1. THE BIG PICTURE:
A Brief History of Our Planet
and Mankind
a brief overview of the key eras of
our world and human history

2. What is Worldview?
• A set of beliefs and values that people
live by that create meaning for them
• In other words, worldview is the way
each individual views the world!

3. THE BIG BANG
• current astronomical
evidence supports the
theory of THE BIG
BANG
• THE BIG BANG
states that 13 billion
years ago, our
universe exploded
into being

4. A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF OUR PLANET
• our sun was formed 6
billion years ago
• our planet was formed
4.5 billion years ago
• our moon split from Earth
4 billion years ago
• the first single-celled life
forms appeared 3.5 billion
years ago
• the dinosaurs
disappeared 68 million
years ago and mammals
began their dominance

5. PREHISTORIC MAN
• the first humanoid apes appear
3 million years ago
• Homo erectus evolved 500 000
years ago – “cave men”:
communities, fire, weapons
• Neanderthal man emerged 200
000 years ago – “big brains”:
religion, monuments, buried
dead
• Homo sapiens appear 50 000
years ago – “modern man”: art,
music, sophisticated social
structures
• Neanderthals disappear shortly
after appearance of Homo
sapiens
• Homo sapiens cross a land
bridge into North and South
America 20 000 years ago,
occupying all continents (except
Antarctica)

6. DAWN OF AGRICULTURE
• animals first domesticated
12 500 years ago: dogs, birds,
goats, cattle
• using animals gave human
beings huge survival
advantages: steady supplies of
protein, help with labour
• domestication of plants was
10 000 years ago
• nomadic cultures begin to be
replaced with agricultural
villages, which become the
foundation of human
civilization until the Industrial
Revolution
• nomadic tribes continue to
modern day and occasionally
have huge impact on
established empires (key in the
fall of the Roman Empire;
Taliban)

7. CRADLES OF HUMAN CIVILIZATION
• the first large-scale
organized human
civilization began in Sumer
in 3300 BCE
• Sumer was between the
Tigris and Euphrates rivers
(modern Iraq)
• villages were consolidated
with common language and
culture
• writing developed
• these villages developed
walls, fortifications and
defense

8. THE AGE OF THE GREAT RIVER CULTURES
• in and around 3 000 BCE,
other civilizations emerge
• common language,
written language, shared
culture, powerful religion,
immense architectural
projects and
sophisticated economic
systems characterize
these societies
• Nile River: Egypt
• Ganges River: India
• Yangtze River: China

9. KEY EVENTS IN WESTERN CIVILIZATION
• the first empire is created in
2 750 BCE when
Sargon of the Semites
conquers Sumer: the first
written laws
• the Greeks destroy Troy in
1 200 BCE: Homer’s
epic poems “The Illiad” and
“The Odyssey” tell this story
• the Golden Age of Greek
Civilization is 750 BCE to
330 BCE: democracy,
plays, art, alphabet,
schools, architecture
• The Roman Empire
emerges in 200 BCE and
dominates Europe until 500
AD: infrastructure, trade
routes

10. THE MIDDLE AGES
• the era from the fall of The Roman
Empire until The Renaissance
• the Roman Empire over-extended itself
and was unable to maintain its borders
in the face of “barbarian” incursions
• when the Roman Empire collapsed
around the year 500 AD, so did the
rules and structure of that society
• from the collapse of this Empire arose
the system of protection and servitude
that was feudalism
• castles became the central structure of
the medieval village, providing
protection, law, marketplaces and
religion
• age of kings and knights

11. KEY EVENTS IN WESTERN HISTORY
• 1000 AD: Lief Erikson lands in
Newfoundland
• 1100 AD: the first university established
• 1345: the Aztec civilization appears
• 1347: the Bubonic Plague sweeps across
Europe, killing ¼ of the population
• 1485-1603: The Renaissance – the rigid
social and religious constraints relax in a
burgeoning of art and literature
• 1492: Christopher Columbus sails to
North America
• 1572: Copernicus publishes his theory
that the sun is the center of our solar
system
• 1700: the first century of The
Enlightenment - a social revolution which
stated that human reason could and
should create a better world

12. THE RENAISSANCE
• the Renaissance was a cultural
movement that means “rebirth” and
was marked by a renewed interest
in learning, art and intellectual
pursuits and a turning away from
feudal hierarchies and medieval
Christianity
• the Renaissance started in Italy in
the 14th century and spread to the
rest of Europe by the 17th century
• there were many factors that
created this change:
– the Bubonic Plague devastated the
population and increased the value and
freedom of labour
– leaders that patronized and stimulated
the arts
– a rediscovery of classic texts and art
techniques
• The Renaissance was a profound
change in World View

13. THE ENLIGHTENMENT
• the Enlightenment was an
intellectual and philosophical
movement that spread throughout
Europe in the 1700s
• the Enlightenment opened
independent thought in the fields
of mathematics, astronomy,
physics, politics, economics and
medicine, challenging the
hegemony of the Christian church
• the Enlightenment marked a
profound change in World View,
embracing reason and science,
directly inspiring the Industrial
Revolution and democracy