World History 24

During these years, the Trung sisters in Nam-Viet lead a rebellion against the Han Chinese. Rome turns from a republic to an empire and continues its relentless expansion. We discuss Ptolemaic Egypt, the destruction of Jerusalem, and Queen Boudicca in Britain. The Romans are stopped eventually at the border of Kush by a queen nicknamed, “the one-eyed Kandake.” We discuss the story of Jesus and end the episode, and season 2, with the Nasca culture in Peru.

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Note: The links below are not our official sources. These pictures, maps, encyclopedia entries, etc are to peruse for more depth. Visit our site for official sources.

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Kingdom of Nam-Viet and Trung Sisters

• Yangtze River.
• Red River Delta.
• People are bringing back the practice of teeth blackening.
• Famous Yue sword.
• Reminder of Qin Dynasty.
• Zhao Tuo.
• Kingdom of Nam Viet or Nan-Yue.
• Han Emperor Wudi.
• The Trung sisters remained an important symbol of resistance.

Roman Republic into Roman Empire

• Scroll through the years on this tool see the boundaries the Roman Empire expand.
• The Spartacus Revolt.
• Julias Cesar declares himself dictator for life and is assassinated on the March 15.
• Book after book has been written about Octavian/Augustus, we give him about three sentences. Here are a couple more of the very basics.

Ptolemaic Egypt and Cleopatra

• Hellenistic period.
• Dynasties of Ancient Egypt.
• Good luck following the incestuous family tree of the Ptolemaic royal family.
• Ptolemies presented themselves as living gods.
• Cool article about the archeology of the City of Alexandria.
• Map reminder of where Memphis and Alexandria.
• The Lighthouse of Alexandria was one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
• Library of Alexandria. I really recommend listening to this podcast. Three scholars chat about the library!
• Septuagint.
• In the modern world we mostly only care about Cleopatra the Seventh but the whole line is fascinating. I highly recommend this book! (Here is an interview with the author if that more manageable).
• Story of Cleopatra. Or listen to the History Chicks chat about her!
• Mark Antony.

Kush and Queen Amanirenas

• First Cataract.
• One eyed Kandace.
• In 1910 a British archeologist found the Meroë Head under the steps of the temple.
• Depiction of Queen Amanirenas.

Judea

• Explanation of BCE and CE or BC and AD. No year zero!
• King Herod the First and the Second are important players in the turmoil of Judea.

Jesus and Christianity

• A summary of the Christmas story in the Gospels.
• The New Covenant.
• The story of Jesus’s baptism. The last line of which is, “This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.”
• The Parable of the Sower in Mark, Mathew, or Luke.
• The Parable of the Prodigal Son.
• The Parable of the Good Samaritan.
• Jesus says what every harm or help you give to the least of these, you give to him.
• Love one another and love god.
• Last supper.
• Jesus is betrayed with a kiss.
• Crucifixion.

Fall of Jerusalem and the beginning of the Jewish Diaspora

• • Zealots.
  • Fall of Jerusalem.
  • The fall of Jerusalem led to the Jewish Diaspora.

Boudicca in Roman Britannia

• Roman Britain.
• Roman Emperor Nero.
• Roman historian Tacitus.
• Revolt of Boudica according to Tacitus.
• Iceni people.
• Summary of the Battle of Watling Street. Or listen to a historian chat about it on this podcast interview.

Nasca 

• Cahuachi.
• Corn was important to the Nasca.
• Highly recommend looking at all the pictures of Nasca pots and textiles from the Met.
• The figures and motifs of the Nasca lines are also found repeated on pottery or woven into textiles. Monkey, killer whale, bird, people.
• Nasca ceramic drum.
• Ceramic Nasca Antaras or panpipes: example, example, example.
• Video of Esteban Valdivia playing Nasca Antara, this is the audio we used in the episode
• Anthropomorphic Mythical Being: example, example,

In India, Ashoka the Great commissions the oldest written evidence of Buddhism. In China, the Qin dynasty begins to piece together the Great Wall. In Rome, the Republic is rising to power. And in Carthage, a famous general sets out plans to sneak attack Rome from the north.

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Note: The links below are not our official sources. These pictures, maps, encyclopedia entries, etc are to peruse for more depth. Visit our site for official sources.

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Mauryan Dynasty in India

• Ashoka the Great.
• Mauryan Empire.
• Chandragupta Maurya.
• Capital city at Pataliputra.
• The Edicts of Ashoka. Example, example, example.
• Great explanation of Prakrit— the language of the edicts.
• Spread of Buddhism throughout the world today.
• India is less than one percent Buddhist today.
• You can flip through this paper to read examples of violent Assyrian inscriptions. For example, “I cut their throats like lambs. I cut off their precious lives (as one cuts) a string. Like the many waters of a storm, I made (the contents of) their gullets and entrails run down upon the wide earth.”

Qin Dynasty

• Warring States Period.
• Contention of the Hundred Schools of Thought.
• Qin Shi Huang name.
• Unification of China.
• Standardized round coins with a square in the center were made using a mold.
• Summary of the standardization of Chinese writing.
• The Qin Great Wall is the unification of many older shorter walls. The oldest wall (probably) is the Qi Wall.
• Forced labor along the Wall.
• Great interview with William Lindesay and runner, historian and author who is known for his work on the conservation of the Great Wall.
• There are many variations on the story of Lady Meng Jiang example, example, example, example.
• Summary of Legalism.
• Brief history of burning books.
• The mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang is a Unesco World Heritage Site.
• Terracotta Warriors.
• Each terracotta warrior has a unique face. Example, example, example, example.

Rome

• Story of Romulus and Remus.
• Romulus and Remus in art, example, example, example.
• Rome also developed an origin story connecting them to Greece as the descendants of Aeneas.
• The Battle of Veii.
• City walls.
• Slavery in ancient Rome.
• The Roman government was run by two consuls.
• In a time of crisis a temporary dictator could be appointed.
• Patricians and plebeians.
• Roman citizenship.
• Explanation of the Roman Grain Dole.

Carthage - Hannibal

• Geography of Tunisia and Sicily or the Straight of Sicily.
• It was the Phoenicians who first settled Carthage.
• Remnants of the city walls.
• Artist rendition of the harbor at Carthage. Another example here.
• You can see remnants of it in this picture from 1958.
• Description of “booms” or chains strung across waterways as a defense strategy.
• New study looking at the genetics of the Carthaginians.
• Government structure of Carthage.
• Carthaginians were known for their ability to sail. They likely sailed to the Niger River Delta and possibly all the way around Africa.
• Carthaginian war ship.
• Summary of Punic Wars.
• Where was Hannibal’s route across the Alps?
• A great set of blog posts all about war elephants.
• Battle of Cannae.
• Illustration of Hannibal’s route in the Second Punic War.
• Summary of the Fall of Carthage.
• Quote from Hector’s wife in the Iliad. (Book 4,164–5).

The Hebrew Bible is composed during the Second Temple Period in Israel. In Nigeria, we visit a major civilization known as the Nok, whose history is baked into terracotta. Then in North America the Adena and Hopewell cultures are building earthen-mounds. In the Mediterranean, The Classical Age of Greece is underway. And finally, the story of Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic World he began.

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Note: Visit our site if you're after official episode sources. Links below are to peruse and to compliment the episode for more depth.

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Second Temple Period  ·  Writing of the Bible

• Listen to the prologue to the Canterbury Tales here. It is recognizable as English but only just.
• Many stories in the Bible are familiar, Eden, Joseph, Noah’s Arc.
• The oldest parts of the Bible are the Song of Deborah and the Song of the Sea.
• Ten Commandments.
• Isaac and Ishmael.
• Abrahamic religions.

The Nok

• Another description of the Nok with great pictures.
• Description of the Nok Terracotta from the Met. First wide spread statuary in west Africa.
• Nok animal statuary: Example, example.
• Nok sculptures of people - See the classic posture and the perforated eyes: Example, example, example.
• Clay is microscopic bits of weathered feldspar.
• Under a electron microscope clay particles looks like stacks of pancakes.
• One of the articles that references the teaspoon of soil on the Niger vs. ton of soil on the Nile quote.

Woodland Period in North America

• Ohio River Basin map, seasonal living. homes of bent samplings. Caves in the region. diet. earliest domesticates. distinction is fake news.
• Mound - Example, example, example, example, example.
• The grave goods of the Adena and Hopewell include pipes, tablets, copper.
• Reminder of Poverty Point. (Discussed in episode 3).
• Hopewell Earthworks. Unesco site.
• Geometric mounds - Example, example, example.
• Many of the Hopewell earthworks align with the rising and setting of the moon at the solstices or equinoxes.
• One set of mounds that has been used as a golf course for 100 years.
• Serpents Mound.

Classical Period of Ancient Greece   

• The Bronze Age Collapse.
• The Greek Dark Age.
• The Greek Heroic Age.
• Are the tales of the Trojan War memories of the Bronze Age Collapse?
• Greek Alphabet.
• Athens and Sparta fought a series of wars called the Peloponnesian Wars .
• The Olympics was a way for Greek city-states to compete without all out war.
• Democracy in Athens.
• Slavery in Athens and Sparta.
• The Parthenon.
• Plato has his character of Socrates call the Greeks Ants or frogs around the pond.
• Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates are philosophizing.
• Euripides, Sophocles, Aristophanes, and Aeschylus. Not to mention Homer and Sappho.
• Cleisthenes of Athens, Herodotus, Pythagoras, Euclid, Archimedes shouts Eureka.
• Why do so many public buildings in the US look like Greek Temples?
• Hadestown, Song of Achilles, Percy Jackson, 300.

Alexander the Great

• Phillip the Second.
• A picture of the borders of Alexander’s empire.

Three massive philosophical and spiritual shifts take place in these years, Confucius in China, Buddha in India and Zoroastrianism in Persia. We will visit the Celts across Europe and end with with a discussion of a newly discovered civilization hidden for millenia beneath the trees of the Amazon which will rewrite the history of Ecuador.

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Note: Visit our site if you're after official episode sources. Links below are to peruse and to compliment the episode for more depth.

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Celts

• We begin the episode with an explanation of expansion of the Indo-European Language Family.
• Proto-Indo-European is the reconstructed ancestor language of dozens of languages and language families across Eurasia, including Persian, Sanskrit and Celtic. We don’t usually link to Wikipedia, but this chart is an incredibly clear and concise layout of the ancient language families and their modern descendants.
• You can hear an attempted recreation of Proto-Indo-European here!
• One of the branches of this language family is the Celtic languages.
• The druids were critically important parts of Celtic society. They played the many roles as diplomats and advisors, as well as healers, historians and priests.
• Celtic chariots were important war tools.
• The etymology of the word barbarian.

Buddha

• A little more context for the word Aryan including how it was hijacked in the modern world.
• Or check out the book Which of Us Are Aryans? for an in depth look from many perspectives on all the controversy surrounding the influx of Vedic culture into India.
• The Buddha’s possible birth site is a Unesco World Heritage Site.
• The Caste System.
• There are many variations on the story of the Buddha’s life. Many are told through art including the incredible frescos in the Ajanta Caves, now a Unesco World Heritage site.

Buddhism

• The Four Noble Truths.
• The Eightfold Path.

The Zhou Dynasty and Confucius in China  

• The Duke of Zhou was a leader from before Confucius’ time. He was remembered as just and wise.
• The Mandate of Heaven.
• Confucius’ life fell between the Spring and Autumn Period of the Zhou Dynasty and the Warring States Period.
• Confucius
• Confucius teachings were compiled by his followers into the Analects.
• Contention of the 100 Schools of Thought were a time when so many important pieces of philosophy and literature and history were written, including The Art of War and the The Spring and Autumn Annals.

The Persian Empire

• Cyrus the Great first conquers Media and Lydia.
• The Babylonian Empire falls to Cyrus.
• Cyrus allows the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem.
• The Hebrew Bible refers to Cyrus as a Messiah.
• Way too much incest in royal families throughout the ages.
• This podcast discusses Persepolis, the political or ceremonial capital of the Persian Empire. The three different historians give their perspective on what the role of Persepolis was. *Heads up, the interviewer feels frustratingly rude to me, doesn’t let them talk, cuts them off, etc.
• The Behistun Inscription - the “Rosetta Stone” for cuneiform.
• Besides The Rosetta Stone, Other Stone Texts Have Interpreted Ancient Cultures | Discover Magazine.
• Athens and Sparta exist at the time of this episode.
• The Trojan War, likely a mythologized memory of the Bronze Age Collapse, becomes an important part of Greek Origin stories.
• The Battle of Marathon.
• Battle of Thermopylae  or you can watch this if you prefer your history to be utter nonsense.
• Sparta’s last stand at the Battle of Thermopylae.

Zoroastrianism

• Zarathustra or Zoroaster is the profit or the Zoroastrian religion.
• Zoroastrianism is the world’s first major Monotheistic religion. The one true god, Ahura Mazda, has a counterpart, Angra Mainyu.
• The Magi are Zoroastrian priests.
• Towers of Silence.
• Fire is very sacred to the Zoroastrians. example, example, example.
• The Faravahar, the ...

We hit the character limit! Check out our website for the rest of the links.

First we follow the expansion of the Bantu people throughout central and southern Africa. Then, we move to the intersection of EurAsia, where the Neo-Assyrian Empire falls and the Babylonians take their place. The Babylonians famously take the Israelites captive.  We will discuss the invention and proliferation of the idea of an alphabet. We will see the rise of the kingdom of Kush and the 10 thousand year old Joman culture in Japan.

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Note: Visit our site if you're after official episode sources. Links below are to peruse and to compliment the episode for more depth.

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Bantu Expansion 

• In this podcast interview Luke Pepera laments the lack of written Bantu records.
• The Bantu language family.
• We too often think of people’s movements as simple lines on a map
• Iron working and agriculture spread across Africa with the Bantu people, eventually reaching as far as South Africa.

Fall of Assyria 

• Ashurbanipal in the garden note the head of the conquered King Teumman of Elam hanging from the tree.
• Ashurbanipal’s Library.
• Very cool book by Assyriologist, Stephanie Dalley, explaining the confusion between Babylon as an actual physical place, and Babylon as an idea. Especially when misinterpreted by the Greeks and Romans. Because of this confusion, it’s possible that the “Hanging Gardens of Babylon” are actually in Nineveh, the capitol of the Assyrian Empire.
• Here, she is explaining the “Archimedes' screw” likely used to water the hanging gardens.

Babylon 

• Hittites, Kassites, and Elamites all invade Babylon.
• Babylon allies with the Medes to defeat Assyria.
• Rastafari.
• The massive walls of Babylon were considered one of the seven wonders of the world by some ancient writers.
• Gate of Ishtar
• On the subject of the world’s precious artifact’s being housed in European museums.
• Tower of Babel - endlessly imagined by artists.
• The story of the Babylonian Captivity is still extremely important to peoples around the world. Symbolizing the violence of being help captive away from your home. The story, and specifically the psalm which recounts it, has been made into songs many times including this classic.

Phoenicians 

• Tyrian Purple dye made the Phoenicians rich.
• Here, Mouhamad Ghassen Nouira, a Tunisian historian, revives the ancient craft.
• As the Phoenicians explored the mediterranean they began building more and more settlements along the coasts. Including, most famously, the settlement that grew into the city of Carthage in northern Tunisia.
• Shell middens are found across the world: South Africa, Japan, Maine, Australia, Saudi Arabia, India.
• History of the alphabet.

Jomon culture in Japan

• Jomon time periods.
• Jomon pottery is possibly the oldest pottery in the world.  Example, example, example, example.
• The Jomon.
• Food storage pits.
• Aside from its beauty, the jade art is evidence exchange of goods over long distances. Example, example.
• Jomon art includes many figurines which are referred to as symbols of fertility. This does not strike me as a pregnant woman, but see what you think.
• Stone Circles, Oyu Stone Circles, another article.
• Small clusters of stone that seem to be sundials are also common across Jomon Japan. Example, example, example. Frequently they are associated with burial sites.
• Yayoi Period came after the Jomon.

Kingdom of Kush 

• A cool summary of Nubian Kingdoms that also illustrates the confusing naming practices.
• Amun. Egypt and Nubia, like so many others, were increasingly monotheistic.
• The temple at Gebel Barkal was rebuilt during the Napatan Period.
• Nubian Gold work from this period. Example, example. As well as other types of art.
• Nubian archers depicted with their arrows in their hands.
• The Nubian pyramids varied over time and space, some being smaller and steeper than others.
• An explanation of the dynasties of Egypt. The Nubian pharaohs make up the 25 dynasty.  
• The 

Ellie takes us back to the corner of Afro-Eur-Asia to witness the dramatic close of the bronze age, the rise of a new metal, a new empire, and the origins of a new religion. In India we’ll see a new spiritual movement in Sanskrit, and finally in Mesoamerica our final so-called "cradle. "

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Note: Visit our site if your after official episode sources. Links below are to peruse and to compliment the episode for more depth.

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Interconnection of the Mediterranean World and the Bronze Age Collapse

• Akkadian became the Lingua Franca of the whole Bronze Age world by the time of the collapse.
• King Tut’s widow.
• Hurian Hymn number 6 played by Charlie! This oldest surviving melody was found on a tablet in the rubble of Ugarit.
• Who built the walls of Troy?
• Is the rubble of Megiddo the origin for the world armageddon?
• Trojan war.

Neo Assyrian Assyrian Empire

• The Assyrian Empire’s brutal propaganda. Examples of imagery here, here and here. Or text here and a third of the way down the page here.
• A translation of a portion of the Assyrian law codes. Warning they are quite violent.
• Relocation policy.
• The story of the 10 lost tribes.

Origin of the Israelites in Canaan

• First mention of the word “Israel” is on the Merneptah Stele.
• Biblical scholars and Yale Divinity School professors Joel Baden and John J Collins offer brief takes on very early Israelite history.
• Omri and his son, Ahab, built and expanded the northern capital in the city of Samaria.
• The Israelites have two kingdoms: Israel in the North and Judah in the South.
• Hoshea is the last king of Israel.
• The story of the 10 lost tribes.

Vedic Period in India

• When and where horses were domesticated, and how they contributed to the spread of the Indo-European languages and cultures, is extremely controversial.
• Quick history of chariots in the ancient world.
• Sanskrit.
• Vedas. The text of the Rig Veda in PDF form.
• A little more context for the word Aryan including how it was hijacked in the modern world.
• Or check out the book Which of Us Are Aryans? for an in depth look from many perspectives on all the controversy surrounding the influx of Vedic culture into India.

Olmecs

• San Lorenzo, La Venta, and Tres Zapotes are the three main urban centers of the Olmecs.
• Wild teosinte plants compared to domesticated corn/maize. Example, example, example. Compared to wild emmer vs wheat for example.
• The stone heads are perhaps the most recognizable pieces of Olmec art. Example, example, example.
• In addition to the iconic heads, thrones were carved form the same volcanic stone.
• The Olmec culture is known for its art in general including intricate works in jade. Example, example, example.
• The Olmecs are likely the “mother culture” of many leter Meso-American peoples. Here we find the early examples of the ball game, calendar, writing, pyramids, and pantheon that dominate culture here for the next 2000 years.

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Pools of wine, volcanic eruption, minotaurs, shipwrecks, ringing rocks, epic ocean voyages, and pyramids in North America! The world in 1700 BCE was a tapestry of diverse cultures. Many people were living in small nomadic communities and many people were living in giant empires. It was the height of what historians refer to as "The Bronze Age." We take a world tour to the Shang Dynasty in China, the Minoans on the island of Crete in the Mediterranean, the Kerma civilization in Sudan, Poverty Point in the United States, and the Austronesian Expansion across Islands Southeast Asia.

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Note: Visit our site if you're after official episode sources. Links below are to peruse and to compliment the episode for more depth.

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Collapse of the Xia Dynasty and the oracle bones of the Shang Dynasty 

• We get the story of the corrupt, depraved King Jie and his pool of wine from the Lienü Zhuan (Exemplary Women of Early China). This was written during the Han Dynasty by a scholar named Liu Xiang. Interestingly very similar stories are told about Shang dynasty King King Zhou Xin.
• The Shang Dynasty.
• The script on the oracle bones is related to modern Chinese scripts.
• Transfer of a dynasty and the Mandate of Heaven.
• Was this Mediterranean volcano the cause of the weather disruptions referenced in the Bamboo Annals?

Minoan civilization on the island of Crete

• The island later believed by the Greeks to be the birthplace of Zeus.
• Shipwreck carrying goods from all over the bronze age world.
• Scientists use ice cores and tree rings to date the Volcano. Here is a news article covering the same info.
• The iconic Minoan frescos are found as far as Egypt.
• Their script, linear A, remains mostly undeciphered.
• The culture seems to center around a giant palace at Knossos.
• Images of bulls are common in Minoan art. Example, example example, example, example example.
• Like many other “myths”the world over, the story of King Minos and the Minotaur has threads of historical reality woven through it.
• Mycenaeans.
• The Mycenaeans used the writing system of the Minoans to write their own language. This is referred to as Linear B.

Kingdom of Kerma in Nubia.

• Ancient rock art in Sudan shows cattle played a vital role in ancient Nubian cultures.
• Copper use in Kerma.
• Kerma Archeology Sites.
• Many pictures of the Deffufas of Kerma here. The Deffufas likely served as the religious centers of the city.
• The Amulets of the Kerma Culture.
• Watch beginning at 5:30 to see the rock gongs.
• Another video of rock gongs - these are in Nigeria.

Poverty Point

• Poverty Point is a UNESCO world heritage site.
• The largest of the works at Poverty Point is the pyramid known as Mound A.
• New studies shed light on the engineering of the mounds.
• Clay balls were used to heat underground ovens. These “Poverty Point Objects” or PPOs are the only artifact that seems to have traveled away from Poverty Point.

Austronesian Expansion out of Taiwan.

• The Austronesian Language family covers half the globe.
• The voyage from Luzon to the Mariana Islands was the longest trip out of sight of land humans had ever taken.
• Ancient paintings of sea turtles in the Mariana Islands.
• Within the larger Austronesian geographical area, a smaller area becomes known as the Lapita culture.
• Among other principle artifacts, they are known for their red slip pottery. Other examples here.
• Two neat tools for comparing country sizes. We are so incorrectly programed by our flat maps!

WorldHistory24.com

Massive civilizations were coalescing and beginning to write, recording their own history, literature, songs, laws and tax codes. Wide spread slavery and warfare emerge, defining life for many people in these cities. This episode will cover what history classes refer to as the “Five Cradles of Civilization.”  Although we will dismantle each word in this phrase, we will borrow its framework to talk about the early civilizations in Mesopotamia, Peru, India, Egypt, and China.

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Note: Visit our site if you're after official episode sources. Links below are to peruse and to compliment the episode for more depth.

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Mesopotamia or the land “between the rivers.” 

• Fertile crescent.
• Sumerian is a “language isolate.”
• Enheduanna - history’s first named author. 
• Read her most famous work The Exaltation of Inana.
• Cool article from the New Yorker about the debate over Enheduanna. Is she a real person?
• Sargon the Great, one of history’s first rulers of an empire. He has a birth story very similar to the Biblical Moses.
• Cuneiform.
• The Epic of Gilgamesh is the oldest epic poem. Read a summary here.
• Behistun Inscription - serves as a Rosetta Stone for Cuneiform.
• Cuneiform recipes, literature, proverbs, hymns and even board games.
• Sexagesimal system, or a base 60 number system - where we get our modern 60 minute hours, sixty second minutes, and 360 degree circle.
• King Hammurabi’s law code.

Norte Chico or Caral Civilization

• Caral - Supe  most studied city. 
• Ruth Shady - Peruvian archeologist - largely responsible for our emerging knowledge of this ancient society.
• Large public works including pyramids and sunken round plazas. 
• These plazas were possibly used for the ceremonial game played throughout this part of the world in later societies. 
• We have discovered mummies in Caral.
• We have found art, figurines, and instruments as well the earliest known version of a Quipu.  

Egypt

• The Nile River is the life blood of Egypt - flooding and creating fertile, life giving “Black Land” in contrast with the dead “Red Land.”
• The Nile has several places where the narrow shallow waters make it impassable in a boat. These are know as Cataracts.
• Upper and Lower Egypt.
• King Menes/Narmer “united” the two kingdoms, and began wearing the double crown.
• Giza Pyramids.
• Despite Hollywood’s insistence, the pyramids were not built by slaves. 
• How were the pyramids built? - coolest part of this is leveling the base using water. “The base of Khufu's pyramid is level to 2 centimeters”!
• We May Finally Know How the Pyramids Were Built.
• The discovery of the Rosetta Stone allowed modern scholars to translate ancient hieroglyphs.
• Hieratic script  and Demotic script.

Indus Valley or Harappan Civilization

• Plumbing in the Indus.
• The “Priest-King.”
• City of Harappa gave the whole civilization its name.
• Great Bath.
• Harappan jewelry, figurines of animals, and pottery.
• Seals with animals, commonly unicorns, were used as signatures.
• People are trying to translate the writing system but we don’t have a Rosetta Stone. 
• The Indus Valley is know for its remarkable city planning.
• No one really knows what happened to the Indus. Climate change is a common theory.

Northern China along the Yellow River

• Huangdi or Huang-ti, also known as the Yellow Emperor  is credited with creating “Chinese culture.” 
• Among other things Huangdi is credited with the invention of Silk.
• His burial site is still a popular tourist attraction.
• The volume of silt in the Yellow River gives it a  yellow-brown color.
• Because of its tendency to flood catastrophically, the yellow river is also known as China’s Sorrow.
• Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors.
• Yu the Great or Yu the Engineer created systems to control the floods in the Huang He Valley.
• Credited as the first leader of the Xia Dynasty. 
• Probably mythological - but retroactively credited as beginning...

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In this first episode, we cover the origin story of humanity: how the first hominin groups evolved in Africa and spread across the planet creating art, instruments and stone tools. Eventually these many diverse hominin groups went extinct leaving our species, Homo sapiens, alone on the earth. We discuss the fascinating and complicated neolithic age when many groups began to rely more on cultivated foods. Some people began to work with metal taking parts of the world into the copper age. During this time we find humans living in permanent settlements, some lasting over a thousand years, well before the rise of the first commonly acknowledged "cities." These early human groups invented such essentials as cheese, tea, chocolate, alcohol and their lives and decisions still affect ours every day.

• Welcome to WH24
• First Use of Stone Tools
• Early Human Groups
• Fire
• Out of Africa 1 & 2
• Neanderthals
• Oldest Instruments
• Last Humans on Earth
• Ice Ages & Water Levels
• Bering Strait Land Bridge
• Agriculture
• Çatalhöyük
• Copper Metallurgy
• The Problems with “Civilization”

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Welcome to your chronological crash course. We are so glad you're here. Episode 1 airs on January 24th on all podcast platforms!

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