Chapter One: The Beginnings of

Civilization

Chapter One: The Beginnings of

Civilization

Cultures and Values, 6th Ed.Cunningham and Reich

Cultures and Values, 6th Ed.Cunningham and Reich

Defining “Civilized”Defining “Civilized”

• Urban life: permanent constructions • System of regulatory government• Class distinction (wealth and

occupation)

• Tools/skills --> production/trade• Written communication• Shared system of religious belief

** Not a value judgment! **

• Urban life: permanent constructions • System of regulatory government• Class distinction (wealth and

occupation)

• Tools/skills --> production/trade• Written communication• Shared system of religious belief

** Not a value judgment! **

Origins of Western Civilization

Origins of Western Civilization

• Paleolithic World View (Old Stone Age)• Art• Religion

• Neolithic Civilizations (Late Stone Age)• Domestication of animals• Cultivation of vegetation• Community• War / Weaponry

• Paleolithic World View (Old Stone Age)• Art• Religion

• Neolithic Civilizations (Late Stone Age)• Domestication of animals• Cultivation of vegetation• Community• War / Weaponry

The Bronze Age (3000-1000 B.C.E.)

The Bronze Age (3000-1000 B.C.E.)

• Mesopotamia• Sumerian (3500-2350 B.C.E.)• Semitic (2350-612 B.C.E.)

• Egypt• Aegean Cultures

• Mesopotamia• Sumerian (3500-2350 B.C.E.)• Semitic (2350-612 B.C.E.)

• Egypt• Aegean Cultures

Sumerian CultureSumerian Culture

• Agricultural/Urban settlements• “Fertile Crescent”

• Writing/record-keeping: Cuneiform• Shared system of religious belief• Civil ruler / Religious rulers

• Agricultural/Urban settlements• “Fertile Crescent”

• Writing/record-keeping: Cuneiform• Shared system of religious belief• Civil ruler / Religious rulers

Epic of GilgameshEpic of Gilgamesh

• Gilgamesh ruled at Uruk c. 2700 B.C.E.

• Composed in Sumerian (2000 B.C.E.) on cuneiform tablets

• Pessimistic work• Asserts universal questions about

human existence

• Gilgamesh ruled at Uruk c. 2700 B.C.E.

• Composed in Sumerian (2000 B.C.E.) on cuneiform tablets

• Pessimistic work• Asserts universal questions about

human existence

Semitic CultureSemitic Culture

• Akkadian Period• King Sargon and descendants (2350-

2150 B.C.E.)

• Focus on HUMAN achievement• Gutian invasion / return to tradition

• Babylonian Legacy• King Hammurabi

• Assyrians• Culmination of Mesopotamian culture

• Akkadian Period• King Sargon and descendants (2350-

2150 B.C.E.)

• Focus on HUMAN achievement• Gutian invasion / return to tradition

• Babylonian Legacy• King Hammurabi

• Assyrians• Culmination of Mesopotamian culture

Fall of MesopotamiaFall of Mesopotamia

• Medes• Nomadic warriors• Conquered Nineveh in 612 B.C.E.• Conquered and absorbed by Persians

• Persians• Nomadic warriors• Conquered by Alexander the Great

(330 B.C.E.)

• Medes• Nomadic warriors• Conquered Nineveh in 612 B.C.E.• Conquered and absorbed by Persians

• Persians• Nomadic warriors• Conquered by Alexander the Great

(330 B.C.E.)

Ancient EgyptAncient Egypt

• Manetho’s History of Egyptian Greek

• 31 dynasties / 4 groups:• Old Kingdom (2700 B.C.E.)• Middle Kingdom (1990 B.C.E.)• New Kingdom (1570 B.C.E.)• Late Period (1185-500 B.C.E.)

• Manetho’s History of Egyptian Greek

• 31 dynasties / 4 groups:• Old Kingdom (2700 B.C.E.)• Middle Kingdom (1990 B.C.E.)• New Kingdom (1570 B.C.E.)• Late Period (1185-500 B.C.E.)

Ancient Egyptian Culture

Ancient Egyptian Culture

• Unified and consistent• Resistant to change• Worldview affected by external

events

• Unified and consistent• Resistant to change• Worldview affected by external

events

Political StructurePolitical Structure

• Pharaoh • Head of the central government• Regarded as a living god• Exercised absolute power• Ordered and controlled visible world

• Priests• Preservation of religious beliefs• Divine kingship of Pharaohs

• Pharaoh • Head of the central government• Regarded as a living god• Exercised absolute power• Ordered and controlled visible world

• Priests• Preservation of religious beliefs• Divine kingship of Pharaohs

Egyptian ReligionEgyptian Religion

• Obsession with immortality / life after death

• Book of the Dead• Osiris, Isis, Horus

• Deities, subdeities, nature spirits• Responsible for all aspects of

existence

• Obsession with immortality / life after death

• Book of the Dead• Osiris, Isis, Horus

• Deities, subdeities, nature spirits• Responsible for all aspects of

existence

Egyptian ArtEgyptian Art

• Principal function of artists: to produce images of deities• Form of worship• Standards set forth by Pharaoh

• Artists also provided temples and shrines for honoring deities

• Principal function of artists: to produce images of deities• Form of worship• Standards set forth by Pharaoh

• Artists also provided temples and shrines for honoring deities

The Old KingdomThe Old Kingdom

• Imhotep• First architect known to history

• Pyramids• Funerary monuments for pharaohs,

upper class• Mummification• Preservation of the body was

necessary for the survival of the soul

• Imhotep• First architect known to history

• Pyramids• Funerary monuments for pharaohs,

upper class• Mummification• Preservation of the body was

necessary for the survival of the soul

Great Age of the Pyramid

Great Age of the Pyramid

• Pyramids at Giza (Dynasty IV)• Cheops• Chefren• Mycerinus

• Who built the pyramids?• Farmers• Slaves

• Pyramids at Giza (Dynasty IV)• Cheops• Chefren• Mycerinus

• Who built the pyramids?• Farmers• Slaves

PyramidsPyramids

• Constructed of limestone blocks• Quarried, ferried, cut, dragged into

place

• Center chamber contained mummified body of pharaoh surrounded by treasures

• Plundered by robbers

• Constructed of limestone blocks• Quarried, ferried, cut, dragged into

place

• Center chamber contained mummified body of pharaoh surrounded by treasures

• Plundered by robbers

Chefren’s SphinxChefren’s Sphinx

• Created as the guardian for Chefren’s tomb at Giza

• Adopted as a divine symbol of the mysterious and enigmatic (Greeks)

• Created as the guardian for Chefren’s tomb at Giza

• Adopted as a divine symbol of the mysterious and enigmatic (Greeks)

Art of the Old KingdomArt of the Old Kingdom

• Reflects confidence and certainty• Idealized realism• Conceptual, symbolic

• Reflects confidence and certainty• Idealized realism• Conceptual, symbolic

Art of the Middle Kingdom

Art of the Middle Kingdom

• Loss of trust in divine providence• Artists attempted to recapture lofty

serenity of Old Kingdom• Troubled spirit captured in weight and

somber expressions

• Loss of trust in divine providence• Artists attempted to recapture lofty

serenity of Old Kingdom• Troubled spirit captured in weight and

somber expressions

The New KingdomThe New Kingdom

• Artistic traditions continued• Conceptual

• Pharaoh Amenhotep IV/ “Akhenaton”• Massive religious/political reform• Tel el-Amarna Art

• Tutankhamen• Howard Carter (1922-1923)

• Artistic traditions continued• Conceptual

• Pharaoh Amenhotep IV/ “Akhenaton”• Massive religious/political reform• Tel el-Amarna Art

• Tutankhamen• Howard Carter (1922-1923)

The Late PeriodThe Late Period

• Artists revisited earlier period styles• Recapture realism, volume• Return to pyramid-shaped tombs

• Egypt invaded by Nubians (the Cush) 750-720 B.C.E.• Nubians and Nobatae preserved

ancient culture

• Artists revisited earlier period styles• Recapture realism, volume• Return to pyramid-shaped tombs

• Egypt invaded by Nubians (the Cush) 750-720 B.C.E.• Nubians and Nobatae preserved

ancient culture

Aegean CultureAegean Culture

• Crete• King Minos / Knossos

• Cyclades Islands• Bronze tools• Imaginative/humorous pottery• Marble statues/idols

• Crete• King Minos / Knossos

• Cyclades Islands• Bronze tools• Imaginative/humorous pottery• Marble statues/idols

The Bronze Age in CreteThe Bronze Age in Crete

• Arthur Evans, 1894-1900• Early Minoan• Increasing growth• Contacts with Egypt and

Mesopotamia• Scattered Towns

• Arthur Evans, 1894-1900• Early Minoan• Increasing growth• Contacts with Egypt and

Mesopotamia• Scattered Towns

Middle MinoanMiddle Minoan

• Evolution of large urban centers• Art = lively and colorful• Little interest in monumental art• Writing system of hieroglyphic

signs

• Evolution of large urban centers• Art = lively and colorful• Little interest in monumental art• Writing system of hieroglyphic

signs

[Image 1.22]Palace of Minos at Knossos

[Image 1.22]Palace of Minos at Knossos

[Image 1.25]Wasp Pendant

[Image 1.25]Wasp Pendant

[Image 1.27]Snake Goddess

[Image 1.27]Snake Goddess

Late MinoanLate Minoan

• Period of rebuilding after earthquakes

• High point of Minoan culture• Wall paintings• Religion centered upon mother

goddess connected with fertility

• Period of rebuilding after earthquakes

• High point of Minoan culture• Wall paintings• Religion centered upon mother

goddess connected with fertility

[Image 1.28]Funerary Mask

[Image 1.28]Funerary Mask

Mycenaean CultureMycenaean Culture

• Heinrich Schliemann, 1870-1873• The Trojan War (1250 B.C.E.)

• Strongly influenced by Minoan Culture

• Art = preoccupied with death and war

• Fall of the Mycenaean empire (1200 B.C.E.)

• Heinrich Schliemann, 1870-1873• The Trojan War (1250 B.C.E.)

• Strongly influenced by Minoan Culture

• Art = preoccupied with death and war

• Fall of the Mycenaean empire (1200 B.C.E.)

Chapter 1: Discussion Questions

Chapter 1: Discussion Questions

• What can be determined about the roles of women in early civilizations based on their artistic depictions? Explain, citing examples from each culture.

• Based on the universal questions evoked in the Epic of Gilgamesh, what can we assume about the Sumerian people and their lifestyles? In what ways are their concerns shared by people of our culture and generation? Explain.

• What role did geography play in the development and preservation of Ancient Egyptian culture? In what fundamental ways was Egyptian culture different from the Mesopotamian and Aegean cultures?

• Discuss the role of the archeologist. What impact do the discoveries of ancient cultures have on us today? Explain.

• What can be determined about the roles of women in early civilizations based on their artistic depictions? Explain, citing examples from each culture.

• Based on the universal questions evoked in the Epic of Gilgamesh, what can we assume about the Sumerian people and their lifestyles? In what ways are their concerns shared by people of our culture and generation? Explain.

• What role did geography play in the development and preservation of Ancient Egyptian culture? In what fundamental ways was Egyptian culture different from the Mesopotamian and Aegean cultures?

• Discuss the role of the archeologist. What impact do the discoveries of ancient cultures have on us today? Explain.