How did humans travel throughout the world? Human beings originated in Africa in ca. 300,000 years ago. We migrated out of the continent and some of us interbreed and replaced other populations of archaic humans. Human showing behavioral modernity came as early as 160,000 to 70,000 years ago. The out-of-Africa migration existed in two waves. The first one was around 130,000 to 100,000 years ago, and the second (Southern Dispersal) was around 70,000 to 50,000 years ago. H. sapiens proceeded to colonize all the continents and larger islands, arriving in Eurasia 125,000 years ago, Australia around 65,000 years ago, the Americas around 15,000 years ago, and remote islands such as Hawaii, Easter Island, Madagascar, and New Zealand in the years 300 to 1280 A.D. Genomic research has shown that hybridization between substantially diverged lineages was common in human existence. DNA evidence suggests that several genes of Neanderthal origin are present among all non-sub-Saharan-African populations, and Neanderthals and other hominins, such as Denisovans, may have contributed up to 6% of their genome to present-day non-sub-Saharan-African humans. Human history is filled with massive developments. All human beings were hunter-gatherers until about 12,000 years ago. Then, we have the Neolithic Revolution (the invention of agriculture) first took place in Southwest Asia and spread through large parts of the Old World over the following millennia. It also occurred independently in Mesoamerica (about 6,000 years ago), China, Papua New Guinea, and the Sahel and West Savanna regions of Africa. Later, we saw the access to food surplus that resulted in the creation of permanent human settlements. Then, there was the domestication of animals and the use of metal tools for the first time in history. From agriculture and the sedentary life, we saw the growth of early human civilizations.
An urban revolution took place in the 4th millennium B.C. with the development of city-states, particularly Sumerian cities located in Mesopotamia. It was in these cities that the earliest known form of writing, cuneiform script, appeared around 3000 B.C. Other major civilizations to develop around this time were Ancient Egypt and the Indus Valley Civilization. They eventually traded with each other and invented technology such as wheels, plows, and sails. Astronomy and mathematics were also developed, and the Great Pyramid of Giza was built. There is evidence of a severe drought lasting about a hundred years that may have caused the decline of these civilizations, with new ones appearing in the aftermath. Babylonians came to dominate Mesopotamia while others, such as the Poverty Point culture, Minoans, and the Shang dynasty, rose to prominence in new areas. There were the Nubian and Nok civilizations in sub-Saharan Africa too.
The Late Bronze Age collapse around 1200 B.C. resulted in the disappearance of several civilizations and the beginning of the Greek Dark Ages. During this period iron started replacing bronze, leading to the Iron Age. In the 5th century B.C., history started being recorded as a discipline, which provided a much clearer picture of life at the time. Between the 8th and 6th century B.C, Europe entered the classical antiquity age, a period when ancient Greece and ancient Rome flourished. Around this time other civilizations also came to prominence. The Maya civilization started to build cities and create complex calendars. In Africa, the Kingdom of Aksum overtook the declining Kingdom of Kush and facilitated trade between India and the Mediterranean. In West Asia, the Achaemenid Empire's system of centralized governance became the precursor to many later empires, while the Gupta Empire in India and the Han dynasty in China have been described as golden ages in their respective regions.
Following the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 A.D., Europe entered the Middle Ages. During this period, Christianity and the Church would provide centralized authority and education. In the Middle East, Islam became the prominent religion and expanded into North Africa. It led to an Islamic Golden Age, inspiring achievements in architecture, the revival of old advances in science and technology, and the formation of a distinct way of life. The Christian and Islamic worlds would eventually clash, with the Kingdom of England, the Kingdom of France, and the Holy Roman Empire declaring a series of holy wars to regain control of the Holy Land from Muslims.
In the Americas, complex Mississippian societies would arise starting around 800 A.D., while further south, the Aztecs and Incas would become the dominant powers. The Mongol Empire would conquer much of Eurasia in the 13th and 14th centuries. Over this same period, the Mali Empire in Africa grew to be the largest empire on the continent, stretching from Senegambia to Ivory Coast. Oceania would see the rise of the Tuʻi Tonga Empire which expanded across many islands in the South Pacific.
The early modern period in Europe and the Near East (c. 1450–1800) began with the final defeat of the Byzantine Empire, and the rise of the Ottoman Empire. Meanwhile, Japan entered the Edo period, the Qing dynasty rose in China and the Mughal Empire ruled much of India. Europe underwent the Renaissance, starting in the 15th century, and the Age of Discovery began with the exploring and colonizing of new regions. This includes the British Empire expanding to become the world's largest empire and the colonization of the Americas. This expansion led to the Atlantic slave trade and the genocide of Native American peoples. This period also marked the Scientific Revolution, with great advances in mathematics, mechanics, astronomy, and physiology.
The late modern period (1800–present) saw the Technological and Industrial Revolution bring such discoveries as imaging technology, major innovations in transport and energy development. The United States of America underwent great change, going from a small group of colonies to one of the global superpowers. The Napoleonic Wars raged through Europe in the early 1800s, Spain lost most of its colonies in the New World, while Europeans continued expansion into Africa – where European control went from 10% to almost 90% in less than 50 years – and Oceania.
A tenuous balance of power among European nations collapsed in 1914 with the outbreak of the First World War, one of the deadliest conflicts in history. In the 1930s, a worldwide economic crisis led to the rise of authoritarian regimes and a Second World War, involving almost all of the world's countries. Following the conclusion of the Second World War in 1945, the Cold War between the USSR and the United States saw a struggle for global influence, including a nuclear arms race and a space race. This time saw massive decolonization in Africa, Asia, and the Americas where black people and other people of color fought for their own independence movements. The current Information Age sees the world becoming increasingly globalized and interconnected. Humans are one of the most adaptable species, despite having a low or narrow tolerance for many of the earth's extreme environments. Through advanced tools, humans have been able to extend their tolerance to a wide variety of temperatures, humidity, and altitudes. As a result, humans are a cosmopolitan species found in almost all regions of the world, including tropical rainforest, arid desert, extremely cold arctic regions, and heavily polluted cities. Most humans (61%) live in Asia; the remainder live in the Americas (14%), Africa (14%), Europe (11%), and Oceania (0.5%).
One of the greatest accomplishments of human history was the creation of the Great Pyramids in ancient Egypt. The creation of a spacecraft to send humans to the Moon and bring them back to Earth in 1969 was a monumental achievement by humanity. The discovery of DNA changed how we view humanity and life for decades now. The invention and release of the iPhone in 2007 caused a complete acceleration of smartphone technology. The iPhone was the blueprint for the IPad, next-generation laptop computers, and the growth of A.I. technology too.
Shayla Inez Taylor is my 2nd cousin, and she was born on November 1, 1981, in Bellevue, Nebraska. She attended Bellevue West High School. Her parents are Robert A. Taylor (b. 1942) and Thelma Thomasa Claude (b. 1953). My first cousin Thelema Thomasa Claude's parents were Edgerton Claud (1916-1962) and Thelma Ruth Smith (1919-1961). My great-granduncle Edgerton Claud's parents were Arthur Boss Claud (1891-1974) and Martha Jane Claude (1880-1949). Arthur Boss's parents were Rev. James Thompson Claud (1857-1926) and Susanna Field Hurst-Turner (1862-1949). Rev. James Thompson Claud's mother was Sarah Claud, and Sarah Claud's mother was my 5th great-grandmother Zilphy Claud (1820-1893). Shayla Inez Taylor studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and lives in Washington, D.C. The children of Shayla Taylor Jackson and Christopher Jackson are Kayla and Zeke.
The research into my family history has been an excellent journey. I have learned more facts than I could ever dreamed of. In life, you have to realize your blessings. One of the greatest blessings in the Universe is to live life now. I am fortunate to live life in the early 21st century and to realize what is truly important. The older you get, the more you realize clearly that family, friends, and loved ones have more value than all of the money in the world. Also, it is important to work hard if you desire to live a long, quality life. Eating more fruits and vegetables, regulating meat eating content (if you want to eat meat), participating in activities, communicating with fellow people (in building social bonds among the human family), drinking water, and going about to exercise will make your longevity to be filled with quality, inspiration, and a longer period of longevity. I knew about great-grandmother Hollie and other relatives for years long before 2015. Yet, I wanted to discover more about my ancestors. So, I researched hard in 2015 and 2016 on my genealogical history. I didn't get too far. That changed in the Summer of 2018 when I first discovered many of my ancestors and distant cousins at the next level. Over 5 years later in 2023, I am still learning new, exciting facts about my heritage continuously.
Trump held a hate rally in Durham, New Hampshire. We know he had sensitive intelligence in a binder about Russia that is now missing. Many people still don't know about its whereabouts. We should talk about these issues because Donald Trump can never be trusted as President again. New York state court throws out voting map that can pave the way for the House to have Democratic control of the New York state House. In Donald Trump's December 16, 2023, Saturday hate rally in New Hampshire, Trump spewed more racist, anti-immigrant rhetoric. Trump lied and quoted Vladimir Putin to say that President Joe Biden is a threat to democracy. Biden isn't perfect, the agenda of Trump is vastly worse than Biden's political policies. Trump also said the overtly racist comment that immigrants are "poisoning the blood of our country." This nonsense is what Hitler and white racists have said for decades and centuries. The truth is that America is made up of many different people and cultures including immigrants who made great contributions to American society. Trump praised authoritarian people like Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Trump has always praised leaders in other countries who executed anti-democratic measures. Trump admitted in a FOX News town hall that he would act as a dictator on Day 1 of his Presidency for a day. Trump said that immigrants from across the world are "pouring into the country." Trump called people who disagreed with him as "vermin." Xenophobes believe in the lie that immigrants collectively want to poison America when they are just seeking survival and human rights. Trump's anti-immigrant rhetoric has been used by racists who massacred people in Pittsburgh in 2018 and in El Paso, Texas in 2019. Trump is clear about what he wants. Trump wants to use detention camps to get undocumented immigrants deported, have a travel ban targeting various countries, and wants the police to be indemnified (to not allow crooked police to be sued). Trump is a white racist fascist who does not deserve our vote period.
By Timothy
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