The document discusses how advances in science and technology have provided new insights into history by allowing exploration of sites like the Titanic wreckage and analysis of human DNA. It describes how geneticists have used DNA to trace modern humans back to Africa 60,000 years ago and how humans migrated from central Africa after a climate shift. One such shift around 535 AD may have shaped humanity by forcing adaptation due to famine and disease, causing tribes to relocate and establish borders. The document also discusses evidence that large indigenous populations in the Americas declined due to European diseases and the merging of the Eastern and Western worlds after Columbus' voyage in 1492.

1. Theme One : History, Science and Trade Tyler Campbell History 140

2. How Scientists are Solving History’s Riddles Advances in Modern Technology have given us new insights into our view of history. What once seemed to be forever shrouded in mystery, has become attainable. We now possess the ability to explore the Titanic on the Atlantic seabed, recover conversations from the erased Watergate tapes, and verify the true identity of the body residing in the grave of famed outlaw Jesse James.

3. The Way We Are Who we are as a race, is the direct result of what we know about ourselves and our universe. Humans are constantly evolving; not just biologically, but intellectually. From the discovery of gun powder, to the technological revolution of the 20 th century, we are a species driven and defined by curiosity.

4. Stones and Bones Spencer Wells is one of many geneticists intrigued by the question as old as mankind; who are we and where do we come from? He traces the fossil record back 60,000 years to Africa, where it is believed modern humans originated. While there is still much learn about our ancestors, we are slowing gathering information from fossilized bones and stone tools left behind.

5. Out of Africa Using DNA, geneticists are able to find recurrent genes that can be traced back to the people of Africa. After a great climate shift, Humankind migrated from the central African grass plains that were once plentiful, moving outward to other continents. Current fossil records suggest that the first African exodus lead to settlements in Australia, yet we still do not have enough information to understand how early humans could make the journey across such a great divide.

6. Catastrophe! Around 535 AD, a massive climatic event occurred which may have shaped humanity as we know it today. While there is speculation as to what may have actually caused the event, be it a comet burning up upon entry into the earth’s atmosphere, or a volcano spewing earthy debris miles into the sky, one thing is certain: the sun was covered in the sky, and the earth grew cold for the next couple years. Life on earth had to adapt or die.

7. Effects of The Big Bang In the years following the climatic shift of the mid sixth century, life on earth was forced to adapt in order to survive the dwindling resources. As a result, plagues devastated the land, malnutrition was rampant, and people ways of life were threatened. In response, many tribes and nation shifted geographically into new lands, establishing borders which are still recognized to this day.

8. Before Columbus It was once considered common knowledge that Native American tribes existed in small numbers before the Europeans settled in the mid fifteenth century. Some archaeologists and anthropologists now suggest that the original indigenous population may have been in the millions before European diseases such as small pox, measles, influenza and mumps were introduced by venture capitalists like Hernando de Soto.

9. Life in the Amazon Early in the 20 th century, Colonel Percy Fawcett set out on an expedition to explore the Amazon in search of a lost city. Today, his interest in the history Amazonian societies is still alive in modern day archeologists. There is now substantial evidence to suggest that there were once cities populated by as many as two to three thousand people. These people would have used fishing techniques and advanced agricultural skill to sustain such large cities. Tribes like the Kuikuro have been keeping this way of life in tact for over a thousand years.

10. The World of 1492 In the late fifteenth century, when Columbus was young, the eastern world (including Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia) knew nothing of the Americas. The majority of maritime exploration of the time was fueled by merchants searching out better trade routs. Columbus himself was fascinated by Marco Polo’s accounts of Asia. He would later set off in an attempt to find a better trade rout to the indies that would avoid confrontation with the Muslims who were Europe’s greatest competitors. In October of 1942, his search would land him in the Americas, changing the world forever.

11. World Trade Columbus inadvertently merged two worlds, eventually creating one global community of trade and commerce. AS a result, America became a breeding ground for animals that were once exclusively found in Europe, like horses, pigs and sheep. Similarly, fruits and vegetables which were once unknown to the eastern world, went on to feed millions and shape the way we eat today.