The Encyclopedia of World History, Sixth edition. Peter N. Steas,
general editor. Copyright © 2001 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Maps
by Mary Reilly, copyright © 2001 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Human beings have flourished on Earth for at least 2.5 million years. The study of history in its broadest sense is a record of humanity and its accomplishments from its earliest origins to mode times. This record of human achievement has reached us in many forms, as written documents, as oral traditions passed down from generation to generation, and in the archaeological record—sites, artifacts, food remains, and other surviving evidence of ancient human behavior. The earliest written records go back about 5,000 years in the Near East, in Mesopotamia, and the Nile Valley. Elsewhere, written history begins much later: in Greece, about 3,500 years ago; in China, about 2,000 years ago; and in many other parts of the world, after the 15th century C.E. with the arrival of Weste explorers and missionaries. Oral histories have an even shorter compass, extending back only a few generations or centuries at the most.
Human beings have flourished on Earth for at least 2.5 million years. The study of history in its broadest sense is a record of humanity and its accomplishments from its earliest origins to mode times. This record of human achievement has reached us in many forms, as written documents, as oral traditions passed down from generation to generation, and in the archaeological record—sites, artifacts, food remains, and other surviving evidence of ancient human behavior. The earliest written records go back about 5,000 years in the Near East, in Mesopotamia, and the Nile Valley. Elsewhere, written history begins much later: in Greece, about 3,500 years ago; in China, about 2,000 years ago; and in many other parts of the world, after the 15th century C.E. with the arrival of Weste explorers and missionaries. Oral histories have an even shorter compass, extending back only a few generations or centuries at the most.