Ethnography is the study of contemporary ethnic groups. It includes an examination of their modes of livelihood, technology, gender roles, rituals, political institutions and social customs.

Anthropology is a discipline that studies human culture and evolutionary aspects of human biology. It studies the development of man from the physical, cultural and social point of view. It also studies individual, their groups and production.

Artefacts are objects that are made by human beings.  The term can refer to a wide range of things : tools, paintings, sculpture, engravings.

The word Australopithecus is derived from Latin word ‘austral’ means southern and a Greek word ‘pithekos’ which means ‘apes’. Hence, the word means southern apes (Southern Monkey). The earliest human is called so because he resembles them.

Charles Darwin described the idea of evolution in 1859 in his book, The Origin of Species

The dead remains of plants and animals that remain buried inside the layers of earth for millions of years and then preserved for the purpose of study are known as fossils. The study of fossils is significant as it helps us to know about the evolutionary relationships between different organisms and thus also tells us how far this relationship goes.

In catholic Church, it was a very common practice to issue a letter that was known as the "letter of indulgence".

• In catholic Church, it was a very common practice to issue a letter that was known as the "letter of indulgence".

• This practice was performed just before the introduction of reforms in catholic religion.

• In this practice a sinner or repentant receives an exemption from his sins through performing some religious actions and godly deeds.

• This practice was doe on certain occasions when masses of people would gather for some formal events.

• The money was also collected and saved latter for the war against Turk community.

Ancient Rome was made up of a structure called a social hierarchy, or division of people into differently-ranked groups depending on their jobs and family. The emperor was at the top of this structure, followed by the wealthy landowners, the common people, and the slaves (who were the lowest class). There are three main groups of the Roman republic. They are patricians, plebeians, and slaves. The patricians are the highest and wealthiest of the social classes. Most patricians are aristocrats.

Manorial Estate:
i. A lord had his own manor-house. He also controlled villages - some lords controlled hundreds of villages - where peasants lived. A small manorial estate could contain a dozen families, while larger estates might include fifty or sixty.
ii. Almost everything needed for daily life was found on the estate: grain was grown in the fields, blacksmiths and carpenters maintained the lord’s implements and repaired his weapons, while stonemasons looked after his buildings.
iii. Women spun and wove fabric, and children worked in the lord’s wine-presses. The estate had extensive woodlands and forests where the lords hunted. They contained pastures where his cattle and his horses grazed. There was a church on the estate and a castle for defence.
iv. From the thirteenth century, some castles were made bigger for use as a residence for a knight’s family. In fact, in England castles were practically unknown before the Norman Conquest, and developed as centres of political administration and military power under the feudal system.

Due to socio-economic and political changes, Western Europe society was divided into three orders between the ninth and sixteenth centuries. After the fall of the Roman Empire, many groups of Germanic People occupied the regions of Italy, Spain and France. The three orders are three social categories: Christian priests, landowning nobles and peasants. The term 'feudalism' has been used by historians to describe the economic, legal, political and social relationships that existed in Europe in the medieval era.

Monks and nuns performed may roles in the middle ages. They provided shelter, they taught others to read and write, prepared medicine, sewed clothes for others, and helped others in times of need. They spent most of their time praying and meditating. Most monks wore linen underclothes, sometimes hose or socks, and a simple woollen tunic tied at the waist by a leather belt. Over these was their most recognisable item of clothing, the cowl. A monastic cowl was a long sleeveless robe with a deep hood.

A large number of people in ancient Greek and Rome were slaves. The prisoners of war and those who could not pay their debts were kept as slaves. The conditions were very bad, they had to work day and night and they were deprived of all the social and political rights.
All types of works were taken from the slaves. They were employed in agriculture, mining, road building, workshops and on the ships.
 

For all of the glory and grandeur of Ancient Rome, the Roman economy never developed into anything terribly complex compared to modern economies. Ancient Rome was an agrarian and slave based economy whose main concern was feeding the vast number of citizens and legionaries who populated the Mediterranean region. Agriculture and trade dominated Roman economic fortunes, only supplemented by small scale industrial production.

The staple crops of Roman farmers in Italy were various grains, olives, and grapes. Olive oil and wine, outside of direct food stuffs, were among the most important products in the ancient civilized world and led Italy's exports. Romans did use a limited form of 2 tier crop rotation, but crop production was largely low output and required a vast number of slaves to operate at any volume.

Farmers could donate surplus crops to the government in lieu of a monetary tax. This system allowed both Republican and Imperial rulers to gain popularity with the masses through free grain distribution and also help to feed the legions at no direct monetary cost. Unfortunately it also left farmers with little incentive to increase productivity or output, since more crop translated to more taxes (and more free grain distributions). Citizens grew dependent on these grain doles and the large volume of trade that ensued. The need to secure grain providing provinces was one important, of many factors that would lead to the expansion and conquests of the Roman State.

Among these conquests were the provinces of Egypt, Sicily and Tunisia in North Africa. These areas were of vital importance in the processing and shipment of grain to Rome. Grain was shipped directly to Ostia, the official port of Rome, and penalties for disruption of the most direct route included deportation or execution. Once delivered to Ostia the grain was weighed, checked for quality, and then sent up the Tiber River on barges to Rome, where it would be repacked for distribution throughout the Empire.

A Manual of Ancient History the Constitutions, the Commerce, and the Colonies of the States of Antiquity (1877), by A. H. L. Herren. Discover surprising insights and little-known facts about politics, literature, science, and the marvels of the natural world. The Roman style of history was based on the way that the Annals of the Pontifex Maximus, or the Annales Maximi, were recorded. The Annales Maximi include a wide array of information, including religious documents, names of consuls, deaths of priests, and various disasters throughout history.

The slaves were the lowest class. The slaves were captured by the Sumerians from other towns during battles, usually when the Sumerians one they took the slaves. People of higher classes in society could even buy the slaves. Associated with Mesopotamia are ancient cultures like the Sumerians, Assyrians, Akkadians, and Babylonians. The populations of these cities were divided into social classes which, like societies in every civilization throughout history, were hierarchical. These classes were: The King and Nobility, The Priests and Priestesses, The Upper Class, the Lower Class, and The Slaves.

Feudalism was a hierarchical system of land use and patronage that dominated Europe between the 9th and 14th centuries. Under Feudalism, a monarch’s kingdom was divided and subdivided into agricultural estates called manors. The nobles who controlled these manors oversaw agricultural production and swore loyalty to the king. Despite the social inequality it produced, Feudalism helped stabilize European society. But in the 14th century, Feudalism waned. The underlying reasons for this included warfare, disease, political change etc.

Causes of decline of feudalism

Feudalism contained seed of destruction

Feudalism contained in itself the seeds of its destruction. As Henry Martin has observed, “Feudalism concealed in its bosom the weapons with which it would be itself one day smitten”. In course of time when the feudal lords began to assert themselves too much, the kings who headed the feudal hierarchy, thought of bringing them under control. In this task they received full support from the newly emerged middle classes and freemen who were not under the control of the lords.

The middle classes consisting of traders and businessmen provided the king with money with which they began to maintain independent armies. With the help of these armies they were able to bring the turbulent nobles under control. The discovery of gun-powder and weapons like cannons also greatly helped the kings to reduce the lords to subjection and reduced their dependence on them.

Growth of trade and commerce

The liberation of the serfs due to enormous growth in trade and commence also greatly contributed to. The decline of feudalism. With the growth of trade and commerce a number of new cities and towns grew which provided new opportunities for work. The serfs got an opportunity to free themselves of the feudal lords by taking up work in the new towns. It may be observed that according to the existing feudal laws, a serf could become a freeman if he stayed away from the manor for more than one year.

Crusades

The Crusades or the Holy wars also greatly contributed to the decline of the feudal system in the following ways:

1. As a result of these wars the Europeans learnt the use of gun-powder from the Muslims. The discovery of gun­powder greatly undermined the importance of the feudal castles. As a result it was no more possible for the feudal lords to take shelter in these castles and defy the authority of the king.
2. During the Crusade a large number of feudal lords lost their lives which gave a series set back to the feudal system. Some of the feudal lords who returned alive from the Crusades were forced to sell charter of liberties to towns which they once controlled. As a result a larger number of serfs self attained freedom.
3. Crusades opened up trade between Europe and cities of Constantinople and Alexandria. As a result, commerce and industry in Europe received a fillip and a number of important cities developed. The merchants and artisans residing in these cities wished to free themselves from the control of feudal lords. Therefore, they either purchased freedom or ob­tained it by force. They secured the right of self-government and freedom from feudal dues and taxes. After freeing themselves from the control of the nobles, the cities began to maintain their own armed militia and con­structed high turreted walls to protect themselves.

The Hundred Years’ War

To succeed, feudalism required considerable manpower. Vassals and serfs worked the manor year in and year out, bound by law to a lifetime of labor. But when war broke out between England and France in 1337, both nations undertook an unprecedented military buildup. This marked the start of the Hundred Years’ War, a series of intermittent conflicts that lasted until 1543. In both countries, the army swelled its ranks with feudal laborers, undermining the manorial system while increasing the value of commoners by teaching them much-needed military skills.

The Black Death

Ten years after the Hundred Years’ War began, the bubonic plague broke out in Europe. Spreading northwards from Italy, the bacterial infection known as the Black Death claimed at least a third of Western Europe’s total population. With the young men of France and England off at war, agricultural output was already declining. Now there was a new challenge facing feudalism. Manor after manor suffered devastating losses. Conditions were so severe, in fact, that waves of laborers ran away to larger cities, an act that would have once been punishable by law.

Political Changes

Feudalism was a coercive system that granted few individual liberties. Ancient laws kept peasants tied to the land, making their labor compulsory. Yet over time, concepts of individual rights gradually gained footing, especially in England. The 12th century reforms of Henry II, for instance, expanded the legal rights of a person facing trial. In 1215, King John was forced to approve the Magna Carta, a document obligating the crown to uphold common law. Eighty years later, Edward I finally extended parliamentary membership to commoners. These developments gradually made the concept of agricultural servitude appear inexcusable.

Social Unrest

By the 1350s, war and disease had reduced Europe’s population to the point that peasant labor had become quite valuable. Yet conditions for the serfs themselves remained largely unchanged. They were still heavily taxed on wages kept artificially low. Unable to survive in these circumstances, Europe’s peasantry revolted. Between the 1350s and the 1390s, uprisings took place in England, Flanders, France, Italy, Germany and Spain. After an English revolt in 1381, Richard II promised to abolish serfdom. Though he later failed to keep his word, serfdom nonetheless died out in the next century.

End of the Middle Ages

The end of serfdom meant the end of feudalism itself. Europe’s manors could no longer function without a labor supply. As feudalism faded, it was gradually replaced by the early capitalist structures of the Renaissance. Land owners now turned to privatized farming for profit. Laborers began demanding – and were given – better wages and additional liberties. Thus, the slow growth of urbanization began, and with it came the cosmopolitan worldview that was the hallmark of the Renaissance.

Main teachings of Islam are given below:

• Allah should be worshiped.
• No Muslim should practice idol worship. It is a sin.
• Muslims should believe that all Muslims are equal. They should regard themselves as brothers.
• All Muslims should follow the same rules regarding marriage and divorce.
• All Muslims should lead a simple life. 

The first written language in Mesopotamia is called Sumerian. Most of the early tablets come from the site of Uruk, in southern Mesopotamia, and it may have been here that this form of writing was invented.

From the middle to the end of the 14th century, Europe was struck with the devastating pandemic of the Black Death — the bubonic plague — which in the short span of 1348–1350 wiped out fully one-third of the population. ... The plague continued to recur, though not in such virulent form, in every decade of the century. In Europe, the 15th century is seen as the bridge between the Late Middle Ages, the Early Renaissance, and the early modern period. ... The division of the Catholic Church and the unrest associated with the Hussite movement would become factors in the rise of the Protestant Reformation in the following century.

15th Century 1400-1499 CE

• Portugal extended its international trading routes. In Portugal navigation, exploration and mastery of the oceans dominated. ...
• The Hundred Years War continues. The costly war continues: ...
• The Renaissance gains momentum in Italy. ...
• The church in the 15th century. ...
• Gutenberg built a printing press in 1439.

Very few Mesopotamians were able to read and write because of the following reason :

1. there were hundred of signs to learn.

2. many of the signs were too complex to understand.

The Roman Renaissance: In the 15th century, Rome replaced Florence as the symbol of artistic and cultural influence. The Roman Renaissance was cut short abruptly with the devastation of the city in 1527, but the Papacy reasserted itself in the Counter-Reformation, and the city continued to flourish during the early modern period. Rome was annexed by Napoleon and was technically part of France during 1798–1814.