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MESOPOTAMIA “Drinking beer, in a blissful mood With joy in the heart and a happy liver” ----Sumerian poem 3000 BCE MAIN IDEA • SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Prosperous farming villages, food surpluses, and new technology led to the rise of civilizations. • INTERACTION WITH ENVIRONMENT: The earliest civilization in Asia arose in Mesopotamia and organized into city-states. • WHY IT MATTERS NOW: Contemporary civilizations share the same characteristics typical of ancient civilizations. The development of this civilization reflects a settlement pattern that has occurred repeatedly throughout history. OBJECTIVES • Explain how villages grew into cities • List the characteristics of civilization • Describe how the city of Ur exemplifies early civilizations TERMS AND NAMES civilization: noun 1. an advanced state of human society, in which a high level of culture, science, industry, and government has been reached. 2. those people or nations that have reached such a state. 3. any type of culture, society, etc., of a specific place, time, or group: TERMS AND NAMES specialization: noun 1. the act of specializing, or pursuing a particular line of study or work: Medical students with high student loans often feel driven into specialization. 2. Biology. the adaptation of an organism or organ to a special function or environment: Basic biology suggests the selective pressures leading to convergent evolutionary specialization among desert-dwelling species. TERMS AND NAMES artisan: noun 1. a person skilled in an applied art; a craftsperson. 2. a person or company that makes a high-quality or distinctive product in small quantities, usually by hand or using traditional methods: our favorite local food artisans. adjective 3. pertaining to an artisan or the product of an artisan; artisanal: artisan beer. TERMS AND NAMES • institution: noun 1. an organization, establishment, foundation, society, or the like, devoted to the promotion of a particular cause or program, especially one of a public, educational, or charitable character: This college is the best institution of its kind. • 4. Sociology. a well-established and structured pattern of behavior or of relationships that is accepted as a fundamental part of a culture, as marriage: the institution of the family. • 5. any established law, custom, etc. • 6. any familiar, long-established person, thing, or practice; fixture. • 7. the act of instituting or setting up; establishment: the institution of laws. TERMS AND NAMES • scribe noun 1. a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of printing. • 2. a public clerk or writer, usually one having official status. • 4. a writer or author, especially a journalist. • verb (used without object), scribed, scribing. 5. to act as a scribe; write. TERMS AND NAMES • cuneiform adjective 1. having the form of a wedge; wedge-shaped. • 2. composed of slim triangular or wedge-shaped elements, as the characters used in writing by the ancient Akkadians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, and others. • 3. written in cuneiform characters: cuneiform inscription. • noun 5. cuneiform characters or writing. TERMS AND NAMES Bronze Age noun 1. a period in the history of humankind, following the Stone Age and preceding the Iron Age, during which bronze weapons and implements were used. TERMS AND NAMES barter verb (used without object) 1. to trade by exchange of commodities rather than by the use of money. verb (used with object) 2. to exchange in trade, as one commodity for another; trade. TERMS AND NAMES ziggurat noun 1. (among the ancient Babylonians and Assyrians) a temple of Sumerian origin in the form of a pyramidal tower, consisting of a number of stories and having about the outside a broad ascent winding round the structure, presenting the appearance of a series of terraces. TERMS AND NAMES Fertile Crescent The region where the first settled agricultural communities of the Middle East and Mediterranean basin are thought to have originated by the early 9th millennium BC. TERMS AND NAMES Mesopotamia – (from the Greek, meaning 'between two rivers’) was an ancient region in the eastern Mediterranean bounded in the northeast by the Zagros Mountains and in the southeast by the Arabian Plateau, corresponding to today’s Iraq, mostly, but also parts of modern-day Iran, Syria and Turkey. http://www.ancient.eu/Meso potamia/ TERMS AND NAMES City-State noun 1. a sovereign state consisting of an autonomous city with its dependencies. TERMS AND NAMES dynasty (not the New York Yankees or Boston Celtics) • noun, plural dynasties. 1. a sequence of rulers from the same family, stock, or group: the Ming dynasty. • 2. the rule of such a sequence. • 3. a series of members of a family who are distinguished for their success, wealth, etc. TERMS AND NAMES cultural diffusion noun, Anthropology, Sociology. 1. the spreading out of culture, culture traits, or a cultural pattern from a central point. TERMS AND NAMES polytheism noun 1. the doctrine of or belief in more than one god or in many gods. TERMS AND NAMES empire (not the TV show) • noun 1. a group of nations or peoples ruled over by an emperor, empress, or other powerful sovereign or government: usually a territory of greater extent than a kingdom, as the former British Empire, French Empire, Russian Empire, Byzantine Empire, or Roman Empire. • 2. a government under an emperor or empress. • 3. (often initial capital letter) the historical period during which a nation is under such a government: a history of the second French empire. • 4. supreme power in governing; imperial power; sovereignty: Austria's failure of empire in central Europe. TERMS AND NAMES Hammurabi – http://www.history.com/topics/ancienthistory/hammurabi https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ancientart-civilizations/ancient-neareast1/babylonian/v/visiting-babylon MESOPOTAMIA ORIGINS OF CIVILIZATION, CITIES, AND THE EMERGENCE OF POWERFUL STATES “THE LAND BETWEEN TWO RIVERS” • Why did populations abandon urban sites in Anatolia? Was it environmental change? • Between 7000BCE and 5000 BCE (9-10,000 years ago) peoples settled permanently and began irrigation based farming in the region of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. • By 3500 BCE several cities had emerged from these settlements under independent kings. Jericho CRITICAL THEMES DRIVING RESEARCH 1850-2011 1850-1920 • Origins of Civilization • Root causes of civilization • Biblical scholarship • Focus on Royal Dynasties After 1920 the above and… • Emphasis on everyday life; “the common man” • New focus on trade networks • New interest in urban life in terms of problem solving ANCIENT ENVIRONMENT • Biblical text describes Eden as at the confluence of four rivers. Tigris and Euphrates are two of the four. The other two named rivers do not exist (but did they once exist?) • Recent NASA satellite radar imaging reveals two extensive dry riverbeds beneath the sands in southern Iraq that once joined to the other rivers. Significant evidence of a radically changed environment. CHRONOLOGY • • • • Eridu 5500BC-1800 BCE Ubaid period from 4500 BCE (first written records) Uruk 4000BC-500 BC (first true city) Early Dynastic Period, Sumerian Empire from 3200 BCE (use of bronze for tools) QUESTION • What impact on local environment and social relationships are likely to have occurred as a result of concentrated populations engaging in intensive farming? IMPACT • Agriculture in support of urban development directly led to transformations of the environment: modification of landscape, air pollution, irrigation, canals, dams and reservoirs, deforestation, altered biota (focus on specific plants and animals), concentrated populations, concentrated waste… BIO-CULTURAL EVOLUTION • Profound changes in human biology resulted from shift to farming: • • • • Dietary segmentation and reduction Lactose tolerance (recent mutation in some populations) Malaria and sickle-cell anemic response Dental carries Jarmo. Braidwood excavations. 1960 Interior view of sectioned rooms. Braidwood 1960 Household scale partitions. Tell Choga Mami. Ubaid period. Samarrans pre-date the Sumerians. FINDINGS • Jarmo: oldest (between 7000-6500 BC) undisputed evidence of agriculturally based community (wheat and barley) Approx 150 people • Evidence for fertility cult • Jericho: (Approx 5000 BC) town with extensive walls, ancestor veneration, population around 2000. • Occupied from 5000 BC – 1350 BC with intermittent periods of abandonment. Walls rebuilt at least 19 times. SCALES OF ANALYSIS • • • • • • Public Household Monumental (non-residential) Administrative Sacred Spatial differentiation JERICHO • No break in Natufian cultural sequence. • Round houses of mud-brick construction • Kenyon suggests defensive walls and towers up to 60 feet with narrow interior passageway to top. • Bar Josef disagrees with the findings of Kenyon at Jericho and suggests the city walls were intended to protect against flooding, not armies. (Jericho is below sea level). Jericho. Kenyon excavation 1954. No clear evidence of what Jericho’s wealth was based on. Poor agricultural area 600 feet below sea level. Site of Jericho. Recent excavations. Exposed tower. Reached 60 feet in height by 3000BC. Granary or defensive works? Plastered skull with inset shell eyes. Portrait heads. Numerous skulls reposed in living quarters: possible indication of ancestor veneration. Veneration? http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/veneration North wall exterior WORLD CHANGING TECHNOLOGY • The use of metals has been profound. • Metallurgy has implications for power relations, status, trade, conflict, religion, and exchange. • Metal working associated with religious authority and state secrets. • Metals attributed to divine sources. • Uneven development. Metals not used in all places at same time. BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY SEARCH FOR SITES IN POPULAR IMAGINATION Tell Ubaid Tell dated to the Ubaid period. Formerly a walled compound. UNTIL 1930S • Biblical scholarship in Mesopotamia has been directed toward locating ancient cities described in religious texts. • Many ancient Mesopotamian texts are the sources of ancient Hebrew writings and the Biblical writings. The writings of Sumerians record the histories of even earlier civilizations. ARCHAEOLOGY 1930’S • Discovery and excavation at Sumerian city of Ur gained tremendous global attention. • Research into origins of writing was spurred by further discoveries at Ubaid and Uruk • Epic of Gilgamesh among the first literature of the world. Existed in several forms and fragments. Sir Leonard Wooley excavating at Sumerian city of Ur Wooley believed he had found evidence of the great flood mentioned in the bible. With T.E. Lawrence at excavations of Royal tombs at Ur. Weaponry from the Royal tomb. QUESTION • Identify three indications of social differentiation and stratification that might be visible on the landscape or in cemeteries. • Stratification? http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/stratification GILGAMESH EPIC • We are told by the narrator that Gilgamesh was the 5th King of Uruk “of the great walls.” • The tale was written as if retold from oral histories by a narrator. • The story contains accounts later adopted into Hebrew and Jewish sacred texts, forming the basis of Biblical liturgy. GILGAMESH EPIC • Gilgamesh epic is more than history. It represents great themes in the human condition--loyalty, vanity, loss of innocence, love, facing mortality, greed and avarice… • It also contains tantalizing evidence of ancient geography. • One text describes “the deluge” and building of an “ark” to carry the seed of all living things. The Bible echoes these tales. Tablet containing a version of the Gilgamesh Epic Common Assyrian impression of Gilgamesh Gilgamesh portrayed as great King in standard motifs in the later Assyrian temples. VIDEO TIME (12:00) • Epic of Gilgamesh: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pGhEu9elnA • Aliens? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmJEAw6LUxk REALITY OF GILGAMESH? His “real” story is that of mankind coming to understand mortality. The epic also contains intriguing geographical information of great value to archaeologists. • City of Uruk has been excavated revealing several layers of deposits over representing 2000 years. At Uruk. A great ziggurat and perimeter walls. Mesopotamia as a maritime region Clay cone decorative architecture at Uruk. Clay cone decorated columns at Uruk. US soldiers at Babylon. Reconstruction Uruk temple mound. British troops at Uruk, 2009. Passageway to tombs. Ziggaurat (reasonable reconstruction) Babylon. Entrance to great Zigaurat of Babylon. Reconstruction initiated by Saddam Hussein. Reconstructed ziggurat. Significant differences from contemporary Egyptian pyramids in design, construction and purpose. Fairly imaginative reconstruction from a child’s book about Babylon. Ziggurats were ceremonial and administrative centers. Places of worship, commerce, and civic activity. KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN MESOPOTAMIA • Invention of writing * • Invention of the wheel* • Invention of “history” • King lists • Inventories • Battles fought and won described or proclaimed Mask: Sargon the Great • Invention of literature • Epic hero tales (see Gilgamesh) • Codified laws • Postal system • Professional standing armies • Siege machines • First schools (sexes separated) • First farmer’s almanac • First fables • First “congress” of a senate in two chambers (elders and men of military age) • First recorded tax cut for wealthy patrons. QUESTION • What “invention” of the Sumerians has had the most significant impact on the trajectory or process of civilization? Excavations at Nippur. • Area of modern Iraq has a deep and rich history. But its history is one of conflict between rival states over territory and resources. • Recent archaeology by Iraqi scholars (until Gulf War) focused on ancient cities, Babylon, and legacy politics. Interest of modern leaders to link themselves to a glorious past. COMMUNICATION ARTS FROM LITERATURE TO PROPAGANDA Clay tablet written with cuneiform script Temple worshiper votive. Pictographic precursor to cuneiform. Clay tablet letter inside clay protective envelope. Map of the city-State of Nippur, 1300 BC During this period the Hittites had spread their empire into Mesopotamia and Egypt. Cylinder seals (and the rolled impression) from 3400-3200 BC Babylonian seal. Circa 1000 BC. Craved from chalcedony. Babylonian seals from ca. 800 BC. Carved from chalcedony and rock crystal (capped with gold). Two different statues of Gudea of Lagash, great builder of cities and traveler. (Possible inspiration for the character Gilgamesh?) SUMERIA • • • • • Excavated by Sir Leonard Wooley 1928-34 Royal tombs 2500 burials Emphasis on temples, royal graves, Royal treasures. New studies are revising much of Wooley’s interpretations whish were heavily influenced by Biblical thought. Archaeological excavations in Mesopotamia often achieved great depths. Wooley excavations at Ur. Lyre (harp) From Royal tombs at Ur. The royal lyre destroyed by looters of the Iraq National Museum, 2003. Lapis lazuli, red sandstone, bitumen, cooper, and wood. The so-called “Standard of Ur.” 4500 years old. Reverse side of Standard of Ur. Notes troops, charioteers, standardized weapons and armor. Weapons were largely of copper and flint, or poor quality bronze. CHANGING ENVIRONMENT • Satellite imaging reveals evidence of several dried river beds. These once large and powerful rivers no longer flow through Southern Iraq. • Sea level changes and wetland filling owing to agriculture have altered the maritime conditions of Iraq, the cultures of which were oriented toward seafaring in ancient times. • Draining the swamps engineered by Hussein further damaged the ecology of southern Iraq. CIVILIZATIONS OF SIGNIFICANCE MESOPOTAMIAN NEIGHBORS • Phoenicians 3000 BCE -500 BCE • sailors and traders • Hebrews and Jews 2000 BCE --• literate traditions • Egyptians 5000 BCE- 200CE • builders and planners Phoenician homeland. INDO-EUROPEAN MIGRATIONS POPULATIONS FROM SOUTH CENTRAL AREAS OF RUSSIA/EASTERN EUROPE • Nineteenth century linguists hypothesized population migrations based on analysis of language attributes. Various routes and invasions were suggested and diffusionist archaeologists were quick to adopt these ideas for explanations of change in Asia and the Middle East. MIGRATION HYPOTHESIS • Speakers of an Indo-European root language migrated over the centuries and millennia between 3000-1000 BCE into western Europe, SE Asia and the Middle East. • These groups form the basis for regional civilizations, such as the Greeks, Celts, Hittites, Persians, and Indians. INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGE • Several languages share root words, syntax, grammatical construction and conceptual links. These similarities are numerous and can only be explained by assuming a source, or root language from which the others are derived. MECHANISMS OF LANGUAGE EXCHANGE • Assumption is that migrations and dominance IndoEuropean speakers over subject groups led to absorption of language of dominant culture. • Attractive in it simplicity, there are recognized problems with the hypothesis. ARYAN INVASION • The Indo-European model was fundamental in theories of diffusion and the apparent replacement of entire cultures. One popular theory suggested ancient civilization in India was unsettled by an invasion by Aryan peoples around 3000 BCE. • An attractive hypothesis, but wrong. WHAT CAN BE AGREED UPON... • Indo-European language roots are wide spread. • Indo Europeans had horses and eventually developed chariots. • Indo-Europeans were not one ethnicity or “race” • Indo-European languages and technologies were adopted regionally, but not necessarily customs and cultures. • The Hittites were responsible for major upheaval and influence around 1900BCE. • Copper was the first metal to be worked into tools. Gold and silver are too soft and brittle. • Copper mixed with tin, zinc, and arsenic in varying degrees yield bronze. It can be cast or beaten into the desired shape. • Bronze is strong and holds an edge well. • Iron ores can be cast or hammered into shape. Hammereing actually strengthens iron alloys. • Each metal requires specialized knowledge and associated technology (including little understood chemistry) and each came to be associated with particular gods and forces in all cultures. SUMMARY • From Neolithic origins, cultures of Mesopotamia developed into powerful complex states and are the source civilization for many of the great achievements of humankind. • Indo-European speaking peoples spread out widely and adopted many regional cultures while contributing language roots. • Already by 3000 BCE people were trading among the many civilizations of the Old World. • The rise of complex state societies can be traced to this period. OBJECTIVES • Explain how villages grew into cities • List the characteristics of civilization • Describe how the city of Ur exemplifies early civilizations