The New Axial Age

The new generation flushed after ingesting a flow of ideas from all corners of the globe; the past started to speak. Thought waves are vibrating. Knowledge has become easily accessible. People are thinking and protesting. German philosopher Karl Jaspers coined the term Axial Age meaning a ‘pivotal age’ stretching from 8th to the 3rd centuries BC when new streams of thought emerged simultaneously and independently in India, Persia, China and Greece. Great thinkers of this period profoundly influenced the course of future philosophies. Jasper noted this Axial Age was “an interregnum between two ages of great empire, a pause for liberty, a deep breath bringing the most lucid consciousness” (Wills 132). During this period old beliefs had lost vitality and new entrants had not yet debuted. A commonality in the political field is significant. In India, China as well as the Occident there were many small states involved in external as well as internal struggles. Spiritual foundations of Mankind were laid with the emergence of individual thinkers during a period of flux. David Graeber, an anthropologist has noted that during the peak years of this Axial Age coinage emerged in the three regions where the sages lived. The use of coins marked for the first time the division in human activity – the market on one hand and spiritualism on the other (Eisenstadt

1. In the Neolithic era, about 8000 B.C., a new civilization and culture developed. The reason for this development was the change to hunting and gathering to cultivation of agriculture that permitted man to settle down permanently ending nomadic existence.

Political, economic, and social conditions have often led to turning points that have changed the course of history for nations and peoples. For instance, neolithic revolution and the fall of Rome has greatly contributed to changes that has occurred in history. The Neolithic Revolution was a great shift from a nomadic style of living such as hunting into a settled down society. The idea of farming was created making the society’s life more structured. In the 15th and 16th centuries, the renaissance came to full power. This introduced a newer and broader outlook on life. The society’s view became more secular. This became the turning point in history, causing people to look more into logic and reasoning, causing the enlightenment.

Over the course of human history, humans and our ancestors have made tremendous strides. From Homo habilis making the first stone tools to the Egyptians building The Pyramids of Giza, human history is nothing short of intriguing. If it wouldn’t have been for each stride made by our ancestors we probably wouldn’t live in the world that we live in today. When the Neolithic Era began in 9600 BCE, human civilizations gradually started to spring up all over the world. Humans set up civilizations from Mesopotamia in the Middle East, to China in East Asia, and all the way to Caral-Supe in South America. Although these ancient civilizations were separated by thousands of miles, they all share common patterns and

In 400 B.C, The Athenian civilization experienced a golden age. The Athens experienced a great amount of peace and prosperity due to their contact and trade with others, and rare warring. During this time, ideas and philosophies were produced. These ideas influenced western civilizations in the areas of politics, science, art and architecture.

All the way from the start of civilization through to the Early Christianity there has been a pantheon of; destruction, recognition, wars, cultural diffusion, religious breakthroughs, laws that have been established, kings and queens crowned and dethroned. The Mesopotamian Civilization it was the land between two rivers the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers that civilization first began.

The first civilizations, the foundations for future empires, were all founded and created between 3500 B.C.E. and 500 B.C.E. by groups of nomadic peoples who decided to settle in an area for certain group specific reasons. Some of the main states of the first civilization were Mesopotamia, Norte Chico, Egypt, Indus Valley, China, and Olmec. The second wave civilizations, built between 500 B.C.E. and 500 C.E., included the Persians, the Greeks, Romans, Chinese (Qin and Han), and India (Mauryan and Gupta). The first wave civilizations were sparked by the agricultural movement that led to the settlement of large groups of people in areas that became the cities and states that formed these first civilizations. The rise of civilization led to

1. Humans first appeared on Earth during the Paleolithic Era. The evidence of burial grounds, stone tools, and other items shows a general migration path of humans out of Africa, and support the theory that these groups were nomadic hunters and foragers. Early humans were mobile and could adapt to different geographical settings from savannah to Ice Age tundra. Anthropologists infer that these bands were relatively egalitarian.

Civilization: an advanced state of human society, in which a high level of culture, science, industry, and government has been reached.

6. Based on the timeline above, during which years did all of the Classical Civilizations exist?

The paleolithic civilizations the early period of human history from 2,500,00 through 10,000 B.C. Neolithic civilizations begun to

c. 2300: King Sargon of Akkad starts conquering the first empire in world history. The empire reaches its height in c. 2220. c. 2100: The city of Ur becomes the centre of a powerful Mesopotamian state.

Many ancient civilizations have changed the way we live today. Sumerians invented the first language, Hammurabi invented the first set of laws, Egyptians created pyramids, and so many other ways that ancient people made the building blocks of the way our society lives today. It amazes me how God gave us brains to figure out ways to make life so much easier!

There are a number of differences that draw a distinction between the post-classical civilizations of both India and the Middle East. This distinction is found in the contrasting Muslim rule of both the Ottoman and Mughal Empires. Similar in Turkic origin, both civilizations ran at a similar time period, sharing an interesting history of social relations from 1556 and ending in 1748. The most significant of these distinctions would be in the factor of social structure and gender roles. These differences lie in the factors of origin, the role of women, and social hierarchy.

The concept of axial age was introduced into the sphere of philosophical knowledge by German existentialist philosopher Karl Jaspers for characterizing the period of ancient history during about the 8th to the 3rd century BC. In this period of time we have developed a fundamentally new religious beliefs and doctrines that promoted human and cultural values of the era.