Prologue
The term "big history" includes the bigger scale of cosmic and planetary history. From the big bang to present, Strayer mentions that historians have "situated the remarkable story of the human journey" in this big history framework. It was interesting to read about energy, gravity, electromagnetism, and forces that eventually resulted in life on earth. The history of the solar system began about 4.7 billion years ago, while the larger multicelled creatures formed over the past 600 million years. While the earth evolved its complexity, homo sapiens then evolved, leading to large human populations as well as human impact. I appreciated how Strayer stated, "In world history, it is the "big picture" changes - those that affect large segments of humankind - that are of greatest interest" (lxi). I am looking forward to observing different cultures and the different ways in which our earth has evolved.
Intro to Part 1
In the Introduction to Part 1, Strayer first mentions how humans are natural storytellers, whether that be evident in myths, legends, fairy tales, or oral traditions. He states, "All tellers of stores - ancient and modern alike - have to decide at what point to begin their accounts and what major points in those narratives to highlight" (3). He provides background on the "emergence of humankind" such as Darwinism and how that led to the globalization of humankind. The food-producing revolution, growing food on farms and gardens, was the "most significant transformation of the human condition and of human relationships to the natural world" (5).
Out of Africa: First Migrations
Strayer first mentions that around 200,000 to 250,000 years ago, homo sapiens first emerged in Southern Africa. Africa, a place where human revolution occurred, was where human beings inhabited new environments such as forests and deserts. The first record of human activity came from the Blombos Cave in South Africa. Human migration out of Africa first occurred in the Middle East, then Europe and eastward in Asia. Strayer also mentions that further east archeologists have discovered female figurines, the oldest being in 2008 in Germany (dated to about 35,000 years ago). The female figurines were called, "Venus figurines," which depicted the female form from carved stone and baked clay. The figurines included exaggerated breasts, buttocks hips, and stomachs. These figurines have also been found across Eurasia, as Strayer mentions "raised controversial questions" (15). He ends the section "Into Eurasia" with a question, "What do they [Venus figurines] mean in terms of women's roles and status in Paleolithic societies?" (15). I thought this, in particular, was very interesting. While it's disappointing to read about what had happened within the Paleolithic societies, it makes me proud as a woman to see how much we have improved in the post-Modern era as well as the capacity we have to change in the years to come. From Australia to the Americas, the last phase of the human migration took place in the Pacific Ocean.
The Ways We Were
Strayer mentions that Paleolithic societies were small, including 20-50 people. Since the societies were smaller, the relationships the people had formed were personal and can be described in terms of kinship. Women provided the family's sustenance as plants were normally gathered by them. There was a gender-based division of labor as men were hunters and women were gatherers. As for the economy and the environment, the life expectancy was fairly low, "probably little more than thirty-five years or average" (22). Strayer mentions that Paleolithic societies in Japan settled down in villages by the sea, "where they greatly expanded the number of animals, both land and marine, that they consumed" (25). The significance of the Paleolithic era connects to the larger context of world history as a whole due to gathering and hunting societies in which agriculture served as another way for increasing the food supply.
The term "big history" includes the bigger scale of cosmic and planetary history. From the big bang to present, Strayer mentions that historians have "situated the remarkable story of the human journey" in this big history framework. It was interesting to read about energy, gravity, electromagnetism, and forces that eventually resulted in life on earth. The history of the solar system began about 4.7 billion years ago, while the larger multicelled creatures formed over the past 600 million years. While the earth evolved its complexity, homo sapiens then evolved, leading to large human populations as well as human impact. I appreciated how Strayer stated, "In world history, it is the "big picture" changes - those that affect large segments of humankind - that are of greatest interest" (lxi). I am looking forward to observing different cultures and the different ways in which our earth has evolved.
Intro to Part 1
In the Introduction to Part 1, Strayer first mentions how humans are natural storytellers, whether that be evident in myths, legends, fairy tales, or oral traditions. He states, "All tellers of stores - ancient and modern alike - have to decide at what point to begin their accounts and what major points in those narratives to highlight" (3). He provides background on the "emergence of humankind" such as Darwinism and how that led to the globalization of humankind. The food-producing revolution, growing food on farms and gardens, was the "most significant transformation of the human condition and of human relationships to the natural world" (5).
Out of Africa: First Migrations
Strayer first mentions that around 200,000 to 250,000 years ago, homo sapiens first emerged in Southern Africa. Africa, a place where human revolution occurred, was where human beings inhabited new environments such as forests and deserts. The first record of human activity came from the Blombos Cave in South Africa. Human migration out of Africa first occurred in the Middle East, then Europe and eastward in Asia. Strayer also mentions that further east archeologists have discovered female figurines, the oldest being in 2008 in Germany (dated to about 35,000 years ago). The female figurines were called, "Venus figurines," which depicted the female form from carved stone and baked clay. The figurines included exaggerated breasts, buttocks hips, and stomachs. These figurines have also been found across Eurasia, as Strayer mentions "raised controversial questions" (15). He ends the section "Into Eurasia" with a question, "What do they [Venus figurines] mean in terms of women's roles and status in Paleolithic societies?" (15). I thought this, in particular, was very interesting. While it's disappointing to read about what had happened within the Paleolithic societies, it makes me proud as a woman to see how much we have improved in the post-Modern era as well as the capacity we have to change in the years to come. From Australia to the Americas, the last phase of the human migration took place in the Pacific Ocean.
The Ways We Were
Strayer mentions that Paleolithic societies were small, including 20-50 people. Since the societies were smaller, the relationships the people had formed were personal and can be described in terms of kinship. Women provided the family's sustenance as plants were normally gathered by them. There was a gender-based division of labor as men were hunters and women were gatherers. As for the economy and the environment, the life expectancy was fairly low, "probably little more than thirty-five years or average" (22). Strayer mentions that Paleolithic societies in Japan settled down in villages by the sea, "where they greatly expanded the number of animals, both land and marine, that they consumed" (25). The significance of the Paleolithic era connects to the larger context of world history as a whole due to gathering and hunting societies in which agriculture served as another way for increasing the food supply.
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