Chapter 1 – Early Civilizations

8000 BCE to 600 CE

Terms of Times

• B.C. : Before Christ• B.C.E. : Before Common Era (non-Christian)• A.D. : Anno Domini (After the year of our Lord)• C.E. : Common Era

Paleolithic Age

The “Old Stone Age”- ICE AGE!- Crude stone tools and weapons- Nomads

“Cave Man”

We move to about 8,000 BCwhen village life began in the New Stone Age. . . Also known as the Neolithic Revolution.

NEW STONE AGE

A TOTALLY new way of living: From

Hunter-Gatherersto Agriculture

INVENTION OF AGRICULTURE• Mesopotamians first to engage in agriculture

– Around 8000 BC– Cereal crops

• Wheat• Barley

– Herd animals• Sheep• Goats

• Woman probably first farmer– Grain-collecting then noticed that stored wild grain

could be grown on purpose

Agriculture changed how people lived

• Agriculture (Farming)

• Growth of Cities

• Division of Labor (Specialization)

• Trade

• Writing and Mathematics

Self-actualization(self-knowledge,

fulfillment of personal potential)

Esteem(autonomy, achievement, recognition)

Social(belonging, affection)

Safety(security, protection from harm)

Physiological(Hunger, thirst, shelter)

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

What does it mean to be civilized?

• Characteristics of a Civilization:»Advanced Cities»Complex institutions

• Government, Religion, Economy»Specialized Occupations»Record Keeping / Writing»Advanced Technology

Cities• Rivers provided:

– water supply – transportation – food supply from animals

• Rivers provided challenges:– flooding– irrigation

• Required organized, mass labor (corvee)– Construction and repair of canals and irrigation ditches

Euphrates River

Institutions: Government

• Central authority needed to control:– Labor– Storage of grain– Dispersion of foodstuffs among population

• Early governments first led by priests• Later controlled by warrior chiefs or kings

Institutions: Government

• Governments became more complex as new responsibilities arose such as:– tax collecting– law making– handling public works projects– organizing systems of defense

Complex Religions• Generally polytheistic

– Many gods represented natural forces– Others controlled human activities– Priests and worshippers tried to gain gods’ favor

through complex rituals and sacrifice• Directed by unquestionable ruling class of

priests• King regarded as a god or as a god’s agent

Complex Religions• Temples often built to honor specific gods and

goddesses

Egyptian temple Mesopotamian

ziggurat

Mayan temple

OCCUPATIONS

• Needs of agriculture and stability– Clay pottery– Woven baskets– Woolen and linen clothing– Sophisticated tools and

weapons– Plow

Job Specialization or Occupations

• Artisans specialized in various jobs, such as:– Bricklayers– Blacksmiths

• Production of luxuries (Things You Don’t Really Need)

• Metal technology

Writing• Probably first used by priests• Earliest writing used pictograms

Mesopotamian cuneiform

Egyptian hieroglyphs

Chinese calligraphy

Writing• Symbols later added to represent words and

then sounds• Scribes were specially trained to read, write, and

record information– Religion– Trade– Government

• Learning became cumulative

Social Classes• People ranked according to their profession

Egyptian social structure

ChiefPriestsNobles

Wealthy merchantsArtisans

Peasants/farmersSlaves

• Priestly class is part of the beginning of social differentiation

• Class structure based on specialization of labor• Generated class differences

– Priests (“We talk to god, you don’t.)– Aristocrats/warriors (“We have weapons, you don’t.”)– Common people (“I guess we work...?”)– Slaves (“Uh, oh!!!”)

Social Classes

BRONZE AGE

• Around 3000 BC in Sumer• Use bronze (not stone or copper)• Gives people advantages in warfare

Mesopotamia – Fertile Crescent

• Sumer – The Earliest of the River Valley Civilizations

• Sumerian Civilization grew up along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in what is now Kuwait.

http://www.hyperhistory.com/online_n2/History_n2/a.html

Sumer: City of Ur

• On the banks of the Euphrates River• Religious: Polytheistic• Agricultural Economy• Irrigation System• Bartered for goods

Sumerians invented:

• Brick technology• Wheel• Base 60 – using the circle . . . 360 degrees• Time – 60 minutes in an hour, 60 seconds in

a minute• 12 month lunar calendar• arch• ramp• Ziggurat (pyramid shape)

Ziggurat – “Mountain of God”

Click on the pictures for more information on ziggurats.

Sumerian Writing: Cuneiform

Cuneiform is created by pressing a pointed stylus into a clay tablet.