Human History

A Human History is a history that refers to the recorded narrative of human events, civilizations, cultures, and social changes from ancient times to the present.

• Context:
  • It can be referenced by the study of Civilization Development over time, exploring the rise and fall of empires and societies.
  • It can (often) contain Historical Periods, where specific eras are marked by distinct social, political, and cultural developments.
  • It can (often) explore Technological Advancement through different eras, showing how inventions and discoveries shaped human progress.
  • It can analyze Cultural Movements that shaped art, philosophy, and religious thought throughout the ages.
  • It can include Political Evolution in terms of governance systems, from tribal leadership to modern democracies.
  • It can feature Economic Systems that evolved, such as barter economies, feudal systems, capitalism, and globalization.
  • It can document War and Conflict as pivotal events that changed the course of nations and human development.
  • It can examine Human Migration Patterns, showing how populations moved and mixed over centuries.
  • It can explore Social Structures and the evolution of class, gender, and power dynamics throughout history.
  • It can record the progression of Human Rights Movements, focusing on efforts to expand freedom, equality, and justice across time.
  • It can range from covering Prehistoric Eras (before written records) to the Modern Age.
  • ...
• Example(s):
  • A National History ...
  • A Family History ...
  • A Human History that details the European Middle Ages (covering feudalism, the Crusades, and the Black Death) or the Renaissance period (highlighting art, science, and exploration).
  • A Human History examining the rise and fall of the Roman Empire or the development of early civilizations like Ancient Egypt.
  • A Human History that explores the impact of the Industrial Revolution and its effects on global economies, cities, and labor systems.
  • A Human History that analyzes the Cold War Era, focusing on geopolitical tensions and the nuclear arms race.
  • A Human History that covers the Age of Exploration, when European powers discovered and colonized new lands, leading to global exchanges of culture, goods, and ideas.
  • ...
• Counter-Example(s):
  • A Fictional Narrative, which does not document actual events or historical facts.
  • A Mythological Account, which, while part of cultural storytelling, does not represent verified human history.
• See: Historical Period, Civilization Development, War and Conflict, Prehistory, Early Modern Human, Hunter-Gatherer, Early Expansions of Hominins Out of Africa, Neolithic Revolution, Agriculture.

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References

2024

• (Wikipedia, 2024) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/human_history Retrieved:2024-9-13.
  • Human history is the record of humankind from prehistory to the present. Modern humans evolved in Africa around 300,000 years ago and initially lived as hunter-gatherers. They migrated out of Africa during the Last Ice Age and had populated most of the Earth by the end of the Ice Age 12,000 years ago. Soon afterward, the Neolithic Revolution in West Asia brought the first systematic husbandry of plants and animals, and saw many humans transition from a nomadic life to a sedentary existence as farmers in permanent settlements. The growing complexity of human societies necessitated systems of accounting and writing.

    These developments paved the way for the emergence of early civilizations in Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus Valley, and China, marking the beginning of the Ancient period in 3500 BCE. These civilizations supported the establishment of regional empires and acted as a fertile ground for the advent of transformative philosophical and religious ideas, initially Hinduism during the late Bronze Age, and later Buddhism, Confucianism, Greek philosophy, Jainism, Judaism, Taoism, and Zoroastrianism during the Axial Age. The following post-classical period, from about 500 to 1500 CE, witnessed the rise of Islam and the continued spread and consolidation of Christianity while civilization expanded to new parts of the world and trade between societies increased. These developments were accompanied by the rise and decline of major empires, such as the Byzantine Empire, the Islamic Caliphates, the Mongol Empire, and various Chinese dynasties. This period's invention of gunpowder and of the printing press greatly affected subsequent history.

    During the early modern period, spanning from approximately 1500 to 1800 CE, European powers explored and colonized regions worldwide, intensifying cultural and economic exchange. This era saw substantial intellectual, cultural, and technological advances driven by the Renaissance, the Scientific Revolution, and the Enlightenment. By the 18th century, the accumulation of knowledge and technology had reached a critical mass that brought about the Industrial Revolution and began the modern period starting around 1800 CE. The growth in productive power further increased international trade and colonization, linking the different civilizations in the process of globalization. Over the last quarter-millennium, despite the devastating effects of two world wars, there has been a great acceleration in the rates of growth of many domains, including human population, agriculture, industry, commerce, scientific knowledge, technology, communications, military capabilities, and environmental degradation.

    The study of human history relies on insights from academic disciplines including history, archaeology, anthropology, linguistics, and genetics. To provide an accessible overview, researchers divide human history by a variety of periodizations.

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