Five Ages of Ancient World History
Cinq âges de l'histoire ancienne du monde
Senk Laj Istwa Ansyen Mond lan
Lesson Content
Ehret proposes a periodisation of ancient world history that extends the scope of 'ancient' far beyond its customary application to the Mediterranean and the Middle East. For Ehret, 'ancient' in its broadest sense applies to all the ages from the beginnings of human expansion around the world down to the first three centuries of the Common Era. Within this vast span, he distinguishes five historical periods, each characterised by defining developments that shaped human societies globally, and in which Africa was not merely present but central.
The first period, from roughly 68,000 to 20,000 BCE, encompasses the emergence in East Africa of the first fully modern human communities and the varied stories of how their descendants spread across the world. The defining development of this age was the creation and adoption of fully syntactical language, which distinguished our ancestors from all other hominin groups and served as the crucial enabling factor for the spread of humanity around the globe.
The second period, from 20,000 to 9,700 BCE, was characterised by the necessity of repeated adaptation. Human beings nearly everywhere had to cope with shifts between cooler and warmer climatic phases and between drier and wetter rainfall regimes as the last Ice Age slowly released its grip. The third period, from 9,700 to roughly 5,000 BCE, witnessed the most consequential economic transformation in human history: people in a dozen or more separated regions of the world independently began to shift from hunting and gathering to food production. Africans were the independent innovators of at least three of those separate inventions of agricultural ways of life.
The fourth period, from roughly 6,000 to 3,000 BCE, was the age of agricultural exchange: farming systems originating in different regions came into contact, and the adoption of new crops and animals enriched productivity everywhere. The fifth period, from 3,000 BCE to 300 CE, witnessed the emergence of kingdoms and empires, the spread of long-distance commerce, and the beginnings of an interconnected world. Through all these periods, Africans were essential contributors to the defining trends and developments of human history.
Ehret propose une périodisation de l'histoire ancienne du monde qui étend la portée du terme « ancien » bien au-delà de son application habituelle à la Méditerranée et au Moyen-Orient. Pour Ehret, « ancien » dans son sens le plus large s'applique à tous les âges depuis les débuts de l'expansion humaine à travers le monde jusqu'aux trois premiers siècles de l'ère commune. Dans cette vaste étendue, il distingue cinq périodes historiques, chacune caractérisée par des développements déterminants.
La première période, d'environ 68 000 à 20 000 avant notre ère, englobe l'émergence en Afrique de l'Est des premières communautés humaines pleinement modernes. Le développement déterminant de cet âge fut la création du langage pleinement syntaxique. La deuxième période, de 20 000 à 9 700 avant notre ère, fut caractérisée par la nécessité d'adaptations répétées aux changements climatiques.
La troisième période, de 9 700 à environ 5 000 avant notre ère, a vu la transformation économique la plus conséquente de l'histoire humaine : le passage de la chasse et de la cueillette à la production alimentaire. Les Africains furent les innovateurs indépendants d'au moins trois de ces inventions distinctes de modes de vie agricoles.
La quatrième période fut l'âge de l'échange agricole, et la cinquième vit l'émergence des royaumes et des empires, le commerce à longue distance et les débuts d'un monde interconnecté. À travers toutes ces périodes, les Africains furent des contributeurs essentiels.
Ehret pwopoze yon peryodizasyon istwa ansyen mond lan ki pouse limit « ansyen » byen pi lwen pase aplikasyon abityèl li nan Mediterane ak Mwayen Oryan. Pou Ehret, « ansyen » nan sans ki pi laj li aplike pou tout laj yo depi kòmansman ekspansyon imen nan mond lan jouk twa premye syèk Epòk Komèn nan. Nan gwo distans sa a, li distenge senk peryòd istorik.
Premye peryòd la, ki soti anviwon 68,000 rive 20,000 avan epòk nou an, kouvri aparisyon nan Afrik de Lès premye kominote imen ki konplètman modèn yo. Devlopman ki defini laj sa a te kreyasyon langaj ki gen sentaks konplè. Dezyèm peryòd la, soti 20,000 rive 9,700 avan epòk nou an, te karakterize pa nesesite adaptasyon repete nan chanjman klimatik.
Twazyèm peryòd la, soti 9,700 rive anviwon 5,000 avan epòk nou an, te wè transfòmasyon ekonomik ki pi enpòtan nan istwa limanite: pasaj soti nan lachas ak ramasaj ale nan pwodiksyon manje. Afriken yo te inovatè endepandan omwen twa nan envansyon agrikòl sa yo.
Katriyèm peryòd la te laj echanj agrikòl la, e senkyèm nan te wè parèt wayòm ak anpi, komès sou longue distans, ak kòmansman yon mond entèkonekte. Nan tout peryòd sa yo, Afriken yo te kontribitè esansyèl nan devlopman istorik yo.