birth of civilization

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Birth Of Civilization Jericho This town is the oldest town in the world and it emerged during Neolithic age around 8000 B,C. Until 7000 B.C. it was occupied by unknown people(may be Arabs) and then it was abandoned until 6800 B.C. During this time it was inhabited by a folk called " An-Natifiyyun ", who depended for their food on collecting wild seeds. It is probable that they did not plant seeds in reality, but owned scythes with flint edges, straight bone handles to harvest wild seeds, and stone mortars with handles for grinding them. Some of these groups lived in caves, while other groups occupied primitive villages excelling in the art of architecture. So they started to build round huts from sun-dried bricks flat at the bottom curving at the higher edge. They used to bury their dead with their personal jewellery in graves hewn out of rock. They constructed huge walls two metres wide round their villages. They erected in them a circular huge tower, nine metres ( thirty feet ) in diametre, and ten metres high. In its midst there are stairs leading from the bottom of the town to its top. They were exposed to the attacks of groups from outside. These folks practised agriculture, the domestication of animals, and weaving the making chains and mats, as well as animal hunting. They used spears and flint-capped arrows. They also used hatchets to cut tree branches. These groups had started to expand from their settlements in search of new homes outside their boundaries. The building of houses in this interval showed a great progress. Their rooms were about 6.5 metres by 5 metres or 3 by 7 metres. They were usually of a rectangular shape built in an open yard, seven metres long and seven metres wide and used for cooking. The thickness of their wall was half a metre. They used stones to build the foundation, and the rest of the building was built of sun-dried bricks. Its shape was similar to the iron used for cauterising animals. So the brick was rectangular in shape with sharpened edges. The floor formed was of a mud layer topped by a layer of lime, followed by soft lime dyed red or light blue. Then it was polished to acquire a new lustre.

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Page 1: Birth of Civilization

Birth Of Civilization Jericho

This town is the oldest town in the world and it emerged during Neolithic age around 8000 B,C. Until 7000 B.C. it was

occupied by unknown people(may be Arabs) and then it was abandoned until 6800 B.C. During this time it was

inhabited by a folk called " An-Natifiyyun ", who depended for their food on collecting wild seeds. It is probable that

they did not plant seeds in reality, but owned scythes with flint edges, straight bone handles to harvest wild seeds,

and stone mortars with handles for grinding them. Some of these groups lived in caves, while other groups occupied

primitive villages excelling in the art of architecture. So they started to build round huts from sun-dried bricks flat at

the bottom curving at the higher edge. They used to bury their dead with their personal jewellery in graves hewn out

of rock. They constructed huge walls two metres wide round their villages. They erected in them a circular huge

tower, nine metres ( thirty feet ) in diametre, and ten metres high. In its midst there are stairs leading from the

bottom of the town to its top. They were exposed to the attacks of groups from outside. These folks practised

agriculture, the domestication of animals, and weaving the making chains and mats, as well as animal hunting. They

used spears and flint-capped arrows. They also used hatchets to cut tree branches. These groups had started to expand from their settlements in search of new homes outside their boundaries. The building of houses in this

interval showed a great progress. Their rooms were about 6.5 metres by 5 metres or 3 by 7 metres. They were

usually of a rectangular shape built in an open yard, seven metres long and seven metres wide and used for cooking.

The thickness of their wall was half a metre. They used stones to build the foundation, and the rest of the building was

built of sun-dried bricks. Its shape was similar to the iron used for cauterising animals. So the brick was rectangular

in shape with sharpened edges. The floor formed was of a mud layer topped by a layer of lime, followed by soft lime

dyed red or light blue. Then it was polished to acquire a new lustre.

Page 2: Birth of Civilization

Birth Of Civilization Jericho

The remains of the Jericho City

Page 3: Birth of Civilization

Birth Of Civilization Catalhoyuk

Catalhoyuk is one of the largest and most evolved Neolithic and Chalcolithic sites ever unearthed dating back to

7500 B.C. As well as wall paintings and wall reliefs, many objects of daily life were uncovered. Some were

decorative such as exceptional flint 'daggers' with decorative bone handles (right) and clay or stone figurines

(left), depicting human figures and animals. Other utilitarian objects include obsidian, flint, pottery, worked bone

and clay balls. Another distinguishing feature of Çatalhöyük was the nature of the houses: they had no doors to the

outside and were clearly entered through ladders from the roof, and the inhabitants buried their dead under the

floors of their platforms. The houses of Çatalhöyük, which are clustered in a honeycomb-like maze, were so tightly

packed together that there were few or no streets. Access to interior spaces was across roofs—which were made

of wood and reeds plastered with mud. Most were accessed by holes in the ceiling, which were reached by interior

and exterior ladders. Thus, their rooftops were their streets. The ceiling openings also served as the only source

of ventilation, letting in fresh air and allowing smoke from open hearths and ovens to escape. Houses had plaster

interiors characterized by squared off timber ladders or steep stairs, usually placed on the south wall of the room,

as were cooking hearths and ovens. Each main room served as an area for cooking and daily activities. Raised

platforms built along the walls of main rooms were used for sitting, working, and sleeping. These platforms, and all

interior walls, were carefully plastered to a smooth finish. Additional rooms were used as storage. All rooms were

kept scrupulously clean. Archaeologists identified very little trash or rubbish within the buildings, but found that

trash heaps outside the ruins contain sewage and food waste as well as significant amounts of wood ash. In good

weather, many daily activities may also have taken place on the rooftops, which conceivably formed an open air

plaza. In later periods, large communal ovens appear to have been built on these rooftops.

Page 4: Birth of Civilization

The plant remains found in and around the houses suggest that the people ate both wild and cultivated plants and

seeds, including tubers, wild grasses, lentils, hackberries, acorns, and pistachios. Even the cereals likely to have been

under cultivation, such as wheat and barley, may not have required irrigation in these wet conditions, and there is no

evidence that grain was ground for bread. They herded sheep and goats and evidence suggests the beginning of cattle

domestication as well. However, hunting continued to be a major source of meat for the community. The making of

pottery and the construction of obsidian tools were major industries. Obsidian tools were probably both used and

traded for items such as Mediterranean sea shells and flint from Syria. A striking feature of Çatalhöyük" is its female

figurines. Mellaart argued that these well-formed, carefully made figurines, carved and molded from marble, blue and

brown limestone, schist, calcite, basalt, alabaster, and clay, represented a female deity.

Birth Of Civilization Catalhoyuk

A Catalhoyuk

House

Page 5: Birth of Civilization

Birth Of Civilization Hattasus

The landscape surrounding the city included rich agricultural fields, hill lands for pasture, as well as woods. Smaller

woods are still found outside the city but in ancient times they were far more widespread. This meant the

inhabitants had an excellent supply for timber when building their houses and other structures. The fields provided

the people with a subsistence crop of wheat, barley and lentils. Linen was also harvested, but their primary source

for clothing was wool from sheep. They also hunted deer in the forest, but this was probably only a luxury reserved

for the nobility. The source for meat was domesticated animals. At its peak, the city covered 1.8 km² and comprised

an inner and outer portion, both surrounded by a massive and still visible course of walls erected during the reign

of Suppiluliuma I (circa 1344–1322 BC (short chronology)). The inner city covered an area of some 0.8 km² and was

occupied by a citadel with large administrative buildings and temples. To the south lay an outer city of about 1 km²,

with elaborate gateways decorated with reliefs showing warriors, lions, and sphinxes. Four temples were located

here, each set around a porticoed courtyard, together with secular buildings and residential structures. Outside

the walls are cemeteries, most of which contain cremation burials. The dwelling houses which were built with

timber and mud bricks have vanished from the site, leaving only the stone-built walls of temples and palaces.The

part of Hattusas known as the Upper City is a sloped land of more than 1 kilometer square. This area has witnessed

the development of the city during the late Empire Period in 13 th century B.C. A major part of the Upper City solely

consisted of temples and sacred places. One of the most important architectural sites at Boðazköy is the Great Temple,

Page 6: Birth of Civilization

The Great Temple which formed the center of the northern city in Hattusas was built as the home of Storm God of

Hatti and the Sun Goddess of the Arinna City. The temple has two additions and there are stone paved roads and

squares around it and storage rooms behind in all four directions open up to them are located behind. The Great

Temple is seperated from the districts of the Lower City with a wall. The Great Temple which is built on a stone

terrace obviously served as an economic center as well as a religious center as the large jugs which are revealed in

situ at the shops indicate.

The city was destroyed, together with the Hittite state itself, around 1200 BC, as part of the Bronze Age collapse. The site was subsequently abandoned until 800 BC, when a modest Phrygian settlement appeared in the area.

Birth Of Civilization Hattasus

The Lion Gateway

The Sloped Wall Of

The Upper City

Page 7: Birth of Civilization

The Bronze Age primarily took place between 3500 BC and 1200 BC, and is traditionally divided into the Early Bronze Age

(c.3500-2000 BC), Middle Bronze Age (c.2000-1600 BC), and Late Bronze Age (c.1600-1200 BC), with progressively more

sophisticated metallurgy which culminates in the discovery of ironworking.

The Bronze Age began 5,500 years ago in the present-day areas of Turkey, Iran, and Iraq, which was also the cradle of

human civilization. By this time permanent settlements were already a few thousands years old, but it took time for

these early people to discover the potential of metallic ores. The birthplace of metallurgy is usually taken to be Anatolia,

Turkey. The Indian Bronze Age began in 3300 BC with the Indus Valley civilization. In China and southeast Asia, the Bronze

Age began around 2100 BC. Throughout Europe the Bronze Age began between 2100 BC and 2000 BC or so, with

sophisticated Bronze Age civilizations rising throughout the 2nd millennium BC.

The Bronze Age was important to mankind because it allowed us to create more durable tools and artifacts for

productive use. Bronze is preferable to stone for a wide variety of applications - whether you're making a knife, an axe,

armor, pottery, or artwork, Bronze is harder and longer-lived. A more durable capital base enhances the potential for

sustained economic activity, but also warfare.

During the Bronze Age, much of humanity was segmented into thousands of warring tribes. Small nations did exist, but it

would be many centuries before countries resembling any of those today - such as the Roman Empire - came into

existence.

Birth Of Civilization Bronze Age

Page 8: Birth of Civilization

Birth Of Civilization Bronze Age

Hieroglyphs

Bronze Age

House

Pottery

Making

Bronze Age

Tools