History of the entire human species

Throughout the wondrous planet we call home, every meter of forest, desert, or ocean holds an unfathomable amount of history. If only the walls could talk or the lands could share their stories, we would be captivated by the tales of generations past. Join us on an ambitious journey as we explore the tale of world history, delving into the events that shaped our present and offer insights for the future.

Our story begins 85 million years ago when primates diverged from their mammalian ancestors, forming the family Hominidae or hominids. It was during this time that apes and orangutans appeared, while the sub-family Hominini emerged, excluding orangutans. Around 8.5 million years ago, Hominini split from the gorolini, which eventually evolved into gorillas. Then, 7.5 million years ago, early humans and chimpanzees diverged within the Hominini branch.

Human evolution unfolded through different stages. The first stages included Auran Sahil Anthropus and Artipificus, dating back up to seven million years. Australopithecus emerged about four million years ago, followed by Paranthropus around 2.7 million years ago. The genus Homo appeared 1.8 million years ago, with Homo habilis as one of the earliest species. Despite having brains similar in size to chimpanzees, Homo habilis began using crude stone tools.

Later, Homo ergaster and the famous Homo erectus emerged, with larger brain sizes compared to Homo habilis. They developed better tools and discovered the use of fire. Around 800,000 years ago, Homo heidelbergensis appeared, and our very own species, Homo sapiens, evolved about 150,000 to 200,000 years ago. Homo neanderthalensis, or Neanderthals, split from a common ancestor with Homo around 600,000 to 700,000 years ago. Although Neanderthals had larger brains and a sturdier physique, their lack of social cooperation eventually led to their extinction. Homo sapiens, on the other hand, thrived and interbred with Neanderthals.

Archaeology allows us to discover the “what” and “when” of our past, but understanding the “why” and “how” can be challenging for such distant time periods. One theory, the aridity hypothesis, suggests that changes to a more arid climate and the expansion of the savannah forced early humans to adapt. The savannah hypothesis posits that this expansion led early humans to leave the treetops and adopt a bipedal lifestyle on the grasslands.

Leaving the treetops had various advantages for our ancestors. Walking upright on the savannah allowed them to see further distances, travel longer distances while conserving energy, and, most importantly, free up their hands for tool and weapon use. This shift had physical consequences, resulting in skeletal changes in the legs and back. Changes in the pelvis made childbirth more challenging, and gestation periods shortened to accommodate the growing head size of infants. Consequently, human babies are more helpless and require more time to develop compared to other mammalian species.

From approximately 3.3 million years ago, when our ancestors first started using stone tools, until around 12,000 years ago, the Paleolithic era, or the Old Stone Age, encompassed 99% of our technological prehistory. Early humans lived in small tribal societies, relying on hunting, foraging, and utilizing fire for cooking and illumination. During the Middle Paleolithic, around 300,000 years ago, primitive forms of art and spiritual practices related to the deceased began to emerge. As nomadic beings, humans explored different regions in search of foodthis

wondrous planet the amount of history in

every metre of forest desert or ocean is

unfathomable

if these walls could talk if these lands

could utter but a single story of what

they've seen would have tales to tell

for generations to come

join us as we embark upon a most

ambitious project the tale of world

history a past which we must truly

understand before setting our gaze to

the future

we will go back to world war one the

french revolution the african kingdoms

the far east ancient greece and rome

with lots of other stops along the way

but for now our story begins here

the earth

85 million years ago

we believe this is when primates

diverged from the rest of their

mammalian ancestors forming the family

hominidae or hominids

this is when we begin to see apes and

orangutans

the sub-family hominini includes all of

these except orangutans

about 8.5 million years ago the hominini

would diverge from the gorolini which

went on to become guerrillas

7.5 million years ago early humans and

chimpanzees under the hominini branch

would diverge from each other

humans as we know them today evolved in

different stages

the auran sahil anthropus and

artipificus were the first stages up to

seven million years ago australopithecus

would appear just four million years

back

some consider the paranthropus appearing

2.7 million years ago the same genus

1.8 million years ago would see the

emergence of the genus homo

one of the earliest species in this

period was homo habilis

their brains were about as small as a

chimpanzees but they would begin using

crude stone tools

homo erguster and the famous homo

erectus emerged later and possessed

larger brain sizes compared to homo

habilis

they would create better tools and learn

how to tame fire

homo heidelberg entis appeared around

800 000 years ago and homo sapiens our

very own species about 150 to 200 000

years back

homo neanderthalensis or neanderthal

diverged around 600 to 700 000 years ago

from a common ancestor in homo

once homo sapiens emerged they would

interbreed with neanderthal

though they had bigger brains and a more

sturdy physique than homo sapiens they

would eventually become extinct due to

their lack of social cooperation

archaeology can help us discover the

what and when

but the wise and house are often quite

difficult when dealing with these

far-gone time periods

one theory of a driver of early human

evolution is the aridity hypothesis

this states that changes to more arid

climate and an expansion of the savannah

caused early humans to have to adapt

the savannah hypothesis posits that this

expansion of the savannah caused early

humans to leave the treetops and become

bipedal on the grasslands

so what did leaving the treetops do for

our ancestors

walking upright on the savannah helped

in various ways from being able to see

further distances traveling further

while expending less energy and most

importantly freed up their hands in

order to use tools and weapons

there were physical consequences to this

as well

skeletal changes would occur in the legs

and back

changes in the pelvis caused childbirth

to become more burdensome than in most

other animals

gestation periods would also shorten

significantly to allow a baby to pass

through the birth canal before its head

grew too large

this is also partly the reason why human

babies are more helpless and need more

time to develop than other mammalian

species

from around 3.3 million years ago when

our ancestors first began using stone

tools until around 12 000 years ago the

paleolithic era or old stone age

encompasses 99 percent of our

technological pre-history

early humans lived in small tribal

societies hunting and foraging for food

and beginning to use fire to cook and

see in the dark

members of the genus homo would evolve

during this period leading to homo

sapiens

around the middle paleolithic from

around 300 000 years ago we start to see

primitive works of art and spiritual

practices involving the dead

as they were primarily nomadic humans

would travel from place to place looking

for new food sources

this eventually over thousands of years

brought us all over the world according

to the out of africa theory

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around twelve thousand years ago though

there would be a shift in human society

a shift that changed everything

the neolithic revolution also called the

agricultural revolution saw humans begin

to domesticate plants and animals and

would transition from their nomadic

lifestyles into once more sedentary

there are numerous theories about how

this occurred as well such as the hilly

flanks hypothesis which states that

agriculture began in the hilly flanks of

the taurus and zagros mountains

other theories claim that agriculture

was developed to create surpluses of

food in order to display power or

dominance

the neolithic revolution had deep effect

on human society

the somewhat egalitarian groupings of

the past were replaced by a social

hierarchy

the surplus of food made possible by

agriculture led to more population

not everyone was needed to produce this

food so many became full-time soldiers

craftsmen and administrators

priests and other spiritual leaders were

often near the top of the hierarchy

physical health suffered as well less

activity was bad on its own but close

proximity to animals caused pathogens to

jump from species to species leading to

widespread diseases

neolithic humans were also plagued by

vitamin deficiencies and poorer dental

growth

this agricultural revolution is the

basis for sedentary society population

growth division of labor and social

stratification all of which are still

visible in our current society

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the ancient period

images of stern spartans or caesar

crossing the rubicon might manifest in

one's head

perhaps the sandy sparkle of an egyptian

desert where lie the dead homes of dead

kings

this period covers not only centuries

but millennia from the advent of writing

in ancient sumer in around 3400 bce to

around the fall of the roman empire in

the late 5th century ce the ancient

period would bring forth the birth of

all the great civilizations we are

familiar with

and as with any recent birth there must

be a cradle

which brings us here the land between

the tigris and euphrates or mesopotamia

the alluvial plane created by the twin

rivers allowed early settlers to remain

here for thousands of years

the earliest known settlements on the

plane date back to around 6500 bce

during the eubaid period

next came the europe period beginning

around 4100 bce still predating the

bronze age

this period would see more urban centres

begin to emerge and with it the sumerian

civilization

urbanization led to a more centralized

government which needed a way to

administer affairs

cuneiform was thought to be the answer

for this

wedge-shaped impressions became the

first writing system

mesopotamia truly developed during the

early dynastic period which began in

2900 bce

urban centers evolved into city-states

and trade was common

but from out of the north the acadians

would come

around 2340 bce led by their leader

sargon of akkad the semitic acadians

would conquer the southern sumerian

city-states forging what was arguably

the first empire the world had seen

akad and suma would integrate cultures

but the sumerian spoken language was all

but replaced

in the 22nd century bce akkad fell to a

tribal force of gushan's

they were known for hit and run tactics

and were viewed as less civilized

with the empire's demise the guccians

had nowhere with all to rule and

vanished within less than a century

and the old would rule once more

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around 2112 bce the neo-sumerian empire

was established under a namu extending

into upper mesopotamia

this period is associated with a

sumerian renaissance

this ended when alamites from the east

sacked the influential city of ur

out of babylon an amorite city in the

west grew another empire

in 1792 bce hammurabi would rule this

small expanse of land and conquer all of

southern mesopotamia creating the first

babylonian empire the code of hamirabi

becoming his most popular legacy

the empire would be short-lived as after

hamirabi's death the hittites out of

anatolia would sack babylon in 1595 bce

this resulted in the kassai people

taking control of the babylonian empire

they would control the region for nearly

500 years the longest of any dynasty

unlucky for them their time was up along

with numerous other civilizations

the bronze age collapse occurred in the

12th century bce along with attacks from

the assyrians in the north and elam in

the east

this set up the assyrians to take

control of the entire mesopotamian area

in 911 bce along with persia judah and

egypt

this would be known as the neo-assyrian

empire the furthest spanning empire the

world had seen

they were hardened soldiers and experts

at war especially siege

battering rams would be frequently used

along with sapping techniques

their engineers would create makeshift

pontoons and bridges to cross bodies of

water and even used flotation devices

for their soldiers

centuries later in 626 bce babylon would

revolt and crown a new emperor creating

the neo-babylonian empire also known as

the chaldean empire

within a few years after forging an

alliance with the iranian medes babylon

defeated the assyrians and controlled

much of their territory their most

famous ruler nebuchadnezzar ii would be

known for the destruction of jerusalem

in 587 bce and the ensuing babylonian

captivity

on a lighter note his hanging gardens of

babylon apparently looked delightful

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this lasted until an unstoppable force

would take over the entire near east as

far as the indus valley establishing an

empire in 550 bce

exalted as a messiah king cyrus of the

acamenid empire would free the jews from

captivity and was viewed as quite

tolerantt