World – from the first humans to a connected global civilization
Humanity's story began in Africa, where our species emerged and from where people spread across every continent. Around the end of the last Ice Age, people in several regions began farming and settling down. This led to the first cities, writing and states in Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus Valley and China, and later in the Americas.
In antiquity, great empires and cultures rose and fell, from Persia, Greece and Rome to the Maurya and Han dynasties. Major world religions and philosophies spread across continents. In the following centuries, trade routes like the Silk Road linked Asia, Africa and Europe, while Islamic, Chinese and other civilizations flourished in science and the arts.
From the fifteenth century, European voyages connected the world's oceans. Colonialism and the transatlantic slave trade brought immense suffering to millions, while the exchange of goods, crops and ideas reshaped every society. The Industrial Revolution then transformed work, cities and daily life.
The twentieth century brought two world wars, the Holocaust and other genocides, but also the founding of the United Nations in 1945, the end of most colonial empires and the Cold War's division and eventual end. Since then, globalization and digital technology have connected people as never before.
Today, humanity shares common challenges such as climate change, peace and fair development across a closely linked world.
What stories connect you to the history of our world? Share your memories, photos and family histories with us here in the Heimatgeschichte (local history) section!