Highlands Ranch High School - Mr. Sedivy
Highlands Ranch, Colorado

World History - Prehistory
When Does History Begin?

How Old Is the Universe?

About 15-billion years old - 15,000,000,000. (By the way, 99% of the matter in the universe is invisible, or dark matter, composed of some kind of material no one can yet detect.)

How Did the Universe Start? How Big Is It?

Milky Way Galaxy. Arrow Points to Earth's Solar System.

Milky Way Galaxy
About 100-million years ago - 100,000,000. About 200,000,000 (200-million stars) - One of billions of galaxies in the universe

Formation of the Earth
4.5-billion years ago (4,500,000,000) Cosmic Calendar. (If the history of the universe were put on one calendar year.)

January 1 - Big Bang

May 1 - Milky Way Galaxy

September 14 - Formation of the Earth. (4.5 Billion Years Ago)

October 2 - Formation of Rocks

November 12 - Oldest Fossil

December 1 - First Significant Oxygen Appear

December 24 - First Dinosaurs December 28 - Dinosaurs Extinct

December 31, at 10:30 p.m. - First Humans (100,000 Years Ago)

How Do We Know About Prehistory?
(The Time Before Written History)

Themes of the Course

What Every Civilization Needs To Survive

1. Dependence on natural resources - What things in nature are needed to survive?

2. Development of economic - Who leads?

3. Development of political systems - How are resources divided?

4. Development of religion - What is their spiritual life?

5. Types of social structure - What are the roles of young and old, men and women, races, etc.?

6. Role of technology - What did they make to better their lives? What was their knowledge?

7. Fall / Evolution of the civilization.

Origins of Man
Savages -> Barbarians -> Civilization

Human Precursors
No complete agreement among scientists (problem of dating artifacts) Africa was much cooler then, the Sahara was a fertile region with lots of large animals, and African rain forests were replaced by grasslands where it was helpful to stand upright.

1. Australopithecines (southern apes) - 4 to 5 million years ago

2. Australopithecus Afarensis - 3.5 to 2.5 million years ago. (Lucy) Average: 4 feet tall, 75 pounds. Big: 5 feet tall, 100 lbs.

3. Homo Habilis (handy man, tools) - 2.5 million years ago

4. Homo Erectus (upright man) - 1.6 million years to 300,000 years ago. (Tall and thin, about 6 feet tall.) Tall and thin was good because the body cools more easily and it is easier to run. Spread into Europe and Asia.

5. Homo Sapien (thinking man) - About 300,000 years ago. (first discovered in Germany)

6. Homo Sapien Sapien - About 100,000 years ago. Oldest found so far in Colorado, about 8,000 years old.

Reasons for Humans Success
1.Stand Erect
2. Superior Brain Capacity
3. Can Remember
4. Can Amass Knowledge and Thus Enhance Survival
5. Invented Tools and Weapons.