The Ten Greatest People, Places, and Events of Ancient History, prior to the Sixteenth Century

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The Ten Greatest People, Places, and Events of
Ancient History, prior to the Sixteenth Century
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The Neolithic Revolution

• Beginning in the Middle East around 10,000 BCE
  human civilization made a change from a mainly
  hunter-gatherer, nomadic society to a farming and
  herding society. This event is called the
  Neolithic Revolution and was the transition
  between the Paleolithic and Neolithic Stone Ages.
  It is described as One of the most important
  developments in the evolution of human culture
  by ABC-CLIO databases. It marked the creation of
  farming villages, where food surpluses allowed
  job specialization. This settled lifestyle
  permitted government and economic expansion as
  well. People began to create new tools and
  technology, like flint, ax heads, chisels, and
  adzes, or cutting tools. The sedentary lifestyle
  also yielded time for craft and artifact
  creation, such as pottery for cooking and storing
  food. An agricultural lifestyle supported a
  higher population, which aided in the eventual
  formation of cities. Also developed were new
  types of clothing, derived from new plants that
  produced ideal cloth fibers, and advanced shelter
  in the form of huts, tents, and houses, build
  from mud, wood, or any other materials that a
  societies environment produced. The Neolithic
  Revolution changed human life into a more modern
  society. The new technology and ideas developed
  set a basis for cities and future human
  civilizations. If not for the Neolithic
  Revolution, humans may still have been a nomadic
  society, roaming and searching for food today.
  The Neolithic Stone Age set the basis for the
  development of the first true human civilizations
  and empires, such as the Babylonians, Egyptians,
  and Romans.

"Archaeological Evidence Tools, Clothing,
Shelter (Overview)." World History Ancient and
Medieval Eras. 2009. ABC-CLIO. 25 Feb. 2009
lthttp//www.ancienthistory.abc-clio.comgt. "Archaeo
logical Evidence Tools, Clothing, Shelter
(Visual)." World History Ancient and Medieval
Eras. 2009. ABC-CLIO. 25 Feb. 2009
lthttp//www.ancienthistory.abc-clio.comgt. "Neolith
ic Revolution." World History Ancient and
Medieval Eras. 2009. ABC-CLIO. 24 Feb. 2009
lthttp//www.ancienthistory.abc-clio.comgt.
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Mesopotamia

• The Fertile Crescent is considered the birthplace
  of urban society. Literally, Mesopotamia is
  Greek for between the rivers. These rivers,
  the Tigris and Euphrates, make the region
  extremely fertile and ideal for farming and human
  settlements. Mesopotamia is considered the
  worlds first human civilization, with
  developments in writing, agriculture, irrigation,
  and wheeled transport. The civilization
  domesticated animals, established social
  structure, and created the first cities. These
  cities were built from trade settlements along
  the Persian Gulf and river routes. Around 4000
  BCE, the main cities were Babylon, Ur, and Larsa.
  Mesopotamian civilization also developed
  cuneiform, which was humans first form of
  writing. This writing system allowed
  correspondence and preservation of ideas.
  Additionally, the leader Hammurabi developed the
  Code of Hammurabi, which was the worlds first
  written set of laws. It was based on the eye
  for an eye principle and was the basis of law in
  the Western world. Moreover, forms of
  literature, theory, science, and culture have
  been discovered through cuneiform sources.
  Mesopotamian civilization was the start of many
  civilizations to come, and with the creation of a
  writing system, a legal code, and structured
  society, it was a large step in the development
  of human society.

"Fertile Crescent, about 3000 BC." World History
Ancient and Medieval Eras. 2009. ABC-CLIO. 25
Feb. 2009 lthttp//www.ancienthistory.abc-clio.comgt
. "Mesopotamia." World History Ancient and
Medieval Eras. 2009. ABC-CLIO. 25 Feb. 2009
lthttp//www.ancienthistory.abc-clio.comgt.
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Alexander the Great

• Alexander the Great is considered one of the most
  successful military commanders of all time and is
  believed to be undefeated in battle. By the time
  of his death, Alexander the Great has conquered
  much of the known world. Alexander the Great is
  often associated with Hellenism and the
  Hellenistic Period. The Hellenistic Period is
  the era following the conquests of Alexander the
  Great in which Greek culture became dominant due
  to the spread of Greek culture from Alexander the
  Greats conquests, and a blending occurred
  between Greek, Middle Eastern, and Indian
  cultures. Throughout Alexander the Greats
  massive empire, Alexander was able to spread
  Greek coinage from Egypt to India. This was a
  major step since never before has common coinage
  been used throughout such a large empire. After
  his death, there was a vast increase in the
  amount of coins being used as money. As
  Alexander the Great conquered Persia, he restored
  democracy to Greek cities previously under
  Persian rule, this was important since it
  promoted the development of democracy throughout
  his empire. Alexander the Great is considered to
  be one of the greatest tactical geniuses of all
  time, even generals like Julius Caesar looked up
  to Alexander the Great and would compare
  themselves to Alexander the Great to measure
  their power and success. Throughout his life,
  Alexander the Great was able to build a great
  city called Alexandria in Egypt. Alexandria
  contained several great wonders of the ancient
  world such as the Library of Alexandria, the
  Lighthouse of Alexandria and the Catacombs of Kom
  el Shoqafa.

"Alexander the Great." World History Ancient and
Medieval Eras. 2009. ABC-CLIO. 1 Mar. 2009
lthttp//www.ancienthistory.abc-clio.comgt. "Alexand
er the Greats empire, 323 BC ." World History
Ancient and Medieval Eras. 2009. ABC-CLIO. 1 Mar.
2009 lthttp//www.ancienthistory.abc-clio.comgt. "Mo
saic of Alexander the Great." World History
Ancient and Medieval Eras. 2009. ABC-CLIO. 1 Mar.
2009 lthttp//www.ancienthistory.abc-clio.comgt.