The world history describes the human history determined by the study of archaeological and written records. Ancient history begins with the invention of writing. However, the roots of civilization reach back to the earliest introduction of primitive technology and culture.
Prehistory begins in the Paleolithic era followed by the Neolithic era and the Agricultural Revolution (between 8000 and 5000 BCE) in the Fertile Crescent. Our ancestors gradually spread out from their birthplace to all the continents. The Pleistocene Period along with the Paleolithic Age ended raising the level of the oceans and consequently splitting Africa from Europe, the Americas from Northeast Asia, Australia from South East Asia. The period marked a change in human history, as humans began the systematic husbandry of plants and animals. Agriculture advanced, and most humans transitioned from a nomadic to a settled lifestyle as farmers in permanent settlements.
Nomadism continued in some locations, especially in isolated regions with few domestic able plant species but the relative security and increased productivity provided by farming allowed human communities to expand into increasingly larger units, fostered by advances in transportation.
As farming developed, agriculture became more sophisticated and led to storage of food between growing seasons. Labor divisions then led to the rise of the upper class and the development of cities. The growing complexity of human societies necessitated systems of written records. As early as 3000 BCE many cities developed on the banks of lakes and rivers. Some of the first well-developed settlements had arisen in Mesopotamia on the banks of Nile, Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro in the Indus valley and along major rivers of China. However they confined mostly to their restricted localities. But the situation changed during the Classical Era. By the close of the first century AD when the Classical Age had reached its peak there were four great empires consisting of entire regions .The Romans controlled the entire Mediterranean basin, the Parthians held sway over the Middle east, the Kushans established themselves in part of upper India and Central Asia and the Chinese Han dynasty ruled over the remaining territory of Asia. A large-scale inter-regional contacts came to be established in almost all spheres of human activity. It was during this period that ancient religions like Buddhism and Christianity became established with far reaching religious and cultural as well as political repercussions. The trade and commerce witnessed an unprecedented growth among the different parts while the Greek culture known as Hellenism spread from the Eastern Mediterranean to all parts.
During the Middle Ages between 632 and 750 AD the Arabs established a vast Islamic empire stretching from the Pyrenees to the Indian Ocean and from Morocco to the borders of China. The banner of Islam was carried further into Central Asia, India, South East Asia and Africa. Mongols victories over China, Korea, Central Asia, Russia and most of the Middle East was spectacular and was documented by many travellers. The writings of Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta etc. highlighted the socio-political history of the region.
The Western World during pre 16th century period was under developed area but became leaders of the world in the modern period. The contemporary China, India and the Middle East while being comparatively developed and wealthy lacked the expansionism of Western Europe. Modern world history was marked for long by European expansion and eventually by the disintegration of European Empires only during the 20th century. Various historical forces and factors such as the decline of decadent feudalism, beginning of capitalism, geographical discoveries, renaissance, reformation, the emergence of agricultural and commercial revolutions, technological progress and economic growth facilitated the expansion of Europe.
The process of modernization that began in Western Europe has determined the course of modern world history. It has provided the Western Europeans not only with the superior economic and military power but also with superior socio-political cohesion and dynamism and paved the way for the European domination of the world. Later it manifested itself in the form of great scientific, industrial and successive political revolutions that have molded human history.