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Early River Valley Civilizations 3500 B.C.-450 B.C.
Early River Valley Civilizations
3500 B.C.-450 B.C.
Mesopotamia
• Fertile Cresent- curved shape piece of rich land in present-day Iraq
• “Land Between The Rivers”– Tigris River/Euphrates River
Sumerian City-States
• Multiple cities with different government and and different rulers, linked together with a similar culture.
• Dynasty- series of rulers from the same family
• Cultural Diffusion- ideas and products spreading from one culture to another
Sumerian Culture
• Polytheism- belief in more than one god
• Cuneiform
• Arithmetic – City Walls/Buildings, Irrigation, Organization– Base 60
• Conquered Northern and Southern Mesopotamia
• Created first empire
• Empire- brings together several peoples and nations under the control of one ruler
Sargon Of Akkad
Babylonian Empire
• Amorites- nomadic warriors
• Invaded Mesopotamia in 2000 B.C.
• Capital in Babylon
• Peak during reign of Hammurabi
Hammurabi’s Code
• Uniform code of laws to unify diverse groups in empire
• Engraved in stone
• Created order and uniformity
• Clear punishments
• Based on social classes
• Bounded on the south, east and west by desert, and on the north by the sea
• Protected from outside influences
• Evolved in a unique way
The Nile River
• Longest river in the world
• Flows north to Mediterranean Sea
• Large Flood Plain led to permanent villages
TRANSPORTATION: The Nile River was the highway that joined the country together. Up until the nineteenth century, travel by land was virtually unknown.
• Stone pyramids, tombs, temples and palaces
• Skilled workers consisting of highly trained craftsmen and laborers
• Paintings, carved stone images, hieroglyphs, and statues
• Stories of the pharaohs, the gods, the common people and the natural world of plants, birds and animals
• How did humans move such massive blocks of stone using only Stone Age tools?
• The Egyptians left thousands of illustrations depicting daily life in the Old Kingdom, but none of them show how pyramids were built.
• Theories try to explain it, but the mystery has yet to be solved.
• Were ramps used to haul the stone blocks on wooden sleds up the side of the pyramids?
• Lubricated with water to reduce friction
• 10 men were needed to drag a stone
• Several ramps on each side of the pyramid at different levels
• May have been coiled
The Ramp Theory
• Wooden Crane Theory
• Egyptians did not have access to trees that were strong enough for this.
• 2.5 ton blocks
• Pulley And Fulcrum Theory
• Pulleys were used on ships at the time.
Other Pyramid-Construction Theories…
Funerary Complex
1. Processional Causeway
2. Funerary Temple
3. Solar Barques
4. Mastabas
• Government and religion were inseparable. • The Pharaoh was the head of State and the divine representative of
the gods on earth. • Religion and government brought order to society through:– Temple construction– Laws– Taxation– Labor organization– Trade– Defense of interests
• The PHAROAH was at the top of the social hierarchy.
It gained stability through the co-operation of all levels of the population.
• Under them were the HIGH PRIESTS, followed by ROYAL OVERSEERS (administrators) who ensured that the 42 DISTRICT GOVERNORS carried out the pharaoh's orders.
• Next to him, the most powerful officers were the VIZIERS, the executive heads of the bureaucracy.
• At the bottom of the hierarchy were the SCRIBES, ARTISANS, FARMERS, and LABORERS.
Pharaohs often showed themselves as warriors who single-handedly killed scores of enemies and
slaughtered a whole pride of lions.
• Not all men
• Women also gained the throne, most important being Queen Hatshepsut.
• Royal women got status from relationship with king.
• Kings had many wives. (Rameses II had eight wives and over a hundred children.)
• Married within family
Vizier• Prince or person of
exceptional ability
• "superintendent of all works of the king“
• Supreme Judge of the State
• All commands passed through his hands first.
• Hieroglyphics is one of the earliest languages to be written down
• First on stone and pottery dating from 3100 B.C. to 3000 B.C.
• Remained in use for almost 3,000 years
• Hieroglyph literally means "sacred carvings”
• Scribes went through a long apprenticeship before they mastered the skill of writing.
• The ability to write guaranteed a possibility of career advancement.
Be a scribe. It will save you from toil and protect you from every kind of work. It will spare you from bearing hoe and mattock, so that you will not have to carry a basket. It will keep you from plying the oar and spare you all manner of hardships.
-- Excerpt from a text used in the New Kingdom for the instruction of scribes.
Papyrus Plant
Papyrus Sheet
First Form Of Paper• Papyrus stem interior was cut into
thin strips.
• Soaked in water and beaten to break down and flatten
• Layered crosswise and lengthwise to produce a sheet, which was beaten again to mesh the strips together
• Dried with weight presses
Book Of The Dead
• 190 chapters of spells to assist the deceased on their journey
• Placed near dead
• Later, the spells were written on strips of linen that were wrapped around the mummies.
• Concept of God did not exist
• Concerned about natural phenomena and how they were controlled
• This stage of religious development is referred to as magical.
Before the concept of God existed, magical power was symbolized in the hieroglyph of a scepter.
• People gradually gained personal identity.
• Began to conceive the gods in a personalized form
• This stage in development is called mythical.
• When writing was being invented and myths were being formulated
• Theocracy- kings as representations of gods
• Every town had its own deity represented by an animal.
• Given human bodies with human attributes
• Temples to venerate local gods
Osiris Isis Horus
• Changed to a national religion with a smaller number of principal deities
• Moving towards a monotheistic faith symbolized by the Sun God (Ra)?
• Common understanding about the creation of the world and the possibility of reverting to chaos (Nu) with destructive forces
Priests• Clothed, fed, and put to
bed images that represented gods at temples
• Ceremonies to nourish the Ka (spirit) of a deceased pharaoh in mortuary temples
• Shaved their heads and body hair and washed twice daily for purification
• Wore gowns or kilts of pure white linen
Believed in an everlasting life and resurrection of the body
EXAMPLES: The sun fell into the western horizon each evening and was reborn the next morning in the east. New life sprouted from grains planted in the earth, and the moon waxed and waned.
As long as order was maintained, everything was highly dependable and life after death could be achieved. But there were certain conditions.
For example, the body had to be preserved through MUMMIFICATION and given a properly furnished tomb with everything needed for life in the afterworld.
Around 450 B.C., the Greek historian Herodotus documented the art of mummification.
As much of the brain as it is possible is extracted through the nostrils with an iron hook, and what the hook cannot reach is dissolved with drugs. Next, the flank is slit open . . . and the entire contents of the abdomen removed. The cavity is then thoroughly cleansed and washed out . . . Then it is filled with pure crushed myrrh, cassia, and all other aromatic substances, except frankincense. [The incision] is sewn up, and then the body is placed in natron, covered entirely for 70 days, never longer. When this period . . . is ended, the body is washed and then wrapped from the head to the feet in linen which has been cut into strips and smeared on the underside with gum which is commonly used by the Egyptians in the place of glue. -- Herodotus
• Natron- disinfectant and dehydration agent to dry out corpse (salt and baking soda)
• Body was filled with Nile mud, sawdust, lichen and cloth scraps to make it more flexible
• Onions or linen pads were used to replace the eyes.
• Internal organs were removed, washed with palm wine and spices, and stored in canopic jars.
• Heart was left in the body as center of intelligence
Mummification Tools • Knife to make the
abdominal incision
• Hooked bronze RODS to extract brain matter
• Wooden tool to remove internal organs
• Funnel to pour resins into the cranial cavity through the nose
Concepts Of Soul
• KA is the life force or spiritual double of the person.
• BA is represented as a human-headed bird that leaves the body when a person dies.
• AKH is the spirit of Re, the transfigured spirit of a person that becomes one with light after death.
The journey to the afterworld was considered full of danger.
1. Underworld: inhabited by serpents armed with long knives, fire-spitting dragons and reptiles with five ravenous heads
2. Land Of The Gods: pass through seven gates, reciting accurately a magic spell at each stop.
3. Hall Of Osiris: Place of judgment
Weighing Of The Heart
• Gods judge whether the person's deeds were virtuous.
• Heart was placed on a scale, counterbalanced by a feather that represented Maat, the goddess of truth and justice.
• Balanced=Immortality
• Unbalanced=Devoured by the goddess Amemet
• Intensive Agriculture (Sowing, Plowing)
• Strict Hierarchical Society
Breaking the ground with plow and hoe
Reaping and scattering the seed
Separating the grain from the chaff
• The land was worked by the peasants, but owned by the king
• Farmers had to meet grain quotas, which were a form of taxation.
• Allowed to keep a portion
• Severely punished without quota
• In mid-September, farmers blocked canals to keep the water for irrigation.
• Shaduf- mechanical irrigation device used to conduct water from the canals to the fields
LIVESTOCK was important to the Egyptian economy, supplying meat, milk, hides, and dung for cooking fuel.
A variety of DOMESTICATED ANIMALS were raised, including cattle, oxen, sheep, goats, pigs, ducks and geese. Peasants probably enjoyed meat on special occasions.
Barley and emmer, were used to make BEER and BREAD, the main staples of the Egyptian diet. Grains were harvested and stored in GRANARIES until ready to be processed.
Grapes were processed into WINE for the noble class, but beer was the favorite drink of the common people.
Food was served in POTTERY BOWLS, but NO UTENSILS were used for eating.
Pharaohs and nobles participated in HUNTING, FISHING and FOWLING expeditions, a means of recreation that had ritualistic and religious significance.
FISHING allowed the working class to add variety to its diet. The poor substituted fish for meat, which they could not afford. The Nile, the marshes of the delta and the Mediterranean Sea offered them a rich variety of species.
Most HOUSES were made of BRICK. The banks of the Nile provided the mud used to make bricks.
The HOMES OF THE WEALTHY were larger and more luxurious.
• SPACIOUS reception and living rooms opened onto a CENTRAL GARDEN COURTYARD with a fish pond and flowering plants.
• Each bedroom had a PRIVATE BATHROOM, and the walls, columns and ceilings were painted with BEAUTIFUL DESIGNS inspired by nature.
• Elaborate and highly DECORATED FURNITURE included beds, chairs, boxes and tables.
• PAINTED CLAY POTS and vessels, as well as ALABASTER BOWLS AND JARS, were also found in the homes of the nobles.
ROYAL PALACES, frequently CITIES IN THEMSELVES, included separate residences, a temple and a workers’ village.
WOMEN engaged in WEAVING, PERFUME MAKING, BAKING and NEEDLEWORK. Very few artistic creations were signed, and exceptional ability was rewarded through increased social status.
Women of all classes COULD EARN WAGES, OWN PROPERTY and EMPLOY WORKERS, but their main role was within the family. The title most women had was "MISTRESS OF THE HOUSE". They were considered EQUAL WITH MEN BEFORE THE LAW, and could sue for damages and divorce.
FLAX grown by farmers was woven into fine linen for clothing. WORKING-CLASS MEN wore loincloths or short kilts, as well as long shirt-like garments tied with a sash at the waist.
WEALTHY MEN wore knee-length shirts, loincloths or kilts and adorned themselves with jewellery – a string of beads, armlets and bracelets.
WORKING-CLASS WOMEN wore full-length wraparound gowns and close-fitting sheaths.
ELITE WOMEN enhanced their appearance with make-up, earrings, bracelets and necklaces.
Both men and women wore SANDALS made of papyrus or went barefoot.
The Egyptian ELITE HIRED HAIRDRESSERS and took great care of their hair. Hair was WASHED and SCENTED, and sometimes LIGHTENED WITH HENNA.
CHILDREN had their HEADS SHAVED, except for one or two tresses at the side of the head, called a SIDELOCK.
Both men and women sometimes wore HAIRPIECES or WIGS made of human hair.
Elite men and women enhanced their appearance with various COSMETICS: OILS, PERFUMES, and eye and facial paints. putting on make-up, they used a MIRROR, as we do today.
JEWELERY was worn by the elite for self-adornment and as an indication of social status.
Sciences
MathematicsAlthough the Egyptians lacked the symbol for zero, they calculated numbers
based on the decimal and the repetitive (numbers based on 10).
1 10 100 1000 10,000 100,000 1,000,000
• Written left to right, starting with the highest denominator.
• For example, in the number 2,525 the first number to appear on the left would be 2000, then 500, 20 and 5, as follows:
The Egyptians did not develop abstract mathematical formulas. They used the simple arithmetic o addition and subtraction.
Astronomy: • Studied night sky, • Took measurements from the stars to accurately align their
pyramids with the earth’s four cardinal points.
EXAMPLE: Great Pyramid at Giza (Its four sides are accurately aligned to face north, east, south, and west, with an error of less than half a degree.)
MEDICINE• Combined MAGIC SPELLS with REMEDIES.
• Illness was thought to be caused by the wrath of the gods or by an evil spirit that had entered the body.
• Both PRIESTS AND DOCTORS were called upon to heal the sick, combining their powers and skills to fix the problem.
Indus River Valley Civilizations
2500 B.C.
Geography
• Subcontinent- land a part of a continent but also separate– Hindu Kush, Karakorum, Himalayan ranges
• Indus River, Ganges River
• Monsoons- wind that changes direction and brings rain (October-February)
Civilizations
• Kalibangan
• Mohenjo-Daro
• Harappa
• Indus Valley is often called the Harappan civilization.
City Planning
• Grid system
• Oven-baked bricks
• Plumbing, Sewage, Levees
• Standard Sizes (Bricks, Roads, etc.)
Harappan Language
• Impossible to decipher
• No bilingual inscriptions
• 400 symbols– Describe objects and phonetic sounds
Harappan Culture
• Uniformity
• No great social divisions
• Nonessential goods
• Importance of animals
Harappan Religion
• Theocracy
• No temples found
• Links to modern Hindu culture
• Representations of Shiva
• Worship of bull
Harappan Trade
• Jewelry from silver/gold (Modern Afghanistan)
• Precious stones (Deccan Plateau)
• Bright Cloth /Cotton
• Trade with Mesopotamia
End To Harappan Civilization
• 1750 B.C.• Tectonic plates?• Overuse Of Soil?
Ancient Chinese River Dynasties
…1,000 years later…
Geography
• Yellow River– Loess- yellow silt
• Natural Barriers
• Isolation Supplied own goods
• 10% farmable land
Peking Man
• Homo Erectus Fossils
First Chinese Dynasty
• Xia Dynasty
• 2000 B.C.
• Yu- leader of Xia Dynasty
• Irrigation projects
Shang Dynasty• 1700 B.C.-1027 B.C.
• Northern China
• Fought many wars
• Walled cities
• Written records
• Anyang City- city walls, wooden city, professional warriors, chariots
Chinese Culture
• Family was took priority over individual.
• Nobles/Peasants
• Nobles owned land.
Chinese Religion
• Spirits of ancestors
• Troublesome or helpful neighbors rather than powerful gods
• Made sacrifices in honor of ancestors
• Oracle bones- animal bones with questions for gods
Chinese Writing
• Each character as one unit of language
• No links between written and spoken
• Unified land with different spoken languages
• 1,500 characters=somewhat literate
• 10,000 characters=scholar
Dynastic Cycle
• Zhou overthrew Shang.
• Mandate of heaven- a just ruler with divine approval (ie. Manifest Destiny)
• Peace Corruption Natural Disasters Rebellion is justified. Overthrown Mandate Of Heaven
Feudalism
• Nobles are granted use of lands that legally belong to king.
Technology/Trade
• Roads/Canals for trade
• Coined money
• Furnaces made iron tools out of cast iron.
Period Of Warring States
• 1027-256 B.C. (Zhou)
• In 771 B.C. nomads attacked.
• New capital was created but was weak.
