The first picture demonstrates the areas of the settlement of modern humans’ predecessors, namely, Homo erectus, Homo neanderthalensis, and Homo sapiens, as well as the times of the migration of Homo sapiens to different regions. This map is directly related to chapter 1, which describes how and when evolution led to the emergence of modern humans and what distinctive features humans’ predecessors possessed. The chapter also pays detailed attention to the description of Homo sapiens and their way of life because modern people belong to this species.
The emergence of Homo erectus was a significant stage of human evolution. This species appeared about 1.8 million years ago and was distinguished by walking upright and having a considerable brain capacity (Pollard et al., 2019). Homo erectus could travel long distances and use fire; because of their large brain size, these human predecessors had a long period of maturation, which caused them to live in extended families (Pollard et al., 2019). As the map shows, Homo erectus originated in Africa and migrated to Southwest, South, and Southeast Asia, as well as to the territory of modern China.
The map also demonstrates that Homo sapiens emerged in eastern Africa 200,000 years ago. Like their predecessors, Homo sapiens migrated across Southwest Asia to central Asia about 120,000 to 50,000 years ago (Pollard et al., 2019). They also occupied the northeastern part of East Asia, where they adapted to the cold climate (Pollard et al., 2019). Around 30,000 years ago, Homo sapiens moved to the area linking North America and Siberia, and 16,000 years ago, they migrated to North America, where they traveled eastward and southward to South America (Pollard et al., 2019). Finally, the map shows the area inhabited by Homo neanderthalensis, which was an unsuccessful branch of human evolution (Pollard et al., 2019). This species occupied Europe and Southwest Asia but died out 40,000 years ago because of environmental changes.
The second picture portrays the world in the third millennium BCE and is related to chapter 2, which describes life in early cities, villages, and pastoral nomads. The map shows that river-basin societies emerged in the basins of large rivers. Mesopotamia appeared between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, and Egypt emerged on the banks of the Nile River (Pollard et al., 2019). The Indus urban culture was established along the Ravi River, and China was based on the area between the Yellow and Yangzi Rivers (Pollard et al., 2019). River-based communities were located near rivers and were not situated in the steppes or rugged areas because the water was crucial for the development of urban cultures. Water allowed people to develop agriculture and create a surplus of food, which was why cities attracted more people and enabled them to engage in occupations other than growing crops.
In less geographically advantageous places, people lived in villages or led a nomadic lifestyle. Pastoral nomadic communities were small and did not have permanent dwellings (Pollard et al., 2019). They inhabited arid environments and steppes of Africa and Eurasia, moving according to a seasonal pattern (Pollard et al., 2019). Transhumant herders lived alongside agrarian communities, and these types of communities were involved in a mutually beneficial interaction. Since transhumant herders changed places and were engaged in hunt and livestock breeding, they supplied agrarian communities with meat and animal products. In exchange, agrarian communities gave them tools, pottery, and grains. In the places where pastoral nomadic communities were prevalent, cities could not emerge because the environment did not allow for large-scale farming, which was necessary for creating product surplus. The map also shows areas of widespread village culture in Europe and the Tehuacán Valley. In these regions, agriculturally productive areas were small, and people were often involved in wars for resources.
Reference
Pollard, E., Rosenberg, C., Tignor, R., Adelman, J., Aron, S., Brown, P., Elman, B., Kotkin, S., Liu, X., Marchand, S., Pittman, H., Prakash, G., Shaw, B., & Tsin, M. (2019). Worlds together, worlds apart with sources (2nd ed., vol. 1). W. W. Norton & Company.