Journal (Chapter 1-3)

It is interesting to learn the history of the planet.  Per the book, our solar system emerged around 4.7 billion year ago and life first appeared on earth about 600 million years after the earth itself was formed.  Each species has it own history but history books focus on our own species, Homo sapiens.  Homo sapiens only appeared in the last few minutes of December 31 on the cosmic calendar.

Most world historian agree on 3 major issues that define their field of study -- comparison, world history is comparative, comparison is a recurring theme throughout the book.  Connections, cross-cultural connections has existed for a very long time.  Changes is a central theme in all historical study and serves to challenge "essentialist" descriptions of particular cultures or peoples.  It is too easy to define particular groups of people as having unchanging characteristics, but in reality, every category of people has endless divisions and conflicts.

For 95% of human history, the means of life was gathering and hunting, people based on food collection. This period has been labeled "Paleolithic" (old stone age) era.  These people settled the planet and created the earliest human societies.  These societies were small, bands of 25-50 people, they had clearly rules that men hunted and women gathered.  Paleolithic people has a rich ceremonial life.

Agricultural is the second great human process after settlement of the globe.  It started about 13,000 years ago and called the "Neolithic" (new stone age) or Agricultural Revolution.  People shaping the land and selective breeding of animals.  They lost gathering and hunting skills.  The Neolithic happened in several regions (China and Eastern North America) and it all happened about 12,000 - 4,000 years ago.

Global warming cycle started around 16,000 years ago, Neolithic coincided with the end of the last ice age.  Gathering and hunting people had already learned some ways to manage the natural wold.  People had learned to cut back some plants to encourage growth of the ones they wanted.  They started to establish more permanent villages.  Neolithic is a recent development in world history.  It has radically transformed human life and life on the planet more generally.