A Holistic World History Model

Waves

Beginning Dates

Communal Wave

40,000 BP

Agriculture Wave

10,000 BCE

Urban Wave

3500 BCE

Modern Wave

1500 CE

Global Wave

2000 CE

Ecosystem

Patterns

geography, environment, human populations, natural populations, human/nature interaction

*reverence and awe for nature

*environment shapes adaptation strategies

*humans live within nature

*population limits

*slow population growth

*bio-diversity

*environment influences crops

*humans alter environment

*co-domestication of humans/plant/animals

*slow population growth

*reverence for nature’s cycles

*bio-diversity lessens

*human dominion
*nature subdued for humans

*population increases
*salinization/deforestation/

overgrazing/soil depletion

*start of monoculture

*nature economic commodity

*population escalates

*less ecological diversity

*exploitation of nature

*monoculture increases

*environmental assault

*nature/planet fragile

*environmental protection

*population explosion

*assault on biodiversity

*global warming

*water scarcity

Techno

Economic

Patterns

daily life, economic systems, technology, exchange and trade, labor patterns

*economic reciprocity

*nomadic way of life

*gather and hunt for food

*simple tools fit environment

*few material possessions

*gender division of labor

*no ownership of property

*sophisticated gathering & hunting skills

*reciprocity & redistribution

*domestication humans/plants/ animals

*horticulture production

*sedentary villages

*women produce food

*specialized handicrafts

*communal land ownership

*slash/burn production

*economic redistribution

*fringe market capitalism

*intensive plow agriculture

*men produce food

*private property

*military weaponry

*monumental architecture

*cross-cultural trade

*division of labor

*mercantilism & capitalism

*merchants gain wealth/status/power

*commercial ventures

*technological innovations

*industrialization

*wage labor

*privatization of property

*mass production techniques

*corporations form

*global capitalism

*global trade networks

*global labor force

*labor specialization

*product specialization

*privatization expands

*commodification

*MNC’s multi-national corporations concentrate wealth & power

Social

Patterns

groups, family, gender, social status, socialization/

education

*cooperative social system

*strong kinship relations
*group centered

*egalitarian

*group socializes children
*live in temporary camps

*elders high status

*women respected

*egalitarian

*strong kinship relations

*group-centered

*non-hierarchical relations

*close-knit village life

*village raises children

*elderly highly esteemed

*patriarchy

*prostitution

*institutionalized slavery

*social hierarchies

*elites, priests, commoners, artisans and peasants

*inherited elite wealth

*children subordinated

*elite, middle, working, peasant, serf, slavery classes

*elite entrepreneurs/owners

*influence of middle class

*nuclear family

*move to gender equality

*schools socialize children

*rise of consumerism

*social gap widens

*decline of nuclear family

*diverse lifestyles

*more gender equality

*mass education

*consumerism expanded

*media socializes children

*elites concentrate wealth

Political

Patterns

political systems, leadership, rules/laws, migration/interaction, conflict/cooperation/war

*informal leadership

*group consensus decisions
*oral traditions & rules

*group enforces rules

*conflict: personal rivalry or group feuds

*elders leaders

*decentralized politics

*“big” man or woman leader

*informal rules/sanctions

*chiefs in larger villages

*group enforces rules

*small scale conflict

*feuds a form of conflict

*centralized governments

*monarchy/king/emperor

*organized armed warfare

*codified laws

*elite political control

*tribute/taxes/bureaucracy

*city, states, empires

*sovereign nation/state

*monarchy to constitutions

*liberalism/communism

*colonialism/imperialism

*national state bureaucracies

*industrialized warfare
*move to universal suffrage

*decline of nation/state

*international NGOs

*organizations WTO, UN, IMF, World Bank

*elite vs. mass democracy

*corporations power

*immigration/interaction

Cultural

Patterns

worldview, religion/spirituality, communication, identity/belonging, aesthetic expression

*no individualism

*collective consciousness

*animistic belief system

*connection with nature

*ancestor worship

*earth based spirituality

*oral traditions

*storytelling by elders

*folk religions
*goddess worship

*animistic beliefs

*ancestor worship

*in tune with natural cycles
*oral traditions and folklore

*earth-focused spirituality

*regenerative & cyclical powers of female

*state & universal religions

*elite religious leaders

*individual consciousness

*god image displaces goddess

*writing, recording

*rational abstract thought

*earth religions subdued

*writing

* formal education for elites

*secular, scientific thought

*Newtonian mechanistic view

*Western individualism

*fragmentation of traditional religions, customs, thought

*Einsteinium relativity

*rise of the ism’s

*consumerism as religion

*post-modern thought

*holistic perspective
*secular, scientific & intuitive thought

*multiculturalism

*global interaction, communication/connection

*spread of consumerism

*globalized, traditional & transformative worldviews