towns and villages. Specialized crafts
and industries emerged in these earliest cities. This meant that
classes of professionals emerged. For instance, the cities also
provided the first class of professional managers who included
the governors, administrators, military strategists, and tax
collectors. This was also an important development for
religions as specialized classes of religious authorizes, like
priests, who were more sophisticated than their Paleolithic
counterparts, the shamans. These urban cities were also
important because they evolved a sophisticated and complex
system of economic, social, and political systems, as well as
religious systems, which influenced people. These urban
centers became the focal points of public affairs and served as
the basis for the rise of the first great human civilizations.
Chapter 2: Early Societies in Southwest Asia and the Indo-
European Migrations

3. Mesopotamia or ‘The Land between the Rivers’ is
considered the cradle of human civilization that evolved around
4000 B.C.E. with the world’s first cities. These cities were
distinctive from the villages and towns. These cities featured
sophisticated marketplaces drawing large numbers of buyers and
sellers, but also were defined by political and military
institutions. The priests of organized religious were important
figures in these earliest cities. They were also responsible for
originating the traditions of writing and formal education.
Some of these earliest cities included Eridu, Ur, Uruk, Nippur,
Kish, and others. It is noted that in all of these Sumerian
cities they were defined by palaces, temples, and defensive
walls. One of the most impressive architectural structures of
these earliest cities was the ziggurats. One of the most famous
of these was the ziggurat in Uruk which was constructed around
3200 B.C.E.
As these city-states warred with each other, conflicted with
each other, and cooperated with each other, they were
eventually merging together to form two distinctive empires, the
Babylonians of northern Mesopotamia and the Sumerians of
southern Mesopotamia. One of the first great conquerors was
Sargon of Akkad, a city near Kish and Babylon, who took the
fight to the Sumerians in 2334 B.C.E. He began to merge
together all the city-states through military force and conquest.
This was continued under less able emperors but the empire
went into decline until the emergence of the Babylonian
Hammurabi in 1792-1750 B.C.E. He introduced a centralized
bureaucracy and regular taxes. He also provided for all of
human civilization the first set of codified laws. Hammurabi’s
laws established standards for behavior and harsh punishments
for offenders. Civil laws were separated from criminal laws.
For example, the civil laws covered such things as prices,
wages, commercial dealings, marriage, and the conditions of
slavery.
The legacy of the Mesopotamian civilization is rich and
important for the advancement of the human race. Writing has

4. to be considered one of the most important contributions
because it laid the foundation for education, science, literature,
and religious reflection. Another important legacy was
economic specialization. For instance, the Mesopotamians were
responsible for innovating bronze metallurgy, iron metallurgy,
the wheel, shipbuilding, and extensive trade networks. An
additional legacy of the Mesopotamian civilization is the
emergence of a stratified patriarchal society. These ruling
classes of kings and nobles accumulated massive wealth and
owned large tracts of properties which were worked on by gangs
of slaves. These kings and nobles became seen as offspring of
the gods and goddesses and this myth was incorporated into the
civilization’s religious traditions. The cities were often
constructed with these huge palaces and ziggurats that indeed
were commemorating the high status of the kings and nobles.
Hammurabi’s laws give indications about the gender divisions
and the gender roles of this ancient society. Women, however,
were able to play some prominent roles as consultants to kings
and nobles but also as high priestesses. By the second
millennium B.C.E, it is evident that the social and sexual
behavior of women was tightly controlled by men in the name
of protecting their fortunes and guaranteeing the legitimacy of
their heirs.
The broader influence of Mesopotamia can be found with
the ancient Hebrews and Phoenicians. Abraham, the patriarch
of the Hebrew people, migrated from the Sumerian city of Ur
about 1850 B.C.E. He can be considered to have brought with
him and his immediate companions to the Mediterranean region
the stories, laws, and myths of Mesopotamia. The Hebrew
historical experiences can be found in their Torah which is the
Old Testament of the Christian Bible. Like the Hebrews, the
Phoenicians also were influenced by the Mesopotamian cultural
factors and they formed city-states above the Hebrews near the
Mediterranean region.
Chapter 3: Early African Societies and the Bantu Migrations
The two major African societies emphasized as key in

5. early human civilization’s history are Nubia and Egypt. Both
of these rest alongside the Nile River. Agricultural practices
transformed this region. The Egyptians began to emerge as
more sophisticated and complex as a society to the Nubians
around 5000 B.C.E. It is thought that the notion of divine or
semi-divine leaders reached Egypt and Nubia at this time from
the eastern and central Sudan, where small kingdoms had been
established. By 3500 B.C.E., Egypt began to evolve differently
than Nubia by becoming a much larger empire than the smaller
kingdoms it once was made of and that Menes was recognized
as the original unifier of Egypt. Menes emerged around 3100
B.C.E. and founded the city of Memphis which is modern day
Cairo that stood at the juncture of Upper and Lower Egypt.
Menes innovated this central idea of having a state ruled by a
supreme ruler or pharaoh. He also asserted this claim of being
a living god living in human form on Earth. This was a
traditional concept that was taken from the nearby Sudan.
The massive pyramids and legacies of these pharaohs are
still evident today in modern day Egypt. The Archaic Period of
3100-2660 B.C.E. and the Old Kingdom of 2660-2160 B.C.E.
were defined by these pharaohs who organized these
sophisticated, complex societies that featured artistic and
architectural wonders as well as advanced social, political,
economic, and religious institutions. At this time frame, the
Egyptians were still closely associated with nearby Nubia and
they had interconnected political and commercial ties. The
Egyptians also attempted to conquer Nubia at different periods
during the height of the pharaohs. By 2500 B.C.E, the Nubians
established a powerful kingdom called Kush with a capital at
Kerma which meant more assimilation and integration with the
larger, more complex Egyptian civilization. The Middle
Kingdom of 2040-1640 B.C.E. and the New Kingdom of 1550-
1070 B.C.E. had pharaohs but they were not as powerful as the
Old Kingdom period. The Egyptian civilization finally went
into decline and by 1100 B.C.E. were on the defensive against
the Nubians and eventually lost to them where the kingdom of

6. Kush was established that ruled over Egypt for almost a century
around 760 B.C.E.
Egyptian civilization has a grand legacy in so many areas.
The emergence of cities and stratified societies were important
and the ancient cities in both Egypt and Nubia became the
centers of wealth, commerce, and power. Egyptian civilization
was distinctive by having a supreme central ruler in the
pharaoh. There was little room for an extensive noble class in
Egypt. The Egyptians instead relied on a professional military
class. There was also a sophisticated complex of
administrators and tax collectors. This meant that Egyptian
society had many people of common birth who could attain high
positions in society. Both Egyptian and Nubian societies can
be seen as patriarchal societies with vested authority over
public and private affairs. The elite men enjoyed comfortable
positions, amassed wealth, and enjoyed high social status, while
the men of the lower classes worked as agricultural workers,
carpenters, potters, craftsmen and fishermen.
One of the most important contributions of Egyptian
civilization is the sophisticated religious system. The principal
gods revered in ancient Egypt were Anon and Re. The
Egyptians were firm believers in life after death. For example,
one of the most popular god cults that emerged was the cult of
Osiris. Egyptians associated the Nile with Osiris and also with
immortality and honored him with an observance of high moral
standards. The Egyptians could enjoy eternal rewards for those
who behaved according to high moral standards. In terms of
the Nubians’ religious system, the most prominent Nubian deity
was the lion-god Apedemak, and another one was the creator
god and divine guardian of humans called Sebiumeker.
Chapter 4: Early Societies in South Asia
The Harappan society developed in the valley of a river,
the Indus, among a series of Neolithic era villages along it and
emerged as thriving cities over time by 3000 B.C.E. The
difficulty in interpreting the society and way of life of the
Harappans was that these cities are under the water table and

7. therefore difficult to excavate, while also have struggled to
interpret the language used by this ancient peoples. The
sophisticated civilization emerged by 2500 B.C.E. Its city
center was Mohenho-dare where goldsmiths, weavers, masons,
architects, and professionals thrived and the wealth grew
significantly. Although they did not build huge palaces or
pyramids, there were social classes and the wealthy lived in
comfortable living arrangements with private bathrooms with
showers and toilets which drained into city sewage systems.
These systems are considered some of the most sophisticated of
the ancient world.
As the Harappan civilization declined, and soon would
face a natural catastrophe, a combination of flooding and
earthquakes, the Harappan traditions, customs, and beliefs lived
on as the migrations began to flow into the Indian subcontinent
and settled throughout the Indus valley and beyond. This
included a nomadic people calling themselves Aryans who
began to push outward into northern India and beyond.
Although the Aryans did not have writing at first, they did have
poems and hymns. These represented the Vedas with the most
important collection being called the Rig Veda. The Aryan
priests eventually compiled in written form the Rig Veda and
the other Vedas between 1400 and 900 B.C.E. These Vedas
give excellent insights into the religious beliefs, traditions, and
customs of the Aryans. Once they evolved more sophisticated
political institutions and religious traditions, the Aryans
constructed a well-defined social order which became known as
the caste system. This featured a sharp distinction between
people based on heredity and that made the case system a
permanent, unchangeable arrangement. By 1000 B.C.E., the
cast system consisted of four which were the Brahmins or
priests, the Kshatriyas or warriors/aristocrats, Vaishyyas or
cultivators/artisans/merchants, and the Shudras or the landless
peasants and serfs. Later on, the lowest caste was added called
the Untouchables. This caste system has continued to impact
the modern day nation of India.

8. Vedic India constructed a deeply patriarchal social order
and a rich religious tradition evolved. The chief deity of the
Rig Veda was Indra. This was primarily a war god. The
Aryans also introduced the god Varuna that presided over the
sky from his heavenly residence that oversaw the behavior of
mortals and preserved the cosmic order. Veruna and his
helpers were demanding moral behavior and moral standards
and despised lying and evil deeds. The souls of the serious
evildoers were delegated to the House of Clay which was the
miserable realm of punishment. The Aryan heaven was the
spiritual realm known as the World of the Fathers. The Vedas
developed into full flower during the Vedic age involving the
Upanishads between 800-400 B.C.E. The Upanishads presented
the idea that appearances are deceiving and that individual
humans are not separate and independent creatures but are
members of a larger cosmic order. This means humans are a
small part of a universal soul known as Brahman. This is the
permanent, eternal, and unchanging foundation for all things
that exist and is the only genuine reality. The concept of
reincarnation was also introduced and that it meant individual
souls were born over and over into the physical world and
sometimes were reborn as animals and sometimes even plants or
other vegetable matter. The highest goal of the individual soul
was to escape this cycle of birth and rebirth to enter the
permanent union with Brahman. The Upanishads were also
responsible for influencing Indian thought about the need to
establish high ethical standards with an emphasis on mercy,
honesty, self-control, and charity. They also emphasized
respect for all living things because every living thing had a
soul.
Chapter 5: Early Society in East Asia
The early civilization of East Asia also rose up along
rivers and these rivers were the Yellow River and the Yangzi
River. By the end of 3000 B.C.E., these smaller towns and
villages began to evolve into larger regional states that included
the Xia, Shang, and Zhou. These evolved into sophisticated,

9. complex societies in much the same way as the ancient
civilizations elsewhere. They evolved sophisticated religious,
social, economic, and political institutions. The Xia, Shang,
and Zhou dynasties were all important by being larger states
that were extending territorial control over masses of people but
they were not embracing all of the territory like later Chinese
dynasties. The excavations that have been underway in just
recent times have been able to piece together the legacy and
history of these ancient dynasties which before were existing
mainly in oral traditions and oral tales of these great dynasties.
The Shang dynasty was clearly evolving to a higher level
than the Xia dynasty by having the production of bronze tools
and weapons along the Yellow River. The professional class of
craftsmen that emerged at this time between 1766-1122 B.C.E.
featured the production of bronze axes, spears, knives, and
arrowheads. This permitted the Shang to overrun the Xia and
take control over this territorial region near the Yellow River.
The Shang did not establish a centralized state but relied on
local rulers and their shared agricultural pursuits. It can be said
that Shang society revolved around several large cities and that
the administrative and military bureaucracies were extremely
powerful and important in holding together the dynasty. Little
information exists about how the Shang administered law,
justice, and administration but excavations have been producing
a greater wealth of material to fill in the spaces and produce a
clearer picture of this ancient time period.
The Zhou rose to replace the Shang in 1122 B.C.E. The
Zhou remained clearly in power and centralized the power from
this period all the way until 256 B.C.E. The Zhou dynasty
introduced the concept of the Mandate of Heaven and that the
rulers were governing here on Earth in coordination with the
laws and criteria of Heaven. It was this concept that justified a
dynastic rule and the rulers were clearly responsible for keeping
moral order and moral standards in society through this
Mandate of Heaven. The ruler would take the title “Son of
Heaven.” This tradition would be retained for Chinese

10. emperors and dynasties through the 12th century. The Zhou
were able to rule effectively through decentralization of their
authority. This meant power and responsibility was given to
lower level administrators at the city and regional levels. This
decentralized political system worked for a while but the Zhou
rulers centered in Hao, which is modern day Xian, were unable
to continue control over the many different regional rulers. For
a time, the loyalty was showed by paying taxes and giving
soldiers to the ruling family. The collapse of the Zhou dynasty,
however, did not happen for a long period because of the
decentralized arrangements and the lack of control by the ruling
power at the center. It was finally achieved with the emergence
of the Qin dynasty in 221 B.C.E.
Royal family and nobility occupied the highest levels of
ancient Chinese society. These ruling classes were aware of
monopolizing the weaponry and maintaining strong militaries to
reinforce their control and rule over others. These Chinese
aristocrats possessed large land holdings and they were also
usually highly ranked in the administration and military
branches of the governments. The other classes of Chinese
ranged from the professional craftsmen to the artisans. A large
class of peasants in the countryside provided the agricultural,
military, and labor services of these dynastic ruling elites of the
Xia, Shang, and Zhou in ancient China. The Chinese had a
patriarchal society and placed special importance on the
worship of ancestors.