Human history

Human history, or world history, is the record of humankind from prehistory to the present. Modern humans evolved in Africa around 300,000 years ago and initially lived as hunter-gatherers. They migrated out of Africa during the Last Ice Age, spreading to every continent except Antarctica by its end, 12,000 years ago. Soon afterwards, the Neolithic Revolution in West Asia included the first systematic husbandry of plants and animals, and saw many humans transition from nomadic lives to sedentary existences as farmers in permanent settlements. The growing complexity of human societies necessitated systems of accounting and writing. Early civilizations then emerged in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Peru, the Indus Valley, and China, marking the beginning of the ancient period in the 4th millennium BCE. These civilizations enabled the establishment of regional empires and provided fertile ground for transformative philosophical and religious ideas. Hinduism originated during the late Bronze Age and was followed by the many seminal belief systems of the Axial Age: Buddhism, Confucianism, Greek philosophy, Jainism, Judaism, Taoism, and Zoroastrianism. Christianity began later as an offshoot of Judaism. The subsequent post-classical period, from about 500 to 1500 CE, included the rise of Islam and the flourishing of China under the Tang and Song dynasties, while civilization expanded to new parts of the world and trade between societies increased. Major empires rose and fell, such as the Byzantine Empire, the Islamic caliphates, and the Mongol Empire. This period's invention of gunpowder and the printing press greatly affected later history. During the early modern period, from approximately 1500 to 1800 CE, European powers explored and colonized regions worldwide, intensifying cultural and economic exchange. This era's intellectual, cultural, and technological changes in Europe included the Renaissance, Reformation, Scientific Revolution, and Enlightenment. By the 18th century, the accumulation of knowledge and technology had reached a critical...