Download Cities, Inequalities and New Social Realities WHAP/Napp Read and

Cities, Inequalities and New Social Realities
WHAP/Napp
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“As the Bronze Age opened (around 3500 B.C.E.), people began living in towns,
and a select few were able to specialize in nonagricultural professions…[Still]
agriculture was by far the most important work of the bulk of the population, even
in the societies that relied on cities. Linguistic evidence from Sumeria suggests that
the oldest professional names were those of plowman, miller, and shepherd, terms
associated with agriculture and herding. Only later did names such as baker, fuller,
brewer, and leather worker evolve… [Yet] growing specialization among the
population led to an increasingly hierarchical society. Those who did not have to
labor in the fields felt themselves to be superior to the agriculturists. They
constituted a small but significant group, rarely exceeding 5 percent of the
population during this period. Those not working in agriculture tended to be more
educated, and as writing evolved, more literate, though literacy rates remained
extremely low. Even these more urbanized people remained tied in significant ways
to the agricultural economy. As one Mesopotamian writer suggested, the fields were
‘the soul of the country.’
Merchants, bakers, weavers, and leather workers were obviously directly linked to
production from the countryside. Priests were a small but very significant group.
Religion evolved in large measure as a way of placating divine beings – rain gods,
river gods, mountain gods, and the like – to provide adequate conditions for food
production. Many societies in Mesopotamia were highly theocratic, with the priests
ruling their people. The first towns in southern Mesopotamia had temples as their
centerpiece. In Egypt, the pharaohs were also (at least in theory) gods, thus
legitimating their power. Aristocracy and government officials (who were often one
and the same) constituted another part of the elites. At first, the aristocracy filled
both government and military duties. Their feelings of superiority over the rest of
the population came from their leadership role and their ability to protect their
settlements from outsiders.” ~ Experiencing World History
1- How does linguistic evidence support the claim that the majority of people
were involved in agriculture?
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2- Define specialization. What allows specialization to occur?
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3- Define hierarchy. How did specialization give rise to hierarchy?
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4- Why were the fields “the soul of the country”?
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5- How did urbanized people differ from rural people?
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6- Define theocracy. Why were priests significant?
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7- Define aristocracy. Why did the aristocracy develop feelings of superiority?
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With the rise of civilization came the rise of class hierarchies. Was the rise of
civilization a blessing or a curse for humanity? Defend your point of view.
Notes:
I. The First Civilizations
A. Developed around 3500 BCE - 3000 BCE
B. Cradle of Middle Eastern Civilizations – Mesopotamia
1. Competing Sumerian city-states
2. Surplus, Specialization, Cities, Writing
a. World’s earliest written language (Cuneiform)
b. Uruk, largest city, with population of around 50,000
c. Ziggurat, temple, in center of city
C. Nile River Valley in northeastern Africa
1. Unified stateCities less prominent than in Sumer
2. Pharaoh – divine ruler
D. Nubia
1. Farther south along Nile
2. Cultural diffusion from ancient Egyptians but unique elements too
E. Along the central coast of Peru (3000-1800)
1. Little rainfall but dozens of rivers
2. Twenty-five urban centers known as Norte Chico
3. Economy based to an unusual degree on fishing
4. Did not rest on grain-based farming or pottery or writing
5. Existence of a 5,000-year-old quipu (knotted rope to keep records)
F. Indus and Saraswati River Valleys in present-day Pakistan
1. By 2000 BCE, embraced a larger area than Mesopotamia
2. Elaborately planned cities-->Standardized weights and bricks
3. Irrigated agriculture
4. Written language, thus far undeciphered
a. No kings or warrior classesLittle indication of a political
hierarchy
G. Early Civilization in China
1. Perhaps as early as 2200 BCE
2. Ideal of a centralized stated evident from Xia dynasty (2200-1766)
3. By Zhou Dynasty, belief that emperor was the Son of Heaven and
ruled by Mandate of Heaven
H. Teotihuacan – located in central valley of Mexico
1. Perhaps 200,000 people/Dozens of temples/Pyramids
II. Characteristics of Early Civilizations
A. Class and occupation at least as important as kinship
B. Specializationsurplus freed some people for different tasks
C. Upper classes/great wealth in land/salaries, avoid physical labor
D. Development of Law Codes
1. Code of Hammurabiearly written law code harsh
punishments but based on social class of violator  class
divisions developed in Mesopotamia under Babylonian king
E. Free Commoners
1. Vast majority of population
2. Agricultural surplus appropriated through taxes, rent, required
labor, and tribute payments to support upper classes
F. Slavery
1. Slaves at the bottom of the social hierarchy
2. Slavery was practiced in early civilizations but varied depending
on region and culture
G. Rise of Patriarchy/New Inequalities for Women
Mesopotamia- Characteristics
China – Part A
Egypt and Nubia - Characteristics
Common Characteristics
of First Civilizations
China – Part B
Coastal Peru and Teotihuacán
Indus and Saraswati Rivers
Strayer Question:
 When and where did the First Civilizations emerge?

What accounts for the initial breakthroughs to civilization?

What was the role of cities in the early civilizations?

In what ways was social inequality expressed in early civilizations?

In what ways have historians tried to explain the origins of patriarchy?

What were the sources of state authority in the First Civilizations?
1. One of the main innovative ideas in
Hammurabi's law code was that
(A) the ruler's will is to be followed at all
costs
(B) the upper classes are to have the
most rights
(C) the lower classes were to have special
privileges
(D) a consistent set of regulations should
govern society
(E) anyone who spoke against the king
would be executed
4. Surplus production
(A) is caused by poor cultivation
methods
(B) prevents specialization of labor
(C) gives rise to the specialization of
labor and stratification of society
(D) can never occur in modern societies
(E) none of the above
5. How did pastoralism affect early
social development?
(A) Herding societies tended to settle on
particular lands, and thus civilization
2. In 3100 B.C.E., the history of Egypt is emerged relatively quickly.
said to have begun when
(B) Pastoralism led to the adoption of a
(A) Cleopatra met Mark Antony
monotheistic approach to religion.
(B) King Menes united Upper and Lower (C) No pastoral societies mixed animal
Egypt
husbandry with the domestication of
(C) the Old Kingdom began
plants.
(D) the Egyptians rebelled against the
(D) Herding societies tended to migrate
Hyksos
frequently, and thus civilization took
(E) pyramids began to be constructed
longer to emerge.
(E) Pastoral societies tended to be led by
3. What do many researchers now think women.
brought about the fall of the Indus River
society?
6. Which of the following is the least
(A) fighting between the Hindus and
advanced agricultural technique?
Sikhs
(A) slash-and-burn
(B) outside invasions from Mesopotamia (B) shifting
(C) environmental factors
(C) irrigation
(D) population growth
(D) fertilizing
(E) all of the above
(E) mixing crop types