FOUNDATIONS OF CIVILIZATION

FOUNDATIONS OF CIVILIZATION

The Neolithic Revolution What was it? 8000 3500 BCE Why did it happen? Dwindling game? Why was it such a big deal?

Agricultural Growth Led to permanent settlements (usually along rivers/lakes) Increased population. More people living in smaller spaces Greater opportunity for conflict & growth. Growth= language, religion, society Conflict= crime, disease, disorder

What makes a Civilization? What are the primary elements of a civilization? Come up with what you think are the primary elements of civilization. Limit your list to 10 items Consider why you feel those items should be recognized as primary elements of civilization

Primary Elements of Civilization 1) Urban Focus Cities become the center of CREPS* development 2) Distinct Religious Structure Gods are crucial to success of civilization 3) New Political and Military Structures Organized government bureaucracy rises to meet administrative needs of population Armies organized to gain/maintain land and power *Cultural, Religious, Economic, Political, Social

Primary Elements of Civilization (cont d) 4) Social Structure based on economic power Top: Kings, priests, warriors, political leaders Free Common People: Artisans, farmers Bottom: Slaves 5) Development of Communication/Writing Used by upper class for record keeping 6) New and significant artistic and intellectual activity For example, monumental architecture (religious) 7) Arable land and a good location Allows for food surplus, population growth, and survival

River Valley Civilizations

Ancient Mesopotamia Land between the Rivers Sumer southern Fertile Crescent (4k-2k BCE) Civilization of city-states bound together by a common culture

A Hostile Land Geography Water unpredictable flooding/drought (too much or not enough)

Hostile Neighbors Defense problems open, flat land w/no natural barriers for protection

Scarcity of Resources Resources limited Lack of forests = no wood Few mineral/metal resources WHAT DID THEY HAVE? Dirt, rock and sand

Solutions Perseverance Water---irrigation systems Defense walled cities and standing armies Resources broad trading networks with other regions

Polytheistic Religion - Enter the Supernatural Gods had human qualities and emotions Interference into human lives hostile/care Afterlife Land of No Return ; no joy or emotion, bleak dismal

The Ziggurat

Ziggurat

Evolution of Religion in Sumer Society ruled by kings & priests In war, power put in hands of military leader As wars became more common, more military leadership King eventually a military leader & religious leader

Social Classes Upper Class royal families, nobility, priesthood Middle Classes wealthy merchants, scribes Lower Classes laborers, farmers Slaves foreigners captured in war, family members sold into slavery, criminals; not a permanent situation

Sumerian Accomplishments Successful agriculture, river management Writing, (cuneiform) Use of wheel 12 month calendar, geometry Polytheistic Ziggurats

Decline and Fall A millennium of war (3000-2000 BC) Power changes from on City- State to another

Collapse Overrun by the Amorites from the north in about 2000 BC Amorites were Semitic (ancestors of modern Arabs and Jews) invaders from eastern Syria Akkadians Overthrew Sumerians 1700 BCE Babylonians overthrew Akkadians Hammurabi, Code of Law Fell to Kassites, then Hittites 1500 BCE Hittites-iron, then fell to

Collapse (cont d) Assyrians organized, cruel, moved capital (Nineveh), exiles, cultural diffusion Conquered by Medes, Chaldeans, rebuilt Babylon Eventually becomes part of Persian empire TRENDS OF MESOPOTAMIA Difficulty maintaining power City-state to Empire

Who discovered the Americas? Europeans? Chinese? No one? Multiple Perspective Civilizations in the Americas were separate from classical civilizations 9500 B.C.E. earliest evidence of human occupation Believed to be mongoloid people 5000B.C.E. Plant domestication What is the significance of this event? Many of these plants that were domesticated in Central and South America prior to the arrival of

A Change in Settlement Sedentary Agriculture vs Nomadic Hunters What do you think the difference was? Structure and civilization

Maya Aztec Inca 900B.C.E. 1500 C.E. Religion - central aspect Scientifically Advanced Astronomy, math, calendars Economy based on agriculture and trade Extensive records Where are they now Government organized around citystates 1350 CE Rise of Aztecs Centered around one ruler Warlike people interested in conquest Adopted some of the practices of the Maya civilization 1438 1532 CE Population of 9 million Highly sophisticated Why was this essential? Everyone had a specific duty. What does this sound like?

Egyptian Overview Rich soil, gentle flooding 3 Kingdoms water management, pyramids, astronomy, hieroglyphs, calendar, gold, spices Polytheistic Women rulers, buy, sell property, inherit, will property, dissolve marriages, still subservient to men Hierarchy: pharaoh, priest, nobles, merchants, artisans, peasants, slaves Conquered by (1100 BCE) Assyrians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Islam, Ottomans, Europeans

Earliest Egypt c. 6000 BCE Agriculturally based 3600 BCE cities/economies along Nile Little social stratification Writing Began around 3500 3000 (hieroglyphics hieratic demotic) Nomes administrative districts Narmer or Menes unified Egypt? Polytheistic Society No records of city-states The Rosetta Stone Did they make pyramids? No, tombs! (mummified!) Increasingly became more and more complex Population, social strat., culture Irrigation(shaduf)

Old Kingdom Monumental Architecture Step pyramids Increased administrative and economic organization Trade extends from North to South Downfall Weak central power and increasing nomarch power 2181 BCE Old Kingdom falls and parts ruled by nomarchs First Intermediate Period 100 yrs of disunity

Middle Kingdom 2050 BCE - King Mentuhotpe reunites Egypt Revived trade along Nile to Palestine and trade along the Mediterranean Fine art and literature flourishes More organization and power than ever before Becomes an empire Power spreads to Nubia and Middle East Ends with invasion of the Hyksos and Nubian pushing Egyptians out

New Kingdom Established after the Second Intermediate Period (1650 1550 BCE) 1550 BCE 1050 BCE Hyksos expelled Rises and establishes an empire Largest Egyptian empire ever Parts of Mesopotamia Colonies were more for revenue and less for governance/land holdings Notable pharaohs Ramses II rebuilds parts (temples, palaces) Hatshepsut female ruler Amenhotep changes name to Akhenaten, adopts a monotheistic religion (never catches on) Weakness allows them to be overtaken by outsiders in the future.

Indus Valley

Indus Valley: 2500-1500 BCE Outside contact more limited Kyber Pass connection to outside via trade Harrappa, Mohenjo- Daro Largest Cities (40K 100K)

Mohenjo-daro : aerial view

Mohenjo-daro of the Citadel view

The Great Bath

another view of the Great Bath

view of a small, side street

looks like a small tower, but actually it is a neighborhood well

A bathroom on a private residence

A public well in Harappa, or perhaps an ancient laundromat...

A large drain or sewer

Characteristics Literate society (writings on bricks and seals) Master-planned cities as focal point Water system Strong central government Polytheistic Written language Pottery, cotton, cloth Standard weights and measurements Grain storage

Harappan granary

Decline Cities abandoned, reason unknown domination of an indigenous people? who rebelled? foreign invasion? gradual decline? climate shift: the monsoon patterns flooding destruction of the forests migrations of new peoples: the Aryans

Possible route of the Aryan invasions

Aryans arrive 1500 BCE From Caucasus Mtns. Black/Caspian Sea Aryans Lighter Skinned Dravidians - Darker Nomads who settled Vedas, Upanashads Sacred/historical texts of Aryans basis for Hinduism Caste system warriors, priests, peasants later re-ordered: Brahmins (priests), warriors, landownersmerchants, peasants, untouchables (out castes)

Caste System, 1000 BC skin color ritual purity Us--Them feelings divine order of four castes

Caste System ( Varnas ) Brahmins: the priests Kshatriyas: the warriors Vaisyas: merchants and peasants Sudras: non-aryans

Caste system, con t produced by Brahmins literature emphasized the divine order hierarchical relationship inheritance and marriage the most powerful organizer of Indian society thousand of castes today

Castes define a person s social universe define a person s standard of conduct define a person s expectations define a person s future define how a person deals with others

China: Shang on the Hwang

Shang: 1600-1100 BCE Stable agri-surplus, trade-centered N. China, walled cities, strong army, chariots The Middle Kingdom World View Trade with Mesopotamia Bronze, pottery, silk, decimal system, calendar, water control Patriarchal, ancestors as advocates w/the gods Stratified into nobles and commoners Ability to control floods led to increased power

It s Zhou Time Replaced Shang around 1100 BCE Ruled 900 years, kept customs, traditions Mandate of Heaven and the dynastic cycle Feudal system, nobles gained power, bureaucracies, middle class emerges War amongst feudal kingdoms, collapse 256 BCE This is the time of Confucius and Lao Zi

THE PHOENICIANS

The Phoenicians Purple People Famous for purple cloth and dye Called carriers of civilization because they spread Middle Eastern civilization around the Mediterranean. Trade via Ship mainly on the Mediterranean Lacked good farmland (Lebanon) Accomplishments Sailing Lebanon known for cedar trees, made strong ships Trade Most important contribution Phoenician Alphabet 22

THE HEBREWS From Establishment to Exile to Expansion

Establishment Left a great legacy monotheistic religion 3000 years prior to Christ Nomadic people Settled along the edges of the Arabian Desert between Mesopotamia and Egypt. Twelve tribes descended from Abraham(the patriarch) settled in Canaan but many drifted south, possibly as a result of drought to Egypt. They lived in peace in Egypt until they were enslaved Appx. 1200 B.C. - The Jews were led out of Egypt by Moses. Moses led the Hebrew people to Mt. Sinai where they received the Ten Commandments. Moses then led the Jewish people to the promised land after wandering through the desert for 40 years but he was not allowed to enter

Establishment: Hebrew Rulers and Kingdoms Palestine was now the homeland of the Hebrews but it was inhabited by Canaanites and the land was also susceptible to invasion by other groups of people such as the Philistines The 12 Tribes had to find a way to unify and combat these invading nations. 1029B.C.E. tribes agree to follow one King King Saul impressive fighter but unable to win when it was necessary There was a power struggle between David battled Saul and David was victorious He became king. David was a gifted military leader and completed the conquest of Canaan. Created political unity, established a Hebrew state and capital at Jerusalem

Establishment: Hebrew Rulers and Kingdoms King Solomon Brought splendor to the Hebrew nation Known as a shrewd diplomat and great builder Strengthened the army, rebuilt and fortified cities and constructed a temple, constructed ships and traded with the Phoenicians

Exile and Babylonian Captivity 721 B.C.E. the northern Kingdom of Israel was exiled by Sennacherib of Assyria(Assyrians) These Exiles drifted into assimilation and became known as the Lost Tribes of Israel. One theory is that that one tribe eventually made it to Ethiopia 586 B.C. E. The Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed Thousands of Jews were forced into exile in Babylon This exile lasted 60 years However, in that time, their passion for their homeland never faded and they did not assimilate Psalm 137, If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand wither! Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest Joy

Expansion 539 B.C.E. King Cyrus the Great begins to allow the Jewish people to return home Some Jews stayed behind and became the first Diaspora of the Jewish faith They replaced sacrifices with prayer in synagogues which replaced The Temple