HIS 105Chapter 1The Birth of Civilization

Earth : approximately 6 billion years old Human-Like Creatures: appeared 3-5 million years

ago in Africa Erect, Tool-Using Early Humans: spread over Africa,

Europe, & Asia 1-2 million years ago Homo Sapiens: emerged some 200,000 years ago Earliest Fully Modern Human Remains : date to

about 90,000 years ago

Earliest Humans: hunter/gatherers/fishers Agriculture began 8000 B.C.E.

Cultivated plants Raised livestock Made air-tight pottery for food storage

Humans settled in small communities now that they could produce their own food.

Civilization: Characteristics Producers of food Settled and more complex life Increased harvests through use of irrigation Towns and cities with impressive structures Flourishing commerce Developed writing to keep records and and

inventories

Specialized occupations Complex religions Social hierarchy

Culture Ways of living built up by a group and passed on

from one generation to another It includes:

Courtship practices Child-rearing techniques Material goods: Ex.- types of shelter & clothing Ideas Institutions Beliefs Language

Paleolithic Age (Old Stone)

Dates from 1-2 million years ago to about 10,000 B.C.E.

Small groups of hunters, gatherers, & fishers - not producers of food

Used tools of stone and wood Learned to make and use fire Acquired language to pass on knowledge

Depended on and feared nature Practiced religion and magic to help them with their

fears Sexual division of labor

Men hunted & fished Women gathered plants to eat, had babies, made clothing Because women worked with plants, the beginnings of

agriculture have been attributed to them

The beginning of agriculture began the Neolithic Age

Neolithic Age (New Stone) Began about 8,000 B.C.E. in the Near East Shifted from just hunting and gathering to a

settled agricultural way of life Domesticated animals Domesticated plants Made pottery Wove cloth from flax & wool Cared for crops from planting to harvest

Built permanent buildings like those in Catal Hayuk

Populations grew when there was a steady supply of food

Humans were beginning to control nature and this was an important pre-condition for the beginnings of civilization

Neolithic societies began in: Near East – around 8000 B.C.E. (wheat) China - around 4000 B.C.E. (millet, rice) India - around 5500 B.C.E. (wheat) Americas - around 2500 B.C. E. (corn, beans, &

squash)

Emergence of Civilization4000-1000 B.C.E. Mesopotamia in Tigris-Euphrates River

Valley Egypt in Nile River Valley Indus River Valley Civilization in India Yellow River Basin Civilization in China

All took form during the Bronze Age All had urban centers, monumental architecture,

hierarchical societies, & writing

Cities were administrative, religious, manufacturing, entertainment, & commercial centers

Writing was complex Kings were divine Civilizations had a king, military, aristocrats,

priests, peasants, & slaves

Mesopotamia Emerged around 3500 to 3000 B.C.E. First city was Sumer

Farming community People worked together for survival As more towns formed, there was a need for

central control A king became the central ruler Writing system was cuneiform used for records

and literature like Gilgamesh

Mesopotamia

Cuneiform

Religion Polytheistic Gods of nature People worked to keep gods happy Life was harsh and gods seemed whimsical This led to a pessimistic outlook on life and felt

afterlife would be worse Written about in Gilgamesh – prince is looking

for immortality

Gilgamesh Relief

Priests used to share the responsibility of governing, but there was a gradual separation of church and state

Ziggurats- temples of mud brick built on mound to be closer to gods and to protect it from flooding; Ex – ziggurat at Ur still exists

Ziggurat at Ur

Sumer had basic elements of civilization: Well-defined government Hierarchical society Regular economic surpluses Trade, artisans, & merchants Writing Religion UnifiedLasted until about 2000 B.C.E.

Akkadian Empire King Sargon I conquered Sumer and other city-states

of Mesopotamia between 2370 and 2130 B.C.E. and created the Akkadian Empire

Introduced new language but kept cuneiform for records and literary works

Empire lasted only 200 years; overthrown by invaders

Sumerian city-states re-emerged until 2000 B.C.E.

Babylonian Empire Established in early 18th century B.C.E. by

Hammurabi and the Amorites when they unified Mesopotamia

Hammurabi Seen as one of the greatest rulers of early civilizations Brought order out of chaos Had officials around his empire to carry out his laws Codified his laws: The Code of Hammurabi

Hammurabi

Code of Hammurabi Listing of cases; what happens if… Regulated the rights of the 3 Amorite classes: free

people, state dependents, & slaves Penalties differed according to social status: fines,

corporal punishment, mutilation, & execution

Accomplishments of Babylonians Extended Sumerian knowledge in astronomy

& mathematics Set up 60 minute hour & 360o circle Expanded commerce Used a common language Built elaborate public buildings, royal

palaces, & the hanging gardens

Babylonian Empire fell around 1600 B.C.E. to the Hittites from Central Asia

The Hittites fell to other invaders and small kingdoms arose from 1200 – 900 B.C.E.

Egypt Emerged N.E. Africa around 3000 B.C.E. Benefited from Mesopotamian technology and trade Flourished for 2000 years but lasted for 3000 years Located in fertile delta along the Nile River Nile flooded at regular, predictable intervals The silt left behind contributed to bountiful crops Because of this, Egyptians felt they were pleasing

their gods and so had an optimistic outlook

Egypt

Egypt was divided into 2 parts, upper and lower, until united by Narmer, the first pharaoh

Its history has been divided into 3 Kingdoms Old Kingdom 2575-2130 B.C.E Middle Kingdom 1938-1600 B.C.E. New Kingdom 1540-1075 B.C.E.

There were times of instability between each period

Pharaohs Divine rulers who were to keep gods happy Developed large bureaucracy of priests &

officials Local governors supervised irrigation and public

works Most Egyptians were peasant farmers who were

supervised and heavily taxed; some built pyramids for pharaohs like Khufu at Giza

Religion Polytheistic for the most part Amon-Re was the sun god who created the

universe Osiris was god of the Nile and offered the hope of

immortality to masses Pharaoh Amenhotep IV tried to create a

monotheistic faith for his people

Writing Used for texts and records Hieroglyphics - picture symbols Wrote on papyrus made from plant of same name Deciphered finally by a Frenchman named Jean-

Francois Champollian using Rosetta Stone

Hieroglyphics

Science Established 12-month year with 3 10-day weeks Had some working knowledge of some medicines

and contraceptives Knew how to mummify a body

Culture Virtually unchanged for thousands of years stability and optimism reflected in their view of

life and the afterlife Static and stratified society Fairly isolated

Indus Civilization 2250-1750 B.C.E. Known as the Indus-Valley Culture or the

Harappan Civilization Lasted only a few centuries This Indus culture was truly discovered in the

1920s at the Harappa site Today there are 2 main sites Harappa and

Mohenjo-Daro plus some smaller towns

Indus Valley

Gateway to Harappa

Mohenjo Daro

They had Bronze tools Large cities with similar lay-outs; population of 35,000+ Writing (not yet deciphered) A diversified social and economic organization

Having 2 cities that are so alike indicates a strong central government with good economic and communication systems

Each city had Walled citadel on raised platform to the west;

contained main public buildings, large bath, and temples

town proper to the east laid out in a grid pattern Each town had a granary, a cemetery, covered

drains and sewers House were built around a central courtyard with

rooms facing inward; no windows

Economy based on agriculture Had cloth woven from cotton Made metal tools Used a potter’s wheel It is believed there was trade between the Indus

Valley and Mesopotamia because Indus stamps have been found in Mesopotamia

Material culture Bronze and stone sculptures Copper and bronze tools and vessels Black on red painted pottery Stone and terra cotta figurines Toys Silver vessels Gold jewelry Some decorative brick work

There were no mosaics, no friezes, and no large sculpture

Religion Dominated by priestly class who were

intermediaries between the people and their gods Fertility and reproduction were the main themes Ritual bathing

Around 2000 B.C.E. the Indus Civilization went into decline

We aren’t sure what caused its demise: Invasion? Flooding? Perhaps a combination of factors

Aryans Semi-nomadic invaders who reached India

about 1800 B.C.E They were horsemen, cattle-herders They brought a new language, a new social

organization, new techniques of warfare, and new religious ideas found in their Vedas, a sacred text

Patrilineal society

Gods were predominantly male Marriage was monogamous but polygamy did exist;

widows could remarry Tribes ruled by chieftain chosen for his military

prowess Originally there were 2 social classes:nobles and

commoners A third was later added: Dasas or darker conquered

people

Later, 4 classes or varnas: Priestly Brahmans Warrior nobles Peasants and tradesmen Servants

Dasas were excluded

This was a precursor to the rigid Indian caste system

Material culture: Semi-nomads who had little Had gray painted pottery Built wood, thatch, or mud-brick houses Measured wealth in cattle Were good at carpentry and bronze work Used gold for ornamentation Made cloth from wool

Planted grains Made and drank Soma, intoxicating drink used in

religious ceremonies Sang, danced, had chariot races, and gambled Artisans made gold products, baskets, cloth, and

pottery Products found their way into Mesopotamia

Religion Polytheists Gods resembled humans Chief god was Indra, god of war and storm Worship based on animal sacrifice or made

offerings of food Increasing formalism as the years passed Not yet the concept of reincarnation or

transmigration

China 4000 B.C.E. agriculture began in the southern end of

Yellow River Raised millet, cabbage, rice, and soybeans When soil was exhausted, the town would move Used axes, hoes, spades, and sickle-shaped knives Had domesticated pigs, sheep, cattle, dogs, and

Chickens Used pottery for storage Lived in pit houses

Traditional history speaks of 3 ancient dynasties: Xia 2205 -1766 B.C.E.; founded by Yu who

controlled the flooding with dikes and canals Shang 1766-1050 B.C.E. ; conquered other tribes

and laid foundation for Chinese civilization Zhou 1050-256 B.C.E.

Shang Dynasty

Shang and Zhou

Shang Made up of warlike nomads Military aristocracy went to war in chariots Non-Shang subject people were the foot soldiers Used spears and compound bows Captured prisoners were enslaved Ruled by hereditary kings with strong authority Made sacrifices to their ancestors who interceded

with the gods; also had human sacrifices

Had writing Had calendar with a month of 30 days and a year

of 360 days; made adjustments periodically Calendar told when to plant and when to harvest Writing taught to those in bureaucracy Bronze first used around 2000 B.C.E. and had

advanced methods of casting Used bronze for weapons, armor, chariot fittings,

and ceremonial vessels

Shang Bronze

Social Classes Stratifies society Weapons in the hands of aristocrats

King and his court lived in a walled city in spacious houses with opulent lifestyle

Peasants lived outside the city in cramped pit houses, underground hovels

Last Shang kings were weak, cruel, and tyrannical

Subjects rebelled The Zhou conquered the Shang by 1050

B.C.E

Zhou Continued Shang pattern of life and rule Formed agrarian- based city-stae Social hierarchy was similar to Shang Zhou were backward people until they adopted

Shang culture Used Chinese ideographic writing Cast bronze for ceremonial vessels

Zhou Bronze

Mandate from Heaven Explained why Zhou were ruling and not the

Shang Said the “deity above” was appalled by the Shang

wickedness and had withdrawn their favor from the Shang and had given it to the Zhou

Zhou Dynasty lasted until the late 3rd century B.C.E.

Zhou king was the head of the senior branch of the family

Other relatives ruled in outlying towns King had a group of professional bureaucrats

known as the “shi” – educated men who acted as clerks, scribes, overseers, and advisors

Practiced agriculture – mainly millet, wheat, and rice

Had irrigation and iron farm equipment As the population expanded, so did their territory Religion

Human sacrifice ended Males became more dominant in the family

Manners were very important to the Zhou

The rough nomads had become civilized

By 8th century B.C.E., Zhou Dynasty was in decline. Control diminished. Rebellions occurred

Out of this chaos came some of China’s greatest thinkers

Americas 30,000 years ago, it is believed that Asians crossed

over a frozen land bridge called Beringia, to follow herds of animals

They moved into the Americas going southward and to the east

They were hunters, gatherers, & fishermen Found fish and small game to be plentiful Grew maize, potatoes, squash, peppers, manioc,

beans, & tomatoes

As people moved further south, strong states emerged in Mesoamerica –the central part of Mexico and Central America

Before Spanish conquest, its history is divide into 3 periods Pre-Classic 2000 B.C.E. – 150 C.E. Classic 150 – 900 C.E. Post-Classic 900 – 1521 C.E.

Olmecs Earliest civilization 2 centers: San Lorenzo 1200 – 900 B.C.E. And

La Venta 900 – 400 B.C.E. They had monumental structures and plazas They had large sculptures

Olmec

Andean Civilization In South America Farming was possible in coastal valleys near

rivers They also fished Chavin de Huantar 800 – 200 B.C.E. emerged in

highlands of Peru Had pottery, textiles, & metals

Chavin Region

Chavin

Moche and Nazca were 2 other distinctive cultures in that area

Nazca became known for its lines depicting birds

Nazca Lines