Ancient Civilizations

EconomicsCurrency, trade

Political Structure

Govt

Culture:Religion, writing,

literature, art, language,

technology, music, and architecture

Social StructureClass system,

gender relations

(Civilization Name)

Interactions:Humans and the

Environment

Use a whole sheet of paper to create this graphic organizer (can also use a chart) for the following civilizations:

•Mesopotamia•Egypt•Indus Valley•Yellow River (China)•Olmec & Norte Chico (use two different colors)

Rise of Civilization4th Millennium BCE

• New discoveries transformed permanent settlements into civilizations– Bronze– Writing– Strong Govt’s– Religion– Language

• First civilization emerged in Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq) c. 3500 BCE

Location of Early Civilizations

What environmental conditions were needed to develop the first civilizations?

Ancient Mesopotamia

Government• Initially, priest-kings rule

city-states– Sumerians (c. 3500

BCE)

• City-states evolve into empires– Acadians (c. 2334-2218

BCE)

• Land owning aristocracy dominated

• Developed formal legal codes

Religion

• Believed in 3,000 gods

• Goal: Appease gods to control nature

• Art and literature focus on gods and religion

• Built ziggurats

Society• Social stratification

– Hierarchy in class• Slavery was common

– One could become a slave through war, crime, or debt

– Slaves were used in temples, public buildings, or private homes

• Patriarchal– Plow based agriculture = need for

strong men– Specialized labor – leaves women

out of positions• Women could hold most occupations

– Laws support patriarchy• Divorce, property rights, etc• “Respectable” women forced to

veil in public– Women symbolic of nature?

• Makes them a source to “dominate” according to the argument of civilizations attempt to dominate over nature

Culture

• Hammurabi's Code– First codification of laws

• Epic of Gilgamesh– First known literary work– Contains story of great flood– Gives major insight into culture of

Mesopotamia

Economy

Science & Technology• Inventions: wheel,

sail, and plow

• Bronze metallurgy

• 1st system of writing– Cuneiform

• 1st number system– Based on units of

10, 60, & 360

• Astronomy

Ancient Egypt• Relatively isolated• Nile flooded regularly,

predictably– Provided rich soil, easy

soil to farm– Civilization regulated

flooding, surveying

• Control the Nile; control society

Government• Formed by 3000 BCE

– Unified territorial state

• Unified for most of history– Old (Early) Kingdom– Middle Kingdom– Late Kingdom

• Theocracy– Pharaoh was a god-king– Women could be pharaohs

• Hatshepsut (1473-1458 BCE)

Ramses II

Religion• Thousands of gods

– Gods have animal and human qualities

– Gods & goddesses

• Rulers viewed as god-kings

• Relatively egalitarian

• Believe in afterlife– Heaven & Hell

• A good/bad after life– Mummification– Pyramids & Temples

Society

• Social Stratification– Limited opportunity

for social mobility

• Slavery common• Women have more

rights– Could own property,

propose marriage, and demand a divorce

Culture• Hieroglyphic writing on

papyrus

• Mathematics– Geometry

• Calendar system– 365 days (off by 6 hours)

• Medicine

• Architecture– Showcase their math

skills

Ancient India & China

Indus Valley Civilization:Mohenjo-Daro & Harappa

Indus River Valley

• Cities emerge around 2500-2000 BCE– Larger territory than other

early civs• Culturally unified city-

states– Harappa and Mohenjo-

Daro• Extensive city-planning

– Unified:• Weights, measures,

architecture, building styles

• Mysterious ending– No signs of palaces, temples,

kings, tombs, or warriors– Environmental degradation?– Aryan invasion?

Indus River Valley

• Polytheistic religion– Influenced Hinduism

• Undecipherable writing system

• No standing army– No weapons found at

these sites• Advanced technology

– Plumbing systems– The Great Bath– AC (kind of)

– Cities in grid patterns• Apartment style

buildings• “cookie cutter” 2 br

houses for workers

Ancient China• Xia Dynasty

– Legendary…imaginary…(aliens)

• Developed in isolation along the Huang He (Yellow) River

• Shang dynasty emerged c. 1500 BCE– Warlike kings & landed

aristocracy dominate• Large division in class

– Cities surrounded by massive earthen walls

Ancient China

• Chinese Society– Family at center of society

• Extended-family structure

– Women were subordinate

• Chinese Culture– Believed spirits of family

ancestors could bring good fortune or disaster

– Oracle bones (right)• Wrote on them using pictographs

– Bronze & silk

Dynastic CycleMandate of Heaven

Rulers are chosen to rule by heaven (Considered Son of Heaven) and will continue to rule as long as heaven is pleased; if heaven is not pleased, heaven will pass the

mandate to another family

The Olmec• Olmec emerge in

Mesoamerica c.1400-400 BCE • Olmec zone is dense tropical

forest– High rainfall - over 300

cm/year• Agricultural based

– Maize, beans, squash The Triad

• Cities developed out of many chiefdoms– Become center for religious

ceremonies• Elaborate temples, alters,

pyramids, and tombs

• May be responsible for the first written language in Americas (900 BCE)

Olmec Government &

Society• Several city-states with

common culture• Social Hierarchy

– Highest rank is that of the chief

– Dominated by landed aristocracy

– Laborers forced to build temples, palaces, and drainage canals

Olmec Religion• Polytheistic

– Deities blended male & female, animal & human characteristics

• Feathered-serpent god (right)

– Shamans organized religious life

• Religion led to development of writing system and calendar

Olmec Art• Building of clay

pyramids and temple mounds

• Particular sculptural style– Jaguars – Fine jade carving– Colossal heads

Norte Chico• 3000-1800 BCE in Peru

– Same as Mesop./Egypt• Area consisted of 25+ urban

centers– Smaller cities– No defensive walls

• Little sign of warfare

• Less economic specialization• Based largely on fishing and trade• Not a “grain-based” civ.

• Polytheistic• Famous for monumental

architecture and weaving– No evidence of any art or ceramics

• No evidence of writing– Used quipu for record keeping (later

adapted by Inca)

Legacy of Ancient Civilizations

• Writing systems, religions, and technology was influenced the development of new civilizations and cultures

• Ancient civilizations decline by 1000 BCE– Subject to nomadic invasions

• Political and cultural centers shift to new geographical areas (except China)