World history is a rather nebulous term that can refer to anything from the summary of worldwide events within a particular calendar year, leading all the way back to the creation of the planet. The most popular definition defines world history as the written record, which began many centuries before the birth of Christ.
4 Billion Years of History
Scientists date Earth as being about 4 billion years old. Although the means of creation may be uncertain, the age of the planet raises fewer debates.
Evolutionary History
The first appearance of man has raised much scientific discussion, but contemporary evolutionary history has the development of upright-walking man occurring about a million years ago.
Racial Theory
Today, the human species comes in different forms (or races). This is also a highly-debated topic in both the scientific and non-scientific communities. It is clear that the human race is quite varied, but this fact seems to evade clear explanation.
The Written Record
A very popular way of looking at world history is through the written word. Unfortunately, there are several different types of alphabets, so this method is not free from discussion and controversy.
Ethnocentric History
World history can be viewed through the eyes of one particular culture. For example, both the British and Chinese empires were involved in the Boxer Wars and as a consequence, each culture has its own perspectives of this common event.
