Page 60 - Berkshire Encyclopedia Of World History Vol I - Abraham to Coal

Introduction

orld history focuses on the interconnections rians would have drawn the lines in different ways. Nev-
Wbetween people and communities in all eras of ertheless, as world history has evolved during the last fifty
human history. Instead of telling the history of this nation years or so, some consensus has emerged on the crucial
or that community, it explores the histories of women turning points in human history.The three essays that fol-
and men across the entire world, the stories that all hu- low are intended to distil something of that consensus,
mans share just because they are human. Creating the his- leaving more detailed treatments to the articles in the
tory of humanity is one of the larger and more important body of the encyclopedia. Besides, brevity has its advan-
goals of world history. Encyclopedias, however, encour- tages. Above all, it should be possible to read this survey
age more sharply focused enquiries into the past. By con- in one or two sittings, a short enough period to remem-
vention, they divide their subject matter into manageable ber the beginning of the story as you reach the end. Cross-
chunks, and then rearrange those chunks in alphabetical references and bibliographical references will lead you
order, which is wonderful if you are researching particu- quickly to other essays if you want to find out more about
lar topics, or just grazing. But such an organization can any particular subject.
also obscure the larger picture. The overview of human My fellow editors (William McNeill, Jerry Bentley,
history that follows in this section is designed to help Karen Christensen, David Levinson, John McNeill, Heidi
readers keep sight of the unity of human history even as Roupp, and Judith Zinsser) have been extremely gener-
they enjoy the rich diversity of details, questions and ous in commenting on earlier drafts of these essays, and
approaches in the body of the encyclopedia. I want to thank them formally for their suggestions. How-
Of course, no survey this brief can do more than ever, I was stubborn enough not to accept all of their
sketch some of the main lines of development of our re- advice, so I alone must accept responsibility for remain-
markable species, and it is probable that different histo- ing errors of fact, emphasis and balance.

David Christian

Comparing the Three Eras of Human History
Era 1: 250,000–8000 BCE Most of human history; small communities; global migrations; megafaunal
FORAGING extinctions; slow population growth
Era 2: 8000 BCE–1750 CE Intensification; rapid population growth; cities, states, empires; writing; different
AGRARIAN histories in different world zones
Era 3: 1750–Present Single, global system; rapid growth in energy use; increasing rate of extinctions;
MODERN increased life expectancies

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