“Thinking Human” species. The species to which all of us belong.
Early humans made their tools out of stone. The Paleolithic Age refers to the “Stone Age” The Neo-Paleolithic age refers to the “New
Stone Age.”The Neo-Paleolithic Age emerged during the
11,000 years before 3,000 B.C.E.
Early Homo Sapiens sapiens
What were the characteristics of Hunter-gatherers?
Characteristics of early Human societies
Small bands of a few dozen peopleMoved incessantly in search of foodNo domesticated animals to carry possessions Basic toolsFew distinctions of wealth or statusFew gender-based specializations of work No surplus—most activities devoted to
acquiring food and tools
Characteristics of Hunter-Gatherer Groups
Development of Managed food productionBeginnings of semi-permanent and
permanent settlementsTrade over short and long distancesIndividuals began to accumulate wealthSpecialization of workDistinctions of Status and Rank
Urbanization began with the Neolithic Revolution about 11,00 years ago
Once the Ice Age began to recede, the warmer, wetter climate in the areas that today comprise Turkey, Syria, the disputed territories between Israel and Jordan, Iraq and Western Iran, the Arabian Peninsula and Egypt enabled wild grains to grow.
These plant resources enabled people to have a surplus food supply and engage in agricultural cultivation making a shift away from hunter-gathering to a sedentary settlement possible.
The Fertile Crescent
Population increaseDietary changes (more carbohydrates)Diseases Deliberate Management of AgricultureAccumulation of wealthSocial stratification vs. egalitarian societyWomen’s workTrade over longer distances
Effects of Agricultural Production and Sedentary Communities
What geographic features may have played a role in the development of Catalhoyuk?
Catalhoyuk Geography
What do these images suggest about Catalhoyuk society?
Catalhoyuk
What do these images suggest aboutCatalhoyuk society? Can we be certain?
Three Early Civilizations: Sumer, Akkad, & Egypt
Located in Mesopotamia, “Land between the Rivers,”
Al-Ubiad: best known site of archaeological discovery about Sumer
Founded +/- 5900 B.C.E.Distinctive features
IrrigationCentral religious structuresPriestly class: officiated over religious life and
managed the economic resources of the community.
Sumer
Densely populated settlementsCentral ReligionIncreasing wealth & control of the Priestly
class over economic lifeProsperity attracted immigrantsIncreased grain and crop productionTrade = need for records: new
communications technology ->writing.
Urbanism
4000 B.C.E. villagers using clay tokens to keep track of inventory and facilitate trade
By 3300 B.C.E.:: inscribe flat clay tablets with symbols Reeds made a wedge shape symbol Pictographs not letters Over time Phonograms depicted the sound made by the
symbol Several hundred symbols required scribes and schools Scribes were elite sons of priests and rulers
Cuneiform
Large portion of the land belonged to the temple honoring the patron god.
Temples controlled production of textiles and the labor of women and children
Priests and temple officials were the ruling class
Free Dependents1/2 populationSmall parcels of land: subsistence farmingArtisans and temple laborers: worked for the
temple as free labor but owned no land
Sumerian Society
Usually prisoners of warSlave from another Sumerian City: released
in 3 yearsMasters had less power over Sumerian slaves
than they had over immigrantsSlaves could buy their freedom Slaves were propertyMany slaves were women
Slaves
Between 4300 and 2900: copper traded to Sumer where the Sumerians processed it into weapons
Around 3000 B.C.E. discovery: Copper + arsenic or tin = Bronze Historians categorize the period as the Bronze Age
Invention of the wheel Potter’s wheels: 4th century B.C.E. Two wheeled chariots and 4 wheeled carts: about 2600
B.C.E.Mathematics
Lunar calendar: based on the cycle of the moon, 12 months Divided time into 60 minute intervals
Science and technology
Humanity wrested from the inhospitable earth and created for one purpose: To serve the gods
Honor gods with temples (ziggurats) & victory in war
Afterlife: the dead crossed a man-eating river into the “Land of No Return” No light Food, clothing, and diversions had to be provided to the
dead
Sumerian Religion
What does Sumerian Religion reflect about the environment in which the Sumerians lived?
Each Sumerian settlement recognized all the Sumerian gods but viewed their own settlement as the property of one god who would be glorified by exalting their city
Intense competition often led to open warfareSettlements were basically independent city-
states
Why did a common Religion not Create Peace among the Sumerians?
2 Empires of Mesopotamia: Akkad & Babylon
Akkad (city-state) similar to Sumerian Culture
Maintained own languageSargon: first “Lugal” (big man) to impose
centralized rule over the regionInstalled Akkadian-speaking governors to rule
over conquered citiesMade former city-states pay taxes to himControlled trade routesMerged Sumerian and Akkadian gods and
appointed a single High Priest (usually daughters)
Akkadian Empire (2350-2160 B.C.E.)
Old Babylonian Empire
Babylon: a weak Kingdom in central Mesopotamia in 1792 B.C.E. when Hammurabi came to power
Hammurabi recognized the geographic advantages of the location for military & commercial dominance
Hammurabi used negotiation and political strategy rather than brute military strength to forge alliances and create antagonisms between rival cities while acting as neutral mediator
He initiated military conquests only after his neighbors had depleted their resources and exhausted their peoples as a result of their incessant warfare
Hammurabi & the old Babylonian empire (1792 B.C.E. – 1595 B.C.E.)
Well developed ruling class of priests and nobles
Large free dependent class of artisans, merchants and laborers
SlavesWomen were considered property of
husbands but had certain rights to divorce
Social Stratification in Hammurabi’s Empire
Old Babylonian Empire lasted 2 centuriesEffectiveness of writing as political tool
Treaties & diplomatic agreementsCommunication between heads of statePropaganda and law
Used religion to unify peoples of his empire under a supreme god who gave the ruler the right to rule
Hammurabi’s Legacy
Egyptian civilization developed contemporaneously with Sumer
Geography and culture were very different
Egypt
EgyptGeography
Land renewed every year by annual flooding of the Nile
Nile Valley was richest agricultural region in ancient Near East
Surrounding desert protected Egypt from invading armies
GeographyPeriodic floodingFew natural
resourcesIncessant warfare
between city-states
The Development of Civilization in Egypt
Sumer
Egypt Continuity: Egypt maintained
distinct and independent identity from 5000 B.C.E. – 30 B.C.E.
Egyptians considered their land to be the center of the cosmos
Pharaohs were considered living gods who headed a powerful centralized bureaucratic state
Successive wars between city states and kingdoms rendered high degree of cultural diffusion and short-lived empires
Sumerian and Akkadian Civilizations had no such assurance and endured incessant warfare
A pantheon of competing deities gave the Lugal/King divine right to rule. Less centralized government
Cultural Differences between Egypt and Sumer
Sumer
Pre-dynastic Egypt (C. 10,000-3100 B.C.E.)First known permanent settlement was C. 4750
B.C.E. and located southeast of the Nile Delta3500 B.C.E. extensive commercial contacts
with Sinai Peninsula, Sumer and upper reaches of Nile in what is today Sudan.
Copper tradeNile River was a conduit for increased
interaction between settlements/urban centersConfederation of cities in upper and lower
Egypt developed by 3100 B.C.E.
History of Ancient Egypt: 3 Dynastic Periods interrupted by Archaic Periods
The First Archaic Period & Egyptian Unification (3100-C. 2686 B.C.E.)
Papyrus Lighter, easier to write on and more
transportable than clay tables.When sewn together into scrolls one could
store a large amount of information in a small space
Valuable export for EgyptRecords contain much information about
Pharaohs but next to nothing about common people
By 2686 Pharaoh was not only considered divine but he was considered the embodiment of Egypt itself
Hieroglyphic Writing (C. 3200 B.C.E.)
Pharaoh was owed taxes and laborLocal governors (usually members of Pharaoh’s
extended family) administered cities in Pharaoh’s name.
Scribes : literate bureaucratsFree Laborers did most of the work and lived
poorlySlaves were treated better than in most ancient
societies and had specific rights including the right to own, sell and inherit personal property
The Old Kingdom (C. 2686-2160 B.C.E.)
Officially prohibited from attending scribal schools, some elite women were nonetheless literate
Women had rights to appear in court as their own person and could sue for divorce, defend herself and testify as a witness
Women could not have more than one husband or partner but men could
Women in the Old Kingdom
Egyptians believed themselves superior to other peoples because the gods had protected their land and they were ruled by a god—not the god’s representative
Osiris and IsisEgyptian religion demonstrates the belief in
the cycle of renewal, rhythmic, cyclical, inevitable
Religion
Step pyramid (right) Khafre’s pyramid (below)
Pyramids
Great Pyramid
Local governors attained increasing power in their own areas
Evidence of climatic changes that interrupted the flooding cycle of the Nile
Small states forming in Nubia to the south may have diminished Egyptian control of precious metals like Copper and Gold.
Egypt was no longer united by 2160Diffusion of wealth and culture during this period2055 B.C.E. Mentuhotep II of Thebes conquered
the Northern Kingdom
First Intermediate Period (2160 B.C.E.- 2055 B.C.E.)
Mentuhotep II was overthrown by his vizier (chief counselor) Amenemhet.
Amenemhet’s family ruled for 200 years as the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt.
Built extensive fortifications and extended tradeDominated NubiaExpedition to Punt (Somalia)Palestine & Syria also under Egyptian influence
Egypt was not an imperial power but did take an active interest in events beyond their border.
Middle Kingdom (2055- C.1650 B.C.E.)
Mentuhotep II
Amenemhet I
