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ANALYSIS REPORT
BIRTH OF
CIVILIZATION
INTRODUCTION For 100s of 1000s of years humans lived by…
o Hunting
o Fishing
Collecting wild plants
Approximately 10,000 years ago, humans learned to do some REVOLUTIONARY things
o Cultivating plants
o Herding animals
o Making air-tight pottery
o Some humans could begin living a settled life
Approximately 5,000 years ago, humans learned how to control the waters of great river valleys
o Results: richer harvests, increases in population
People in these river valley societies created the earliest civilizations
o Invented writing
o Produced metal for tools & weapons
o Built towns & cities
o Developed complex religions
o Created social divisions (kings, priests, soldiers)
The Sumerians Emerged around 3500 B.C.E.
Lived in Mesopotamia
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Developed first among river valley civilizations
Later ruled by Assyrians & Babylonians
The Egyptians Emerged around 3100 B.C.E.
Lived in the Nile River valley
Protected from invasions by the Sahara Desert
Influenced by neighboring cultures (i.e. Nubia, Syria-Palestine, Aegean)
Birth of Civilization Empires rose & fell in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Asia Minor
between 2000-500 B.C.E.
o Hittites
o Assyrians
o Babylonians
o Persians
Defining Culture
Religion helps define human culture
Humans are cultural beings
Group Discussion:
o Define: CULTURE
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What does it include?
What does it not include?
Culture – ways of living built up by a group & passed on from one generation to another; language plays a key role in this transmission; culture is learned
Paleolithic Age Early human cultures are defined by the kinds of tools that
were in use
Paleolithic – Greek for “old stone” tools
Date range: 1 Million years ago – 10,000 B.C.E.
Key elements:
o Making & controlling fire
o Acquiring language
o Developing religious & magical beliefs (“There is more to the world than meets the eye”)
o Learning how to plant & care for seeds
Neolithic Age Neolithic – Greek for “new stone” tools
Date range: 10,000 B.C.E. – 3100 B.C.E.
Neolithic Age
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Key elements:
o Domestication of animals & plants (i.e. sheep, goats, wheat, barley) – no longer necessary to go out into the wild for food
o Invention of pottery – storing, transporting, & cooking food
o Emergence of permanent dwellings
Most homes & settlement were small
Exceptions were Catal Hoyuk (Turkey) & Jericho (Syria-Palestine)
Bronze Age Date range: 3100 B.C.E. – 1200 B.C.E. (in the Near East &
Eastern Mediterranean
Began with the growth of Neolithic towns in river valleys
o Tigris-Euphrates
o Nile
o Indus
Growth of towns resulted in a hierarchy of larger & smaller settlements in the same region
Some towns became very large cities featuring:
o Monumental buildings like temples & fortifications
o Metal tools & weapons became common
o Social stratification increased
o Writing emerged
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o At about this time humans learned how to combine tin & copper to make BRONZE
o By 3000 B.C.E. urban life & centralized states were well established in the Tigris-Euphrates & Nile valleys
o Intelligent management of water resources was critical to agricultural success in both these areas
o Provided protection from floods
o Provided a means for storing water
Mesopotamian Civilization Two Ecological Zones:
o Babylonia – South of modern Baghdad
o Assyria – North of modern Baghdad
o Oldest Mesopotamian cities founded by the Sumerians in Babylonia
By 3000 B.C.E. “Uruk” was the world’s largest city (see map p. 10)
1st Kings in history – Northern Babylonia – City of “Kish”
1st Empire in history – Eastern Babylonia
o The “Akkadians” (2370 B.C.E.)
Conquered all the Sumerian city-states
Invaded Iran & Syria
A heartland, provinces, & an absolute ruler (good basic definition of an empire)
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“Sargon” – first & most legendary king of the Akkadians
The Sumerian city of “Ur” rose to dominate portions of the Akkadian empire (2125 – 2027 B.C.E.)
Babylonia endured an invasion from the NW – The Amorites ruled in Babylon from 2000 – 1800 B.C.E.
The Sumerian city of “Ur” rose to dominate portions of the Akkadian empire (2125 – 2027 B.C.E.)
Babylonia endured an invasion from the NW – The Amorites ruled in Babylon from 2000 – 1800 B.C.E.
A new & powerful king rose in Babylon (1792 – 1750 B.C.E.)
o “Hammurabi”
Famous for his codification of laws
Society divided by class (i.e. nobles, commoners, slaves)
Laws treated classes differently
Punishments were generally harsh (i.e. “an eye for an eye”)
About 1600 B.C.E., the Babylonian kingdom fell to invaders from the North (non-Mesopotamians)
Government in Mesopotamia
Sumerians were ruled by monarchs (depicted in art as a military leader, sometimes as a priest)
The government & temples owned & cultivated large tracts of land
o Manual work done by low class laborers
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o Exported wool & textiles for metals
Writing & mathematics
Sumerians invented a writing system called CUNEIFORM (for ex. see p. 16)
o Used several thousand characters
o Geometry & accounting were important types of math in Mesopotamia.
Religion in Mesopotamia
Polytheistic – worshipping many gods & goddesses
Visualized in human form
Identified with natural phenomena (i.e. sky, storms, water)
One important deity assigned to each city
Tolerant; accepted the idea that different people might have different gods
Inspired the construction of temples called ZIGGURATS
o A tower built in stages
o Exact purpose unknown
o The “Tower of Babel” in the Bible was probably one of these
What kind of rights did women enjoy in Mesopotamia?
o Owned property
o Operated businesses (i.e. taverns, money lending, etc.)
o Could recover their dowry if seeking divorce.
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Egyptian Civilization Centered on a 750 mile stretch of the Nile River
Two geographic divisions (p. 19):
o Upper Egypt
o Lower Egypt
o Thanks to geography & climate Egypt was more isolated & secure than Mesopotamia
As a result, Egyptians in general had a more optimistic outlook
Ancient Egyptian history spans about 3000 years
o King Menes (united Upper & Lower Egypt)
o Conquest of Alexander the Great (332 B.C.E.)
Old Kingdom (2700 – 2200 B.C.E.)
o “Pharaoh” – rules as a king & a god
o Pharaoh’s rule was based on the ideal of “maat” – a combination of order, justice, & truth
Old Kingdom Building Programs:
o Old Kingdom pharaohs demonstrated their greatness & proved their devotion through their building programs
The Pyramids – served as pharonic tombs
The “Sphinx” – served as a monument dedicated to the worship of the sun
Politics during the Old Kingdom
o Water management was local, not national
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o Territory was divided into local districts called NOMES
1st Intermediate Period (2200 – 2052 B.C.E.)
o The Pharaoh’s power waned; local leaders asserted their power
Middle Kingdom (2052 - 1630 B.C.E.)
o Three important changes to royal government
The Pharaoh’s residence moved from Thebes to a new town just south of Memphis (see map p. 19)
Nome structure was clarified
Establishment of a “co-regent”; designed to make the progression of rulers move more smoothly
o Foreign policy became more aggressive
Building fortresses in the south to control Nubia
Building fortresses in the north to stop settlers from Syria & Palestine
2nd Intermediate Period (1630 – 1550 B.C.E.)
o More internal division (East vs. West)
Politics
New Kingdom (1550 – 1075 B.C.E.)
o Foreign expansion in all directions
o *Peak of Egyptian economic & political power
o Rulers dug tombs deep into cliffs – “Valley of the Kings” (ex. King Tut)
Language & Literature
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Writing first appeared in Egypt (ca. 3000 B.C.E.)
o HIEROGLYPHS – Greek for “sacred carvings”
Consisted of 100s of picture signs
RELIGION
Three different explanations for creation; each based on the philosophy of a leading city
Solar cults & mythologies were highly developed (ex. Re [pronounced “Ra”] – the primary Sun god)
o Why were solar cults so popular?
In art gods & goddesses had human bodies with human or sometimes animal heads (ex. Anubis had a jackal’s head p. 24)
Most Egyptians worshipped at small local shrines
o Many believed a wide variety of amulets could ward off evil (ex. scarab or beetle
Egyptians did believe in the possibility of life after death
o At first only for the pharaoh, gradually became a hope for everyone
o Osiris was an important deity in the Egyptian concept of the afterlife
o Egyptians believed that the body must be preserved to secure immortality
Led to the invention & development of mummification techniques.
Women’s Role & Rights
Could own & control property
Could sue for divorce
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Expected to manage the household
Royal women naturally had more influence
Ancient Judaism From 722 B.C.E. forward, Israelites came to be known as
“Jews”
The major contribution by the Jews to the development of western civilization is MONOTHEISM – the belief in one universal God, creator & ruler of the universe
The Jewish God did not look like a human or any other creature
The Jewish religion featured strong ethical components
o God was a severe, but just judge
o Therefore humans must act righteously in accordance to God’s laws
o God himself was also expected to act righteously
THE END
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