Caral-Supe is a 5000-year-old site, located in modern Peru. It was part of a complex of 18 urban settlements.
Source: Carsten ten Brink, Caral, via flickr (license)

Introduction

10,000 BCE to 2,000 BCE

What do we give up when we come together to live in settled, complex societies? What do we gain? Do you think the benefits are worth all the problems?

If you recall from the last module, the earliest evidence for Homo sapiens (modern humans) is about 300,000 years old. For over 285,000 years people obtained their food by hunting and gathering. Then, beginning only 12,000 years ago (10,000 BCE), some groups of human beings began to make a change from hunting and gathering to agriculture and pastoralism. This shift, which happened independently in several places on earth, was known as the agricultural revolution.

This week, you will learn how the adoption of agriculture eventually gave rise to the earliest cities and increasingly complex, interconnected societies. You'll compare the lives of people living in different types of early societies and you'll be asked to think about the benefits and disadvantages of living in each of them.

The focus questions in bold type are particularly emphasized in this module.

Focus Questions

Learning Outcomes

How have people interacted with geography and the environment?

How have people made, communicated, and contested meaning?

How has wealth been produced, accumulated, and exchanged?

How has power been defined, configured, exercised, and contested?

Identify ways the development of agriculture changed human societies.
Compare patterns of life in different types of settled societies across time and place.
Analyze ways written records can enhance our understanding of the past.

Learning Outline
Due This Week
Ongoing Work

Assignment: Neolithic Thought Page

You'll begin this week with a thought exercise that will help your instructor get to know you.

The Agricultural Revolution and Settled Human Societies

This page takes you through a basic overview of topics, from two different perspectives.

Diversity in Agriculture

What is agriculture? Here you'll broaden your understanding of this practice that changed human societies.

The First Urban Settlements

Now that you know more about agriculture, you'll explore examples of the earliest urban communities.

Gender Hierarchy in Early Societies

This page explores ways agricultural life may have changed gender roles.

Early Complex Societies

In some regions, urban settlements grew into more complex societies. Here you'll learn about early complex societies without accessible written texts.

Egypt and Mesopotamia

The learning module closes with a deep dive into aspects of early complex societies that had writing systems. You'll find out how the addition of written evidence can enhance our understanding.

Discussion: Where and when would you choose to live?

This is your written assignment for the week. See the Due This Week tab for more details.

Optional Resources

Look here for interesting resources to dive deeper on the topics you covered this week.

Due	Assignment	Link
Tuesday (11:59 PM)	Neolithic Thought Page	Jump to Monday Assignment
Thursday (11:59 PM)	Where and when would you choose to live? Post #1 (300 words)	Jump to Thursday Assignment
Sunday (11:59 PM)	Where and when would you choose to live? Posts #2 and #3 (50 - 75 words each)	Jump to Sunday Assignment

Assignment Topic: The Relevance of Writing

500 - 750 word essay

Essay Prompt: Was the use (or non-use) of writing the most important characteristic of early human societies? To what extent did writing transform societies?

Assignment Due Date

Due

Assignment

Link

END OF MODULE 1.4

Sunday (deadline 11:59 PM)

The Relevance of Writing

(500 - 750 Words)

Jump to Module 1.4 Assignment