8-27-2012-WH-Chapter 1 Outline

WORLD HISTORY- Chapter 1 OUTLINE

  1. What is history?
  1. History is the study of past events.  Studying history is important because it helps us learn about the present and decide what to do in the future.
  2. Historians-people who study history.  Historians study the causes/reasons that something happened and the effects/results of the event.
  1. Measuring of Time:
  1. Decade: a group of 10 years
  2. Century: a group of 100 years
  3. Millennium: ten centuries or 1,000 years
  4. Era: large blocks of time:
  1. Prehistoric Era: up to 3500 B.C.  (before people developed writing)
  2. Ancient History: 3500 B.C. to A.D. 500
  3. Middles Ages: A.D. 500-A.D. 1400
  4. Modern History: A.D. 1400-present
  1. Calendars-system for arranging days in order
  1. Julian Calender-
  1. Developed by Julias Cesar
  2. Very similar to our calendar today
  1. Gregorian Calendar-
  1. Developed by Pope Gregory XIII
  2. Based on an event of religious importance
  3. Most of the world uses this calendar
  1. Dating Events:
  1. B.C. – Before the Birth of Christ
  2. A.D.- latin for anno domini or the years after the birth of Christ
  1. Time Line- order of events within a period of time
  1. History & Science:  historians use science to study the past.
  1. Archaeology: study the past by looking at what people left behind.  They discover artifacts/objects left by people ie weapons, jewelry, tools, pottery.
  2. Paleontology: study of prehistoric times.  They discover fossils- remains of plants and animals.
  3. Anthropology: the study of human culture and how it has developed over time.  They study artifacts and fossils.
  1. How does a historian research and work?
  1. EVIDENCE: proof or indication that something is true.
  2. Primary source: firsthand pieces of evidence
  3. Secondary Source: created after an event. Created by people who were not part of the first event.
  4. Point of view-general attitude about people or life
  5. Bias: be careful of sources that are biased-unreasoned, emotional judgment about people and events.
  6. Scholarly: concerned with academic learning or research
  7. Finite: limited; having boundaries
  8. Conclusion: final decision after examination of evidence
  1. Writing about history
  1. Step 1- Identify a topic
  2. When looking for data- distinguish fact from opinion
  3. Credentials- make sure your source is credible and an expert on the topic
  4. Internet:
  1. URL- address of an online resource
  2. .gov-a government entity. Most likely contains accurate data
  3. .edu-an educational entity  (college or university.) Most likely accurate but many contain opinions. Be careful
  4. .org- a non-profit organization- May have biased information to support their cause. 
  1. Plagiarize: present the idea or words of another person as your own.