History of the Nomadic Lifestyle - Essay Example

World History: 7 Questions Evidence of the first human beings comes from Africa. It is here that early hominid bones are found, and here also that the earliest tools, foodstuffs and artefacts are located. The period is known as the Paleolithic, or stone age, and this refers to the use of stone by early humans as a material for making useful objects. The evidence from archaeology consists mainly of human bones, rubbish such as shells and animal bones which the humans used for food, and occasionally other objects which indicate human culture. There are also sites which contain pigments, and it has been suggested that these were used for decorative purposes and that they were traded as a particularly valuable commodity. Since the earliest humans lived a nomadic lifestyle, mainly foraging, or hunting, and they no doubt used wooden spears and wood for shelter there is very little lasting evidence of where they lived. Some groups appear to have become isolated and this turned out to be a risk factor, since they did not develop so many new adaptive techniques for survival. It appears that humans wandered out from the central African Savannah, reaching north and east into Asia and from there travelled to Europe and the rest of the world. Tracing their flints and axes is a way of showing how they communicated with each other through trade. [2] There are different theories why people might have stopped being hunter gatherers and started early forms of agriculture. The climate is one reason, since hunter gathering was the only option available in the colder parts of the world during the ice age, and agriculture just was not possible then. As the world’s climate warmed up, however, growing plants became more of an option. Another reason for agricultural lifestyles may be that the food sources became scarce when people began to increase in number. Once a herd of animals is hunted to extinction it is very difficult for that area to recover and become able to host human inhabitants again. The most convincing reason, however, is that certain locations such as river deltas, provided such a rich soil that plants grew readily in the wild, and people naturally settled there for longer and longer periods to take advantage of the crops. Eventually people would have learned to maximise the return from crops, use irrigation and plowing and sowing techniques, so that they could produce a very large excess of food. This in turn enabled them to live in larger groups, which was good for safety, and learn new arts and skills, which made them better able to cope with the world around them. [3] Korea is the nearest mainland to the Japanese islands at 110 km distance and there is a long history of trade between Korea and Japan going back to the time when their history started to be recorded around 700 CE and so it is a logical assumption that connections go farther back in time too. In earlier times the Japanese land was joined to the Asian mainland, and it is only the melting of ice and the rising of the water levels that created the sea between them. Genetically, too, the Japanese and Koreans are very similar, and this suggests that they both descend from the same ancestral groups. The languages of the two countries show very little in the way of connections, and there is evidence that the Japanese held on to hunter-gatherer lifestyles longer than the Koreans, which leads some people to argue that the two peoples have different origins. There is a tendency for cultures to diverge if they become separated, and this could explain why Korean and Japanese cultures are different nowadays. Comparison of human remains, backed up by modern genetic studies seems to suggest, however, that the two peoples have one and the same mainland Korean origin. [4] In the period around 2000 BCE there were several major civilizations developing in parallel in different parts of the world and all of them suffered setbacks which resulted in their withdrawal from some of their territories. Mesopotamia, which was a region known as the “fertile crescent” depended on the two rivers and trade connections with Egypt to the west and other cultures to the east in what nowadays is India and China. These early leading civilizations took advantage of large river landscapes which produced essential crops, plentiful water, and easy trade connections because of the use of boats. There were the Egyptians, based around the river Nile, and they accumulated great wealth and a highly structured society which built great monuments to commemorate their godlike rulers. In the Indus river valley the Harrapan people built huge cities with extensive farmlands which were needed to sustain the population. In the far East the Chinese civilization also depended on the river for its early development, and the invention of money allowed complex society interactions. . In the period around 2000 BCE other civilizations around the Mediterranean began to compete more intensively for resources and this meant that the Egyptians lost a great amount of prestige and influence to the Minoans, the Greeks and other emerging nations. Some scholars believe that competition for resources was the main reason for decline in these four great civilizations, and there is some evidence of war in destroyed and burned cities, or bodies which show evidence of mutilation and violent death. In some areas, however, there is no sign of violent struggles, and it is suggested that climate change like earthquakes, floods and droughts caused civilizations to decline. They were heavily dependent on crops, and when these failed, the civilizations were in trouble. [5] Alexander the Great was undoubtedly a great leader who deserves his title. He managed to lead his people to predominance in their region, mainly through conquest and through the reputation that he managed to sustain. He has the distinction of being undefeated in battle and remembered across the world as one of the greatest tactical leaders of troops that there ever was. The fact that he conquered established cities like Thebes and Tyre, and major civilizations like the Persians, and brought them into his empire, proves that he was brave and clever. He fought alongside his men in battle, and he commanded respect and admiration from thousands of loyal troops. He died at the age of only 33, not in battle but because of illness, and it is remarkable that he achieved so much in such a short lifetime. [6] The evidence of the Christian New Testament and of other sources including the Jewish historian Josephus shows that the early Christian church follows in the patriarchal traditions of the Jewish religion. The central figure of Jesus Christ is male, and all of his twelve disciples were also male. The most important author of the time, Paul, was also a Jewish scholar and of course also male. The early church did, however, include women in its structure which in the first few centuries at least carried out its business in small groups. Meetings were held in houses, and eating meals together was a large part of Christian fellowship. Women were permitted to speak, and even in some circumstances to teach, and there is evidence that they provided material support for the early church in terms of fund raising. Roman and Greek women were at this time very much less powerful than their husbands, being treated more or less as an object that could be bought and sole, and so in comparison, the Christian women had more freedom. Respect for both parents is a central tenet of Christian belief, as are the customs of monogamy and care for the poor, the weak and the ill, and these beliefs underpinned a society that aimed to value all people equally, even if it did not manage to make this a reality in every part of society. [7] The Western Roman Empire had enjoyed several centuries of dominance, supported by large armies, many of them conscripted from conquered tribes, and it built long lines of communication to ensure that it supplied the far corners of its territory with essential goods. Over time this far flung network became over extended, and it became increasingly difficult to maintain the security of the outer edges, causing the barbarian tribes across Europe to raid Roman territories. In Rome there was political uncertainty, with intrigue and despotism replacing the reasoned governance of previous generations. The mighty reputation of Rome was not so much destroyed as gradually diluted and weakened over many decades. The rulers had become greedy and decadent, over taxing their loyal citizens and lacking the resources to keep rebellious subjects in check. Marauding tribes from the East, and uprisings in the Germanic areas to the North combined to put pressure even on the homelands so that in the end military defeat at the hands of Odoacer was inevitable. Some people argue that the Roman Empire still exists, albeit in a different form, since so many of our laws and customs in Western Society derive from Roman originals. The political entity has disappeared, but many of its ideals live on. Reference Fernandez-Armesto, Felipe. The World: A History, Volume 1. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2008. Read More