ES101 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Homo Sapiens Idaltu, Environmental History, Henry David Thoreau
6 Jun 2013
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Earliest form of the human species was homo sapiens idaltu, existed about 160 000 years ago. Latest version of human were homo sapiens sapiens, existed 60 000 years ago. Until 12 000 years ago we were hunter gatherers. Three major cultural changes: agricultural revolution, industrial-medical revolution, information and globalization revolution = gave us more energy, new technologies, expansion of human population, increased resource use, pollution, environmental degradation. Slash-and-burn, shifting: clearing and burning vegetation, planting, harvesting for 2-5 years, allowing plot to revegetate for 10-30 years. 2-2 environmental history of north america: pre-columbian peoples and the colonial settlement era. The environmental history can be divided into four eras: pre-columbian, colonial settlement, conversation, environmental. European settlers saw the continent as a vast frontier to conquer and settle. Early colonists developed a myth of super abundance. 2-3 environmental history of north america: the early conservation era (1832-1960)
