THE BIG PICTURE:THE BIG PICTURE:A Brief History of Our Planet A Brief History of Our Planet

and Mankindand Mankind

a brief overview of the key eras of a brief overview of the key eras of our world and human historyour world and human history

What is Worldview?What is Worldview?

• A set of beliefs and values that people live by that create meaning for them

• In other words, worldview is the way each individual views the world!

THE BIG BANGTHE BIG BANG

• current astronomical evidence supports the theory of THE BIG BANG

• THE BIG BANG states that 13 billion years ago, our universe exploded into being

A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF OUR PLANETA BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF OUR PLANET

• our sun was formed 6 billion years ago

• our planet was formed 4.5 billion years ago

• our moon split from Earth 4 billion years ago

• the first single-celled life forms appeared 3.5 billion years ago

• the dinosaurs disappeared 68 million years ago and mammals began their dominance

• the first humanoid apes appear 3 million years ago

• Homo erectus evolved 500 000 years ago – “cave men”: communities, fire, weapons

• Neanderthal man emerged 200 000 years ago – “big brains”: religion, monuments, buried dead

• Homo sapiens appear 50 000 years ago – “modern man”: art, music, sophisticated social structures

• Neanderthals disappear shortly after appearance of Homo sapiens

• Homo sapiens cross a land bridge into North and South America 20 000 years ago, occupying all continents (except Antarctica)

PREHISTORIC MANPREHISTORIC MAN

DAWN OF AGRICULTUREDAWN OF AGRICULTURE• animals first domesticated

12 500 years ago: dogs, birds, goats, cattle

• using animals gave human beings huge survival advantages: steady supplies of protein, help with labour

• domestication of plants was 10 000 years ago

• nomadic cultures begin to be replaced with agricultural villages, which become the foundation of human civilization until the Industrial Revolution

• nomadic tribes continue to modern day and occasionally have huge impact on established empires (key in the fall of the Roman Empire; Taliban)

CRADLES OF HUMAN CIVILIZATIONCRADLES OF HUMAN CIVILIZATION

• the first large-scale organized human civilization began in Sumer in 3300 BCE

• Sumer was between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (modern Iraq)

• villages were consolidated with common language and culture

• writing developed• these villages developed

walls, fortifications and defense

THE AGE OF THE GREAT RIVER CULTURESTHE AGE OF THE GREAT RIVER CULTURES • in and around 3 000 BCE,

other civilizations emerge• common language,

written language, shared culture, powerful religion, immense architectural projects and sophisticated economic systems characterize these societies

• Nile River: Egypt• Ganges River: India• Yangtze River: China

KEY EVENTS IN WESTERN CIVILIZATIONKEY EVENTS IN WESTERN CIVILIZATION• the first empire is created in

2 750 BCE when Sargon of the Semites conquers Sumer: the first written laws

• the Greeks destroy Troy in 1 200 BCE: Homer’s epic poems “The Illiad” and “The Odyssey” tell this story

• the Golden Age of Greek Civilization is 750 BCE to 330 BCE: democracy, plays, art, alphabet, schools, architecture

• The Roman Empire emerges in 200 BCE and dominates Europe until 500 AD: infrastructure, trade routes

THE MIDDLE AGESTHE MIDDLE AGES• the era from the fall of The Roman

Empire until The Renaissance• the Roman Empire over-extended itself

and was unable to maintain its borders in the face of “barbarian” incursions

• when the Roman Empire collapsed around the year 500 AD, so did the rules and structure of that society

• from the collapse of this Empire arose the system of protection and servitude that was feudalism

• castles became the central structure of the medieval village, providing protection, law, marketplaces and religion

• age of kings and knights

KEY EVENTS IN WESTERN HISTORYKEY EVENTS IN WESTERN HISTORY• 1000 AD: Lief Erikson lands in

Newfoundland• 1100 AD: the first university established• 1345: the Aztec civilization appears• 1347: the Bubonic Plague sweeps across

Europe, killing ¼ of the population• 1485-1603: The Renaissance – the rigid

social and religious constraints relax in a burgeoning of art and literature

• 1492: Christopher Columbus sails to North America

• 1572: Copernicus publishes his theory that the sun is the center of our solar system

• 1700: the first century of The Enlightenment - a social revolution which stated that human reason could and should create a better world

THE RENAISSANCETHE RENAISSANCE• the Renaissance was a cultural

movement that means “rebirth” and was marked by a renewed interest in learning, art and intellectual pursuits and a turning away from feudal hierarchies and medieval Christianity

• the Renaissance started in Italy in the 14th century and spread to the rest of Europe by the 17th century

• there were many factors that created this change:

– the Bubonic Plague devastated the population and increased the value and freedom of labour

– leaders that patronized and stimulated the arts

– a rediscovery of classic texts and art techniques

• The Renaissance was a profound change in World View

THE ENLIGHTENMENTTHE ENLIGHTENMENT• the Enlightenment was an

intellectual and philosophical movement that spread throughout Europe in the 1700s

• the Enlightenment opened independent thought in the fields of mathematics, astronomy, physics, politics, economics and medicine, challenging the hegemony of the Christian church

• the Enlightenment marked a profound change in World View, embracing reason and science, directly inspiring the Industrial Revolution and democracy