HUMAN WORLD

People of the world

2008-01-05T20:30:00.000+08:00

As the first humans spread across the world during prehistoric times, some settled at the margins of deserts, others at the edge of the frozen Arctic, and others still in the green depths of tropical rain forests. Over a long time, the climate, the amount of sunlight, the type of food available and many other factors affected the physical appearance if these isolated groups of people, and gave them distinct characteristics.

When did the races appear?
Modern humans, Homo Sapiens, emerged about 100 000 years ago and spread through Europe, Africa and Asia. Among skeletons from this period, different human traits have been recognised. So, a separation into races must have begun at a still earlier date, through no one can say exactly when they diverged. Genetic studies show that all people come from one common human stock, and that differences relate only to things such as skin colour, hair type and facial features.

Why are some people white and some black?
As early human spread around the world, groups settled in different climate zones. In hot, tropical areas, a high level of the dark skin pigment melanin protects the skin from strong sunshine, so people with plenty of melanin survived there better than people with pale skin. In cooler, cloudy climates, where the Sun is weaker, it is an advantage for skin to absorb more sunshine, which provides Vitamin D, so skin with less melanin is better.

In the frozen north
The Inuit are a Mongoloid people of the Arctic regions. Their traditional life revolved around fishing and hunting seal and walrus among the ice floes, and over thousands of years they adapted physically to their surroundings. Their eyes are particularly narrow because their upper eyelids have developed a special fold of skin to protect their eyes from glare from the snow. A thick layer of flesh on their bodies provides insulation from the cold.

Melting pot
There are five main racial groups in the world. Although each groups originated in a particular area, they soon spread across the world.

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2007-12-26T14:53:00.000+08:00

Fighters and bombers
Aircraft were first used in the First World War to spot enemy artillery positions. Fighter planes were invented soon afterwards, followed later in the war by the first bombers. During the Second World War, mass bombing of cities caused them to blaze like huge bonfires. In 1945, a single atom bomb dropped by the Allies on the Japanese city of Hiroshima killed or injured 130 000 people. Modern bombers and fighters are fitted with computer that navigate at supersonic speeds and calculate the positions of targets while on the move.

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2007-12-14T23:28:00.000+08:00

Siege mentality
In medieval times, town and castles were built with heavily fortified stone walls, towers, and walls within walls, to make them easier to defend, but attackers found all kinds of ways to breach the walls.

Own Goal
Underwater warfare began in the 19th century. The effective submarine attack was made in 1864, during the Confederates H.L Hunley fired a ram torpedo and sank an enemy ship. Unfortunately, the explosion blew up the submarine, too.

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2007-12-05T03:01:00.000+08:00

When was gunpowder invented?
Gunpowder is made by mixing saltpetre (potassium nitrate) with sulphur and powdered charcoal. A formula was published in AD 1044 in the Chinese Complete Compendium of Military Classics. In the 12th century, the Arabs used gunpowder to fire arrows from guns. Cannon, in which gunpowder is used to fire a cannonball, were in use in Europe from 1326.

Machine-age war
The machine gun, invented in 1884 by an American engineer called Hiram Maxim, eventually ended the supremacy of cavalry on the battlefield as horsemen were mown down in droves. During the First World War, the tank, an armour-plated gun turret mounted on caterpillar tracks, made its first appearance. The name 'tank' was a codeword invented by British officials, who wanted to keep their new weapon a secret. They hoped people would think they were talking about a water tank.

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WARFARE HISTORY

2007-11-29T22:02:00.000+08:00

Stone Age men hunted with flint axes and club, which they sometimes used for fighting each other, too. The development of metalworking led to finer weapon with sharper cutting edges. Ancient Mesopotamian soldiers wielded bronze swords and spears, and tougher, more damaging weapons made of iron appeared around 1000 BC. Wars tend to be won by the side that has the more advanced weapons.

When did people first ride horses in battle?
Horses were first tamed around 2000 BC by nomads on the Asian steppes. Long afterwards, these warrior horsemen struck terror into neighbouring civilisations and their riding skills were copied by their enemies. Egyptian pharaohs went into battle in horse-drawn chariots, and the Roman army included cavalry. The invention of stirrups around AD 400 allowed cavalrymen to carry lances and swords. By the Middle Ages, mounted knights fought in heavy chainmail, plate armour and visored helmets.

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2007-11-28T15:41:00.000+08:00

Mass production
Factory output speeded up considerably when manufacturers adopted mass-production methods. The motor magnate Henry Ford pioneered this system in the United State. Instead of using skilled craftsmen to make a car from start to finish, he employed teams of worker to put together standardised parts. Each worker did the same or two simple jobs on every car as the vehicles came past on a moving assembly line. The Model T Ford was launched in 1908, and 15 million are made in the next 19 years. Mass production meant that the 'Tin Lizzie', as the Model T was called, became cheap enough for ordinary families to afford. There was little variety in design, though. Ford said that the customer could have any colour so long as it was black.

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2007-11-27T22:03:00.000+08:00

Canned food
The practice of preserving perishable food in tins was a product of the Industrial Revolution. Tinned foods were first manufactured in 1812 by the London firm of Donkin & Hall, who went on to supply thousands of cans of corned beef, boiled veal and vegetable soup to the British navy.

Working in the mill
In the early 19th century, many mill-workers were women or children, because they had small, nimble fingers for working the treads and were cheaper to employ than men. They were forced to toil 12-16 hours a day.

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2007-11-27T14:28:00.002+08:00

What was bad about Industrialisation
Industrialisation brought problem. Families who had once worked side by side in the fields were broken up. Factory workers were made to work long hours with hazardous fumes or dangerous machinery. In the coal mines there were accidents from roof falls and gas explosions. Smoke and soot from new coal-powered industries filled the air of factory towns.

How did life change for the better?
The Industrial Revolution brought many benefits. Advances were made in iron production, leading to the cheap manufacture of everything from iron bridges to iron frying-pans, and to the machines and engines used in textile mills and railway travel.Bumper harvest were achieved with new farm machinery, and transport by railways and steamships meant that food could be imported from other countries, giving people a more varied diet.

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INDUSTRIAL EVOLUTION

2007-11-26T22:14:00.000+08:00

In Britain, from the early 1700s, new inventions began to transform the way goods were produced. People used machines more and more to do work once done by hand. Factories were built, and were often sited near coalfields, which provided the fuel to feed the newly invented steam engines that powered the machines. Manufacturing towns grew up, connected at first by canals and later by railways.

Why and where did the Industrial Revolution happen?
The invention of steam-driven machinery was a key reason for the Industrial Revolution. In 1712, an Englishman called Thomas Newcomen invented a steam-powered engine of pumping water. In 1775, James Watt from Glasgow made the steam engine more efficient, so it could power other machines.
Industrial development began in Britain, partly because the creation of the Bank of England in 1694 had helped businessmen to borrow money and open factories. Britain also had large supplies of iron for making goods and machinery. The Industrial Revolution spread through western Europe and the United States.

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2007-11-26T15:10:00.000+08:00

New nations
In Roman times, England and France were occupied by Celtic tribes. In the 5th century, the Franks from Germany invaded Gaul and created a Frankish kingdom, the original France. A tribe called the Angles crossed the English Channel to conquer what became known as Angle-land, or England.

The Vikings reached America around AD 1000. They settled for a short time and traded with the Native Americans.
Viking raids on Britain began in AD 793 with an attack on the Lindisfarne monastery.
Viking traders wares included furs, horn, walrus tusks and slaves.
Vikings built settlements abroad. Place-names in Britain ending in-by, thorpe and, beck indicate a Viking presence.
Norse merchants travelled along the rivers Dnieper and Volga into the heart of Russia, where they lived by trading with the local people.
An Italian family arrive in America in the early 1900s.

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2007-11-25T23:48:00.000+08:00

Why did America attract so many immigrants?
Between 1840 and 1914, 28 million people sailed to America to begin life afresh. Mose were from Europe, and the first intakes came chiefly from two countries, from Ireland following repeated potato blights, and from Germany following a series of crop failures. Later tides of immigrants, including Italians, Greeks, Swedes, Poles, Slovaks, Russians and Jews also arrived. Some people came to farm the open prairies, or to find jobs in America's expanding industries. Others were fleeing injustice and persecution at home and seeking freedom in American democracy.

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2007-11-25T16:16:00.000+08:00

The Slave Trade
Some mass movement of people have been forced. Between the 16th and 19th centuries, European traders shipped up to 20 million Africans across the Atlantic to America to work as slaves on sugar, tobacco, and cotton plantations. Captives seized in the African interior were tethered together from neck to neck, forced-marched to the coast and packed aboard slave ships. There, chained and starving, they were crammed below decks in layers as close, one trader admitted, 'as spoons fitting together'.

Black slaves were transported below decks. As many as 20-30 per cent of the slaves died during these voyages. Slave traders in Africa bring in their captives, tethered together so they cannot escape.

2007-11-24T22:35:00.000+08:00

How did humans spread across the Earth?
A narrow sea channel known as the Bering Strait divides Asia from North America. During the last Ice Age, the sea level was lower than it is today and the two continents were connected by dry land. Prehistoric people from Asia crossed this land bridge and spread down into the Americas, becoming the first Native Americans. Then, around 10 000 years ago, the sea flooded the Bering Strait and left the Indians stranded. It is though that the first Aborigines reached Australia from South-east Asia in prehistoric times. New Zealand and other Pacific islands were settled by seafaring Polynesian islanders in more recent times.

THE MOVEMENT OF PEOPLE

2007-11-24T07:51:00.000+08:00

People have been on the move since before historical records began, whether fleeing from their enemies or looking for new land to settle. Around 1600 BC a great famine in Canaan drove the Israelites and Polynesians in canoes voyaged thousands of miles across the oceans. Humans, it seems, are natural wanderers.

Viking Expansion
Most people think of the Vikings as seaborne raiders whose longships brought terror to European shores. They also made epic voyages to Iceland, Greenland and North America, and travelled south into Russia, and east to Constantinople. They were looking for new lands to settle and people to trade with.

2007-11-23T23:49:00.000+08:00

Type style
Gutenberg shaped his letters in so-called Gothic style, to look like the ornate pen-writing of the day.

Writing implement
The Mesopotamians cut reed-tips to a triangular shape for making wedge-shaped symbols. The unshaped ends were used for round symbols.

Top to bottom
Chinese writing runs in columns that are read from top to bottom and right to left across the page.

Illuminated letter
When medieval monks copied books by hand, they decorated the pages with beautiful letters and patterns.

2007-11-23T15:47:00.000+08:00

The story of the alphabet A breakthrough in the story of writing occurred with the emergence of an alphabet in the Middle East around 1700 BC. In this system, each letter represents a single sound in the spoken language, rather than a whole object or idea. The Phoenicians (who wrote rfom right to left) used a sound-based alphabet, and around 1000 BC their system was adopted by the ancient Greeks. The Greeks however, reversed the shaped of Phoenician letters and wrote from left to right. Greek letters may have been used by the Etruscans, who lived in central Italy before the Romans. Greek letters were borrowed by the Romans, who slightly reshaped them to create the alphabet we use today (the word alphabet comes from the first two Greek letters, alpha and beta)

2007-11-22T20:24:00.000+08:00

When were the first books made?
Egyptian scribes wrote on papery scrolls made from strips of papyrus, a reedy plant that grew by the Nile. True paper was a Chinese invention of around AD 100, and was made originally from a variety of materials, including pulped tree bark, hemp, old rags and fishing nets. Ancient China also gave the world the surviving printed book, a Buddhist scripture printed from woodblocks in AD 868. In Europe, most books were copied by hand until the 1440s, and were rare and expensive. By 1500, thanks to Gutenberg's invention, cheap books were being printed in their thousand all across Europe.

2007-11-22T08:57:00.000+08:00

Writing to printing
In the 1440s, a German goldsmith named Johann Gutenberg invented a printing press made from a converted wine press. He spent several years perfecting it. The machine held lines of movable type made up of individual metal letters. Ink was dabbed onto the metal letters by hand, and the press applied the pressure needed to transfer the inked text onto a sheet of paper.

Magic runes
The Vikings used an alphabet of 16 symbol, known as runes. This were formed chiefly from straight lines so that they were easy to cut into pieces of bone or wood. In Viking belief, runes were charged with magic. They were cut to heal the sick, and poorly carved runes were thought to bring bad luck to a household

2007-11-21T16:02:00.000+08:00

Early writing
In Mesopotamia, simple picture-symbols gradually evolved into 'wedge-shaped' marks. The Egyptians based their writing, called 'hieroglyphics' on drawing.

Does all writing run from left to right?
Different writing systems developed around the world, and there were no common rules about the direction in which words or symbols should run. In traditional Chinese, the words are set out in columns rather than lines. this is probably because the earliest Chinese writing was done on strips of bamboo, which were arranged top to bottom. The Western custom of writing from left to right down the page became fixed by the ancient Greeks only around 1000 BC. Arabic script runs from right to left, so Arab newspaper readers begin on what would be the back page of a Western paper.

THE WRITTEN WORD

2007-11-21T09:24:00.000+08:00

Written words cause images to appear in the mind as if by magic. The invention of writing was one of the most important events in history, because it allowed information of every kind to be recorded and stored. And with the invention of printing in Europe in the 15th century, the number of books in circulation quickly increased. This led to the spread of knowledge and greater use of written languages.

Who invented writing?
Writing began around 3500 BC among the people of Mesopotamia, where priest and merchants wanted to keep records of harvests or areas of land sold. To begin with, picture-symbols were used. These, were simplified representations of objects or people, such as 'sun', 'ox' or 'king'. Gradually. these picture, known as pictograms., became simpler still, so that the writer could use wedge-shaped marks to represent each object and action. The marks were made with reed-tips on wet clay tablets, which then dried and hardened. This early script is known as 'cuneiform' ( from the Latin cuneus meaning 'wedge').

2007-11-20T16:19:00.000+08:00

The first city
The bible tells how Joshua and the Israelites brought down the walls of the city of Jericho with a blast of trumpets. Archaeologist have shown that Jericho really existed, and may have been the world's first city. It grew up in a farming area of the Middle East, and by 8000 BC it had massive stone walls. So when Joshua captured it in about 1400 BC Jericho was several thousand years old.

2007-11-19T16:04:00.000+08:00

How did people get about?
Wheeled vehicles were first used in Mesopotamia around 3200 BC. Ox-carts with solid wooden wheels carried merchants wine jars and grain sacks. Around 2000 BC, lighter, spoked wheels were invented for war chariots and speedier vehicles appeared. The Romans built straight roads so that the army could get about quickly. The roads made travel easier and could take heavy wagons.

2007-11-18T23:46:00.000+08:00

How did farming change things?
Crop-growing produced more food than hunting and gathering had done and not everyone was needed to work the land. Town craftsmen such as potters and jewellers emerged, and developed specialist skills. Architects evolved the techniques needed for building palaces and temples. People worked together on large projects, such as digging irritation channels to bring water to dry areas of land.

2007-11-17T23:32:00.000+08:00

What was daily life like in ancient times?
The Minoan civilisation on Crete was the first civilisation in Greece and flourished around 2000 BC. Fine palaces were built, some even had plumbing. In early civilisation, there was often a big contrast between the live of the rich and the poor. Noble families in ancient Rome lived in spacious villas with marble floors and furniture made of bronze, ivory or wood. The poor people of Rome lived in crowded slum buildings five or six storey high and existed on bread or porridge.

Minoan plumbing
Fresh water was supplied to the Minoan palace of Knossos om Crete through terracotta pipes.

2007-11-17T16:27:00.000+08:00

Raising a pyramid
Egypt's largest pyramid, the great Pyramid at Giza, was built in the 26 th century BC to house the tomb of a king, or pharaoh, called Khufu. It stands 146 m ( 480 ft) high, and is made from 2.3 million massive stone blocks, each weighing, on average, 2.5 tonnes.

Ramps
Teams of workers hauled the stone blocks on sledges up mud-brick ramps, using ropes made from twisted papyrus, a reed that grows beside the Nile. The ramps were dismantled after the pyramid was completed.

Workshops
Stones blocks were cut to shape ready for kauling into place.

Finished pyramid
When all the stone blocks had been laid, the whole pyramid was covered with polished limestone slabs.

Workforce
Modern scholars believe that it took 4000 - 5000 labourers several years to build the Great Pyramid. The workforce was probably made up of farmers, who worked on the pyramid when they could not farm due to the annual flood.

CIVILISATION RISE

2007-11-16T23:47:00.000+08:00

Groups of prehistoric hunters gradually learned how to sow crops such as barley and maize and to herd animals, and revolutionary changes in human society began to take place. People started living in settled villages and town in order to tend their fields all year round. In the fertile river valleys of Egypt and Mesopotamia, these communities gradually grew into large, highly organised societies. The first great cities emerged, and government and trade developed.

Why did people build pyramids?
as building skill developed, people created monumental architecture to celebrate their gods and kings. The pyramid shape may have been chosen because it was a very stable structure for a large building. One of the earliest known pyramids is at Ur in Mesopotamia. It is a temple pyramid built around 4000 years ago. The pyramid in ancient Egypt were built to house the tombs of kings and to ease their journey into the afterlife. The burial chamber would be filled with treasure and located in the heart of huge, solid pyramid to deter tomb-robbers. Other civilisations that built temple pyramids were the Mayans (4th-9th centuries) and the Aztecs (14th-15th) centuries in Central America.

2007-11-16T12:16:00.000+08:00

Prehistoric toolkit
Although some animals and birds use tools to find food, human are the only creature that use tools to make other tools. Homo Habilis collected stones and use other stones to reshape them into simple implements for cutting or scrapping. By the name of Homo Sapiens, tools were more sophisticated. As well as stones, people used bones, antlers and wood to make carefully crafted arrowhead, axes and harpoons

2007-11-15T23:52:00.000+08:00

What did humans look likes millions of years ago?
Human evolved from small-brained, monkey-like creature, through several gradual stages, into modern human. The australopithecines were the first to walk upright. They had a powerful jaw, a low forehand and a brain about one-third the size of ours. Homo Habilis (Handy Person), who live 2.3 million years ago, had a larger brain. Homo erectus, who lived 1.9 million years ago, had a large brain and a smaller jaw

2007-11-15T18:30:00.000+08:00

Where did the first people live?
Because the earliest fossilied remains of human-like creatures have come from sites in Africa, scientists assume that humans first emerged there. Remains have been found in eastern Africa, especially in the Rift Valley, which runs from Ethiopia down to Mozambique. A species called Homo habilis appeared there around 2.3 million years ago. They lived in organised social groups, making crued tools and probably communicating with basic speech from Africa across Asia and Europe. These people used fire, which would have kept them warm in northern climates.

Hunting, Skinning and Cooking
From around 200 000 to 300 000 years ago, Europe and the near East were occupied by a type of early Homo sapiens called the Neanderthals. They hunted by throwing spears at their prey and then chasing the injured animal until it was exhausted.

For example
Hunting :
A group of Neanderthal hunters attack an injured woolly rhinoceros with spears and large stones

Skinning :
People used stone tools to scrape the skin off pieces of meat.

Cooking :
Meat was probably first dropped in a fire accidentally, and turned out more tender cooked than raw.

ORIGINS HUMAN RACE

2007-11-14T23:36:00.000+08:00

Human beings are animals, our closet relations being the apes. The remarkable skills developed by our early ancestors set them apart from their fellow creatures. They lived and hunted in organised groups made tools and weapons, and could make and use fire. All this took time. Over million of years, different species evolved before the emergence of our species, Homo Sapiens (Thinking Person), some 300 000 years ago. Modern human, Homo Sapiens began emerging around 100 000 years ago.

Are human really related to the ape?
Scientist s classify usamong the primates, a group of mammals with five fingers and toes, and fingernails and toenails instead of claws. Primates first emerged on Earth about 65 million years ago. Because of the similarities in bones, teeth and body tissue, archaeologists believes that our closest relatives among the primates are the apes, such as gorilla and thw chimpanzee (our closest relative of all) Over time, human developed larger brains tha other primates and started walking upright. This development left their hands free for using tools. The first human-like creature emerged in Africa around 4.8 million years ago. Scientist call them the australopithecines (southern apes)

INTRODUCTION

2007-11-14T21:29:00.000+08:00

Humans are noted for their desire to understand and influence the world around them, seeking to explain and manipulate natural phenomena through science, philosophy, mythology and religion. This natural curiosity has led to the development of advanced tools and skills; humans are the only known species to build fires, cook their food, clothe themselves, and use numerous other technologies. In that way, here are the main title of the good information of human world :

Origins human race
Civilisation rise
The written word
The movement of people
Industrial revolution
Warfare history
People of the world
Speak of language
Worship world
Myth, legends and folk beliefs
Home life
Cooking, food and drink
Fashion and clothes
Farm and farming
The art
Style of architectural
Eye-catching design
Craft skills
The world of literature
Music magic
The art of dance
On stage
Moving pictures
The mass media
The sporting media
Money matters
Government and politics

In addition to this blog, you would know about :

World countries
The world history
World changed by
Arts and entertainment
Sport
International organisations
Measurements
Index
Acknowledgments