PART IFrom Hunting and Gathering to Civilizations, 2.5 million–1000 B.C.E.: OriginsOverview. The first human beings appeared in east Africa over two million years ago. Gradually humans developed a more erect stance and greater brain capacity. Early humans lived by hunting and gathering. The most advanced human species, Homo sapiens sapiens, migrated from Africa into the Middle East, then into Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Americas. Over time, they learned to fashion tools and weapons from stone, bone, and wood, and were, therefore, able to move away from hunting-and-gathering practices to form larger groups. The beginnings of agriculture, about 10,000 B.C.E., were based on improved tools during the New Stone Age (Neolithic). The development of agriculture was a radical change in humans’ way of life. By providing a dependable source of food, people could stay in one place, develop toolmaking technologies using metals, and, by increasing agricultural output, free individuals to specialize in other kinds of work. More elaborate political and cultural forms slowly emerged. Civilization emerged in five different regions. While focusing on the agricultural revolution, we must not lose sight of the many areas in which other systems prevailed. Hunting-and-gathering was not only a different economic system, it brought with it differences in gender relations, daily life, and social complexity.

Big Concepts. Each of the key phases of the long period of early human history (2.5 million B.C.E.—1000 B.C.E.) can be characterized by a central topic or Big Concept. The first of these is the development of human hunting skills, the adaptation of those skills to the shift geography and climate of the Ice Age, and the patterns of human migration. The second Big Concept is the rise of agriculture and the changes in technology associated with the Neolithic revolution (9000 B.C.E. and 4000 B.C.E.). These changes set in motion the agricultural phase of human experience that lasted until just a few centuries ago. The final Big Concept is the appearance of increasingly distinctive human societies through agriculture or nomadic pastoralism and the early contacts among these societies, particularly after 3500 B.C.E. when larger and more formally organized societies, often with early cities as well, emerged and began to develop more consistent patterns of interregional trade.

Triggers for Change. The phase of human history talked about in this chapter is mainly the story of accommodating different environments, especially in the search for food. Around 10,000 years ago, near the Black Sea, humans turned to agriculture, as hunting became less productive. The reasons for the change are not clear, but possibilities include population pressure, and shortages caused by accidental or deliberate over-hunting. Agriculture brought essential changes in social organization, tool-making, and specialization of occupation.

The Big Changes. Agriculture involved a different set of challenges and benefits than did hunting-and-gathering. The demands of farming meant a sedentary life and larger settlements. Social structures became more complex, and greater gender divisions of labor. Agriculture also made possible the key elements of civilization: states, towns, and monumental building. The first four civilizations arose in river valleys that made irrigation, and, hence, large-scale agriculture possible.

Continuity. This transition took place over millennia. Many peoples adhered to their traditional economy, which meant, as well, adherence to traditional social and cultural ways. As they took to farming, traditionally women’s work, men developed ideas of superiority over women. This can be interpreted not as innovation, but as a way to compensate for change.

Impact on Daily Life: Children. Hunting-and-gathering societies necessitated small families, because of the migratory lifestyle and limited resources. With farming, however, not only were larger families possible, they made sense. Children were an integral part of traditional agriculture. Birth rates increased enormously, although infant mortality remained high. The importance of child labor, moreover, brought with it strict control over children. A culture of parental dominance developed—totalitarian in some instances.

Chapter 1 deals with the emergence of agriculture and its impact on human life, the spread of agriculture, and the persistence of other patterns.

CHAPTER 1From Human Prehistory to the Early Civilizations

CHAPTER OUTLINE SUMMARYIntroduction

Stages of early material and social developmentTechnological and organizational innovations made possible by agricultureSocial, political, intellectual, artistic effects of agricultural way of lifeTwo main adaptations to diverse ecosystems: farming and pastoral peoples

I. Human Life in the Era of Hunters and Gatherers.Human species

Emerged 2 to 2.5 million years agoSpread to every landmass (except polar regions)Drawbacks: violence, dependencies of babies, back pain, awareness of deathAdvantages: opposable thumb, sexual drive, omnivorous, expressions, brains, speechPaleolithic (Old Stone) Age accounts for two million plus years of human developmentSimple tools: rocks, sticks for hunting and warfareFire tamed about 750,000 years agoHomo erectus emerged between 500,000 and 750,000 years ago

A. Late Paleolithic DevelopmentsHomo sapiens sapiens originated about 240,000 years ago

Bands of hunter gatherers, significant equality between sexesCommunication facilitated group cooperation and transmission of technical knowledge

Greatest achievement of Paleolithic people: sheer spread of species across the earthMigrations out of eastern Africa facilitated by: scarcity, fire, animal skins for clothingLand bridge from Siberia to Alaska facilitated migrations into Americas 30,000 years agoWarmer climates and rising ocean levels eliminated land bridge by 8000 B.C.E.Chinese settlers reached Taiwan, the Philippines, and Indonesia 4500 to 3500 years ago

Mesolithic (Middle Stone) AgeFrom about 12,000 to 8000 B.C.E.After end of last great ice ageImproved tool development aided transportation, housing, fishing, and food preparationAnimals domesticatedIncreases in population resulted in conflict and warfare

More dramatic changes occur in Neolithic (New Stone) AgeAgriculture, cities, and other foreshadowings of civilization

II. The Neolithic RevolutionDevelopment of agriculture: deliberate planting for later harvest

Fueled population increase from 6 to 8 million to 100,000 million people in 3000 yearsGave rise to elaborate social and cultural patterns we would recognize today

Conditions for agricultural developmentRetreat of last great ice ageClimate conducive to improved food supply increases populationPopulation increase prompts search for new, reliable foodEnd of ice age replaced big animals like Mastadons with smaller game in forested areasBy 9000 B.C.E people increasingly turn to wild grains, berries, nuts

The Domestication of Plants and AnimalsPlants: first by accident, slow development to seed selection and deliberate planting

Animals: (By 9000 B.C.E.) pigs, sheep, goats, cattle for meat, skins, and dairyingEarly stage agricultural as well as nomadic societies

A. The Geography of Early AgricultureFarming initiated in Middle East: arc of territory from present-day Turkey to Iraq and Israel Began as early as 10,000 B.C.E., advanced rapidly after 8000 B.C.E.Stimulated by fertility of region, barley and wheat, lack of forests with gameGradual spread to other areas: parts of India, north Africa, EuropeIndependent development in southeast Asia spreading to China, rice cultivationSpread from Mediterranean coast to west Africa by 2000 B.C.E., local grains, root cropsIndependent development in the Americas around 5000 B.C.E., corn cultivationMeaning of “revolution”

Dramatic shift towards agricultural societies but not in relation to speedHunting and gathering persisted alongside agricultureTook thousands of years to develop and thousands more to spread

B. Patterns of ChangeTerm “revolution” appropriate in terms of magnitude of change

Agriculture required more regular work than hunting and gatheringRewards of agricultural life

Support larger populationBetter food supplySettled existence with houses and villagesDomesticated animals provided not only hides but wool for more varied clothing

Agriculture gained groundSuccess hard to denyCleared forests drove out hunters or converted themContagious diseases of settled peoples infected hunter-gatherers without immunities

Some hunting gathering societies persistedSmall societies in southern Africa, Australia, islands of southeast Asia, northern JapanIsolated and unchanged until 100 years agoNorthern Europeans and south Africans converted about 2000 years agoCentral America and northern South America developed agriculture about 5000 years agoMost of North America hunting-and-gathering, limited agriculture until recent centuries

Herding societiesClimate conducive to herding as the basic socioeconomic system of central Asia

Nomadic invaders played vital role linking civilizations until a few centuries agoC. Further Technological Change

Agriculture basis for rapid change in human societiesStimulated greater wealth and larger populations, stimulating specialization and innovationAgriculture required new techniques, knowledge, and tools

Example: science to understand weather and floodingExample: need to store grains and seeds stimulated basket-weaving and potteryExample: First potter’s wheel (around 6000 B.C.E.) stimulated better, faster pottery production

Prehistory versus historyDespite shift to agricultural societies in Neolithic period, technically still “prehistorical”Distinction based on concept of recordkeeping associated with writingDistinction blurred by current use of tools and burial sites as historical recordsPreagricultural—agricultural distinction more to the pointPreagricultural change marked in thousands of yearsAgricultural change marked in decades and centuries

First big change: metal tools introduced in Middle East around 4000 B.C.E.

First copper, bronze soon afterBy 3000 B.C.E. metal-working so common in Middle East, referred to as Bronze AgeStone tools persisted in many parts of the worldMetal working extremely useful to agricultural and herding societies

Metal hoes improved farmingMetal weapons superior to stone or wood

Metal-working early specializationAgriculture freed up labor, metal-working one such resultSpecialization does not require innovation but does provide a climate of discoveryKnowledge of metals spread to other parts of Asia, Africa, and EuropeManufacturing artisans as well as farmers benefited from knowledge of metalsExample: metal tools enhanced woodworking

III. CivilizationAgriculture the basis of building larger, more stable human communities

An exception: Mesolithic fishing villages along the lakes of SwitzerlandMost hunting peoples moved in groups of tribes composed of 40 to 60 peopleHunting societies could not settle permanently without game running outSome agricultural peoples remained unstable by employing the “slash and burn” method

Definition: burning an area, cultivating crops until soil is depleted, moving onExample: People of the American South until 150 years ago

Herding peoples of central Asia, Middle East, Sudan, and elsewhere moved in tribal bandsA. Settled Societies

The major agricultural regions involved permanent settlementsAdvantages: houses, wells, etc. built to last for generationsKey incentive for stability in Middle East, China, parts of Africa, India: irrigation devices to

channel river water into fieldsSettled villages—groupings of several hundred people—useful

Advantageous to regulate river’s flow, build and maintain irrigation ditches and sluicesAdvantageous for defense

Characteristic pattern of residence from Neolithic period until our own dayNeolithic settlements spread in agricultural societies, as late as 1500 B.C.E.Example: Çatal Hüyük

c. 7000 B.C.E., southern TurkeyLarge (32 acres), lavish décor in buildings, religious images common, some tradeBy 1500 B.C.E., engaged in production activities such as tools and jewelryPolitical and military specializations emerged with growth of linked cities and villages

Emergence of kings with divine statusBy 3000 B.C.E., Çatal Hüyük identified as civilization

Characteristics of civilization appeared as early as 6000 or 5000 B.C.E.Origins of civilization around 3500 B.C.E. in Middle East along Tigris and Euphrates rivers

Northern Africa (Egypt) soon afterNorthwestern India along Indus river around 2500 B.C.E.These three civilizations had some interactionTwo separate civilizations developed later in China and in Central America

B. Defining Civilization(1) Inclusive definition: enough economic surpluses to form divisions of labor and a social

hierarchy involving significant inequalities(2) Narrower definition: formal political organizations or states as opposed to family or tribesMost civilizations characteristically produced huge kingdoms or empiresMost civilizations depend on significant cities

City a center of wealth, power, politics, ideas, art, intellectual activity, manufacture, trade

Most civilizations developed writingFirst in Middle East around 3500 B.C.E., Cuneiform (writing with wedgelike characters)

Advantages: government messages, records, tax management, contracts, treatiesMore elaborate political structures emerge as a resultSubstantiates value of collecting data, building on the past, and gaining wisdomEncourages notion of organized human inquiry

Broad literacy irrelevant for growth of civilizations, not common until under 200 years agoHistory of civilization covers the history of most people as civilizations ruled most peopleCivilized or not civilized

If defined narrowly, hunting, nomadic, and some agricultural societies not civilizationsToo few resources or stability or lack of writing and strong political organizationLong history of the civilized looking down on othersExample: Greeks called non-Greeks “barbarians”Incorrect to view history as a divide between civilization and primitive nomadsCivilization not a synonym for “good”Civilizations incur greater class, caste, ruler—ruled divisions, slavery, war, gender

inequalitiesNomadic or hunter-gatherer people depend on word of mouth communicationsTends to promote intense social regulation, veneration of elders, less strict childrearing

Historical role of hunter-gatherers and nomadsHunter-gatherers became increasingly isolatedNomadic herding people flourish with aid of technologies in riding and weaponryNomads had major role in world trade and developing contact among settled peoples

Significance of civilizationsTechnological, political, artistic, intellectual changes for large populationsEnvironmental impact such as deforestation, erosion, flooding due to agriculture and

miningEarly river valley civilizations pilot tests of new social organizations

Consistent process of development and spread of civilization only begins about 1000 B.C.E.

C. Tigris—Euphrates CivilizationFirst civilization in Middle East—Mesopotamia

Developed: writing, law, trade, religion, money, elaborate architecture, city planningBy 4000 B.C.E. farmers familiar with copper, bronze, and had invented the wheelThey had a pottery industry and developed artistic formsIrrigation required coordination of communities leading to complex political structuresBy 3500 B.C.E. the Sumerians had developed the first real civilization

Achievements of the SumeriansAlphabet and writing (cuneiform)Astronomy, numerical systemReligion

Professional priests, rituals, shrinesZiggurats first monumental architecture

Polytheism (gods in aspects of nature)Patron gods, earth from water, flood story, gloomy afterlifeLegacy carried into Old Testament influencing Judaism, Christianity, Islam

Political and Social OrganizationCity-States

Establish boundariesState religionCourts

KingsDefense, war

PriestsWith kings, administer state land and slaves

SlaveryWarfare ensured supply of slavesVariable existence, slaves could purchase freedom

CommerceAgricultural prosperity

Irrigation, wheeled carts, fertilizersSilver means of exchange, first money, facilitated trade

DefenseRegion a constant temptation for invadersDifficult to defendFell to Akkadians who continued Sumerian culturePeriod of decline, followed by Babylonian rule

BabyloniansExtended own empire, bringing civilization to other parts of Middle EastHammurabi

Law Code establishing courts, duties, rights, punishmentsInvasions persisted, fragmentation followed

Semitic peoples and languages came to dominate but continued culture of the conqueredGreatest turmoil between 1200 and 900 B.C.E., favoring smaller, regional kingdomsAfter 900 B.C.E., Assyrians, then Persians, created large new empires in the Middle East

D. Egyptian CivilizationCivilization formed by 3000 B.C.E. along Nile River

Benefited from trade and technological influence of MesopotamiaVery different society and culture then Mesopotamia

Less open to invasionUnified state for most of its historyEconomy more government-directed, smaller business class

GovernmentPharaoh, powerful king, intermediary between gods and menPharaohs built pyramids (splendid tombs) for themselves from 2700 B.C.E. onward

ContinuityDespite some disruptions, Egyptian civilization basically intact until after 1000 B.C.E.Spread into Sudan, impact on later African cultureInteraction with African kingdom of Kush

Comparative achievements with MesopotamiaScience and alphabet less developedMath more advanced and influentialArt lively, colorful; architecture influentialConcept of afterlife more pleasant

E. Indian and Chinese River Valley CivilizationsCivilization formed by 2500 B.C.E. along Indus RiverLarge cities: Harappa and Mohenjo Daro, buildings had running waterTraded with MesopotamiaDeveloped own alphabet and artistic formsInvasions by Indo-Europeans and natural calamities destroyed muchHarappa writing still not decipheredNot enough evidence to claim much about culture or influence on subsequent Indian culture

Indo-European migrants combined early Indian culture with their ownF. The Great Cities of the Indus Valley

Hundreds of miles apart but very similar layout and constructionPrecise grid pattern, walled city and buildings of kiln-dried bricks

Inference: considerable coordination of labor power requiredLarge, well-fortified citadels

Inference: strong ruling classCitadels possibly sanctuaries when attacked and community centers in peacetimeStructures appear to have included assembly halls, places of worship, and public bathsCitadel at Mohenjo Daro appears to have had a cloister housing priests nearbyCitadels had granaries nearby

Inference: ceremonial, preparation for shortages, regulation of grain production, saleComplex agricultural system

Irrigation inferredCultivation of wheat, rye, peas, cotton, possibly riceAnimals domesticatedFish dietary staple

Trade and contactHarappa cities major trading centers

Trade enhanced with use of riverboats and ox cartsJade from ChinaJewels from BurmaHarappa stone seals manufactured in Indus region found in Mesopotamia

Seals used by merchants to ensure crates and urns remain unopened during transportInference: trade highly developed

Despite contact, did not adopt superior tools, weaponry of Mesopotamian metal-workersInferences: conservative, resistant to change, vulnerable to invasion

Harappa representations of mother goddesses and horned god found in Sumer and Persian Gulf

Inference: extensive trade of commodities throughout urban centers of MesopotamiaReligion

Rule by priestly class functioning as intermediaries between populace and fertility godsDemise of early Indus River Valley civilization

Short term disasters: flooding, earthquakesLong-term climatic changes: shift in monsoon and temperature patterns, desertification

Urban centers abandonedInvaders settle or take over

Evidence in changed pottery style, loss of town planning, quality of buildingInference: priestly elite lost control over artisans and laborersSome invaders were Aryan herders

Replaced irrigation and agricultural development with cattle-raisingEconomic decline followed shift away from crop cultivation

Evidence suggests violence a possible contributing factor in declineResult possibly of flight from invaders or flooding

Three primary factors precipitating declineEnvironmental changesRelated administrative declineNomadic migrations

G. Early Civilization in ChinaDeveloped independently along Yellow River (Huanghe), later contact with India and

Middle East.

By 2000 B.C.E., irrigation, advanced technology, science, music, intellectual life, pottery, writing (ideographic)

By 1000 B.C.E., introduced iron and working with coalShang

Shang kingdom laid foundations for Chinese civilization by 1500 B.C.E.Originally nomads, conquered Yellow River region establishing kingdomHorseback, chariots, bronze weaponsNon-Shang subjects foot soldiersWarfare involved amassed troops and hand-to-hand combat

Ruled by strong kings and system of vassalage to build empireKing intermediary between supreme being, Shangdi, and mortalsKingdom viewed as center of worldDominion all of humankindKings responsible for affairs of state, fertility of kingdom, well-being of subjectsSizeable bureaucracySystem of vassalage providing land tenure, tribute, military service, administrative duties

Common people provided labor and produceRituals, oracles, sacrifices

Performed by rulers and nobilityPurpose: fertility, avert or appease natural disasters, good crops, large families, etc.Sacrifices of grains, incense, wine, animals offered in elaborate cast bronze vesselsRitual ceremonies and contests offered human sacrificeOracles—sacred people who could prophecy—performed by shamans

Consulted for harvests, warfare, travel, marriages, etc.Ritual objects basis of artistic expression

WritingShaman interpretation of patterns on bones or tortoise shells led to inscribing on themStandardization of designs evolved into consistent written character setEnlarged, simplified and stylized over timeFrom bones and bronze, to bamboo slips, silk scrolls, wooden platesChina invented paper in the 1st century C.E.Elaborate array of pens and inksWriting basis of Chinese culture

Unified otherwise very diverse peoples, languages, regions into one common identityBegan with elites but filtered into artisan and cultivating classes

IV. The Heritage of the River Valley CivilizationsLasting impact

Monuments like pyramidsInventions

WheelTamed horseAlphabets and writing implementsMathematical concepts like square rootCalendarFunctional monarchies and bureaucracies

These are the foundations of all later civilizationsAll of the pioneering civilizations were in decline by 1000 B.C.E.Diving line between early and later civilizations, especially in India

A. Heritage of Early CivilizationsIndia: much ignorance of link between early and later civilizationsChina: definite connection between Shang and all that followed

Claim that Western civilization originated in Middle East and Egypt not preciseRomans emulated god-like king but other political forms less apparentCity-states persisted in Middle EastIdeas about slavery may have been passed onSpecific scientific achievements passed from Egypt to Greece, especially math

Techniques passed on but perhaps not conceptsHard to assess continuity regarding ideas like humankind’s relationship with natureCan measure continuity of art and architecture

Mesopotamian art and Egyptian architecture influenced the GreeksGreeks influenced European and Muslim cultures

B. New Societies in the Middle EastConnection between early and later civilizations found in smaller cultures

Regional cultures influenced by Mesopotamians and EgyptiansOften flourished while larger civilizations were in declineBecame influential in their own right

PhoeniciansSimplified writing, devised 22 letter alphabet, predecessor of Latin and GreekImproved Egyptian numbering, set up colonies and trading centers around MediterraneanLydians first introduced coined money

C. JudaismJews most influential of smaller Middle Eastern groupsSemitic, influenced by Babylonians, settled around Mediterranean around 1200 B.C.E.Introduced monotheism

Single God guided destinies of the Jewish peoplePriests and prophets defined and emphasized this beliefHistory of God’s guidance of his people, basis for the Hebrew BibleJewish religion and moral code survived foreign rule from 772 B.C.E. to Roman conquest in 63

B.C.E.Judaism survives to this day, also basis of Christianity and Islam

Durability sustained by lack of interest in converting non-JewsJewish God increasingly abstract, less humanlike

Represents basic changeGod: powerful, rational, justLinked ethical conduct and moral behaviorReligion a way of life not a set of rituals and ceremonies

Greatest impact when Jewish beliefs were embraced by proselytizing faithsD. Assessing the Early Civilization Period

Legacy that flourished, persisted, and spread across Europe, Africa, AsiaBasic toolsIntellectual concepts like mathematics and writingPolitical forms

Break between institutions of early and later civilizationsFairly firm break in India resulting from climatic shifts, invasions, political declineChina, an exception, relatively continuous forms flow from early to later civilizationMiddle East break from riverine civilizations to following Persian and Greek empiresMiddle East smaller cultures provided bridge, producing new inventions and ideas

Significant theme: proliferating contact against backdrop of fierce local identityIncreased diversity of languages and cultures across planetConcurrent increased trade/contact between groups

By 1000 B.C.E., Phoenicians traded with Britain, Egypt traded with ChinaCivilization an integrating force at the regional level

Unique development of civilizations, only sporadic contact between themSmaller identities persisted

Shared features of early civilizationsCities, trade, writing, etc. meeting common basic definition of civilization

Diversity of civilizationsEach civilization unique in its processes, beliefs, attitudes, styles, etc.

CHAPTER SUMMARYA Hunter. An example of Neolithic culture can be found near the Pecos River, in the American Southwest, around 10,000 B.C.E. The hunter, traveling between communities, lit a fire and cooked a small animal, using tools he had brought with him and fuel found nearby. Humans had migrated to North America from northeast Asia as early as 25,000 B.C.E. Speech was possible by about 80,000 B.C.E.

Chapter Summary. Between the Old Stone Age (Paleolithic) and the New Stone Age (Neolithic)—12,000 to 8,000 B.C.E.—changes in human organization and food production prepared the way for the emergence of the first civilized societies. Neolithic development of agriculture was the first truly revolutionary transformation in human history. Neolithic farmers were able to remake environments to suit their needs, producing surpluses for the support of specialized elites in agriculture, commerce, and manufacturing. The combination of factors usually resulted in urban settlements marked by complex social stratification. Full civilizations emerged first in the Tigris-Euphrates valley, by 3500 B.C.E., and in Egypt along the Nile by 3000 B.C.E. The two very different civilizations had distinct political and cultural characteristics that influenced political forms, art, science, and architecture of neighboring and distant succeeding generations. Many small centers sprang up after 1500 B.C.E., mixing their cultures with Mesopotamian influences. Some of the smaller cultures had major influences. The Phoenicians, a maritime commercial society, absorbed important influences from major civilization centers, and around 1300 B.C.E., they devised a simplified alphabet that became the ancestor of the Greek and Latin lettering systems. The Hebrews, a Semitic people influenced by Babylonian civilization, moved into the southeast corner of the region around 1600 B.C.E. Their distinctive achievement was the development of a monotheistic and ethical religion that has persisted through the ages and is the basis of Christianity and Islam. East and South Asia also developed unique civilizations near great river systems. Chinese civilization emerged along the Huanghe River. In North China the formation of the Shang kingdom, from around 1500 to 1122 B.C.E., and the succeeding Zhou dynasty, marked the origins of the distinctive and enduring Chinese civilization. The ancestor to Indian civilizations, Harappa, flourished in the Indus River Valley. All early river valley civilizations encountered difficulties around 1000 B.C.E., establishing a break between the early and later periods of civilization. Climatic change, administrative weakness, and Nomadic Aryan invaders brought an end to the Harappan period in India between 1500 and 1000 B.C.E. The Aryans established the basis for a new pattern of civilization in South Asia.Human Life in the Era of Hunters and Gatherers. The human species emerged over a period of 2 to 2.5 million years, spreading to every landmass except polar regions. Most of this period is referred to as the Paleolithic (Old Stone) Age. Despite a propensity for violence, the disadvantages of a long period of dependency of infants on their mothers, and back pain due to an increasingly upright position, the species developed unique capacities for adaptation and survival. Between 500,000 and 700,000 years ago, Homo erectus, a less apelike species, whose larger brain and erect stance allowed better tool use, emerged. Fire was tamed about 750,000 years ago. Most groups supported themselves through hunting and gathering. Late Paleolithic Developments. About 240,000 years ago Homo sapiens sapiens emerged, also in Africa. The success of this subspecies means that no major changes in the basic human physique or brain size have occurred since its advent. More complex tool production, and impressive artistic and ritual creativity, demonstrated sophisticated levels of thinking. Fire, more sophisticated tools aiding

transportation, housing, fishing, and food preparation, plus the effects of climatic change, allowed the human species to spread widely. In the Mesolithic (Middle Stone) Age, from about 12,000 B.C.E. to 8000 B.C.E., humans had moved from Africa into Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Americas. More dramatic change was to occur in the Neolithic (New Stone) Age.The Neolithic Revolution. Human groups experimented with different survival strategies. Most individuals were members of small bands of hunters and gatherers constantly moving in pursuit of game and plants. Others harvested wild grains and established long-enduring settlements where they resided for a year or even longer. However, only the communities making the transition to true farming were capable of producing civilizations. The resulting food surpluses and increasing populations supplied by agriculture—deliberate planting of grains for later harvest—made urban life and occupation specialization possible. With agriculture, human beings were able to settle in one spot and focus on particular economic, political, and religious goals and activities. The reasons for this change are unclear, but climatic shifts associated with the close of the last ice age forced migration of game animals and changed wild crop distribution. People had long observed wild plants as they gathered their daily needs. Hunters and gatherers either experimented with wild seeds or accidentally discovered domestication. Once learned, the practice developed very slowly as people combined the new ideas with old techniques. From about 12,000 B.C.E., different animals—dogs, sheep, goats, pigs, and cattle—were tamed. Animal products improved the quality of life and increased crop yield.The Geography of Early Agriculture. Hunting-and-gathering societies persisted as sedentary agricultural societies developed. Animal domestication led to pastoralism in semi-arid regions. Pastoral peoples posed a serious challenge to agricultural societies and created extensive empires. Interactions between nomads and agriculturalists were a long-enduring major theme in world history. The agriculturists increased in numbers and spread their production techniques for grain crops and fibers from the Middle East to Asia, Europe, and northern Africa. Africans south of the Sahara evolved independently, developing root and tree crops. Rice, first cultivated in Southeast Asia, spread to China, India, and the Southeast Asian islands. Maize (corn) was developed in the Americas. Many scholars have termed the development of agriculture, the Neolithic Revolution, but the term is a bit misleading in that the shift to agriculture was no sudden transformation and many peoples continued to rely on hunting-and-gathering and herding.Patterns of Change. The growing population of sedentary humans, with their plants and animals, transformed their immediate environments. Agriculture supported larger populations with a more reliable food supply. Agricultural peoples could afford to build houses and villages. Despite the many benefits of a more sedentary existence, people did not uniformly embrace it. Some people came to agriculture as a result a diminishing supply of game, some were converted as conquering people moved in, some simply disappeared, the victims of diseases for which they had no immunities. On the steppes of central Asia, the climate was more conducive to herding and, in North America, Indians practiced only limited agriculture until just a few centuries ago. Nomadic invaders played a vital role across the millennia linking major civilizations until just a few centuries ago. Nonetheless, villages and their cultivated lands became the dominant feature of human habitation.Further Technological Change. Surplus production allowed the development of specialized occupations, including political and religious elites, and specialized production of tools, weapons, and pottery. Early science developed to understand weather and flooding patterns. The first potter’s wheel stimulated better, faster pottery production. One basic change took place fairly soon after the introduction of agriculture. The discovery of metal tools dates back to the Middle East around 4000 B.C.E. First copper, then bronze entered the picture. By about 3000 B.C.E. the last of the stone ages had passed into the Bronze Age. The distinction between “history” and “prehistory”, long dependant on the introduction of writing as the distinguishing characteristic, has been blurred in recent years as scholars have learned how to include objects and burial sites as part of the historical record. The preagricultural—agricultural distinction is more central.Civilization. Agriculture encouraged the formation of larger as well as more stable human communities than had existed before Neolithic times. Most hunting people lived in small tribal groups

and moved with the supply of game. Some agricultural peoples moved also, practicing a slash and burn method of agriculture whereby an area would be farmed until the soil became too depleted. Herders moved in tribal bands, with strong kinship ties as well.Settled Societies. Major agricultural regions involved more permanent settlements with structures, wells, and irrigation systems that were meant to last for generations. Irrigation and defense required the coordination of larger groups of people, and by 7000 B.C.E. population centers numbering in the thousands. One of the earliest settlements in the Neolithic transformation was at Çatal Hüyük.Çatal Hüyük. Çatal Hüyük, was founded around 7000 B.C.E. in southern Turkey. It was the most advanced human center of the Neolithic period. A rich economic base was built on extensive agricultural and commercial development. Standardized construction patterns suggest the presence of a powerful ruling elite associated with a priesthood. Well-developed religious shrines indicate the growing role of religion in people’s lives.Defining Civilization. Scholars have argued for two ways to define civilizations. The broader view takes it to mean that a society has developed enough economic surpluses to form divisions of labor and a social hierarchy involving significant inequalities. The narrower view suggests that the chief difference between civilizations and other societies, agricultural or not, involves the emergence of formal political organizations or states as opposed to family or tribes. The word civilization comes from the Latin term for city, and in truth most civilizations depend on the existence of significant cities that function as centers for governance, commerce, trade, sharing ideas, art, and science. Most civilizations also develop a form of writing to help manage taxes, contracts, treaties, and communications over long distances, as well as record events, observations, and ideas. People in civilizations have had a long history of looking down on societies unlike their own. The Greeks and Romans did; as did the Chinese and Aztecs. Europeans during the 17th and 18th centuries revived the perceived difference between civilized and barbarian societies. Interestingly, many nomadic societies were appalled at the doings of civilized peoples; they also have contributed significantly to world history. The term “civilization” cannot be equated with “good.” It commands the attention of historians because it is the form of human existence that has continued the process of technological change and political organization and generated the largest populations and most elaborate artistic and intellectual forms.

Having started in 3500 B.C.E., civilization developed in four initial centers—the Middle East, Egypt, northwestern India, and northern China—over the following 2500 years. (An early civilization would emerge in Central America, though slightly later in time.) Such early civilizations, all clustered in key river valleys, were in a way pilot tests of the new form of social organization. Only after about 1000 B.C.E. did a more consistent process of development and spread of civilization begin.Tigris–Euphrates Civilization. The first civilization appeared between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in a part of the Middle East long called Mesopotamia, generating the basic definition of civilization. Its society was based upon economic surplus and was able to support priests, government officials, merchants, and artisans. The spreading irrigation systems made regional coordination vital. A clearly defined government developed. Most individuals lived in the countryside. In the emerging cities, residents amassed wealth and power; they exchanged ideas encouraging technological innovation and artistic development; they promoted specialization in trade and manufacture. Sumerians, migrating from the north about 4000 B.C.E., mixed with local groups to establish Mesopotamian civilization. Already competent with copper and bronze manufactures, the wheel, pottery production, and irrigation processes and technologies, the Sumerians established the world’s first civilization from scratch around 3500 B.C.E. Around 3500 B.C.E. the Sumerians introduced writing to meet the needs of recording religious, commercial, and political matters. Their system of writing, called cuneiform, evolved from pictures baked on clay tablets that eventually became phonetic elements. Its complexity confined its use mostly to specialized scribes. Writing helped to produce a more elaborate culture. In art, statues and painted frescoes adorned temples and private homes. The Sumerians created patterns of observation and abstract thought, such as the science of astronomy and a numeric system based on units of 12, 60, and 360, still useful to many societies today. Their religion, based upon a pantheon of anthropomorphic gods

intervening arbitrarily in human affairs, was accompanied by fear and gloom among believers. Each city had a patron god. Priests were important because of their role in placating gods and in making astronomical calculations vital to the running of irrigation systems. Many Sumerian religious ideas influenced Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Political organization was based on city-states; their leaders—kings and local councils—ruled agricultural hinterlands. The government defined state boundaries, regulated and enforced religious duties, and provided court systems for justice. Kings were responsible for defense and warfare, and, along with priests, controlled land worked by slaves. Political stability and the use of writing allowed urban growth, and agricultural, commercial, and technological development. The Sumerians were not able to create a unified political system able to resist pressure from invaders, especially those who had copied their achievements. The first of these were the Akkadians, the Babylonians followed later. The Babylonian king, Hammurabi, is noted for establishing a code of law articulating court procedures, property rights, duties of family members, and punishments for crimes his subjects could expect. The Babylonians maintained Sumerian cultural traditions, extending its influence into other parts of the Middle East. New Arrivals, particularly Semitic peoples, adopted the culture of conquered peoples. But large political units declined in favor of smaller city-states or regional kingdoms, particularly during the centuries of greatest turmoil, between 1200 B.C.E. and 900 B.C.E. Thereafter, new invaders, first Assyrians and then Persians, created large new empires in the Middle East.Egyptian Civilization. Egyptian civilization, formed by 3000 B.C.E., benefited from contacts with Mesopotamia, but produced a very different society. Egyptian civilization flourished along the Nile River for 2000 years before beginning to decline around 1000 B.C.E. Less open to invasion, Egypt retained a unified state throughout most of its history and influenced later African culture. Egypt’s rulers, pharaohs, were contacts between gods and people, and had immense power. Political organization and economic development were coordinated under the authority of a pharaoh thought to possess the power to assure the prosperity of the Nile agricultural system. The pyramids were constructed to commemorate the greatness of pharaohs. In comparison with Mesopotamia, Egypt’s science and alphabet were less developed though mathematics proved more advanced and influential. For example, Egyptian mathematics produced the idea of a day divided into 24 hours. Egypt’s art was lively and colorful, depicting, for example, an afterlife in which people might be surrounded by the pleasures of earthly life. Egyptian architectural forms were also quite influential in Egypt but also in other parts of the Mediterranean.Indian and Chinese River Valley Civilizations. River valley civilizations developed in two other centers. A prosperous urban civilization emerged along the Indus River by 2500 B.C.E., supporting several large cities, including Harappa and Mohenjo Daro, whose houses even had running water. Indus River peoples had trading contacts with Mesopotamia, but they developed their own alphabet and artistic forms. Infiltrations by Indo-Europeans, however, plus natural calamities, resulted in such destruction that it makes it hard to speak with confidence about either the nature of this culture or its subsequent influence on India. It remains true that civilization never had to be fully reinvented in India.The Great Cities of the Indus Valley. Harappa and Mohenjo Daro were densely populated, walled cities similar in layout and construction. They were built on a square grid pattern divided by main streets into smaller, precise grids. Buildings and walls were made of standardized kiln-dried bricks. The massive scale required an autocratic government able to manage large numbers of workers. Each city possessed fortified citadels that served as defensive sanctuaries, community centers, assembly halls or places of worship, and public bathing tanks. Large granaries located nearby stored grain, whose sale and production may have been regulated by the state. The main food crops were wheat, rye, peas, and possibly rice, and domesticated animals and cotton were also part of the system. Irrigation systems controlled the rivers’ flow. The cities were major trading centers; there is evidence of trade with Mesopotamia, China, and Burma. The Harappans remained conservative and resistant to external influences, including weapon development. A powerful class of priests, drawing authority from their role as intermediary between the populace and gods, dominated society. Promoting fertility was a paramount concern. The most prominent deity depicted was a horned god. The concern with fertility also

was demonstrated by numerous mother-goddesses. The presence of these figures, in Sumer and other urban sites in the Persian Gulf region, suggests that large quantities of various commodities were traded in the region spanning Mesopotamia and the Indus River valley. The precise causes of Harappan decline remain disputed. Evidence suggests that the region suffered from severe flooding and earthquakes. Shifts in climatic patterns eventually transformed the fertile region into an arid steppe. The priestly class lost power. Civilization disappeared as Aryan pastoralists conquered the indigenous agricultural population and settled in their place. The Aryans, warrior herders, may have consciously destroyed or neglected the irrigation system on which the Harappan people had once depended. They were superb horsemen, employed chariots, and had more effective weapons than the Harappans. The interaction between the invaders and indigenous peoples established the basis for India’s great classical civilization.Early Civilization in China. Chinese civilization took form independently along the Yellow River (Huanghe), although some overland trading contact with India and the Middle East did develop. A state arose to carefully regulate irrigation in the flood-prone river valley and by 2000 B.C.E., the Chinese had advanced technology, science, music, intellectual life, pottery, an early system of ideographic writing, and could ride horses. By 1000 B.C.E., they had introduced iron, which they soon learned to work with coal. By 1500 B.C.E., one tribe, the Shang, skilled horsemen, chariot drivers, and metalworkers, became dominant and established the foundations of Chinese civilization. They were warlike nomads, ruled by strong kings, regarded as the intermediary between the supreme being and mortals; he held responsibility for the fertility of the state. The king presided over a sizeable bureaucracy and system of vassalage ascribing land tenure, tribute, military service, and administrative duties. The state itself was understood as the center of the world. Shang elites were preoccupied with rituals, oracles, and sacrifices. They joined the ruler in propitiating spirits to provide crops and offspring. Artistic expression peaked in bronze vessels used for offerings of grain, incense, wine, and animals. Human sacrifice occurred during ritual warfare and ceremonies. Shamans performed oracular functions for harvests, wars, journeys, and marriages. Readings were taken from animal bones and tortoise shells. They were drilled and seared, and the resulting cracks were interpreted. Patterns inscribed on the bones and shells formed the basis for a written language that provided the diverse peoples of the loess zone with a common culture. The initially pictographic characters evolved to convey complex ideas. By the end of the Shang period there were 3000 characters. The bones and bronze vessels on which the characters were first carved gave way to bamboo, silk, and wooden surfaces. In the 1st century C.E., they were replaced by the Chinese invention of paper. The written language made communication possible between the elites, and eventually artisan and cultivating classes, of the many different groups across the region’s diverse cultures and languages. The use of increasingly standardized and sophisticated characters provided a bond between river valley peoples. Writing became fundamental to Chinese identity and the growth of civilization.The Heritage of the River Valley Civilizations. Many accomplishments of the river valley civilizations had a lasting impact. Monuments such as the Egyptian pyramids have long been regarded as one of the wonders of the world. More prosaic achievements are fundamental to world history even today: the invention of the wheel, the taming of the horse, the creation of usable alphabets and writing implements, the production of key mathematical concepts such as square roots, the development of well organized monarchies and bureaucracies, and the invention of functional calendars and other divisions of time. Almost all later civilizations are built on the massive foundations first constructed in the river valleys. Despite the many accomplishments, over 2500 years, most of the river valley civilizations were in decline by 1000 B.C.E.Heritage of Early Civilizations. While the Harrapan civilization of the Indus valley collapsed, and much was lost, influences persisted at the core of following Indian civilizations. Harappan civilization had a markedly different legacy than the Shang. The region where the Chinese polities emerged became the center of a civilization continuing until today. The system of writing was one of many factors in the evolution of Chinese civilization. Mesopotamia and Egypt differed in influencing regions beyond their spheres. Europeans, even North Americans, are sometimes prone to claim these cultures as the “origins” of the Western civilization in which we live. These claims should not be taken too literally. It is not clear

that either Egypt or Mesopotamia contributed much to later political life, though the Roman Empire emulated the concept of a godlike king and the existence of strong city-states in the Middle East itself continued to be significant. Ideas about slavery may have been passed on from these civilizations. Specific scientific achievements proved vital, for example the Greeks studied Egyptian mathematics. Scholars argue, however, on how much was passed on beyond certain techniques for measuring time or charting the stars. Some historians of philosophy have argued that Mesopotamian-influenced cultures emphasized a division between humanity and nature, in sharp contrast to the Chinese understanding of harmony, which they claim affected later civilizations around the Mediterranean in contrast to China. It is, however, hard to assess these continuities. Mesopotamian art and Egyptian architecture had a more measurable influence on Greek styles, and through these, in turn, later European and Muslim cultures.New Societies in the Middle East. There was a final connection between early and later civilizations in the form of regional cultures that sprang up under the influence of Egypt and Mesopotamia, along the eastern shores of the Mediterranean mainly after 1200 B.C.E. Civilization had spread widely enough to encourage a set of smaller centers to emerge, mixing their cultures with Mesopotamian influences. These cultures produced important innovations that would affect later civilizations in the Middle East, the Mediterranean, and other parts of the world as well. For example, the Phoenicians devised a simplified alphabet that became the ancestor of the Greek and Latin lettering systems. They also improved the Egyptian numbering system Phoenician traders established colonies on the shores of the Mediterranean in Europe and North Africa. Another regional group, the Lydians, first introduced coined money.Judaism. The most influential of the smaller Middle Eastern groups were the Jews, who gave the world the first clearly developed monotheistic religion. The Hebrews, a Semitic people influenced by Babylonian civilization settled around the Mediterranean around 1200 B.C.E. Their distinctive achievement was the development of a monotheistic and ethical religion. They regarded themselves as a chosen people under God’s guidance. Their religious ideas were written down in the Hebrew Bible and other writings. The Jewish religion and moral code persisted even as the Jewish state suffered domination by foreign rulers, from 772 B.C.E. until the Romans seized the state outright in 63 B.C.E. In Jewish hands, the concept of God became less humanlike, more abstract. This represented a basic change in not only religion but humankind’s overall outlook. God had not only a power but also a rationality unlike the capricious traditional gods; the Jewish God was orderly and just, and individuals would know what to expect if they obeyed God’s rules. God was also linked to ethical conduct, to proper moral behavior. Religion for the Jews was a way of life, not merely a set of rituals and ceremonies. The Jews were not important politically, but their written religion enabled them, even when dispersed, to retain cultural identity. The Jews did not try to convert other peoples, but the later proselytizing faiths of Christianity and Islam incorporated their ideas.Assessing the Early Civilization Period. Overall, the river valley civilizations, flourished for many centuries, created a basic set of tools, intellectual concepts such as writing and mathematics, and political forms that would persist and spread to other parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Invasion and natural calamities in India, and invasions and political decline in Egypt, marked a fairly firm break between the institutions of these river valley civilizations and those that would later develop. Huang he civilization, in contrast, flowed more fully into the more extensive Chinese civilization that would follow. The Middle East, where civilization had first been born, provided the most complex heritage of all. Here too there was a break between the riverine empires and the civilizations of Greece and Persia that would later dominate the region. However, smaller cultures, such as that of the Jews, provided a bridge between the river valley period and later Middle Eastern society, producing vital new inventions and ideas. One final result of the first, long period of human civilization is clear: a pattern of division of the world’s peoples. Small groups of people had spread to every corner of the world, developing separate languages and cultures. The rise of agriculture stimulated new links, for example, the Phoenicians traded with Britain for metals whereas the Chinese traded their silks with Egypt. Here we have one of the basic themes of history: steadily proliferating contacts against a backdrop of often fierce local identity. Civilization itself was an integrating force at a larger regional level though smaller identities persisted. Four distinct centers of civilization (five, if the emerging Olmec culture in Mexico is

included), shared the basic features defining civilization, like cities, trade, and writing, but each developed widely varied patterns, from style of writing to beliefs about nature. Civilization and considerable diversity thus coexisted hand in hand.GLOBAL CONNECTIONS: The Early Civilizations and the World. Mesopotamia and Egypt presented two different approaches to relationships outside the home region. Mesopotamia was flat, with few natural barriers to recurrent invasion from the north. Perhaps for this reason, Mesopotamian leaders thought in terms of expansion, conquering territories within the Middle East. Many traders pushed outward dealing either with merchants to the east or sending expeditions into the Mediterranean and beyond, and also to India. Egypt, though not isolated, was more self-contained. There was important trade and interaction along the Nile to the south, which brought mutual influences with the peoples of the Kush and Ethiopia. Trade and influence also linked Egypt to Mediterranean islands like Crete, south of Greece. River valley civilization in had fewer far-reaching contacts than its counterpart in Mesopotamia. Ultimately, however, contacts with China would shape development in Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. Already in the river valley period, the Chinese were advancing new technologies, for example the manufacture of silk, which would have wide influence on later interregional trade. Chinese irrigation systems became increasingly sophisticated, involving engineering principles that would gain wider scope later on. Harappan society traded widely with Mesopotamia, but there is little evidence of significant influence. Harappan civilization proved much more vulnerable to natural disasters and climate change, particularly in contrast to China. Comparison of the early civilizations thus emphasizes quite different patterns of scope and legacy.

KEY TERMS

Hunting and gathering: means of obtaining subsistence by humans before the mastery of sedentary agriculture; normally typical of tribal social organization.

Civilization: societies with reliance on sedentary agriculture, ability to produce food surpluses, and existence of nonfarming elites, along with merchant and manufacturing groups.

Paleolithic: the Old Stone Age ending in 12,000 B.C.E.; typified by use of evolving stone tools and hunting and gathering for subsistence.

Neolithic: the New Stone Age between 8000 and 5000 B.C.E.; period in which adaptation of sedentary agriculture occurred; domestication of plants and animals accomplished.

Nomads: cattle- and sheep-herding societies normally found on the fringes of civilized societies; commonly referred to as “barbarian” by civilized societies.

Culture: combinations of ideas, objects, and patterns of behavior that result from human social interaction.

Homo sapiens: the species of humanity that emerged as most successful at the end of the Paleolithic.

Agrarian revolution: occurred between 8000 and 5000 B.C.E.; transition from hunting and gathering to sedentary agriculture.

Pastoralism: a nomadic agricultural lifestyle based on herding domesticated animals; tended to produce independent people capable of challenging sedentary agricultural societies.

Çatal Hüyük: early urban culture based on sedentary agriculture; located in modern southern Turkey; larger in population than Jericho, had greater degree of social stratification.

Bronze Age: from 4000 to 3000 B.C.E.; increased use of plow, metalworking; development of wheeled vehicles, writing.

Mesopotamia: literally “between the rivers”; the civilizations that arose in the alluvial plain of the Tigris-Euphrates river valleys.

Potter’s wheel: a technological advance in pottery making; invented circa 6000 B.C.E.; encouraged faster and higher-quality ceramic pottery products.

Sumerians: people who migrated into Mesopotamia circa 4000 B.C.E.; created the first civilization within the region; organized area into city-states.

Cuneiform: a form of writing developed by the Sumerians using a wedge-shaped stylus and clay tablets.

City-state: a form of political organization typical of Mesopotamian civilization; consisted of agricultural hinterlands ruled by an urban-based king.

Ziggurats: massive towers usually associated with Mesopotamian temple connections.

Babylonian Empire: unified all of Mesopotamia circa 1800 B.C.E.; collapsed due to foreign invasion circa 1600 B.C.E.

Hammurabi: the most important Babylonian ruler; responsible for codification of the law.

Pharaoh: the term used to denote the kings of ancient Egypt; the term, “great house” refers to the palace of the pharaohs.

Pyramids: monumental architecture typical of Old Kingdom Egypt; used as burial sites for pharaohs.

Hieroglyphs: form of writing developed in ancient Egypt; more pictorial than Mesopotamian cuneiform.

Kush: African state that developed along the upper reaches of the Nile circa 1000 B.C.E.; conquered Egypt and ruled it for several centuries.

Monotheism: the exclusive worship of one god; introduced by Jews into Middle Eastern civilization.

Phoenicians: seafaring civilization located on the shores of the eastern Mediterranean; established colonies throughout the Mediterranean.

Harappa and Mohenjo Daro: major urban complexes of Harappan civilization; laid out on planned grid pattern.

Aryans: Indo-European nomadic, warlike, pastoralists who replaced Harappan civilization.

Huanghe (Yellow) River Basin: site of the development of sedentary agriculture in China.

Shang: 1st Chinese dynasty.

Oracles: shamans or priests in Chinese society who foretold the future through interpreting animal bones cracked by heat; inscriptions on bones led to Chinese writing.

Ideographic writing: pictograph characters grouped together to create new concepts; typical of Chinese writing.