A Short History of the World in 50 Places

By Jacob F. Field

Discover the most impactful and incredible episodes from human history, from the prehistoric era to the early twenty-first century, through fifty of the most surprising and often less well-known places in the world.

From the Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, where remains of some of our earliest tool-using ancestors were found, to the CERN laboratory, where revolutionary technologies such as the World Wide Web were developed, each entry shows its influence on not just politics, but on the economy, culture, religion and society, as well as their links to great historical figures such as Alexander the Great, Buddha and Nelson Mandela. The size of the places ranges from small geographical features like a cave in Saudi Arabia where Islam began, to larger areas or regions, like Hollywood. Many entries are cities, such Jerusalem, Amritsar, and Rome, some others are buildings, like Anne Frank's House in the Netherlands or the Confucius Temple in China, and there are even some that are rooms, such as the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles Palace. No place is too big or too small to be included, as long as it has had a significant impact on history.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Michael O'Mara
• Release date: Apr 2, 2020
• ISBN: 9781789291988

Jacob F. Field

Dr Jacob F. Field is a historian and writer who was a contributor to 1001 Historic Sites and 1001 Battles. He is the author of One Bloody Thing After Another: The World's Gruesome History, and We Shall Fight on the Beaches: The Speeches That Inspired History, both published by Michael O'Mara Books. He studied for his undergraduate degree at the University of Oxford, and then moved to Newcastle University for his PhD, where he completed a thesis on the Great Fire of London. He then worked as a research associate at the University of Cambridge.

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Index

Introduction

Throughout human history, certain places have been the site of epochal events, a consistent focus of incident or a monument to tragedy. Others are perhaps, at first glance, less well known, but, in microcosm, detail a wider narrative about a long-term historical trend or theme. This extends across changes and developments in science, economics, religion, the arts and society. A Short History of the World in 50 Places contains all of these types of site, and more, offering a new narrative of humanity from its earliest phase to the twenty-first century.

This book, which is organized in chronological order, details the impact, legacy and role of fifty places that determined our history. It begins with the emergence of early humans in Africa, and the Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, where some of our earliest ancestors began to master simple tools, the use of which enabled them to spread out across the world, and make their mark on every continent on our planet, from Australasia to the Americas. The book then moves on to the early ancient world, and the emergence of the first civilizations, such as those that emerged in the Fertile Crescent, the Nile valley and the Yellow River basin. The third chapter considers the later ancient world, and places such as the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, which became sacred to three faiths, and the Acropolis of Athens, which stands as a monument to the glories of the Greek Golden Age. Following from this, chapters four and five detail the medieval era, from the University of Timbuktu, one of the greatest centres of learning in the Islamic world, to Samarkand in modern-day Uzbekistan, a major stop on the Silk Road; and from Tenochtitlan in Mexico, the great centre of the Aztec Empire, to the Turkish Straits, one of the most strategically vital waterways in the world. Chapter six moves on to the early modern age; with places such as the parish of Belém telling the story of how Portugal, and other European nations, began the centuries-long process of empire-building, and Cape Coast Castle in Ghana, which became a central hub in the Atlantic slave trade. The series of revolutionary events that laid the foundations for the modern world is detailed in chapter seven, including New Lanark, the Scottish village that heralded the beginning of factory-based mechanized industry, and the house in Venezuela where Simón Bolívar and his confederates forged the future of independent Latin America. Finally, chapter eight considers the modern world, from Hollywood, where so much of the contemporary media landscape has been determined, to the Korean Demilitarized Zone, perhaps one of the last surviving symbols of the Cold War tensions that once appeared to have the world on the brink of nuclear annihilation.

Wherever and whenever your interests lie, A Short History of the World in 50 Places will give you new insights and perspectives into the past.

1

Prehistoric History

OLDUVAI GORGE

Around 2 million years ago the earliest humans emerged in sub-Saharan Africa. They have been classified as Homo habilis (‘skilful man’). Over the millennia they evolved into modern humans, Homo sapiens (‘wise man’), which settled across the world. Knowledge of our distant ancestors was made possible because of a series of discoveries at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania.

On the eastern edge of the Serengeti Plain, the Olduvai Gorge is a steep ravine about 48 km (30 miles) long. Its name derives from Oldupai, which means ‘place of the wild sisal’ (a spiky plant common in the location) in the language of the local Maasai people. In prehistoric times it was next to a lake, meaning it was an important gathering place for animals and early humans. Their remains were well preserved due to ash-fall from nearby volcanos. In 1911, the scientist Wilhelm Kattwinkel (1866–1935) discovered fossil deposits (including the teeth of a Hipparion, a now-extinct ancient horse) in the gorge, which was then part of German East Africa. After he presented his finds in Berlin, a formal research expedition was sent there, led by the geologist and palaeontologist Hans Reck (1886–1937). By this time, the theory of evolution was well established, and it was widely accepted that humans had developed from primates. The fossil record to prove this evolution was incomplete, and there were still huge gaps in the understanding of how and where this process had taken place. At the time the oldest known hominid fossils to have been discovered were specimens of Homo erectus (‘upright man’) that had been found in Asia. Its ability to walk upright freed its hands to make tools and manipulate the environment. It had probably evolved from Australopithecus, a group of primate species. Reck’s expedition found hundreds of animal fossils, as well as the complete skeleton of a Homo sapiens, which he claimed could be over 500,000 years old. This date was widely doubted, although it raised interest in the gorge and more expeditions to the site were planned (the scepticism proved to be well placed – later carbon dating revealed the skeleton to be just 17,000 years old). The First World War delayed further excavations at Olduvai, and they did not resume until 1931, by which time the area had come under the control of the British Empire.

THE GREAT RIFT VALLEY

The East African Rift, which is about 6,400 km (4,000 miles) long, runs from the southernmost tip of Turkey to the mouth of the Zambezi in Mozambique. It began to be formed 30 million years ago as the Earth’s crust pulled apart, creating valleys up to 80 km (50 miles) wide and 309 m (1,000 feet) deep, as well as numerous mountain ranges and lakes. It was in this diverse environment that apes evolved into modern humans, making it one of the most fossil-rich locations in the world.

The British expedition was led by the Kenyan-born palaeoanthropologist Louis Leakey (1903–72), who had earlier visited Reck in Germany and viewed the Oldowan fossils. He and his family would spend decades excavating the gorge, making a series of discoveries that revolutionized the understanding of early humans. Although Louis and his team, who included his wife Mary (1913–96), also a palaeoanthropologist, found well-worked hand-axes at Olduvai that were about 1 million years old, at first they did not find any hominid remains that pre-dated Homo erectus. A major breakthrough came on 17 July 1959, on the Leakeys’ seventh expedition to Olduvai. While Mary was walking her six Dalmatians she found a fragment of bone. It proved to be part of a mostly complete skull that was 1.75 million years old; it was nicknamed ‘Nutcracker Man’ because of its large molar teeth. The Leakeys determined that it belonged to a species of australopithecines, proving that humans evolved in Africa. The next year, Mary and Louis’s son Jonathan (b. 1940) found the lower mandible and other parts of an early human in the gorge. After extensive study, and some further discoveries of similar remains, it was identified as the species that bridged the evolutionary gap between australopithecines and Homo erectus. In 1964, it was announced that the new species would be classified as Homo habilis, which means ‘handy man’. It was discovered to have evolved between 2.4 and 1.5 million years ago and was so named because its larger brain gave it the ability to make more sophisticated tools.

NEANDERTHALS

By around 400,000 years ago another species of hominid, distinct from Homo sapiens, had developed: Homo neanderthalensis. Their name derives from the Neander Valley in Germany, where the first specimen was found in 1856. From Europe, they spread out into North Africa and parts of Asia. Their shorter limbs, larger noses and stockier bodies allowed them to cope with the region’s generally colder climate. Far from being ignorant cavemen, they probably used vocal language, mastered fire, and made tools out of flaked stone.

The Olduvai Gorge also contained many examples of stone tools made by early humans. Homo habilis, who were probably hunters and scavengers, made tools through a technique known as ‘knapping’ – shaping stones by repeatedly striking them against other surfaces, thereby creating a sharp cutting edge. The Oldowan tools were mostly used for butchering animals and breaking their bones, allowing access to nutritious marrow. Tools were developed that could also be used to build shelters using branches, as well as to make wooden weapons and traps. The use of stone tools was vital to the flourishing of hominids because it allowed them to adjust to a wider variety of areas. Around 1.9 million years ago, Homo habilis evolved into Homo erectus, which used even more sophisticated stone tools and could control fire. Then, around 200,000 years ago, anatomically modern humans, Homo sapiens, emerged in East Africa. Fossils of both Homo erectus and Homo sapiens have also been found at Olduvai Gorge, meaning that it tells a story over 2 million years of how our species evolved from primates.

Homo sapiens did not remain in Africa. Their larger brains and greater intelligence gave them the ability to live in a wider range of environments, and they spread into the Near East between 130,000 and 100,000 years ago. Around 50,000 years ago they expanded into Europe and further into Asia. After Homo sapiens arrived in these places there was probably interbreeding with Neanderthals. Genetic testing has shown that modern humans from these regions still carry Neanderthal DNA. However, Homo neanderthalensis as a distinct species became extinct approximately 40,000 years ago; the reasons for this are still debated, although possible causes include climate change or being supplanted by Homo sapiens.

JEBEL IRHOUD

In 1961, excavations started at a cave in Jebel Irhoud in western Morocco after a miner found a fossil skull of a Homo sapiens there. Further digs commenced in 2004, which uncovered more hominid remains, animal bones, evidence of fire and burned flint tools. The tools were around 315,000 years old, which makes the Jebel Irhoud fossils the oldest examples of anatomically modern humans.

By 15,000 years ago there were Homo sapiens living in almost every habitable corner of the world, including Australia and the Americas. At first Homo sapiens were hunter-gatherers (as were Homo erectus), living in small nomadic groups of between thirty and fifty people. They relied on hunting and scavenging wild animals as well as gathering naturally growing plants. There was relative equality between men and women and, as these communities were constantly on the move, there was little opportunity to accumulate private property, which meant that Palaeolithic society was fairly egalitarian. Over time, Homo sapiens began to engage in ritual behaviour, with the first burials of the dead taking place 100,000 years ago and the first representative visual art being made about 50,000 years ago. More advanced tools were made, including the simple bow and arrow 14,000 years ago – in many ways this was the first machine, as it had moving parts and turned muscular energy into mechanical energy. This, along with other innovations like nets, spear throwers and bolas, allowed humans to hunt larger animals. This ‘Old Stone Age’ began to come to an end from around 10,000 BC, as humans, starting in the Middle East, began to transition into living in permanent agricultural societies.

LAKE MUNGO

The Aboriginal Australians are the world’s oldest civilization, with a continuous culture that goes back millennia. They reached Australia over 50,000 years ago, settling across the continent. The oldest fossil evidence of the Aborigines was found in Lake Mungo, a dried-up lake in south-western New South Wales.

In 1968, Jim Bowler, an Australian geologist studying ancient sand dunes, was in Lake Mungo and spotted what he thought were burned human bones that had been exposed to view by erosion. The next year he returned with archaeologists, who excavated the remains and took them in a suitcase to the Australian National University in Canberra for further study. They found that the fossilized bones were the remains of a young woman who was 1.47 m (4 feet 10 inches) tall. Her remains showed that she had been cremated and had her bones scattered with red ochre, which suggests that her culture engaged in ritual behaviour and possibly had some sense of an afterlife. In 1974, Bowler was riding his motorbike investigating the area in and around Lake Mungo when he caught sight of a bundle of human remains sticking out of a block of rock; it was excavated, taken to Canberra, and found to be an adult man who was 1.7 m (5 feet 7 inches) tall, aged about fifty, and had osteoarthritis in his right elbow (probably as the result of spear-throwing). He had lost two of his canine teeth at the same time when he was young, possibly in some kind of ritual ceremony. Both the ‘Mungo Lady’ and the ‘Mungo Man’ died around 42,000 years ago, at which point Australia was already widely settled by the Aborigines.

Studies of contemporary DNA suggest that the Aboriginal Australians are descendants of a group of Homo sapiens that left Africa around 72,000 years ago, migrating into South-East Asia before crossing into Australia. Some of the earliest evidence of human settlement was uncovered in Arnhem Land, northern Australia, where stone tools dating to between 53,000 and 61,000 years old were found in two rock shelters. From these first settlements, the Aborigines migrated across the whole of the continent by 35,000 years ago. They largely retained the hunter-gatherer lifestyle that characterized early human societies (although some groups practised a form of agriculture, with evidence of harvesting and storage of plants, as well as elaborate systems to trap eels and fish). They were skilled trackers and stalkers, and masters of the spear-thrower. Fire was vital to their existence, used for cooking, and to drive animals out of their burrows; the resulting ashes acted as a fertilizer, helping plants to regrow.

AUSTRALIAN MEGAFAUNA

Australia’s geographical isolation meant that the Aborigines encountered animals unknown elsewhere on Earth. Many of the species who lived there lacked natural predators before the arrival of humans, making them a ready source of food for the Aborigines. Species that may have been hunted into extinction include the Diprotodon, a marsupial the size of a hippopotamus, and the Genyornis, a flightless bird that was over 1.8 m (6 feet) tall.

Many features of the Australian landscape at the time of the first human settlement there were different from todays. When the Aborigines first arrived in Lake Mungo between 50,000 and 45,000 years ago, it was part of an inland region containing thirteen large freshwater lakes that had been filled as a result of a gradually cooling climate, which led to less evaporation. In addition to lakes, there was grassland and woods teeming with wildlife. Around 40,000 years ago, dust storms blew in sand from upwind dunes, and rising temperatures reduced the water levels. Lake Mungo dried up 19,000 years ago, and people moved to other areas in the vicinity that had a more reliable water supply.

The Aboriginal Australians divided themselves into over 500 tribes, each of which was linked to a specific ancestral area. Although there was no system of writing, there was a complex system of myth passed on orally down the generations. Nor was there much in the way of social hierarchy (although elders had status due to their knowledge of tribal lore – it generally took thirty to forty years to learn the full cycle of myth, including songs, dances and sacred sites). Despite the fact that there were over 300 different Aboriginal languages and sporadic violence between different groups, there was widespread cultural exchange. Neighbouring tribes often gathered together for ceremonial events and there were trade networks that stretched inland from the coast for over 1,600 km (1,000 miles). As they were largely nomadic, the Aborigines produced little in the way of permanent habitation. An exception was in southwest Victoria, where 600 years ago they built huts that could house families of four to seven that were lived in for part of the year. Being almost constantly on the move kept population densities low; by the end of the eighteenth century there were just 300,000 Aborigines living in Australia, meaning the population density was just one person in every 26 square km (10 square miles).

BOTANY BAY

On 29 April 1770, HMS Endeavour, captained by James Cook, landed in eastern Australia, having charted islands in the South Pacific and navigated New Zealand’s coastline. The British named the site Botany Bay, and then charted 8,000 km (5,000 miles) of Australian coastline before returning home. In 1788, a British fleet carrying 1,030 people (including 736 convicts) landed at Botany Bay. Finding it to be an unsuitable site for a penal colony, they moved 8 km (5 miles) north to found Port Jackson, which grew into Sydney.

In 1786, the British government decided to settle Australia with convicts, with the First Fleet arriving two years later. By the end of the eighteenth century, there were over 5,000 colonists living in Australia. Over the course of the nineteenth and twentieth century, millions more migrants arrived. Britain had taken control of the land merely by proclaiming its sovereignty over it, without making any treaties with the indigenous population. This was possible thanks to a legal theory that they were claiming terra nullius – land that was vacant and belonged to no one. The rights of the Aborigines were completely ignored – it was not until 1992 that an Australian legal decision recognized that they had owned and possessed their ancestral territory. The process of colonization has been disastrous and traumatic for Aboriginal society – in addition to the loss of their lands, they suffered from Western diseases and violence at the hands of settlers.

The bones of the Mungo Lady and Mungo Man remained in Canberra for decades, having been taken there without the permission of the three tribes, the Paakantyi, Muthi Muthi and Ngiyampaa, who are recognized as the traditional owners of the area. Following negotiations with the tribes, the Mungo Lady’s bones were returned in 1992. They are kept in a locked safe in the Mungo National Park exhibition centre, which needs two keys to open: one is held by archaeologists, one by the tribal elders. However, it took until 2017 for the Mungo Man to be repatriated – he was eventually reburied on the edge of Lake Mungo. His bones will now remain in the earth where they had once lain undisturbed for centuries.

2

The Early Ancient World

THE