AP World History

Lesson One: Big Geography

 The Seven Continents
 Africa
 Antarctica
 Asia
 Australia
 Europe
 North America
 South America
 What Makes a Continent?
 Geologically, continents are divided along tectonic plates
 Tectonic Plates: pieces of land that move together
 Is that the only way to determine a continent?
 What are Continents?
 Are those plates the same as how we divide our continents?
 No! There are 14 tectonic plates and only 7 continents!
 So how do we decide on continents?
 Traditionally, continents are:
 Large, continuous masses of land
 Separate from one another
 Surrounded by water
 Does that work?
 What’s Wrong?
 Europe and Asia are not divided by water
 Greenland meets all of the criteria, and yet is considered an
island, not a continent
 Africa and Asia are connected by land, as are North and
South America.
 Only Australia and Antarctica meet the criteria for continents
 So, Finally, What Makes a Continent?

 History!
 As much as we like to be scientific about things, history
makes continents.
 Europe and Asia are divided culturally and historically, not
geologically.
 Similarly, Australia is home to a native people thousands of
years old, while Greenland is believed to have been uninhab-
ited before the Vikings arrived in the 10th Century C.E.
The First People and the Peopling of the Earth
 Who Were They?
 Let’s call them “hominids”
 They began to appear between 3 and 4 million years ago
 Between 100,000 and 250,000 years ago, modern humans
developed in Africa and began to spread across the globe.
 This period is known as the Stone Age
 Hunter/Gatherers

 What does this term mean?

 Gatherers, or Foragers, collected fruits, nuts,
wild grains, and grasses to eat.
 Hunters brought in meat that provided protein
 What was the best animal to hunt? Why?
 Fish! Because there are a lot of fish (abundant)
and fish are (relatively) unlikely to eat you
 What are the Advantages of Forager Soci-
eties?
 Fossils show that these people had stronger bones and
healthier teeth than farmers
 Anthropologists studying forager societies found they spent
a lot less time working and a lot more time making art,
telling stories, and having fun.
 Anthropologist: a person who studies humankind, in the past and present

 Why did they work less?

 Each person provided about as much food as he or she took.
 What are the Disadvantages of Forager
Societies?
 No surplus food. What does this mean?
 Everyone’s job is to gather food
 Large communities are impossible to sustain
 They rely heavily on animals, which is risky because:
 Animals migrate, or move during different seasons
 Animals can be dangerous
 Peopling of the World!
 What does that mean?
 People had to come from somewhere, right? And then end
up everywhere else? This is where they came from and how
they did it.
 Out of Africa Theory: hominids evolved into modern humans
around 150,000 years ago in Africa, then spread out from
there across the world over many generations.
 Tools of Stone Age People

 Knives and axes

 Spears – atlatl
 Fire
 Fishhooks and harpoons
 Clay pots, fiber baskets
 Clothes of wool and hide
 Rarely bow and arrows
 What is the Ultimate Goal of Stone Age
Tools?
 To ensure a regular supply of food.
 To provide appropriate clothing for their environment
 To create shelter to protect from the weather