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History of the world
The history of the world (also called human history) is the study of what the entire human race did in the past, as recorded. This includes the time from prehistory to the present day. It excludes natural history.
Modern human beings, called "Homo sapiens" ('wise man') have lived for about 250,000 years. The first "Homo sapiens" lived at the same time as other "species" of human. These included "Homo erectus" ('standing man') and "Homo neanderthalensis" ('man from Neanderthal'). They were a little bit different from modern humans. The theory of human evolution says that modern humans, Neanderthals, and "Homo erectus" slowly developed from other earlier species of human-like creatures. Biologists believe that "Homo sapiens" evolved in Africa and spread from there to all other parts of the world, replacing "Homo neanderthalensis" in Europe and "Homo erectus" in Asia.
"Homo neanderthalensis", generally called Neanderthal Man, was discovered when the cranium of a skull was found in the Neanderthal Valley in 1856. It was different from a modern human skull so scientists believed it was from a new species. Entire Neanderthal skeletons have been found in other places since then. Neanderthals existed before modern humans, and knew how to use tools and fire. When ancient stone tools are found, their style often shows whether they were made by "Homo sapiens" or Neanderthals (see Palaeolithic). By the end of the Stone Age, it is believed that "Homo sapiens" were the only type of humans left.
Climate is different from one part of the world to another. Some areas are hot all year, and some are cold. Some areas are dry all year, and others are wet. Most areas have climates that are warm or hot in the summer and cool or cold in the winter. Most parts of the world get rain at some times of the year and not others. Some parts of the world have oceanic climates and others have alpine climates. These differences cause people to live differently.
Climate affects what food can grow in a certain place. This affects what food people eat. If one food is easier to grow, it often becomes a staple food. Staples foods are foods that people eat more of than other foods. Staple foods are usually grains or vegetables because they are easy to grow. Wheat, maize, millet, rice, oats, rye, potatoes, yams, breadfruit and beans are examples of different staple foods from around the world. Climate also affects the types of animals that can live in any area, which affect the types of meats that are available to eat.
Climate also affects the buildings that people make, the clothes that they wear and the way that they travel.
The climate on earth has not stayed the same through human history. There are long periods of time when it is generally warmer, and there are long periods of time when it is generally colder. When it is generally colder, there is more ice on the poles of the planet. A cold period is called an ice age. There have been many ice ages in the history of the earth. Two have affected humans.
From 70,000 to around 10,000 years ago there was a big ice age which affected humans and the way that they lived. Between 1600 AD and 1900 AD there was a period called the Little Ice Age when the climate was a little bit colder than usual.
The word "Prehistory" means "before history". It is used for the long period of time before humans began to write about their lives. This time is divided into two main ages: the Paleolithic Age (or Early Stone Age) and the Neolithic Age (or late Stone Age). The two ages did not start and end at the same time everywhere. A place moved from one age to another depending on when people changed their technology.
The end of prehistory also varies from one place to another. It depends on the date when written documents of a civilization can be found. In Egypt the first written documents date from around 3200 BC. In Australia the first written records date from 1788 and in New Guinea from about 1900.
In the Paleolithic era, there were many different human species. According to current research, only the modern human "Homo sapiens" reached the Neolithic era.
The Paleolithic Era is by far the longest age of humanity's time, about 99% of human history. The Paleolithic Age started about 2.6 million years ago and ended around 10,000 BC. The age began when hominids (early humans) started to use stones as tools for bashing, cutting and scraping. The age ended when humans began to plant crops and have other types of agriculture. In some areas, such as Western Europe, the way that people lived was affected by the Ice age. In these places, people moved towards agriculture quicker than in warmer places where there was always lots of food to gather. Their culture is sometimes called the Mesolithic Era (Middle Stone Age).
During the Paleolithic Era humans grouped together in small bands. They lived by gathering plants and hunting wild animals. This way of living is called a "hunter-gatherer society". People hunted small burrowing animals like rabbits, as well as birds and herds of animals like deer and cattle. They also gathered plants to eat, including grains. Grain often grows on grasslands where herds of grass-eating animals are found. People also gathered root vegetables, green vegetables, beans, fruit, seeds, berries, nuts, eggs, insects and small reptiles.
Many Paleolithic bands were nomadic. They moved from place to place as the weather changed. They followed herds of animals that they hunted from their winter feeding places to their summer feeding places. If there was a drought,flood, or some other disaster, the herds and the people might haved moved a long distance, looking for food. During the "Ice Age" a lot of the water on Earth turned to ice. This made sea much lower than it is now. People were able to walk through Beringia from Siberia to Alaska. Bands of "Homo sapiens" ( another word for people) travelled to that area from Asia. At that time there were rich grasslands with many large animals that are now extinct. It is believed that many groups of people travelled there over a long time and later spread to other parts of America, as the weather changed.
Paleolithic people used stone tools. Sometimes a stone tool was just a rock. It might have been useful for smashing a shell or an animal's skull, or for grinding grain on another rock. Other tools were made by breaking rocks to make a sharp edge. The next development in stone tool making was to chip all the edges of a rock so that it made a pointed shape, useful for a spearhead, or arrow tip. Some stone tools are carefully "flaked" at the edges to make them sharp, and symmetrically shaped. Paleolithic people also used tools of wood and bone. They probably also used leather and vegetable fibers but these have not lasted from that time. Paleolithic people also knew how to make fire which they used for warmth and cooking.
The Neolithic era was marked by changes in society. During the Neolithic era, people started to settle down. They developed agriculture and domesticated animals, both of which took a very long time. Because of these two things, people did not have to migrate as much any more. Villages could grow to much larger sizes than before. Over time, villages fought and spread their control over larger areas and some became civilisations. During this time, humankind also developed further intellectually, militarily and spiritually.
When humans started to grow crops and domesticate certain animals such as dogs, goats, sheep, and cattle; their societies changed. Because people now grew crops and raised livestock, they started to stay in the same place and build permanent settlements. In most places, this happened between 10,000 and 12,000 years ago. Their diet also changed. People ate more cereals and vegetables. They started to keep extra foods and seeds for later. In some years there were surpluses (extras) that could be traded for other goods.