Ancient Stuff8000 B.C.E. to Around 600

C.E. Pulling it all together

The Big PictureCivilizations

• Agriculture, written language, and the use of metals all contributed to the growth of early civilizations.

• Civilizations grow when people are less concerned about where their next meal is coming from

• Civilizations influences are spread through trade routes and conquest

The Big PictureCivilizations

• What happens to civilizations when become so dominate that they have no rivals?– A period of peace and prosperity, or a golden age

emerges, making it possible to devote time and money to arts and sciences

• Why do dominate civilizations begin to fall apart?– They get too big, their own people get restless,

foreign threats gain confidence and power

Sources of Change

• Cultural diffusion– Trade– Conquest– Expansion of belief

systems followed the trade routes and military movements

• Technology– Wheel – Use of iron

Sources of Change• Some civilizations were more

inventive while others more adaptive, but most cultures do both simultaneously.

• Whatever they invent, they spread to others; whatever they borrow, they adapt for their own purposes.– Certain civilizations adapted an incredible

amount from others- the Romans and the Macedonians, from the Greeks

Humans versus Nature

• Many civilizations have changed their surroundings to suit their own purposes– Digging canals

– Irrigation ditches

– Stone-cutting

– Plowing

– Metal-working

Humans versus Nature• Calendars and sundials, which

were very significant in the human quest to predict and control nature for it’s own purposes– Humans can’t change the repetitive

patterns that underline the yearly calendar, BUT by understanding those patterns and keeping track of them, humans can predict and use them for their own purposes

Humans versus Nature• As civilizations developed they were

less subject to natural events causing their demise but more subject to other civilizations doing so

• As major belief systems developed civilizations became less interested in appeasing the gods to protect them from the unknowns, and more interested in internal peace, oneness with a great human force or salvation

                                       

           

Technology and Innovations through 600

C.E.• Farming tools, metallurgy, and the ability to manipulate the

environment cause humans to transition from nomadic hunters and gathers to builders of civilizations and empires in this 10,000 year period.– The most important technologies invented by the early civilizations

included farming tools: • Ploughs• Hoes• Rakes• Wheel (and therefore the cart), and… • Pottery (store surplus of food for the off season)

– While effective tools can be made of bones and stone, they last longer and work more effectively if they are made from metal.

• Copper was the first used and others developed from there

Technology and Innovations through 600

C.E.• Once society had enough goods it had to defend

itself– The same technology used to make farm tools was used

to create weapons and defense systems

– It is not surprising that the first empires (1500 B.C.E.) developed at the same time as iron technology and wheeled chariots!

Technology and Innovations through 600

C.E.• A major development in warfare was the stirrup, developed among the nomadic societies of Eurasian and later China

• The stirrup arrived late in Europe because of the mountainous geography of the Mediterranean world limited the use of chariots and horses there. The horses were additionally the horses were to small to carry heavily armed soldiers.

– This is why armies of Greece and Rome were mostly made up of foot-soldiers armed with spears and bows and arrows.

Technology and Innovations through 600

C.E.• Public Works projects-

– Focused first on irrigation - dikes and canals– Reliable plumbing an sewage systems

• Architectural Achievements– Pyramids– Ziggurats– Walls– Temples– Aqueducts– Coliseums– Theatres– Stadiums– Roads

Technology and Innovations through 600

C.E.• Trade (luxury goods)

– Silk

– Cotton and wool

– Semi-precious stones

– Jewelry

– Olive oil

– spices

Technology and Innovations through 600

C.E.

• Communication and record keeping– Accurate calendars were developed by most

civilizations• But only the Maya had a 365-day solar calendar

– Maya and Gupta separately invented the concept of zero

– Chinese produced paper from a variety of materials including tree bark

Rome/Greece India China

Strict and patriarchal social divisions

Strict patriarchal

Caste system

Strict Confucian social order and guidelines for virtuous behavior

Little land ownership Not allowed to inherit property

Only sons inherit property

High literacy among upper class

Forbidden to read sacred text

upper class educated in arts and literature and all educated in virtues

Spartan women were citizens

Women could own business (especially widows)

Needed large dowry and no remarriage for widows

Arranged marriages though widows were permitted to remarry