Western Civilization 1

By David Head

The most significant historical people, places, and events written by our experienced author and professor of history are laid out in a succinct timeline from 4 million BCE to 1500. In 6 laminated pages and with dates listed to easily find what you need, a frequent review of this guide especially before exams will boost your grade in any Western Civilization, Western Culture, or History course. For any history buff as well, there is no easier and more concise reference that paints a broad yet digestible picture of human history.

Suggested uses:
o Quick Reference – instead of digging into a large book to find a core answer you need while studying, use the guide to reinforce quickly and repeatedly
o Memory – refreshing your memory repeatedly is a foundation of studying, have the most significant points in history as a framework to anchor all other history

• Language: English
• Publisher: BarCharts, Inc.
• Release date: May 1, 2018
• ISBN: 9781423240785

David Head

DAVID HEAD is a lecturer of history at the University of Central Florida and the author of Privateers of the Americas: Spanish American Privateering from the United States in the Early Republic (Georgia).

Book preview

Table of Contents

Prehistory of the West to 35,000 BCE

The First Civilizations, 10,000–1250 BCE

Growing Civilizations of the Near East, 1200–450 BCE

The Greek Polis in War & Peace, 750–371 BCE

The Greek World Expands, 359–142 BCE

Greek Culture, Science & Philosophy, 725–140 BCE

The Rise of Rome & the Republic, 753–31 BCE

The Roman Empire, 27 BCE–476 CE

Roman Culture, 240 BCE–121 CE

East & West in the Early Middle Ages, 493–1000

Europe in the High Middle Ages, 1054–1400

The Culture of Christendom in Medieval Europe, 910–1351

The Emergence of Early Modern Europe, 1400–1497

The Culture of the Renaissance, 1304–1500

Prehistory of the West to 35,000 BCE

left 4 million BCE right

Hominids first appear in Africa in modern Ethiopia. They are bipedal, upright walkers.

left 2.5 million BCE right

Hominids begin using simple stone tools, such as rocks split into flakes.

left 2.25–1.8 million BCE right

Homo erectus first appears. They possess modern human-like body proportions and an increase in brain size relative to their faces and bodies.

left 1.6 million BCE right

Homo erectus in Africa develop hand axes, a major innovation in stone tool technology. They are the first species to expand beyond Africa into Eurasia.

left 800,000 BCE right

Homo heidelbergensis lives in Europe. Its existence is dated to a jawbone found near Heidelberg, Germany.

left 400,000 BCE right

Neanderthals develop.

They live in Europe and Western Asia until approximately 30,000 BCE.

They use tools, bury the dead, and decorate graves.

left 89,000 BCE right

Homo sapiens sapiens, the ancestors of modern humans, originate in Africa.

left 70,000 BCE right

Homo sapiens sapiens migrate out of Africa, likely over a land bridge to the Arabian Peninsula.

left 40,000–10,000 BCE right

During the Paleolithic Period, hunter-gatherer societies are formed.

Early humans find shelter in caves.

The earliest art is produced. Examples can be found in caves in southern France and in Spain. This includes:

Images of animals such as horses, reindeer, bison, and wooly mammoths

So-called Venus figurines, perhaps fertility symbols, depicting women with enlarged curvaceous bodies that taper toward the head and legs

left 35,000 BCE right

Overcoming the unfamiliar, cold climate, Homo sapiens sapiens enter Europe.

The First Civilizations, 10,000–1250 BCE

left 10,000 BCE right

The Neolithic Revolution introduces agriculture and the domestication of animals.

Domesticated animals include hunting dogs, sheep, goats, pigs, and cattle.

Early crops include wheat, barley, and beans.

Agriculture develops in the Fertile Crescent, a swath of well-irrigated land that arcs west from Mesopotamia (the land between the Tigris and Euphrates in modern Iraq) to the Mediterranean through modern Syria, and south through modern Israel and Palestine.

Humans transition