Unit 1-Part 1 From the Origins of

Agriculture to the First River-Valley Civilizations 8000-1500

B.C.

! Civilization- 1.  Cities of administrative centers 2.  A political system based on defined territory 3.  Many people engaged in specialized, non

food producing activities 4.  Status distinctions based largely on

accumulation of wealth 5.  Monumental building 6.  A system for keeping permanent records 7.  Long-distance trade 8.  Sophisticated interest in science and art

Essential Questions ! How did plant and animal domestication set the

scene for the emergence of civilization? ! Why did the earliest civilization arise in river

valleys? ! How did the organization of labor shape political

and social structures? ! How did metallurgy, writing, and monumental

construction contribute to the power and walth of elite groups?

! How do religious beliefs reflect interaction with the environment?

Before Civilization ! Culture ! History ! Paleolithic (Stone Age) ! Foragers

–  Gender roles –  No surplus of food lead to no specialized labor, not

social classes, more egalitarian society. ! Pastoralism

–  they herd animals so also don’t stay put and population in those societies stay low

Human Migration ! Hunting-foraging bands of humans

gradually migrated from their origin in East Africa to Eurasia, Australia and the Americas, adapting their technology and cultures to new climate regions. – Humans adapted to their environment

River Valley Civilizations 3500-1500 B.C.E.

America v. Eurasia ! Americas did not have large animals, llama is

about it. Not the case in Eurasia, horses, oxen, cows, so they event wheel for farming.

! No invention of wheel for purposes of pulling in America because no large draft animals.

! Eurasia is mainly east-west so makes knowledge of farming easier to spread because similar climate regions

! What is circa?

The Agricultural Revolutions

! Around 10,000 years ago, some groups began to domesticate.

! Permanent settlement ! Slash and burning techniques were

abandoned ! Middle East region had earliest evidence

of agriculture ! Agrarian-

! Why did the Agricultural Revolution occur? – Holocene- –  (1) farming (2) domestication of animals (3)

better tools but all hurts environment ! Population increase:

Life in Neolithic Communities

! Easier than early foragers ! Less variety and nutrition than earlier

foragers – Disease, vermin, insect

! Kinship and marriage – Matrilineal or patrilineal societies – Who ruled in early periods?

! Religion – Ancestor reverence – Deities of nature of animals – Megaliths

! Neolithic Villages – Middle East, Jericho (walls) – Catal Huyuk, Anatolia (roofs)

! Religious shrines ! Metalworking

Mesopotamia ! At the “mercy” of the gods. Why? ! Babylon was the most important city.

Settled Agriculture in an Unstable Landscape

! Mesopotamia means: – Between Tigris and Euphrates – Modern day:

! Farming did not reach here until 5000 B.C.E. – Staple food was:

Sumerians and Semitic ! Sumerians

–  Establish written record –  Southern Mesopotamia

! Semitic –  Non-Sumerian –  Asia and northern Africa –  The word Semitic refers to:

! By 2000 B.C., the Semitic people dominated politically and with language

! Cultural merge between the two

Cities, Kings, and Trade

! Depended on villages. why? ! City state ! Irrigation systems ! Lugal assumed the responsibility of

temples and rituals. – Sargon-

! Cuneiform-

! Hammurabi was the first king of the Babylonian Empire. –  Hammurabi’s Code –  Identified 3 classes

! Free landowning ! Farmers and artisans ! Class of slaves-

! Used barter system and exchanged precious metals

Mesopotamian Society

! Male dominated. Why? – Scribe – Men monopolized political life – Men benefited from divorce and marriage

laws

Gods, Priests, and Temples

! Sumerian gods embodied forces of nature – Semitic equated gods of Sumerian

! Ziggurat ! Amulets ! Afterlife:

Technology and Science

! Writing, system of tokens to keep track of property – Clay – Base 60 number system

Egypt The Land of Egypt: “Gift of the

Nile” ! The Nile river supports vegetation

–  “Black Land” and “Red Land” – Center of travel and communication – Divided into 3 regions: – Papyrus, clay, copper, wildlife, made Egypt self sufficient

Divine Kingship ! Menes

– Unlike Mesop., was unified ! Pharaoh

– Represented king of god on earth. Very powerful. Why?

– Ma’at ! no code of law comparable to Hammurabi ! pyramid

Administration and Communication

! Ruling dynasties placed their capitals in central locations – Memphis, Thebes

! Extracted as much as __% in taxes – Government controlled long distance trade

! Hieroglyphics- – Rosetta Stone – Developed a cursive script

! Larger percentage lived in farming villages in Egypt than Mesopotamia

! Isolated The People Of Egypt

! Population of 1 to 1.5 million ! Physical types ranging from light to dark

skinned people ! Less pronounced social division; slavery on

a mild scale ! Women were subordinate to men

–  More rights than Mesopotamia –  Monogamy

Belief and Knowledge

! Polytheists – Osiris, Isis, Seth Horus – The Egyptian Book of the Dead

! Afterlife not so bad. Why? – Mummification

! Development of mathematics and science

Egypt v. Mesopotamia

! No natural barriers in Mesopotamia, so it is known as the crossroads of civilization. Good because open to trade and new ideas, but bad because open to conquest. Therefore, geography impact political system, formation of city-states.

! Egypt was isolated so less chance of invasion and had stronger rulers. No need for written code of laws.

The Indus Valley Civilization

! Originated on a fertile foot plain in central Asia, modern day Pakistan. Twice a year the Indus river overflows. Mountains from the Himalayas melt cultivating the area.

Material Culture

! Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro ! Dravidian language ! Strong central authority

– Extensive exchange of goods ! Metals appeared more frequently here. ! Irrigation system

Transformation of the Indus Valley Civilization

! Cities abandoned sometime after 1900 B.C. due to a collapse in political, social, and economic systems. Reason: