Groove Time
Nytimes.com headline for September 16, 2013 reads:
“Gunman and 12 Victims Killed in Shooting at D.C. Navy Yard.”
What happened?
What are reasons for and against gun control?
What do YOU think?
Ancient Civilizations:Mesopotamia and China
Mesopotamia
First civilizations to develop after the Neolithic Revolution
Modern day area known as the Middle East
“The land between the rivers” Euphrates and Tigris
Tigris and Euphrates
Dry region (very little rain)Rivers flooded in late-springDeveloped irrigation systems
Brought water miles away from it’s source Big boom in agriculture (farming)
Government/Economy Culture
City-states run by kings
Theocracy – governed by a divine authorityKings were chosen by the
gods.Economy mostly
agriculture with some trade and industry.
3 social groups: elites, commoners and slaves 90% of population
were farmers.Cuneiform –
“wedge shaped”, earliest known form of writing
Sumerians in Mesopotamia (3000BCE)
Religion
Polytheism – belief in multiple gods (3000!)
Worshipped in temples atop a massive stepped tower called a ziggurat.
Sumerians (3000 BCE)
Peoples
Sumerians – 3000 BCE Epic of Gilgamesh
Akkadians – 2340 BCE Postal service
Assyrians – 2000 BCE Military technology
Babylonians – 1800 BCE Code of Hammurabi
Code of Hammurabi
A collection of 282 laws made by Hammurabi (Babylonian king)
One of the earliest written pieces of work.“Eye for eye, a tooth for a tooth.”Crimes against upper society were treated
much harsher than lower society.
Indus Valley Civilization (3000 BCE)
Civilization emerged in the Indus Valley Modern day India and
Pakistan
Peoples
Indus civilization – 3000 BCEAryans – 2000 BCE
Nomadic before arriving Interacted with descendants of the Indus Valley
people Blended cultures
Government/Economy Culture
The region was made up of small kingdoms led by rajas (princes)
Large Indian state established in 300 BCE
Mostly farming economy but some trade with Sumerians
Varnas – system of rank Brahmins -> Kshatriyas -
> Vaisyas -> SudrasFamily-oriented society
Patriarchy – papa is in charge
Suttee – ritual where wife throws herself on husband’s funeral pyre
Aryans
Hinduism Buddhism
Earliest religionPolytheisticBelieved in one
ultimate force in the Universe (Brahman)
500 BCEDid not worship
godsBelieved in life
without material things.
Religion
Sanskrit
Written Indo-European language
1000 BCEUsed to record
legends and religious rituals
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