History Timeline

HISTORYTIMELINE

PREHISTORY

CHRONOLOGY

ANTIQUITY

MIDDLE AGES

MODERN AGE

CONTEMPORARYPERIOD

Paleolitic Period2.5million years ago

PREHISTORY

NEOLITHIC PERIOD9000 years ago

It started with the appearance of the genus HOMO

It began with the appearance of agriculture and the domestication of wild animals

The first human groups were nomads and lived by hunting and gathering

Human groups became sedentary and started permanent settlements

METAL AGE7000 years ago

PREHISTORY

It began with the mastery of metallurgy, wich allowed people to manufacturate metal items, such as tools, weapons and jewellery

The period can be divided into three stages:- the Copper Age- the Bronze Age- the Iron Age

HISTORY

ANTIQUITY

Ancient Egypt

- They appeared on the banks of large rivers (Tigris, Euphrates, Nile, Indus and Huang He). From 4000 BC onwards the controlled use of water made more land available for farming.- Increased production meant a biger population, so the villages developed into large urban settlements.- The need to organise life in the cities created strong political power and hierarchical societies.

The first historical civilisations were also known as river or urban civilisations.They appeared in different places, such as Mesopotamia, Egypt, India and China, but they shared a number of characteristics.

THE FIRST CIVILISATIONS

The invention of writing marks the start of History.Cuneiform writing emerged in Mesopotamia around 3300BC. Hieroglyphic writing was developed in Egypt around 3150 BC.The earliest texts were about the control of irrigation systems, ownership of land, crops, business transactions and the collection of taxes.Later, orders and laws were written, and codes were established.Religious and literary texts were also written.

THE BIRTH OFWRITING

First written texts

The Mesopotamian civilisations developed between 3500 BC and 539 BC around the rivers Tigris and Euphrates.The historiy of Mesopotamia is divided into a number of periods:

- Akkadian (2330-2310 BC). The Akkadians came from Akkad, a territory in central Mesopotamia; led by their king, Sargon I, they conquered Sumer.

- Babylonian (1800-1500 BC). The city of Babylon, located between Sumer and Akkad, dominated the rest of the territory, creating an empire that reached its splendour in time of King Hammurabi.

- Sumerian (3500-2350 BC). This period developed in Sumer, in the South of Mesopotamia. They were organised in independent city-states such as Ur, Uruk and Lagash.

- Assyrian (Mid-tenth century to 625 BC). The Assyrians, inhabitants of the mountains in the North, created a great empire that went from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean

MESOPOTAMIA

- Neo- Babylonian (625 BC-539 BC). In 539 BC the Persian conquest put an end to the Mesopotamian civilisation.

The Egyptian civilisation developed along the Nile River valley. This valley divided the country into two regions: Upper Egypt to the South and Lower Egypt to the north. They were unified in about 3100 BC by king Narner,

The history of Ancient Egypt can be divided into various periods:- Old Kingdom (3100-2181 BC): the capital was Memphis and the Great Pyramids were built.- Middle Kingdom (2055-1795BC): the capital was moved to Thebes.-New Kingdom (1550-1069BC): Syria and Palestine were conquered. Very well pharaohs reigned, like Amenophis IV (Akhenaten), Tutankhamen or Ramses II. - Late Period (751-31BC): Egypt lost its power to foreign powers and in 31 BC it was conquered by the Romans.

The Nile made life in Egypt possible. Every summer, the water of the river rose covering the banks with mud and fetilising the land, which helped to establish agriculture.

EGYPT

Architecture: the main buildings were tombs and temples.- Tombs were first placed in the interior of a mastaba or a pyramid (Cheops, Chephren and Mykerinos); later, they were dug out of rocks (Tutankhamen's).- The temples were large and were the homess of the Gods.Sculpture was composed of statues and reliefs of pharaohs and gods. They were rigid and their arms were held closed to their body.Paintings decorated the temples and the tombs. The human figure was represented using the law of frontality: the legs and head in profile and the shoulders and eye are in front view.

RELIGION: The Egyptians believed in many Gods, that were represented by a human body and an animal head. The most important were Ra, Horus, Osiris, Isis...They believed in life after death. To enter the afterlife the body had to be preserved through mummification, it also had to pass the Judgement of Osiris.

EGYPTIAN CULTURE

GREECE

ROMEFrom Monarchy to Empire

THE ENDnuriprofedesocialesIES Jarifa