ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book talks about the most significant innovations in world history. When one examines all major innovations in world history, one finds that in a given era there was usually one region in which most of the innovations occurred. In 3000 BC the Near East was the center of innovation. It included the lands around the eastern Mediterranean, the Nile Valley, and the Tigris-Euphrates Valleys. It was where the first 'civilizations' began. After the seventeenth century climatic influences on world history lessened. Improvements in communication and transportation technology had greater effects. As communication technology improved, people could learn faster. Political scientists believe that political elites have ruled all civilized societies. After about 1850, when science married technology, competitors for great power and wealth could not afford to ignore science-based technologies.
