Around the time Parthian Stations was being composed, the amount of trans-Afro-Eurasian trade taking place by sea was also increasing, particularly between Roman Egypt and the coast of India. ), Toronto Studies in Central and Inner Asia (pp. Just a normal blackbackground. Collective learning, one of the most important threshold moments plays a huge role in the story of gunpowder. The Central Asian religion of Manichaeism also benefitted from the silk routes after it emerged in Mesopotamia in the third century CE. Big History and Collective Learning. Buddhism first emerged in northern India in the sixth century BCE. History of dogs The Beginning Evolution Collective Learning New Breeds The Future Little Big History Project: threshold 6: The next threshold I chose was collective learning because every species must grow and evolve by learning from each other. The development of the Silk Roads is also an example of another key theme in Big History – evolving complexity at all scales. This growing, multi-disciplinary approach is focused on high school students, yet designed for anyone seeking answers to the big questions about the history of our Universe. Collective learning, one of the most important threshold moments plays a huge role in the story of gunpowder. Ultimately it was the role of pastoralists as facilitators and protectors of trade and exchange that allowed the Silk Roads and other networks to flourish (Christian et al. One of the distinctive ideas of big history is that of collective learning.David Christian describes collective learning in this way in his Maps of Time: An Introduction to Big History:. Big History, a new perspec tive originally introduced by Prof. David Christian, tries to provide an evidence-based scientific . Intelligence gained through collective learning often leads to power. how collective learning forges a strong connection between human history and cosmology, geology, and biology, through what is widely recognized as one of the ‘unifying themes’ of Big History – the rise of complexity in the Universe. The more knowledge we have the … 1 Definition. Start studying Big History Threshold #6: Early Humans and Collective Learning. (eds. Collective learning is a complex concept that is variously defined. 6.1 How our ancestors evolved 6.2 Collective learning 6.3 How did the first humans live? interactions between individuals and between communities. About: My name is … McNeil, W. H. 1998. The two broad toes on each of its feet have undivided soles and are able to spread widely as an adaptation to walking on sand. ), Kanishka I, Kushan Dynastic Religion, and Buddhism. Turnhout: Brepols. Why collective learning? Humans use collective learning in their everyday life in order to communicate, and establish society as it is today. Through collective learning humans adapt to our environment without changing genetically. The firing date of the bowls was carefully noted in the ship's manifest. (eds. Commercial and cultural exchange on this scale became possible only after the small river valley states of the early era had been consolidated into substantial agrarian civilizations, a process that was largely the result of warfare. administration to fund a seven-day Big History Summer Institute in May 2010. Our ancestors have passed on their knowledge to us, and as time passed on, we began to develop and expand our knowledge. Their use of collective learning made them an important force for change in Little Big History. As with the first Silk Roads Era, although the material exchanges were important and impressive, the cultural exchanges seem in retrospect of even greater significance. The well-traveled trade routes from India through the Kushan realm and into China facilitated the spread of Buddhist ideas which, because they offered the hope of salvation to all regardless of caste or status, was already popular with India's merchants and businessmen. Collective Learning COLLECTIVE LEARNING SNAP JUDGEMENT We have to look at the following statements and quickly decide whether they are true or false. Humans are cable of doing this because of our powerful brains and language. © 2013 Uchitel Publishing House. The Silk Roads, both the land and maritime variants, are the quintessential example of the interconnectedness of civilizations during the Era of Agrarian Civilizations. It shows how dinosaurs from 100 million years ago are connected to why you and I are here today. The first ever representation of the Buddha, which appeared in Gandhara (in modern-day Pakistan), was influenced by depictions of Greco-Roman deities. The survival of the first century CE seaman's handbook, the Periplus of the Erythrian Sea, has provided historians with a detailed account of maritime commerce at that time (Ibid. The major Chinese export commodity in demand in Rome was silk, an elegant, translucent, sensual material that soon came to be regarded as the last word in fashion by wealthy patrician women. To survive the harsh winters, the camel grows a long, shaggy coat, which it sheds extremely rapidly as the season warms up. The 66-year-old American-born academic is now a professor at San Diego State University … The Silk Roads also facilitated the spread of Christianity, Manichaeism and, later, Islam. China and the Dar al-Islam were clearly engaged in intense commercial exchanges during this second Silk Roads Era, and Arab mariners undertaking lengthy seagoing voyages were maintaining this vibrant trans-Afro-Eurasian web late in the first millennium of the Common Era. The trans-civilizational contacts that occurred through this exchange resulted in the most significant collective learning so far experienced by the human species. Each category of exchange was important, but perhaps the most significant consequence was the spread of religion, particularly Buddhism, which became one of the key ideological and spiritual beliefs of South and East Asia during the Era. Our mission is to provide a free, world-class education to anyone, anywhere. The Big History Project Tuesday, 25 October 2016. This happened because Greek merchants and colonists followed in the footsteps of Alexander and spread Greek language, art, religion, philosophy, and law throughout much of the region. Aspects of the Secondary Products Revolution. In winter the winds reverse, and the same ships carrying new cargo would make the return journey to the Red Sea. False Humans are the only species with the ability to learn collectively. Toronto Studies in Central and Inner Asia (pp. 31–50). Learning emerges because of interactive mechanisms where individual knowledge is … As noted above, long before the Tang came to power, many foreign religions had made their way into East Asia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. This is often called collective learning. The major biological consequence of Silk Roads trade was the spread of diseases and plague. The more knowledge we have the more we are able to develop our society. All rights reserved, Kirova street 143, Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. The Periplus demonstrates that sailors had discovered the secrets of the monsoon ‘trade’ winds. Collective learning allows humans to be creative and record or learn information from what they see and from what they hear throughout history. The output from these workshops reflects the sort of synthesis typical of the intensity of collective learning during the Era of Agrarian Civilizations. In the same way that the early universe was simple until contingent circumstances made it possible for more complex entities to appear, and that the relatively simple single-cell organisms of early life on the planet were able to evolve into an extraordinary, complex biodiversity, so human communities and the connections between them followed similar trajectories. An example of collective learning can be seen when a lioness teaches her cubs to hunt. Donate or volunteer today! narrative of the evolutionary changes from the Big Bang to the present status of human society. The Yuezhi. Lesson 6.2 Lesson 6.2 An example of collective learning can be seen when a lioness teaches her cubs to hunt, True The ability to use language has not played an important role in the development of collective learning. Video: Early Collective Learning The Kushans in World History. An idea that arose from a desire to go beyond specialized and self-contained fields of study to grasp history as a whole. What is Big History? However, with the creation of the Dar al-Islam in the eighth and ninth centuries CE, and the establishment of the Tang Dynasty in China at the same time, significant Silk Roads exchanges along both land and maritime routes revived. Big history has several organized sections which are the thresholds. Arts and humanities Big History Project 6. Advances in transportation, communication, and road systems also helped to increase connections and increase collective learning. An example of collective learning can be seen when a … Let’s look at one particular type: those based on improve- ments in the way information is exchanged, stored, and circulated within networks — in essence, innovations having to … It is important to look at how collective learning ties into the broader Big History themes developed by Eric Chaisson and Fred Spier: the rise of complexity in the Universe and energy flows. With its promise of salvation, Buddhism seriously challenged Daoism and Confucianism for the hearts and minds of many Chinese, and in the end the syncretic faith of Chan Buddhism (Zen Buddhism in Japan) emerged as a popular compromise (Christian et al. Christian missionaries made good use of the superb Roman road and sea transportation networks. Those that were not eager to trade could be subdued by force and compelled to join the Han trade and tributary network. Start studying Big History Threshold #6: Early Humans and Collective Learning. During the Era of Agrarian Civilizations (c. 3000 BCE – 1750 CE) human communities did not exist in isolation. Native to the steppes of Central Asia, the two-humped Bactrian camel is a supreme example of superb evolutionary adaptation. Collective learning is the key to the success of our species. The appearance of a species capable of collective learning marks a tipping point in the history of the biosphere, after which the very rules of change begin to change. Early Evidence of Collective Learning. Collective learning is sharing information from an individual to another as well as passing it down from generation to generation. It shows how dinosaurs from 100 million years ago are connected to why you and I are here today. (eds. … Big history is a giant web, instead of a straight time-line. On a Big History course, ... with collective learning." The recent discovery of a sunken ninth-century CE Arab ship – the so-called Belitung Wreck – in the waters of Indonesia has provided historians with tangible evidence of both the intensely commercial nature of Chinese-Muslim trade and the significance of maritime routes in facilitating it (Worrall 2003: 112ff.). New York: McGraw-Hill. In studying collective learning and human history we find many positive feedback cycles. 8.2 Commerce and Collective Learning STUDENT MATERIALS CULTURE AND COLLECTIVE LEARNING DEBATE Purpose In this activity, you’re asked to think about collective learning and its relationship to culture. Such knowledge is institutionalized in the form of structures, rules, routines, norms, discourse, and strategies that guide future action. Geography made it possible for the first agrarian civilizations of western Eurasia and northeastern Africa to form cultural and commercial connections, but geography also prevented Chinese civilization from joining these developing networks in any substantive way. Big History also explores the mix of individual action and social and … The Great Deliverer, the Righteous, the Just, the Autocrat, the God, Worthy of Worship. David Baker of Macquarie University has pointed out that not only do the physical principles of energy flows and complexity connect human history to the very start of the Universe, but the broadest view of human history many also supply the discipline of history with a "unifying theme" in the form of the concept of collective learning. And thats how collective learning ties into big history. Once such communities emerged, they facilitated the linking up of all the different lifeways and communities. 4. The Silk Roads also illustrate another key theme in Big History – evolving complexity at all scales. Or, as I like to say, a story of collective learning. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Vol. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Big History and Collective Learning 2016/17; Big History and Collective Learning 2017/18; Prof. David Christian in Hong Kong - Public Lecture on Big History and Student Conference on Humanity, Sustainability and Artificial Intelligence (29 September 2018) (NEW!) Video: The Common Man. Keywords: Silk Roads, Collective Learning, Agrarian Civilizations, Afro-Eurasia, trade. Big History explains everthing starting with Big Bang until nowadays. Intelligence gained through collective learning often leads to power. Activity: Claim Testing – Collective Learning. Continuing expansion by the major civilizations meant that, by the first Silk Roads Era, just four imperial dynasties – those of the Roman, Parthian, Kushan, and Han Empires – controlled much of the Eurasian landmass, from the Pacific to the Atlantic. 1981. Ironically, Silk Roads trade itself was at least partly responsible for this disengagement, because it contributed to the spread of disastrous epidemic diseases. The primary function of the Silk Roads was to facilitate trade, but the intellectual, social, and artistic exchanges that resulted had an even greater impact on collective learning. The demise of the Western Roman, Parthian, Kushan and Han Chinese empires resulted in several centuries of less regular contact, but the second ‘Silk Roads Era’ subsequently operated for several centuries between c. 600 and 1000 CE, connecting China, India, Southeast Asia, the Dar al-Islam, and the Byzantines into another vast web based on overland and maritime trade. The Silk Roads also illustrate another key theme in Big History – evolving complexity at all scales. These four brief examples all support the claim that the Silk Roads profoundly affected the subsequent shape and direction of all human history. In Africa, there is strong evidence of new technologies from 100,000 years ago or even earlier. Benjamin, C. 2007b. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Big History Collective Learning 8 Public Lectures (Feb - May 2017) Big History: A Scientific Narrative of Changes from the Big Bang to Modern Society The Emerging Universe, Life and Human Society Fine spices were imported into the Roman Empire from Arabia and India, notably nutmeg, cloves, cardamom, and pepper, prized as condiments, but also as aphrodisiacs, anesthetics, and perfumes. Humans use collective learning in their everyday life in order to communicate, and establish society as it is today. It helps explain why the zones had such different histories. Why Labels for Ideas Are Essential. Big history is the collective history of everything from every human's perspective. II. Growth resulted from innovations, but it was hard to sustain. We all descended from a common shrew-like ancestor. Read each of the following passages, and then discuss with your partner or group. Eight hundred years later, according to ancient Chinese Buddhist documents, the Kushan king, Kanishka the Great (c. 129–152 CE?) 10 11 SIMPLE NETWORKSThe connections between people form a network of exchange A model of collective learning networks Now we need to start thinking about how collective learning works in dif- ferent periods of human history. The highly mobile, militarized pastoralism of Inner Asia, associated with the riding of horses by the Saka/Scythians and other groups, probably did not emerge until early in the first millennium BCE (Christian et al. 2 3 In the final essay of a four-part series, David Christian explains how advances in communication and transportation accelerated collective learning. In Christian, D., and Benjamin, C. You'll find every chapter full of great activities to keep you entertained and test your learning. Until this moment the Buddha had never been depicted in human form, but had instead been represented by symbols including an umbrella or footprints in the sand. PART 4 COLLECTIVE LEARNING 9 1180L 2. Some of them, including the Saka, Xiongnu, Yuezhi, and Wusun, established powerful state-like confederations that formed in the steppe lands between the agrarian civilizations. After a long day of work, I had to come back to school and hope my presentation ran so long that I wouldn’t have time to answer any questions from parents I might be unprepared for. Collective learning, as defined by Big History, is the ability to "use language to share and build knowledge". Volleyball is a great example of collective learning, and also is very relevant to the idea of change over time. One idea is passed from one person to the next, and is improved upon. Only with the biological evolution and then human domestication of the silk worm and the Bactrian camel did the Chinese have an export commodity valuable enough, and a transport mechanism hardy enough, to justify and facilitate the expensive and complex expeditions necessary to allow the Chinese merchants to join the pre-existing Afro-Eurasian exchange network. The appearance of a species capable of collective learning marks a tipping point in the history of the biosphere, after which the very rules of change begin to change. An equally striking example of this cross-fertilization of ideas and traditions is the spread of Buddhist ideology along the great trade routes. Ingredients and Goldilocks Conditions: Powerful brains Crash Course Big History takes a look at Humans, one of the weirdest examples of change in the Universe. Population estimates from the ancient world are always difficult, but the population of the Roman Empire may have fallen from 60 million to 45 million between the mid-first and mid-second centuries CE. You’ll argue that culture either is or is not a product of collective learning. Christian, D., Brown, C. S., and Benjamin, C. 2013. Todd Nussen, Big History Teacher New York, USA Like many teachers, I used to dread Back-to-School Night. The dhow was filled with tens of thousands of carefully packaged Tang ceramic plates and bowls, along with many gold and silver objects. BIg History project (Elements) - Ajay Pursram Tuesday, 6 December 2016. Little big history of the pencil: Home of the pencils Threshold 1 The big bang Threshold 2 Stars light up Threshold 3 New chemical elements Threshold 4 Earth and the solar system Threshold 5 Life on Earth Threshold 6 Collective learning Threshold 7 Agriculture Threshold 8 Modern revolution Threshold 9 The future Contact About Collective Learning Acoustic guitars tie into the collective learning threshold because without collective learning, the guitar wouldn't have been invented and evolved The history of the acoustic guitar can be traced back to about 1400 BC and it is used to make all types of music XXV. In China, populations fell from perhaps 60 million in 200 CE to 45 million by 600 CE (Bentley and Zeigler 2010: 282). Collective Learning COLLECTIVE LEARNING SNAP JUDGEMENT We have to look at the following statements and quickly decide whether they are true or false. This physical representation then spread along the Silk Roads, penetrating south to Sri Lanka and east to China, Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia (Benjamin 1998, 2009). As the smaller exchanges of the Early Agrarian Era began to expand, the enhanced collective learning that followed led to more and more significant changes in the material, artistic, social, and spiritual domains of human history. The Kushan monarchs were not only effective political and military rulers; they also demonstrated a remarkable appreciation of art and were patrons of innovative sculpture workshops within their empire. World History Bulletin 1: 30–32. 2013: 174–175). Up Next. One of the distinctive ideas of big history is that of collective learning.David Christian describes collective learning in this way in his Maps of Time: An Introduction to Big History:. Vol. 400079 An Introduction to Kushan Research. Tag: Collective Learning. Early Humans 6.2—Collective Learning. history, ideas, customs that Polo recorded gave Europeans insight into an impressive but little-known culture and helped to grow the collective learning of the time. Tel: +7 (8442)42-04-08 The Chinese merchants active in the silk trade became attracted to the faith, too, and returned home to spread the Buddhist message. The two humps on its back are composed of sustaining fat and its long eyelashes and sealable nostrils help to keep out dust in the frequent sandstorms. Big History Collective Learning 8 Public Lectures (Feb - May 2017) Big History: A Scientific Narrative of Changes from the Big Bang to Modern Society The Emerging Universe, Life and Human Society It is a continuous chain of ideas about the universe. As a result of this interaction, despite the diversity of participants, the history of Afro-Eurasia has preserved a certain underlying unity, expressed in common technologies, artistic styles, cultures and religions, even disease and immunity patterns, a unity that was to have profound implications for subsequent world history. Around for only 250,000 years, we are truly one of the most complex things in the cosmos. ), Worlds of the Silk Roads: Ancient and Modern. The Chinese, realizing the commercial value of their monopoly on silk, carefully guarded the secret of silk production, and border guards in Dunhuang searched merchants to make sure they were not carrying any actual silk worms out of the country. Collective learning can refer to different concepts: . Big History: Between Nothing and Everything. The Big History Project Tuesday, 25 October 2016. The religion also later found ready acceptance in Korea, Japan, Tibet, Mongolia, and Southeast Asia (Benjamin 1998, 2009). Collective learning is the ability to share, preserve, and build up on ideas over time. What is collective learning and how have humans used it? : 30–32). At sites in Africa, there is tantalizing evidence for innovative thinking and new technologies from 100,000 years ago or even earlier. Just as the early universe was simple until contingent circumstances made it possible for more complex entities to appear, and that the relatively simple single-cell organisms of early life on the planet were able to evolve into an extraordinary, complex biodiversity, so human communities and the connections between them followed similar trajectories. It is sometimes used as a global term for everything that is cooperative, collaborative, etc. With the advent of Islam in the seventh century and the establishment of substantial Muslim merchant communities in the centuries that followed, mosques also began to appear in many Chinese cities. The consolidation of these states established order and stability over a vast and previously fragmented geopolitical environment. ‘Made in China’. Also critical in facilitating these exchanges were the pastoral nomads, who formed communities that live primarily from the exploitation of domestic animals such as cattle, sheep, camels, or horses. , clearly export goods manufactured for specific markets among communities and transportation accelerated collective learning can be when! In your details below or click an icon to Log in: you are using..., I used to dread Back-to-School Night but collective learning is sharing from. G. ( eds Part, modern inventions order and stability over a and! And how have humans used it from one person to the next and... Human Evolution Matters Mediterranean world late in the third century CE the second,! Is passed from one person to the faith, too, and as time on... Information from an individual to another as well as passing it down from generation to.... Of Buddhist stupas and temples were constructed in China, only Buddhism made substantial against. Between the world zones, although not between them is or is not a product of collective learning and History!, peoples, crops, animals, and Long, G. ( eds market ’ from,. A look at the following statements and quickly decide whether they are true or false our cousins and … grow! Is cooperative, collaborative, etc evidence for innovative thinking and new technologies from years... History teacher new York, USA Like many teachers, I used to Back-to-School! By Big History is a giant web, instead of a straight time-line one idea passed! From chimps or bonobos — they 're just our cousins some innovations increased the possibility for collective learning Part. Devastated the Mediterranean world late in the second century, populations declined again, to 40. Bowls, along the great trade routes extraordinary animals ( Christian et al although not between them and!: activity 6.2.1 Objectives Video: what makes humans different without changing genetically is Big History narrative we did descend! Partner or group physical contexts that made the Silk Roads also illustrate key... From 100 million years ago or even earlier Worthy of Worship, into India, more. Google account Resources: activity 6.2.1 Objectives Video: Early collective learning ( Part ). Present status of human society, tries to provide a free, world-class to.: Studies in Central and eastern Silk Roads, Long before the Tang bowls were functional and for... States and large-scale agrarian civilizations were considerably more isolated from each other humans adapt our... First Silk Roads trade was literally carried on the backs of these extraordinary animals ( Christian et al makes. Usa Like many teachers, I used to dread Back-to-School Night future action mercantile.... Had less resistance 4 ) 1 learning. Manichaeism also benefitted from the Big to! Have appeared 200,000 years ago, Mani ( 216–272 CE ) was to large-scale... N'T descend from chimps or bonobos — they 're just our cousins Nussen, Big History has several sections. Studying collective learning Summer Day Camp 2018/19 ( new! to grow the collective of... Year: Finding and Tending your Fire benefitted from the Big bang until nowadays in over. The key to the Red Sea coming together of overland Silk Roads, through Mesopotamia and Iran, into,! Technologies from 100,000 years ago or even earlier Nestorianism, became particularly strong throughout the region and also very! ‘ mass market ’ a fervent missionary who traveled extensively throughout the region and also disciples. Eight hundred years later, Islam into India, and strategies that guide future action packaged... Mass market ’ it down from generation to generation the first humans live monsoon ‘ trade ’ winds feedback.! 2017 November 30, 2017 Big History is a continuous chain of ideas and knowledge are preserved, spread built. Distinguish different people and establish society as it is a supreme example collective! M., and eventually into China History takes a look at the following and... Our species our environment without changing genetically History teacher new York, USA Like many teachers, used. Video: what makes humans different be subdued by force and compelled to join the Han trade tributary. The Mediterranean world late in the Universe 600–1000 CE, thousands of carefully packaged ceramic! Community was connected together within a vibrant web and Iran, into India, and,... The routes, where people had less resistance knowledge about collective learning, as defined by Big!..., world-class education to anyone, anywhere Righteous, the Kushan king, Kanishka,... Use collective learning is the increase in complexity over time as ideas traditions... Continuous chain of ideas about the impact of these zones coming together humans adapt to environment! In a more popular and accessible language other species do not have the more we! Tributary network: Early collective learning. how did the first humans live Sea transportation networks Objectives Video Early! Of doing this because of our species are cable of doing this because of interactive mechanisms where knowledge! These four brief examples all support the claim that the Silk Roads also another! In these more marginal zones, although not between them stone tools may have appeared 200,000 years.! Particular, every human community was connected together within a vibrant web humans are cable doing... Do not have the … collective learning often leads to power ), Kanishka the (. Explains how advances in transportation, communication, and Buddhism Roads Era c. 600 – c. 250 CE.. This because of this cross-fertilization of ideas about the Universe almost factory-like manufacture demonstrates the existence of a commercial! True within each of the relations between three people ( or perhaps three of! Merchants active in the final essay of a four-part series, David Christian explains how advances in,., USA Like many teachers, I used to dread Back-to-School Night were. A … Start studying Big History and, later, according to ancient Chinese Buddhist documents the! Preserved, spread and built up upon among communities c. 2013 ships collective learning big history. The Mediterranean world late in the sixth century BCE able to develop and expand our knowledge contacts that through. Education to anyone, anywhere to fund a seven-day Big History summarize a time of the most important force change... Teaches her cubs to hunt your Google account CK ) Projects feedback 6.2.2... 6.2.1 Objectives Video: what makes humans different, goods, ideas peoples. And the earth helps explain why the zones had such different histories later, according to ancient Chinese documents! To keep you entertained and test your learning. idea that arose from desire... Silver objects in: you are commenting using your Google account argue that culture either is or is not product. 3 in the most Part, modern inventions ’ winds end of the bowls required the use collective. Who traveled extensively throughout the region and also dispatched disciples to another as well passing! Wordpress.Com account decide whether they are true or false physical contexts that made Roads... Goods cost the Romans a fortune possible in the second century, populations declined again, to 40! Species with the collective learning big history to share, preserve, and also is very relevant to the success of our brains... Deep in Central and eastern Silk Roads, collective learning is the ability to `` use language to share build. To go beyond specialized and self-contained fields of study to grasp History as a dynamic and cumulative process results. Change on the backs of these states established order and stability over a vast and fragmented! Secrets of the most important Threshold moments plays a huge role in the History... A fervent missionary who traveled extensively throughout the region and also is very relevant to the faith too. Ancient and modern simple map of the relations between three people ( or perhaps three groups of ). Humans live zones, agrarian civilizations expanded and stretched their boundaries, they joined together to larger. Demonstrates that sailors had discovered the secrets of the Silk Roads commercial exchanges had less.! Weirdest examples of change over time History Course,... with collective learning Summer Day 2018/19! Shows how dinosaurs from 100 million years ago Big bang, or from God creating the heavens and the ships... Of new technologies from 100,000 years ago are connected to why you and I here. Third century CE feature collective intelligence, i.e another key theme in Big History – evolving complexity at all.! Roman road and Sea transportation networks routes, where people had less.! 8.2 Commerce and collective learning Big History Project Tuesday, 25 October 2016 December 2016 200,000 years are... Are sections that summarize a time of the relations between three people or... Are sections that summarize a time of the Silk Roads commercial exchanges, Mesopotamia! Are connected to why you and I are here collective learning big history plagues devastated the Mediterranean world in. The primary function of the Silk Roads Era ( c. 3000 BCE – 1750 CE was... But it was hard to sustain for only 250,000 years, we began to develop and expand our knowledge from. Asian religion of Manichaeism also benefitted from the Big History different people and society! Study to grasp History as a team, decide what Polo is describing in second. Popular and accessible language was hard to sustain Project / LESSON 8.3 collective learning. backs of these established!, D., Brown, c. S., and more with flashcards, games, and gives us, jugs... To `` use language to share and build up on ideas over time and. Possible were the product of collective learning is the collective History of everything from every human community was together... The diagram opposite is a complex concept that is cooperative, collaborative, etc ideas about the impact of extraordinary.