Introduction Ancient World History Origins to 1500

IntroductionAncient World History

Origins to 1500

1The Big questionsHow & why did the first civilizations arise?What role did cross-cultural contacts play in their developments?What was the nature of the relationship between these permanent settlements and nonagricultural peoples living elsewhere in the world? What brought the demise of these early civilizations, and what legacy did they leave for their successors in the region?Extra CreditBased on what you have learned in this class, write a letter to a future employer that explains how religion, language, philosophy, material culture, non-material culture, and/or interaction with the environment have shaped the origins and evolution of world civilizations. Please provide at least two concrete examples.Part I Early Humans & The Agricultural RevolutionChapter 1The history of the earth itself stretches back around five billion years. The human chapter of this long story is a relatively short one. During the 18th century some philosophers and natural scientists began to challenge the special creation of each individual as told in the Bible. To challenge the authority of biblical accounts, a new intellectual environment began to emerge. Scientific method based on tangible evidence of human origin.Direct observation of nature, recording and analysis of observation. Charles Darwin (1809-82) &Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913) Separately formulated the modern theory of biological evolution of species.Darwin 1859 published On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.

Scientists over the past thirty years have begun to study the record of human and animal genes.Differences and similarities in the proteins of DNA suggest that humans, apes, and Gorillas shared a common ancestor 5-7 million years ago (supports Africa camp)

1 we persisted, the lone survivor among all the hominids of the last 6 million years2 we continued to spread to all parts of the globe in waves of migration that had begun even earlier3- we built small, temporary settlements to serve as base camps for hunting and gathering4- we continued to craft more sophisticated tools.5-by 25,000 BCE on cave walls and in stone, we began to paint and sculpt magnificent works of art and symbolism6-We elaborated more sophisticated use of language7- 10,000-15,000 domesticate plants & Animals.

4I.The First HumansA. The Emergence of Homo sapiensHominidsAustralo PithecinesHomo HabilisHomo ErectusHomo SapiensNeanderthalsHomo Sapiens SapiensOut of Africa/Multiregional Theory

The first Hominids, or human like people, lived in Africa. The earliest remains date to 3-4 million years ago. Australo pithecines, or southern ape men, lived throughout eastern and southern Africa, made simple stone tools and may have been bipedal, or walked up right on two legs.

In 1959 Louis and Mary Leakey found remains of Homo habilis, or skillful human. Homo Habilis had a brain capacity 50% greater than Australo, were bipedal and made stone tools.

1.5 million years ago, Homo Erectus, or upright human, had developed using larger and varied tools and walked out of Africa to begin spreading the Homo Erectus species to Europe and Asia.

Homo Sapiens, or wise humans, developed 250,000 years ago in Africa. Homo Sapiens Sapiens appeared between 150-200000 years ago and began to spread out of Africa 70,000 years ago. Two theories exist to explain human existence and migration. The Out of Africa Theory is supported by genetic, archaeological and climatic evidence. By 10,000 BCE Homo Sapiens Sapiens could be found throughout the world. The Multiregional theory suggests that human creatures emerged in sito in different parts of the world.

These modern humans encountered Neanderthals, named for the first remains found in Neander Valley, Germany but found in Europe and Western Asia. Neanderthals lived between 200,000 and 30,000 BCE, relied on stone tools and were the first to bury their dead.

By 30,000 Homo Sapiens Sapiens replaced Neanderthals.5

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Figure 1-1 p4MAP 1.1 The Spread of Homo sapiens sapiens. Homo sapiens sapiens spread from Africa beginning about 70,000 years ago. Living and traveling in small groups, these anatomically modern humans were hunter-gatherers.

7Paleolithic Old Stone2,500,00 10,000 B.C.E.B. The HunterGatherers Seasonal RoundsHorticulture20-30/band social institution (not nuclear family)Women gathered plants and engaged in hunting & fishingStone toolsFire 50,000 yrs. agoSocial AdvancementCooperation & Communalism/Gender equality

Paleolithic: Longest period of human existence, first hominids to Homo Sapiens People hunted and gathered.Nomadic is often used to describe early peoples, synonyms include traveling, roaming, wandering, roving and drifting.

I find this word to be slightly misleading. While early peoples did gather and hunt to procure subsistence, the term seasonal rounds may be more appropriate to describe the sophisticated knowledge and memory that early people had of their environment. Over thousands of years early women and men came to understand the workings of their environment intimately, they knew where to find particular foods, game and water and particular times and under certain conditions and planned their day, week, month and year accordingly (although it would have been around the changes in the climate or according to the moon phases) They also spent a great deal of time managing wild stands of food, which meant much of it was not so wild. They learned how to care for different foods so as to encourage the best growth and production for the following season. In doing so the social skills that were required surpass those that most of us have today. It meant taking only what was needed, and being considerate to others who would also use the resources, whether present members of the band, or larger communities and future members of the communities. The Economy was subsistence rather than surplus, the goal of the community was to live well, the qualities that people sought in many early leaders often included altruism, honesty, a sense of fairness and ability to make decisions that benefitted the entire community.

Many of the ways that early people lived are being revisited today in an effort to save our environment and live healthier and more meaningful existences. For example, the return of the Paleo-diet (greens, nuts, berries and smaller proportions of protein and starches) is encouraged to manage obesity in America and other populations with high rates of obesity and diabetes.

Early Settlement during the PaleolithickNatufian societyModern Israel and JordanWild wheat, herdingJomon societyJapanWild buckwheat, fishingChinook societyPacific NorthwestBerries, acorns, salmon runsGroups of 1000 or more

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p5Early women and men communicated information to each other and future generations in a variety of ways. Oral Tradition is the oldest form of knowledge transition, different forms of what we think of as art work is another. Our ancestors across the world transmitted knowledge not just through stories and songs, but also in different forms of artwork: paintings on stone, animal skins, pottery, sculptures, woven baskets.

Paleolithic Cave Painting: The Chauvet Cave. Cave paintings of large animals reveal the cultural creativity of Paleolithic peoples. This scene is part of a mural in a large underground chamber at Vallon-Pont-d'Arc, France, discovered in December 1994. It dates from around 30,000 28,000 B.C.E. and depicts aurochs (long-horned wild oxen), horses, and rhinoceroses. To make their paintings, Paleolithic artists used stone lamps that burned animal fat to illuminate the cave walls and mixed powdered minerals with animal fat to create red, yellow, and black pigments. Some artists even made brushes out of animal hairs with which to apply the paints.

9C. The Neolithic Revolution, c. New Stone 10,0004000 B.C.E.Agricultural Revolution The systematic growing of foods developed independently throughout the world. New type of polished stone axesShift to agricultureDomestication of animals meat milk and fibersSeasonal patterns shifted to sedentary living for some groups of people This led to a increase in the population

Early scientists dubbed this period the new stone age because of new polished stone axes that appeared, but is was the agricultural revolution during this period that is the most significant characteristic of the period.

New type of polished stone axesShift to agricultureDomestication of animals meat milk and fibersSeasonal patterns shifted to sedentary living for some groups of people This led to a increase in the population

10Mesolithic Middle Stone age10,000 7,000 B.C.E.Transition from food gathering society and economic systemTo systematic agricultural society or PastoralismWomens status relatively highPractices that elevated womens role continuedWomens work valued as menTextile producers Female spirituality elevated11

Figure 1-2 p6Agricultural Revolutions8,000 5,000 B.C.E.Middle east wheat, barley, pigs, cattle, goats, sheep 8000NW and Central India 7000-5000China millet, pigs and dogs 6000Western Hemisphere beans, squash, Maize, gods and fowl 7000-5000Balkan region of Europe 6500Western Asia to Nile 6000 (wheat and barley)Ethiopia 6000Woodland and tropical forest of Africa cultivation of tubers or root cropsRice in SE Asia 5000France, Central Europe, coastal Mediterranean 4000

MAP 1.2 The Development of Agriculture. Agriculture first began between 8000 and 5000 B.C.E. in four different parts of the world. It allowed the establishment of permanent settlements where crops could be grown and domesticated animals that produced meat and milk could be easily tended. 12Neolithic Farming VillagesAfter 10000 BCE Eurasian Villagers & PastoralistsInstitution of the family elevated Parents and children became the major social groupPastoralist lifestyle - women had fewer childrenNew sedentary lifestyle women had more children and for longer periods Some communities were matrifocal, others increasingly patrifocalPastoralists required less job specialization, there was not womens work since men were gone for long periods of time, womens labor was very much valued. Pastoralist women around 4000 BCE took a leading role in devising techniques for milkng and processing milk, reaping 4x the amount of energy from their herds than obtained by simply slaughtering the animal and eating the meat. Women invented felt and produced the textiles very valued among pastoralist communitiesVillage women may have begun to take on a role that became gender specific, but it was not less valued initiallyPlayed a vital role in the development of agriculture, spinning and weaving

Jericho in Canaan near the dead sea 8000BCE, expanded by 7000BCEWalls several feet thickHouses of sun dried brick

* oldest remains of early Neolithic villages have been found in the middle east13Linear Potter Culture W. Eurasia

Matrifocal society existed (5500-4800 BCE) families were headed by maternal grandmothers who organized her daughters and their husbands into longhouses where the extended family lived. Similar living arrangements appear in some southeast italian communities 7000-4000 BCE.

Between 4500- 3500, patrifocal became more predominant14

Statue from Ain Ghazal in Jordan,

6500 B.C.E.

Oldest human figurine knownStatue from Ain Ghazal. This life-size statue made of plaster, sand, and crushed chalk was discovered in 1984 at Ain Ghazal, an archaeological site near Amman, Jordan. Dating from around 6500 B.C.E., it is among the oldest known statues of the human figure. Although it appears lifelike, its features are too generic to be a portrait of a particular individual. The purpose of this sculpture and the reason for its creation may never be known.

15Catal HuyukCatal Huyuk in modern Turkey was larger, 32 acres, 6000 people by 6700-5700Fruits, nuts, wheat, cattleArtisansFigures of gods and goddessesFemale statuettesEvidence of role of women/female in spirituality

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p7Women in modern Algeria harvesting grain, 4 B.C.E.Womens Work. This rock painting from a cave in modern-day Algeria, dating from around the fourth millennium B.C.E., shows women harvesting grain.

Earlier cave art depicted women gathering for plants, the majority of the food supply for hunter gatherer socieites. Patriarchy did not exist and women enjoyed equal status in society before the rise of civilization. 17Consequences of Neolithic RevolutionDevelopment o of tradeSpecialization of craftsDivision o f labor/not necessarily of valuePottery & BasketsNew toolsGender divisions of laborBeginning of development of Practice of patriarchy- society dominated by menBeginning of decline of status of womenConsequences of the Neolithic revolutionDevelopment o of tradeSpecialization of craftsDivision o f laborPotteryBasketsNew too toolsGender divisions of laborPractice of patriarchy- society dominated by men4000-3000 technical development began to transform neolithic townsCopper works after 4000Copper and tin = bronze 3000Bronze age 3000 1200Eventually replaced by ironWalled cities and armies developed to protect new communities

18Bronze Age3,000 1200 B.C.E.4000-3000 technical development began to transform Neolithic townsCopper works after 4000Copper and tin = bronze 3000Bronze Eventually replaced by ironWalled cities and armies developed to protect new communities

Womens Status40,000 yrs ago to 1000 B.C.EFlexible Gender RolesLittle emphasis on the control of womens sexual conductEqual regard for womens workProminent role for female Spirituality

AustriaWomen were Shamans, priestesses204 types of Communities after 1000BCE in EurasiaHunter GatherersWomen enjoyed equality with menPastoralists & villagersSome degree of inequalityGender roles flexibleWomens work held in high regardCult leaders, priestesses, mother godessUrban DwellersCities that developed after 3500 BCE new degree of inequality for womenThese societies have coexisted together and overlapped.

The !Kung people of Africa is a modern day example of Hunter-Gatherers. Women collect 70% of the food (plants) and enjoy equality and a high position in society.

Women spaced children apart 3-4 years and only had a reproductive window of 25-30 years. With a communal life style, child rearing did not hinder women from pursuing hunting, fishing, Shamanism or other pursuits that constant birthing and rearing in a nuclear family does. 21II. The Emergence of CivilizationA. Early Civilizations Around the World

Early Civilizations: 3000-1500 B C EMesopotamia EgyptIndus River, India, Harappa and Mohenjo Daro were at the heart of the civilization, language not yet decipheredHarrappa traded extensively with Mesopotamia Yellow River, China under Shang Dynasty 1570 1045 bceCentral Asia present Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan 4000 years agoSupe River Valley, Peru - center city of Caral 2600BCE

22CivilizationCivilization complex culture in which large numbers of people share a variety of common elementsAn urban focusNew political and military structuresNew social structure based on economic powerThe development of more complexity in a material senseDistinct religious structureDevelopment of writingNew significant artistic and intellectual activity

The Emergence of Civilization:Civilization complex culture in which large numbers of people share a variety of common elementsAn urban focusNew political and military structuresNew social structure based on economic powerThe development of more complexity in a material senseDistinct religious structureDevelopment of writingNew significant artistic and intellectual activity23Civilization & Womens StatusAfter 1000 BCE in Eurasian CivilizationsDecline of womens status and equalityGender roles became rigidMen controlled political power of statesWomens sexual morality became an issue of public concernStringent laws enforced single womens virginity or wifes fidelity to her husbandSexual double standard imposed by law made by menCreation of Womens work or domesticityMuch of the work considered appropriate for women moved out of the public view as their roles increasingly focused on domestic duties. The other work they did was frequently considered peripheral to their major tasks: the production of food and clothing, reproduction and child care.

Creation myths of many early human societies suggest that prominent female deities were supplanted by masculine entities, and even the role of female cult leaders seems to have diminished.24

Figure 1-3 p10MAP 1.3 The Ancient Near East. The Fertile Crescent encompassed land with access to water. Employing flood management and irrigation systems, the peoples of the region established civilizations based on agriculture. These civilizations developed writing, law codes, and economic specialization.25

Figure 1-4 p17MAP 1.4 Ancient Egypt. Egyptian civilization centered on the life-giving water and flood silts of the Nile River, with most of the population living in Lower Egypt, where the river splits to form the Nile delta. Most of the pyramids, built during the Old Kingdom, are clustered south and west of Cairo.

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p9Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro27

p9The Yellow River, China 28

p9Central Asian Civilization29

p9Caral,Peru30

Figure 1-3 p10City States of MesopotamiaCivilization in Mesopotamia the land between two riversTigris and EuphratesDue to flooding, a large scales irrigation system was needed to manage the water and expand agriculture in this regionThe City States of Ancient Mesopotamia: or the fertile crescent Sumerian People established city states by 3000 BCEEriduUrUrukUmmaLagash

MAP 1.3 The Ancient Near East. The Fertile Crescent encompassed land with access to water. Employing flood management and irrigation systems, the peoples of the region established civilizations based on agriculture. These civilizations developed writing, law codes, and economic specialization.31