CH 1 Blog

            In Chapter One, we were able to see some of the first peoples, as well as understand how we spread throughout the world. For example, we learned that most of the long journeys took place during the Ice age, when thick ice sheets covered much of the Northern Hemisphere. Because of this Ice Age, early people had a major advantage: there were lower sea levels, which were frozen, creating land bridges connecting various regions that would be separated after the glaciers melted. For example, we learn than, "Britain was connected to Europe; eastern Siberia was connected to Alaska; and parts of what is now Indonesia were connected to mainland Southeast Asia." (14)

We next took a look at early societies. These first societies during the Paleolithic era consisted of small bands, ranging between 25-50 people. These first societies were mainly egalitarian, and lacked many of the social inequalities that we see throughout societies in the world, many of these inequalities are still seen today. Additionally, these first people lived without formal kings/ chiefs, no Eurocrats, soldiers, nobles. or priests. Arguable, these first societies had a greater sense of freedom than many feel today. The greatest change for the Paleolithic people came at the end of the Ice Age, where plans and animals that could not survive the harsh climates now flourished. These plants and animals provided a richer and more diverse environment, and allowed for the growth of populations, and societies started living in more permanent settlements after these changes. Later came a major breakthrough, the "Agricultural Revolution." This agricultural revolution was the foundations for societies to expand because it created a calorie surplus. When people are too worried about where their next meal will be coming from, the could not care less about branching off to other fields of exploration. However, with food security, people could now branch off to explore the arts, create work specializations, architecture, and many others.