Evolution of Structures

Rural Housing

Temporary

Teepees - Skin walls by Native Americans

Tents - at Wadi Halfa in Sudan 100K years ago

Igloo - Eskimos

Bone - Mammoth bone at Mezhirich 15K years ago

Reed - Mesolithic Ireland, at Terra Amata in France 400K years ago

Fixed

Wooden - European, Hemudu in China 5K years ado

Earthen - Athabascan Native Alaskan

Stone - Skara Brae in Scotland 3K years ago. Newgrange in Ireland.

Cliff dwelling - Anasazi Native American

Cave - Neandertals in Bruniquel Cave 176K years ago

Industrial - brick, concrete

Towns - Prehistoric

Göbekli Tepe in Turkey 9K years ago

Nevali Cori in Turkey 8K years ago

Catalhoyuk in Turkey 7.5K years ago

Mehrgarth in Turkey 7K years ago

Jericho in Palestine 8K years ago

Herxheim in Germany 5K years ago

Knap of Hoawar and Skara Brae in Orkney Is Scotland

3000 settlements in Romania/Ukraine 5-3K years ago

Cradles of civilization

Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus Valley, the Erligang culture of the Yellow River valley, Caral-Supe in Peru, and Mesoamerica.

Centers of empires and/or trade, with castles, palaces and religious structures

Middle East

Uruk and Jemdet Nasr, c. 3350 – c. 250 BC, southern Mesopotamia (now south-central Iraq), Ziggurat of Ur in Mesopotamia 2100B

Memphis (Great Pyramid) 2950-331BC Pharoes Temples 3000-300BC in Egypt

Egyptian

1650BC Semitic speaking Hyksos invade

1479–1425 BC Egyptian empire invade Phoenicians

925BC Libyan Pharoes as a result of mass immigration

814BC Phoenicians formed Carthage bypass Egypt

700BC Nubian Pharoes from Sudan

670BC Neo-Assyrian Pharoes from Persepolis

Knossos on Crete 1900-1350BC. Minoan Civilization. also Akrotiri

Mycenae in Greece 1600 BC to about 1100 BC

Thebes in Egypt 1279-300BC (Luxor and Karnak)

Tyre, Sidon, and Byblos in Phoenicia (Semetic Canaanites) from 1100BC - todays Lebanon.

Dur-Sharrukin (present-day Khorsabad, Iraq), c. 722 to 705 BC. Neo-Assyrian Empire.

Babylon in Iraq; The Ishtar Gate was the eighth gate to the inner city of Babylon (in the area of present-day Hillah, Babil Governorate, Iraq). It was constructed circa 575 BC.

Persepolis in Persian mountains (modern Iran)- 500BC- 100 AD capital of the Achaemenid Empire (c. 550–330 BC) from Morocco to Pakistan.

525-402BC & 343-332BC The Achaemenid Empires 550–330 BC the First Persian Empire[ was the ancient Iranian empire Based in Western Asia, it was the largest empire the world had ever seen at its time, from the Balkans and Egypt in the west to Central Asia and the Indus Valley in the east. Persian II empire 226AD - covers Mesopotamia in West, Pakistan in east

Petra in Jordan - 500 BC - 100 AD on the Incense Road.

Athens - started as the Greek Republic and its scientific revolution. Became capital of Grecian empire started by Alexander the Great .The Roman Republic 509BC-27 BC was the era of classical Roman civilization. During this period, Rome's control expanded from the city's immediate surroundings to hegemony over the entire Mediterranean world.

The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of three wars fought between Carthage and Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. Hannibal crossed the Alps and fought the Romans for 17 years.

The Roman Empire 31BC-476AD was the post-Republican state of ancient Rome and is generally understood to mean the period and territory ruled by the Romans following Octavian's assumption of sole rule under the Principate in 31 BC. It included territory in Europe, North Africa, and Western Asia, and was ruled by emperors. The fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 conventionally marks the end of classical antiquity and the beginning of the Middle Ages.

Rome took over Greece starting in early 200's BC to late 100's BC.

480BC-300BC. Parthenon , 447–432 BC. 235BC Ptolomaeic (Greeks) Macedonia kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece,[6] which later became the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece.[7] due to Alexander the Great 336-323BC. During Alexander's subsequent campaign of conquest, he overthrew the Achaemenid Empire and conquered territory that stretched as far as the Indus River.

Samarkand key city on the Silk Road 329 BC - 1220AD conquered by Alexander the Great in when it was known as Markanda, The city was ruled by a succession of Iranian and Turkic rulers until it was conquered by the Mongols under Genghis Khan in 1220. Silk Road Caravansai

Ephysus part of Grecian empire 400BC.

Carthage in Tunisia 300BC - 146BC - Phoenician settlers from Morocco to Pakistan lost out to Rome after invasion of Rome by Hannibal.

Rome - 300 BC start of Punic wars that established power over the Mediterranean, as a Republic under Caesar etc. Capital of Roman empire 27BC - 330AD

Pompeii destroyed by volcano 79AD

Rome Pantheon, c.114-123

Constantinople - capital of Eastern Roman empire in 330AD

Hagia Sophia 532AD started as a church and converted to mosque in the 1500's.

The Goths 378-527 were Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe.

In the late 300's, the lands of the Goths were invaded from the east by the Huns. Goths migrated further west or sought refuge inside the Roman Empire. Goths who entered the Empire by crossing the Danube inflicted a devastating defeat upon the Romans at the Battle of Adrianople in 378. These Goths would form the Visigoths, Visigothic Kingdom in Spain at Toledo.[3] Meanwhile, Goths under Hunnic rule gained their independence in the 400's, most importantly the Ostrogoths. these Goths established an Ostrogothic Kingdom in Italy at Ravenna.[6][3]

The Ostrogothic Kingdom was destroyed by the Eastern Roman Empire in the 500's th , while the Visigothic Kingdom was conquered by the Umayyad Caliphate in the early 8th century.

The Byzantine Empire 500-1453AD also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation when its capital city was Constantinople. The borders of the empire fluctuated through several cycles of decline and recovery. During the reign of Justinian I (r. 527–565), the empire reached its greatest extent, reconquering much of the historically Roman western Mediterranean coast, including Africa, Italy, and Rome, which it held for two more centuries. It continued to exist until the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453.

Goreme cliff and underground dwellings in Capadochio Turkey from 400AD

Europe

Jomsborg was a semi-legendary Viking stronghold at the southern coast of the Baltic Sea (medieval Wendland, modern Pomerania), that existed between the 960s and 1043. The Viking Age in Scandinavian history is taken to have been the period from the earliest recorded raids by Norsemen in 793 until the Norman conquest of England in 1066.[63] Vikings used the Norwegian Sea and Baltic Sea for sea routes to the south, and as far as N America.

Viking empire 793-1066AD controlled the Baltic Eastern England, Iceland, extended to the Americas.

Normans mid 1000'sAD took over most of France, and UK. launched the first crusade with a patch work of conquests through the Mediterranean including, Ba, southern Italy, Coastal turkey, Cyprus, Galilei.

The Hundred Years' War 1337–1453 was a series of wars between England and France.. It originated from English claims to the French throne. The war grew into a broader power struggle involving factions from across Western Europe, fueled by emerging nationalism on both sides.

Mongol Empire 1206-1405 centered on Mongolian nomadic warriors. grew to cover China, Tibet, Pakistan, Persia, and the Black Sea. Temüjin, known by the more famous title of Genghis Khan . Grandson Kublai Kahn also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shizu was the founder of the Yuan dynasty of China and the fifth khagan-emperor of the Mongol Empire from 1260 to 1294.

The Ottoman Empire c. 1299–1922 controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa The empire also controlled southern Spain from the 1500-1600's. The Ottomans ended the Byzantine Empire with the conquest of Constantinople in 1453 by Mehmed II. Reached its height under Suleiman the Magnificent (1520–1566). Sunni Islam religion. Lost Mesopotamia to the Arab revolt, with UK dividing up the spoils excluding the Arab.

Venice. The first doge of Venice was elected in 697AD. From 800-1100AD it

developed into a powerful maritime empire the city became a flourishing trade centre between Western Europe and the rest of the world, especially with the Byzantine Empire and Asia, Declined in the 1400's due to Ottomans and Black Death.

European castles mostly built 1100-1400AD for defense and control. By 1400 they became more "palace-like". Cathederals designed to impress were also popular such as Note Dame in Paris, Winchester Cathederal, Lincoln Cathederal and numerous others which were built in a similar time frame. Elsewhere in Europe, the other Abrahamic religions also built to impress. Mezquita mosque Spain was built in 1238 -1492AD paired with the Alhambra Islamic moor palace/fortress. Greek orthodox monasteries of Meteroa, Thessaloniki 1300-1400AD. St Basils in Moscow was started in 1550.

Cinque Ports 1135AD, a confederation of trading posts Hastings, New Romney, Hythe, Dover and Sandwich.

Stockholm started in 1296AD with construction of Gamla Stan. The city originally rose to prominence as a result of the Baltic trade of the Hanseatic League. Stockholm developed strong economic and cultural linkages with Lübeck, Hamburg, Gdańsk, Visby, Reval, and Riga during this time.

Dubrovnik from 1300-1800AD ruled itself as a free state. The prosperity of the city was historically based on maritime trade; particularly during the 15th and 16th centuries, as it became notable for its wealth and skilled diplomacy.

Florence it was the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance. It was politically, economically, and culturally one of the most important cities in Europe and the world from the 1300-1500AD.

Samarkand 1409–1449 under Ula-Beg became a center of Islamic scholarship.

By the 1600's, planet wide influence and control were wielded from a few European nations whose capitals grew in importance such as London, Paris, Madrid, and Lisbon.

British Empire 1600's to 1950's Elizabeth 1 to Edward. At its height, under Victoria, covered Eastern US, Canada, Central and South Africa, India, Burma, Australia, New Zealand. The empire shrank due to revolution in the US 1776, and retraction particularly in the 1950's after WW2.

The Spanish Empire 1492-1900 was a colonial empire. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it was the first empire to usher the European Age of Discovery and achieve a global scale,[9] controlling vast portions of the South and Central America, Africa, various islands in Asia and Oceania, as well as territory in other parts of Europe. Following the Italian Wars against France, which concluded in 1559, Spain emerged with control over half of Italy , Southern Netherlands - todays Belgium and Luxembourg.

France colonial empire began to establish colonies in North America Canada and Mississippi Valley, the Caribbean and India in the 1600's but lost most of its possessions following its defeat in the Seven Years' War.

The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict between alliances led by Great Britain and France, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Along with Spain, France fought Britain both in Europe and overseas with land-based armies and naval forces, while Britain's ally Prussia sought territorial expansion in Europe and consolidation of its power. Long-standing colonial rivalries pitted Britain against France and Spain in North America and the West Indies. They fought on a grand scale with consequential results. Prussia sought greater influence in the German states, while Austria wanted to regain Silesia, captured by Prussia in the previous war, and to contain Prussian influence.

French Louisiana was then sold to the United States in 1803. France rebuilt a new empire mostly after 1850, concentrating chiefly in Senegal, Madagascar as well as Vietnam, Cambodia and Tahiti.

French Empire 1804-1814AD was ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe; Spain, France, Germany, Poland, Italy, Croatia, Western Russia up to Moscow. Napoleons advance was stopped by Russian winter, and the empire collapsed

Upon Napoleon's return to power in 1815, a coalition led by UK, ended Napoleons rule at Waterloo.

Africa

Northern Africa is the story of the Mediterranean.

Linguistic evidence suggests the Bantu people (for example, Xhosa and Zulu) had emigrated southwestward from what is now Egypt into former Khoisan ranges and displaced them during the last 4000 years or so, by 200 AD had spread down to to south to the middle of Botswana, west to Mozambique. east to Nigeria.

The earliest ironworks in modern-day KwaZulu-Natal Province are believed to date from around 1050AD.

The Sao civilization flourished from about the 500 BC to as late as the 1500 AD in Central Africa. The Sao lived by the Chari River part of present-day Cameroon and Chad. Sao artifacts show that they were skilled workers in bronze, copper, and iron. Finds include bronze sculptures and terracotta statues of human and animal figures, coins, funerary urns, household utensils, jewelry, highly decorated pottery, and spears. Converted to Islam.

During the 1000 to 1400 AD, Great Zimbabwe was the heart of a thriving trading empire that was based on cattle husbandry, agriculture, and the gold trade on the Indian Ocean coast. The extensive stone ruins of this African Iron Age city are located in the southeastern portion of the modern-day country of Zimbabwe. It is thought that the central ruins and surrounding valley supported a Shona (Bantu) population.

Timbuktu in Mali had its humble origins in about 1100 BC, when it was founded as a seasonal camp by Tuareg nomads. Substantial structures and Gold trade by 1400AD.

Lalībela, located in north-central Ethiopia, is famous for its rock-hewn churches, which date back to the late 1200AD. The 11 churches, important in Ethiopian Christian tradition.

Benin Kingdom in Nigeria in the 1500's. Benin metal workmanship occurred during the reigns of Esigie (fl. 1550) and of Eresoyen (1735–1750), when their workmanship achieved its highest quality.

India

Mohenjodaro and Harappa, in Indus Valley 2600-1900BC

Indian structures starts with Buddist, followed by Hindu, and then Islamic influences. The forts in Rajistan near the border with todays Pakistan were an attempt to push the Muslims away. More recently Sikh have also emerged.

The construction of Buddhist monastic buildings began before the death of the Buddha, around 400 BCE Mahabodhi Temple 323BC. The site contains a descendant of the Bodhi Tree under which the Buddha gained enlightenment, and has been a major pilgrimage destination of Buddhists for over two thousand years.

Dravidian style or the South Indian temple style is an architectural idiom in Hindu temple architecture starting in 300 BC

The Kailasha temple 756-773 AD is the largest of the rock-cut Hindu temples at the Ellora Caves, Maharashtra, India. A megalith carved from a rock cliff face, it is considered as one of the most remarkable cave temples in the world because of its size, architecture and sculptural treatment,

The best-preserved and most graphic example of erotic temple art can be found in the small town of Khajuraho in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Built by the Chandela dynasty between 950 and 1050.

Buddism spreads to South East Asia. Brobudur is a 800AD Mahayana Buddhist temple in Central Java, Indonesia. It is the world's largest Buddhist temple. Angkor Wat 1100AD is a temple complex in Cambodia, the largest religious structure in the world.[2] Originally constructed as a Hindu temple [1]. It was gradually transformed into a Buddhist temple towards the end of the century; as such, it is also described as a "Hindu-Buddhist" temple. Ayutthaya 1350 AD is Thailand‘s unsung archaeological miracle: a vision of Buddhist temples, monasteries and ancient statues of monumental dimensions

Rani ki Vav, an ornamental stepwell (inverted pyramid to celebrate water) in the state of Gujarat, India 1100AD

The Hill Forts of Rajasthan (Amer, Chittor, Gagron, Jaisalmer's Golden Fort 1156AD , Kumbhalgarh, Ranthambore), a group of six forts built by various Rajput kingdoms to repel Islamic invaders. Hindu population.

In 1192 the victory of Muhammed of Ghur over the Rajput (Hindu) King in northern India, led to an alien rule being established in the Indian subcontinent. The Dehli Sultanate started in 1300's and lasted until most were absorbed into the Mughal Empire in the 1500's. Apart from the sultanates of the Deccan Plateau, Gujarat, Bengal, and Kashmir, the architecture of the Malwa and Jaunpur sultanates also left some significant buildings.Taj Mahal in Agra 1631 Mausoleum. Mughal (Indo-Islamic-Persian) style during Mughal empire (1526–1857).

Vittala Hindu Temple 1336–1565 is the most extravagant architectural showpiece of Hampi

Udaipur's City Palace 1553AD in Rajasthan

Junagarh Fort,Bikaneer, Rajasthan 1589AD

Guru Nanak (1469–1539), the founder of Sikhism, was born near Lahore. The Golden Temple 1557AD is a gurdwara (guru house) located in the city of Amritsar, Punjab, India. It is the preeminent spiritual site of Sikhism.

Mughal Empire 1526–1857. The Mughal Empire is conventionally said to have been founded in 1526 by Babur, a chieftain from what is today Uzbekistan, who employed aid from the neighboring Safavid and Ottoman Empires,[13] to defeat the Sultan of Delhi, Ibrahim Lodi, in the First Battle of Panipat, and to sweep down the plains of North India.

Mughal empire (1526–1857). The Mughal Empire is conventionally said to have been founded in 1526 by Babur, a chieftain from what is today Uzbekistan, who employed aid from the neighboring Safavid and Ottoman Empires,[13] to defeat the Sultan of Delhi, Ibrahim Lodi, in the First Battle of Panipat, and to sweep down the plains of North India. At its peak, the empire stretched from the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan day Assam and Bangladesh in the east, and the e Deccan Plateau in South India. Although the Mughal Empire was created and sustained by military warfare, it did not vigorously suppress the cultures and peoples it came to rule; rather it equalized and placated them through new administrative practices, The empire was formally dissolved by the British Raj after the Indian Rebellion of 1857

Jaipur's Amber Fort 1600-1727AD,

British empire rule 1857.

China

The Tibet Plateau and the Russian Steppes have isolated Chinas development from the rest of the world, with a single trade route - the Silk Road. There choice of wood structure buildings means that there are limited buildings to mark thier culture.

Shang Dynasty 1600 - 1122BC Erligang culture 1600 to 1400 BC of the Yellow River valley, urban civilization and archaeological culture in China The primary site, Zhengzhou Shang City. First bronze castings.

Zhou Dynasty 1122-221BC Bronzeware. Confucianism, Taoism and Legalism started

Qin Dynasty 221-206BC built both the Terracotta Army and parts of the Great Wall of China.

Han Dynasty 206BC-581AD the Han dynasty is considered a golden age in Chinese history. Papermaking, the nautical steering ship rudder, the use of negative numbers in mathematics, the raised-relief map, the hydraulic-powered armillary sphere for astronomy, and a seismometer employing an inverted pendulum that could be used to discern the cardinal direction of distant earthquakes. Art, clothes, bronzes have survived. Buddism arrives over the Silk Road.

Sui Dynasty 581-641AD Reunified north and south, construction of the Grand Canal 1776km long parts are still visible in Beijing.

Tang Dynasty 618-907AD capital Xian. a golden age of Chinese arts and culture. In power from 618 to 906 A.D., Tang China attracted an international reputation that spilled out of its cities and, through the practice of Buddhism, spread its culture across much of Asia. Woodblock printing was developed in the early Tang era with examples of its development dating to around 650 A.D. More common use is found during the 800's, with calendars, children’s books, test guides, charm manuals, dictionaries and almanacs. Commercial books began to be printed around 762 A.D.

In 835 A.D., there was a ban on private printing brought on because of the distribution of unsanctioned calendars. The oldest surviving printed document from the Tang era is the Diamond Sutra from 868 A.D., a 16-foot scroll featuring calligraphy and illustrations. Woodblock printing is credited for helping make Buddhism a regular part of ordinary Chinese life by giving Buddhist monks the opportunity to mass-produce texts, and spread Buddism. This lead to resistance to Buddism.

Five Dynasty Ten Kingdoms 907-960AD Infighting and upheaval.

Song Dynasty 960-1274AD The Song dynasty was the first in world history to issue banknotes or true paper money and the first Chinese government to establish a permanent standing navy. This dynasty saw the first (surviving) recorded chemical formula of gunpowder, the invention of gunpowder weapons such as fire arrows, bombs, and the fire lance. It also saw the first discernment of true north using a compass, first recorded description of the pound lock, and improved designs of astronomical clocks. Economically, the Song dynasty was unparalleled with a gross domestic product three times larger than that of Europe during the 12th century. The spread of literature and knowledge was enhanced by the rapid expansion of woodblock printing and the 11th-century invention of movable-type printing. Philosophers such as Cheng Yi and Zhu Xi reinvigorated Confucianism with new commentary, infused with Buddhist ideals, and emphasized a new organization of classic texts that established the doctrine of Neo-Confucianism.

Yuan Dynasty 1279-1336AD was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division.[note 2] It was established by Kublai (Emperor Shizu or Setsen Khan), the fifth khagan-emperor of the Mongol Empire.Although Genghis Khan's enthronement as Khagan in 1206 was described in Chinese and the Mongol Empire had ruled territories including modern-day northern China for decades, it was not until 1271 that Kublai Khan officially proclaimed the dynasty, the conquest was not complete until 1279 when the Southern Song dynasty was defeated in the Battle of Yamen. His realm was, by this point, isolated from the other Mongol-led khanates and controlled most of modern-day China and its surrounding areas, including modern-day Mongolia.

Advances in polynomial algebra were made by mathematicians during the Yuan era. The mathematician Zhu Shijie (1249–1314) solved simultaneous equations with up to four unknowns using a rectangular array of coefficients, equivalent to modern matrices. Under the Mongols, the practice of Chinese medicine spread to other parts of the empire. Chinese physicians were brought along military campaigns by the Mongols as they expanded towards the west. Chinese medical techniques such as acupuncture, moxibustion, pulse diagnosis, and various herbal drugs and elixirs were transmitted westward to the Middle East and the rest of the empire. In Chinese ceramics the period was one of expansion, with the great innovation the development in Jingdezhen ware of underglaze painted blue and white pottery.

Ming Dynasty 1368-1677AD. The Ming dynasty was the last imperial dynasty of China ruled by the Han people, the majority ethnic group in China.

Emperor established Yan as a secondary capital and renamed it Beijing, constructed the Forbidden City, and restored the Grand Canal, converted the Great Wall to stone He rewarded his eunuch supporters and employed them as a counterweight against the Confucian scholar-bureaucrats. One eunuch, Zheng He, led seven enormous voyages of exploration into the Indian Ocean as far as Arabia and the eastern coasts of Africa. Hongwu and Yongle emperors had also expanded the empire's rule into Inner Asia.

Quing Dynasty 1644-1911AD Manchu-led (Mongolian) imperial dynasty of China and the last imperial dynasty in Chinese history. Expanded into one of h largest empires covering China, Tibet and Mongolia. This brought conflict with expansionist European Empires that established trading centers in Canton and Hong Kong. and eventual defeat from internal revolt as in the Boxer Rebellion and foreigner conquest.

Republic of China 1912. Communist party formed 1921. Chiang Kai-sheck orders the massacre of communists (Shanghai Massacre). By 1928 Chiang becomes head of state, but by 1931 civil war with the communists had started. In 1937 war with Japan preceded WW2.

After WW2 1949, Imperial China retakes Taiwan, and the communists take over mainland China.

Americas

Caral-Supe in Peru,The civilization flourished between the 4000-2000 BC with the formation of the first city generally dated to around 3500 BC, at Huaricanga, in the Fortaleza area. It is from 3100 BC onward that large-scale human settlement and communal construction become clearly apparent,[2] which lasted until a period of decline around 1800 BC. The most impressive achievement of the civilization was its monumental architecture, including large earthwork platform mounds and sunken circular plazas.

The Maya civilization c. 250 – c. 1697 AD was a Mesoamerican civilization that existed from antiquity to the early modern period. It is known by its ancient temples and glyphs (script). The Maya script is the most sophisticated and highly developed writing system in the pre-Columbian Americas. The civilization is also noted for its art, architecture, mathematics, calendar, and astronomical system.

It developed in an area that today comprises southeastern Mexico, all of Guatemala and Belize, and the western portions of Honduras and El Salvador. Today, their descendants, known collectively as the Maya, number well over 6 million individuals, speak more than twenty-eight surviving Mayan languages, and reside in nearly the same area as their ancestors.

Anazazi cliff dwellings 1000-1200AD

Machu Pichu in Peru is a 1400'sAD Inca citadel located in the Eastern Cordillera of southern Peru on a 2,430-meter (7,970 ft) mountain ridge.[2][3] Often referred to as the "Lost City of the Incas", it is the most familiar icon of the Inca Empire. The Inca Empire was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America.[4] The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The Inca civilization rose from the Peruvian highlands sometime in the early 1200's. The Spanish began the conquest of the Inca Empire in 1532 and by 1572, the last Inca state was fully conquered.

Aztec in Central America was an alliance of three Nahua city-states: Mexico-Tenochtitlan, Tetzcoco, and Tlacopan. These three city-states ruled that area in and around the Valley of Mexico from 1428 until the combined forces of the Spanish conquistadores and their native allies who ruled under Hernán Cortés defeated them in 1521.

https://www.thoughtco.com/architecture-timeline-historic-periods-styles-175996

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_architecture

Culture encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.[1] Culture is often originated from or attributed to a specific region or location.

Civilizations tend to develop intricate cultures, including a state-based decision making apparatus, a literature, professional art, architecture, organized religion and complex customs of education, coercion and control associated with maintaining the elite.

The Renaissance allowed science and the arts to evolve separate from religion. In spite of this, today, religion is still the principle way in which people self- identify, particularly as globalization has made countries "multicultural".

Life as a hunter gatherer was filled with uncertainty from weather, migration of prey, disease, the dangers of child birth. The hunter gatherers in prehistory would have had stories to make sense of their world, which have been kept alive by their modern day descendants

Todays indigenous hunter gatherer communities in Australia, Papua New Guinea, Alaska, and the Americas all have their own unique languages, astrology, creation and after life stories. These stories seem to provide comfort to the hunter gatherers, and still have resonance for people in modern civilization.

As the last ice age ended, the development of efficient settled agriculture in the fertile crescent allowed the hunter gatherers to settle down and form stable year round communities. Once each farmer could grow more food than they needed, the excess enabled the formation of a ruling class with the resources to establish civilization. The formation of cities and a ruling class changed the trajectory of religion from tribal stories to a common set of beliefs across many tribes and communities.

The Sumerians were the first to leave relics of their complex gods.

Global Power struggles

3000- 525BC Egyptian Empire

525-402BC & 343-332BC Achaemenid (Persian) Empires 550–330 BC

235BC Ptolomaeic (Greeks) Macedonia kingdom with Phoenician navy

37BC-476AD Roman Empire

378-527 Goths

500-1453AD Byzantine Empire

793-1066AD Viking empire

1000'sAD Normans and crusades

1337–1453 The Hundred Years' War between England and France..

1206-1405 Mongol Empire

1299–1922 Ottoman Empire.

1492-1900 Spanish Empire - closed S. American culture

1600's to 1950's British Empire - closed Indian culture, with French & Dutch closed Chinese culture

1600's France colonial empire began to establish colonies in North America Canada and Mississippi Valley, the Caribbean and India in the 1600's

1756–1763 Seven Years' War a global conflict between alliances led by UK and France, that included control of North America. Followed quickly by the American war of Independence from UK.

1804-1850AD French Napoleonic Empire, and rebuilt colonies concentrating chiefly in Senegal, Madagascar as well as Vietnam, Cambodia and Tahiti.

1914-1918 WW1 UK, France, Russia, USA vs. Germany, Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman.

1939-1945 WW2 UK, France, Russia, USA vs. Germany, Japan, Italy

TIME SCALES

Universe 1year

Earth 3mo

Life 2.5mo

Dino's lasted 4 days

Oil created 5 days

To evolve from apes 7 hrs

Homo Sapiens so far 10mins

Human history 30secs

1000 years 3secs

I year 3msec

EVOLUTION OF CULTURE - BELIEFS

The Sumerians were the first to leave relics of their complex gods.

The first civilization to leave a lasting footprint on earth where the Pharos of ancient Egypt. The uniquely fertile Nile river creates great wealth for the Pharoe "god-kings". Their polytheist religion centers on their immortality through mummification and very fancy burials. The god-kings self funded temples and burials in their own honor, projecting their power to the general population. The Egyptian pantheon was populated by gods who had supernatural powers and were called on for help or protection. After death, the spiritual aspects were released from the body and could move at will, but they required the physical remains (or a substitute, such as a statue) as a permanent home. Wealthy Egyptians were buried with larger quantities of luxury items, but all burials, regardless of social status, included goods for the deceased. Abu Simbel was a temple to honor Ramases II, built by Ramases II. The tomb of Tutankamun was one of the only tombs that was not sacked by the priests of Arun who came to power in 300 BC, and knew the locations of the tombs in Valley of the Kings. The Greeks and then the Romans had had their own polytheist religion with different gods for different duties.

The Ptolemy family were the local Pharoes 305BC- 30BC. under the rule of Alexander the Great in Greece They were responsible for most of the most recent and best preserved temples in Philae, Edfu and Karnak. No relation to the astronomer Claudius Ptolemy.

From 4000 years ago (2000BC), monotheist religions gained traction. In the Fertile Crescent, Babylon was the largest city in the world c. 1770 – c. 1670 BC, and again c. 612 – c. 320 BC with Zoroastrianism as their religion. In the Middle East traditions around the original Hebrew patriarch Abraham led to Judaeism. More recently, in the last 2000 years, Jesus and Mohammed arose as the latest Abrahamic prophets. In the East, Buddism, Hinduism, Confucianism and Taoism were established.

The Dead Sea Scrolls (300-100 BC) documents the earliest version of the Hebrew Bible recognizing Abraham as a founding prophet.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Dead-Sea-Scrolls

The Hebrew Bible is the canonical collection of Hebrew scriptures, including the Torah, the Nevi'im, and the Ketuvim. The authoritative form of the modern Hebrew Bible used in Rabbinic Judaism is the Masoretic Text (7th to 10th century CE), which consists of 24 books, divided into pesuqim (verses). The contents of the Medieval Masoretic text are similar, but not identical, to those of the Protestant Old Testament. The Torah "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

From 25AD to 1400 AD, the Middle Ages were marked by a series of conflicts between rulers from different religions. It started with Roman emperors taking over most of Europe and the Middle East at the zenith of the Roman empire. Starting around 20AD, Christianity developed based on Abraham and Jesus. In 400AD, Islam developed based on the prophets Abraham and his latest follower Mohammed. Waves of Christian and Islamic invasions followed. The rulers demonstrated their power and religiosity through progressively more spectacular cathedrals such as Hagia Sophia. Culminating with the Gothic masterpieces in Isle de Paris, Winchester, Rouen etc. The church of Sainte Chappelle in the Isle de France Paris, was designed to upstage Aachen Cathedral, in turn to upstage the Basilica San Vitale. The first signs of protections for individual rights appeared In England with the Magna Carta.

Meanwhile, the sun worshipping civilizations in the Americas (Aztecs, Incas, Mayans) were building substantial temples. Also Hindu temples were being built in India and Cambodia (Ankor Wat). Polynesians were taking over in the Pacific, and the Buddist Golden Temple in Kyoto was built. In China, there were numerous struggles between local warlords. From 618-907 AD, the Tang dynasty was a golden age of Chinese civilization, a prosperous, stable, and creative period with significant developments in most notably printing. Buddhism became the predominant religion. Chang'an (modern Xi'an), the national capital, was the largest city in the world during its time.

By 1400AD, the worlds beliefs centered around a few mass religions. Abrahamic Christianity and Islam dominated life from Europe and North Africa to Pakistan. Samarkand, in Uzbekistan north of Iran, became the center of Islamic scholarship. Islamic academics maintained an interest in the Greek Enlightenment Philosophers with several translations into Arabic. When Cordoba returned to Christian control, it started a renewed interest by Christian academics.

The Renaissance Papacy lasted from 1473 to the 1530's. In the early 1400's, the Black Death ravaged Europe, and the control of Christianity consolidated around the popes in Rome, where the papacy became something of a family business. The families sponsored a flourishing arts, architecture and humanities scene. In addition, there was a liberal attitude to religious dogma. Several of the Renaissance popes took mistresses, fathered children, engaged in intrigue, and even murder.[10] At least 2 popes appear to have never celebrated mass. In this environment, it is fair to say that there were no religious barriers to considering scientific explanations for the world around us. Their liberal attitude to religion precipitated the Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Inquisition.

THE RENAISSANCE POPES By Gerard Noel

The Reformation in the 1530's was the doctrinaire reaction that resulted in the fracturing of Christianity into multiple Protestant sects and Catholicism. The Puritans were purist form of Protestantism that sought to purge Catholic-like practices. Subsequent to Clement, the Inquisition was set up to re-establish the church's authority.

Galileo wrote " Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems" as fictional discussion to try and avoid the Inquisition. It was published and was successful as popular science. The Dialogue was published in Florence under a formal license from the Inquisition. In 1633, Galileo was found to be "vehemently suspect of heresy " based on the book, which was then placed on the Index of Forbidden Books, from which it was not removed until 1835. The persecution of Galileo was brief attempt to re-establish religious orthodoxy that failed probably because the printing press had broken the church's hold on information.

The American Revolution in 1776 launched a first state that did not have a national religion. Since the industrial revolution there has been a trend toward more secular societies world -wide, although a majority still claim a religious belief but a minority regularly go church. The 1925 Scopes Monkey trial in the US was another failing effort to re-establish religious dogma. Today it is generally accepted that there is no inherent conflict between religion and science. The religious community are attempting to influence the ongoing culture wars, especially in Islamic States.

Most traditional Christian countries are trending secular. In the UK, the number of people who go to Church at least once a week or once a month is only 9.1% and 15.1% respectively. This is down 50% since 1990. Village church's in England are being abandoned or converted into local resources.

In contrast, most people in the US still identify as religious, however regular attendance has dropped to 25% of the US population. Religion plays an outsize role in political life, particularly in the Christian Right as a cultural identifier.

The need for religion

The philosophical question is why are humans so attracted to fact-free belief systems; such as conspiracy theories, cults and religions ? One idea is that uncertainty makes us uncomfortable, any belief provides us with an explanation and guidance makes us more comfortable.

There is evidence that our autonomic nervous system take care of instantaneous response such as hitting a baseball. Our brains rationalize our response's more slowly after the fact. This rationalization helps to explain our susceptibility to magic tricks that are designed to mislead us. We are wired to search for explanations to observations.

There is an evolutionary argument that suggests that we were a prey animal and we would respond to a rustle in the bushes by assuming a predator and running away. If we assume its just wind and are wrong we are dead. We are conditioned to assume that there is a cause to any observation.

The idea of a "higher power" that is in control also has appeal. Anything that provides a set of rules that guide decisions, reducing worry and stress, is another possibility.

We are wired and conditioned to find explanations, and many look for ways to simplify their lives.

"All religious wars are about people arguing over who has the biggest invisible friend." Yassar Arafat !

Pyramids seem to have universal appeal around the world. Pyramids provide a simple construction to get closer to the source of life - the sun. Burying your dead underground in tombs also seems to have universal symbology.

The Dead Sea Scrolls (300-100 BC) documents the earliest version of the Hebrew Bible recognizing Abraham as a founding prophet.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Dead-Sea-Scrolls

THE RENAISSANCE POPES By Gerard Noel

The Reformation in the 1530's was the Lutheran doctrinaire reaction that resulted in the fracturing of Christianity into multiple Protestant sects and Catholicism. During the 16th-century English Reformation, which began under Henry VIII (r. 1509–1547), Eager to marry Anne, papal authority was abolished in England. Henry appointed Cranmer as the Archbishop of Canterbury, after which Cranmer quickly granted Henry’s divorce from Catherine. In June 1533, the heavily pregnant Anne Boleyn was crowned queen of England in a lavish ceremony. Parliament’s passage of the Act of Supremacy in 1534 solidified the break from the Catholic Church and made the king the Supreme Head of the Church of England. England began adopting some of the lessons of the continental Reformation, including a translation of the Bible into English. When Anne's daughter became Queen Elizabeth I, the Protestant Church of England became the national religion.

The Puritans were purist form of Protestantism that sought to purge Catholic-like practices. Subsequent to Clement, the Inquisition was set up to re-establish the church's authority.

The need for religion

The idea of a "higher power" that is in control also has appeal. Anything that provides a set of rules that guide decisions, reducing worry and stress, is another possibility.

We are wired and conditioned to find explanations, and many look for ways to simplify their lives.

The psychology of Religion

All groups, religious and non, with common beliefs can be a positive influence by encouraging good deeds from their larger community. They are a negative influence when the community becomes unhinged from reality or tries to damage non-believers.

Belief systems come in many versions from belief in a ; a higher power, in a leader, a community, or simply clinical delusions. There are numerous belief systems tied to ; main stream religions, splinter religions, cults, AA, Sports teams, Quanon, families, coercive groups such as mafias, pimps and traffickers.

Religion is a range of social-cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural, transcendental, and spiritual elements[1]—although there is no scholarly consensus over what precisely constitutes a religion.[2][3] Different religions may or may not contain various elements ranging from the divine,[4] sacredness,[5] faith,[6] and a supernatural being or beings.

It does not matter which Abrahamic religion you follow, religiosity matters a lot: respondents who pray daily are only about half as likely as those who rarely or never pray to think abortion should be allowed.

https://open.lib.umn.edu/sociology/chapter/4-3-agents-of-socialization/

It terms of influencing behavior, “When it comes to deterring transgressions in anonymous situations,” Shariff said, “the divine stick appears to hold considerably more power that the divine carrot.”

https://around.uoregon.edu/content/researcher-religion-influences-behavior-%E2%80%94-both-good-and-bad

This may explain the focus on sins and sinning. It appears to me that religions call for "goodwill to all", while many also identify groups of sinners that should be singled out. Famously Leviticus calls for stoning of adulterers, homosexuals, blasphemers. There are also many commands including; Leviticus 19:19 says, “Keep my decrees. Do not mate different kinds of animals. Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed. Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material.”
And Deuteronomy 22:9–11 commands, “Do not plant two kinds of seed in your vineyard; if you do, not only the crops you plant but also the fruit of the vineyard will be defiled. Do not plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together. Do not wear clothes of wool and linen woven together.”

Out of this, homosexuals have been singled out as the group to be condemned by many Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Islamic leaders. This seems to say more about who is choosing which directions can be ignored.

More broadly, "Religion is the “final frontier” of personal prejudice, with attitudes to faith driving negative perceptions more than ethnicity or nationality, a report to be published tomorrow will say."

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/15/religious-intolerance-is-bigger-cause-of-prejudice-than-race-says-report

Cults

Religious beliefs can be ambiguous, "When it comes to extreme beliefs, there is a fine line between madness and religious fervor.” Yet, there is no one way to distinguish between a strongly held conspiracy theory, or even a strongly held belief for that matter, and clinical delusions.” Psychology Today.

Perhaps the most dangerous variant are cults. According to a Psychology Today article on the subject, "Cults start seducing people with love-bombing, paying a great deal of attention to and being very affectionate with potential recruits—a very effective way of connecting with someone who is feeling lonely and isolated."Read More: https://www.grunge.com/47584/cults-trick-believing/

Some scholars have advanced a more narrow definition of the term cult as a religious group with some or all of the following characteristics: a charismatic leader who exercises total control; an apocalyptic vision (doomsday cult); isolation from society; an emphasis on a transcendent spiritual experience; rigid rules governing group members’ behavior; and the exploitation of members, including sexually and financially. In popular use, the term cult has accumulated a strong negative connotation.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/cult

It seems to me that a religion becomes a cult when the leader becomes the primary beneficiary either financially or through sexual favors, at the expense of the followers. The modern televangelist comes really close to a cult for the lavish lifestyle of the leaders.

Belief in communities

Sports supporters are the best example of a belief in a community rather than a leader. Other examples include AA, communities linked by a common belief in conspiracy theories such as Quanon, and family. Becoming part of a community of like minded people meets people needs for social contacts.

These beliefs can be constructive for feeling like you belong, but also destructive if it leads to racism or violence against non-believers. Conspiracy theories are particularly dangerous as the group gets more and more disconnected from reality.

Religious Freedom

If your religion is telling you to make a particular groups lives miserable- change your religion !

In 2023, the culture wars seem to have become focused on religious freedom. The is no question that everyone has personal freedom to believe what they want. The only way that works is that no one can force another to follow their believes.

If you do not believe in same sex marriage don't marry your boy/girl friend.

If you don't approve of abortions don't get one.

If you want to run a company you must hire without prejudice, and sell without prejudice - unless you are a church. If you do not want to sell a cake for a gay marriage, don't sell cakes for marriages. The owner of company does not get to restrict health care based on their beliefs, they have employees not disciples.

Unfortunately, the Christian right feels their religious freedom allows them to require others to believe the same as them, and impose their values on others. The gay and transgender are the latest targets. The claim is that they have that authority as they are following the word of god provided in the Bible. The problem is that the section that they refer to also proscribes adultery and the wearing of mixed fibers, and its their choice to ignore these. The gays are a convenient minority to demonize.

Their goal seems to be a Christian country ignoring the specific language of the constitution and the reality of a secular society of immigrants from all over the globe.