Civilization
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About 5,000 years ago something profound happened… Civilization
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Civilization. About 5,000 years ago something profound happened…. Where were these ancient civilizations?. Most are in river valleys Location near the equator. What is Civilization?. Civilizations have these five components: Advanced Cities Specialized Workers Complex Institutions - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Transcript of Civilization
About 5,000 years ago something profound
happened…
Civilization
Where were these ancient civilizations?
• Most are in river valleys• Location near the equator
What is Civilization?
Civilizations have these five components:1. Advanced Cities2. Specialized Workers3. Complex Institutions4. Record Keeping5. Advanced
Technology
Advanced Cities Monuments Irrigation Walls
Specialized Workers & Complex Institutions
Specialized Workers Bureaucrats Soldiers Priests Merchants
Complex Institution Government Armies Religion Trade
Complex Institutions - Religion
Animism – belief that forces of nature are inhabited by spirits.
Myths – stories to explain the working of the world. – Need to keep in mind that they didn’t
view them as stories, but as facts. Polytheism – Religion with multiple
deities. Monotheism – Religion with one
deity.
Record Keeping - Writing Pictograph –
symbols using pictures
Cuneiform – wedge shaped symbols
Hieroglyph – combination of ideograms (represent things) and phonograms (represent sounds).
Record Keeping - WritingBenefits Bureaucracy Trade Communication Preservation of
Knowledge
Keep in mind that VERY few people could read or write.
Advanced Technology Bronze
– 3,000 to 1,200 BCE– Combination of
copper and tin. Wheel Sailboat Calendar Plow
Disadvantages of Civilization
Writing laws formalized the inequality between men and women.
Trade increased divisions in social structure.
More people, new technology and government allowed the creation of armies.
The Development of Civilization...
Belief Systems Rulers Culture Laws
Our goal for the first semester is to trace the early paths of “civilized” humans
These are the early sources of “western civilization.”
Mesopotamia Egypt
Greece Rome
Mesopotamia and Egypt paved the way for:
The United States is a product of western civilization.We can trace our religion, laws, and political ideas to these cultures. Also known as Greco-Roman.
The fall of Rome led to…
The Middle Ages
Here we’ll look at Judeo-Christian and Islamic Culture.
India China
Finally, eastern civilizationswill also be studied:
