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EARLY EUROPEAN HISTORY by HUTTON WEBSTER
EARLY EUROPEAN HISTORY Chapter 1 THE STUDY OF HISTORY
SUBJECT MATTER OF HISTORY
History is the narrative of what civilized man has done. It deals with those social groups called states and nations. Just as biography describes the life of individuals, so history relates the rise, progress, and decline of human societies.
MANUSCRIPTS AND BOOKS
History cannot go back of written records. These alone will preserve a full and accurate account of man's achievements. Manuscripts and books form one class of written records. The old Babylonians used tablets of soft clay, on which signs were impressed with a metal instrument. The tablets were then baked hard in an oven. The Egyptians made a kind of paper out of the papyrus, a plant native to the Nile valley. The Greeks and Romans at first used papyrus, but later they employed the more lasting parchment prepared from sheepskin. Paper seems to have been a Chinese invention. It was introduced into Europe by the Arabs during the twelfth century of our era.
[Illustration: THE DISK OF PHAESTUS Found in 1908 A.D. in the palace at Phaestus, Crete. The disk is of refined clay on which the figures were stamped in relief with punches. Both sides of the disk are covered with characters. The side seen in the illustration contains 31 sign groups (123 signs) separated from one another by incised lines. The other side contains 30 sign groups (118 signs). The inscription dates from about 1800 B.C.]
[Illustration: A PAPYRUS MANUSCRIPT The pith of the papyrus, a plant native to the Nile valley, was cut into slices, which were then pressed together and dried in the sun. Several of the paper sheets thus formed were glued together at their edges to form a roll. From papyros and byblos, the two Greek names of this plant, have come our own words, "paper" and "Bible." The illustration shows a manuscript discovered in Egypt in 1890 A.D. It is supposed to be a treatise, hitherto lost, on the Athenian constitution by the Greek philosopher Aristotle.]
INSCRIPTIONS AND REMAINS
A second class of written records consists of inscriptions. These are usually cut in stone, but sometimes we find them painted over the surface of a wall, stamped on coins, or impressed upon metal tablets. The historian also makes use of remains, such as statues, ornaments, weapons, tools, and utensils. Monuments of various sorts, including palaces, tombs, fortresses, bridges, temples, and churches, form a very important class of remains.
BEGINNINGS OF HISTORY
History, based on written records, begins in different countries at varying dates. A few manuscripts and inscriptions found in Egypt date back three or four thousand years before Christ. The annals of Babylonia are scarcely less ancient. Trustworthy records in China and India do not extend beyond 1000 B.C. For the Greeks and Romans the commencement of the historic period must be placed about 750 B.C. The inhabitants of northern Europe did not come into the light of history until about the opening of the Christian era.
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Chapter 1 THE STUDY OF HISTORY
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Chapter 2 PREHISTORIC PEOPLES
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Chapter 3 DOMESTICATION OF ANIMALS AND PLANTS
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Chapter 4 WRITING AND THE ALPHABET
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Chapter 5 PRIMITIVE SCIENCE AND ART
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Chapter 6 Europeans.
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Chapter 7 C. and A.D. In what century was the year 1917 B.C. the year 1917 A.D.
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Chapter 8
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Chapter 9 Can you name any savages still living in the Stone Age
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Chapter 10 What stone implements have you ever seen Who made them Where were they
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Chapter 11 Why should the discovery of fire be regarded as of more significance than the discovery of steam
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Chapter 12 and-arrow been of greater importance than the invention of gunpowder
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Chapter 13 How does the presence of few tameable animals in the New World help to account for its tardier development as compared with the Old World
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Chapter 14 What examples of pastoral and agricultural life among the North American Indians are familiar to you
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Chapter 15 In the classification of mankind, where do the Arabs belong the Persians the Germans the inhabitants of the United States
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Chapter 16 FOOTNOTES
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Chapter 17 PHYSICAL ASIA
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Chapter 18 BABYLONIA AND EGYPT
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Chapter 19 THE BABYLONIANS AND THE EGYPTIANS
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Chapter 20 THE PHOENICIANS AND THE HEBREWS
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Chapter 21 THE ASSYRIANS
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