It was amazing to read about what happened after the first civilizations because hundreds of years later much did not change in the civilizations.  Of course the population increased rapidly and Monarchs still continued to rule. Technology was still not invented until a few years after, but with more population civilizations began to expand.  I thought it was interesting to hear that China was one of the primary sources of technological change because they are still very important today.

It was honestly nice to learn about how civilizations came to be and how we evolved.  With years came more roads, bridges, and buildings similar to the ones we see on a daily basis.  Its crazy to think that if we lived thousands of years ago we to could have been apart of the first civilizations.

Epic of Gilgamesh portrayed the gods and their relationship to humankind as a way of controlling their after life. Many believed that you could not understand the gods because they have their own plans for us. In Egypt the pyramids and the rebirth of the sun and river everyday gave them hope that people will have a better after life.  Larger groups of people besides the pharaohs thought they could access the afterlife if they lived the proper morally upright life. 

The first civilizations started in the Middle eastern, southern Mesopotamia, and the central coast of Peru. It is amazing to learn how earlier civilizations had to survive in such dry desert regions, with little rainfall.  The were surrounded by dozens of rivers which supplied them with drinking water and places to fish for food.  Many humans today still fish for their meals, some even fish as a sport.
  As civilizations continued to grow throughout the centuries, archeologists have been able to find monumental architecture that we may now see in museums. It's very interesting that so many sculptures, building, monuments, paintings, carvings and languages still exist from 3500 B.C.E. Times have changed but different cultures still live on.

Reading Chapter one made me realize that Agriculture is such an important part of our world today.  I found it very interesting that famers migrated creating a spread of languages and cultures.  It's what has allowed many people to speak more than one language in todays society.  Although agriculture led to an increase in the human population, it put many famers at risk of their health. Many farming communities suffered with diseases such as small pox, malaria, and rabies from living to close to animals.  Its amazing how much the world has progressed throughout millions of years.

Nisa had an amazing story to share with us about the way Paleolithic peoples may have been like.  It was great being able to read her experiences as she lived "in a bush" and as a little girl she owned nothing.  It was incredible to hear that they to learn how to survive on their own.  That meant having to hunt for their own food, her father would come home with either meat or honey and that was good enough for her. I had a hard time understanding that the Paleolithic didn't believe in just one lover, but multiple lovers. They believed that having affairs was smart because not only one man can give you everything. The more the merrier, Yikes!