Early Cities

Start of Early C

ities

• Cities start following the boom of the Neolithic Revolution– Constant food allows people to

stay in one place and make villages

• People begin building permanent settlements

• Permanent settlements - homes built with the intention of lasting for numerous years

Needs of E

arly Cities

• Needed to be near fresh water– For drinking and farming– Also made trade / travel easier

• Needed organization– Place for trade, farming, other

businesses

• These needs lead to many changes in villages to complex and advanced cities.

New

Inventions C

hange Lives of

Villages

• New Inventions come about– Farming - plows, sickles, irrigation

canals, etc.

• Inventions create need for relationships with neighbors– Shared canals used by many fields

• Some farmers able to grow more food– Surpluses mean NOT everyone

has to farm

– Allows for new jobs

What M

akes a C

ivilization?

• Advanced Cities

• Specialized Workers

• Complex Institutions

• Record Keeping

• Advanced Technology

Advanced C

ities

• Cities with organized areas– Area for trade (marketplace)– Areas for living, farming, etc.

• Marketplace becomes the most important area due to trade and social part of life

• In order to trade, you must have items to trade, need workers

Specialized Workers

• With surpluses of food, people began to focus on new jobs

• Became specialized workers- workers only focus on one job– Artisans - workers that build/create

things with their hands

• People became metal workers, weavers, potters, farmers, etc.– Leads to many new inventions

Com

plex Institutions

• Includes any organized system that is needed in a civilization

• Government– Needed for ruling, taxes, leaders

• Religion – Began to share common beliefs– Believed in ‘natural’ gods

• Had major temples for religion

• Economy/ Trade– Used a system of barter (trade)

Record K

eeping

• Needed to keep track of tax collections, laws, grain storage– Also used for calendars, etc.

• Scribes - professional recorders• Needed to create written

languages to write things down– Created pictographs - pictures to

represent words– Stylus - used to press into the clay