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Chapter 1
The Origins of Western
Civilization in the
Ancient Near East,
3000–1200 B.C.E.
Learning Objectives: Questions to
Consider
• What were the social, economic, and cultural
consequences of the adoption of agriculture?
• How did geography influence the development of
civilization in Mesopotamia and Egypt?
• What part did religion play in the lives of the
ancient Sumerians?
• How did the ancient Egyptians view the concept
of life after death?
• In what ways were the Minoan and Mycenaean
civilizations different from the civilizations of
Mesopotamia and Egypt?
Before History, 2,000,000-3000
B.C.E.
• The Old Stone Age
– Getting to Know the Old Stone Age
• Material Culture and Archaeology
• Anthropology
– Early Human Populations
• Homo habilis (2 million years ago)
• Homo erectus (1 million years ago)
• Homo sapiens (450,000 B.C.E.)
• Sub-species: Neanderthal (350,000 B.C.E.)
• Hunting and gathering
• Homo sapiens sapiens
Before History, 2,000,000-3000
B.C.E.
• The Origins of Religion
– The Belief in Supernatural Powers
• Influence Through Ritual
– Fertility Rituals and the Possibility of Matriarchal Societies
– Burial Rituals
• Cave Painting
Before History, 2,000,000-3000
B.C.E.
• The Neolithic Revolution
– The Neolithic Age in the Near East (8000
B.C.E.)
– The Rise of Pastoralism
• Animal domestication
– The Rise of Agriculture
• Independent Developments and Cultural
Assimilation
– The Consequences of Settled Lifestyles
• Diversification and Differentiation
Before History, 2,000,000-3000
B.C.E.
• The Emergence of Near Eastern Civilization
– The Fertile Crescent: from the Nile through the
Levant and Mesopotamia
• The Criteria of Civilization
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Cities and Centralization
The Concentration of Wealth and Resources
Technological Advances
Writing and History
• The Bronze Age, 3000-1200 B.C.E.
Mesopotamian Civilization,
3000–1200 B.C.E.
• The Rise of Sumeria
– Sumerian Writing
• Cuneiform
• Myths and Legends
– The Role of Geography
• Anatolia and the Rivers
– Polytheists and Unpredictable Anthropomorphic
Gods
• Divination and Pessimism
Mesopotamian Civilization,
3000–1200 B.C.E.
• Sumerian Government and Society
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City-states
Ziggurats
Hierarchical Structure
Economic Activity
• Barter
– Gender in a Patriarchal Society
• Dowry
– Daily Life
Mesopotamian Civilization,
3000–1200 B.C.E.
• Semitic and Indo-European Peoples
– Sargon (2350 B.C.E.) and the Akkadians
• Administering an Empire: Conciliation and
Domination
– Hammurabi (r. 1790-1750 B.C.E.) and the
Babylonians
• Standardization in Weights (Talents)
• Mathematics, Astronomy, and Astrology
– The Indo-Europeans from the Steppes:
Aryans, Hittites, and Kassites
Mesopotamian Civilization,
3000–1200 B.C.E.
• The Code of Hammurabi
– Classes: Nobles, Free Persons, and Slaves
– Gender Relations and Marriage
– Crime and Punishment
• Punishment by Death (Impalement) and Mutilation
• The Importance of Status and Retaliation
Egyptian Civilization,
3000–1200 B.C.E.
• The Gift of the Nile
– The Land of Egypt and Its Geography
– The Unification of Egypt, 3000 B.C.E.
• Pharaohs and Dynasties
• Hieroglyphics and Scribes
• Administration by Nomes
– Early Egyptian Religion
• The Goddess Ma’at
Egyptian Civilization,
3000–1200 B.C.E.
• Egyptian Government and Society
– Crime and Punishment
– Egyptian Society and Its Hierarchy
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Pharaoh, Wives, Concubines, and Children
Nobles and Priests
Specialized Workers
Lower Status Laborers
Slaves
– Daily Life in Egypt
• The Importance of Family
Egyptian Civilization,
3000–1200 B.C.E.
• The Old Kingdom, 2700-2200 B.C.E.
– The Nature of the Pyramids
– The Rise of the Nobles
• The Middle Kingdom, 2050-1786 B.C.E.
– Osiris and the Afterlife
• Mummification and the Book of the Dead
– The Hyksos Invasion, 1730 B.C.E.
Egyptian Civilization,
3000–1200 B.C.E.
• The New Kingdom, 1570-1070 B.C.E.
– Protecting Egypt
• Building an Army with Natives and Mercenaries
• The Rule of Hatshepsut, Female Pharaoh (r.
1498-1483 B.C.E.)
– Egyptian Empire
– The Religious Revolution of Akhenaton (r.
1350-1334 B.C.E.) and the Aton
– Successors: Tut-ankh-amon (r. 1334-1325
B.C.E.) and Ramses II (r. 1279-1212 B.C.E.)
Lost Civilizations
of the Bronze Age
• Ebla and Canaan
– Thriving Trade and Cities, ca. 2500 B.C.E.
• The Minoans of Crete
– Palace Complexes , 2000 B.C.E.
– Trade, Religion, and Views of the World
• Cult Objects
• The Myth of the Minotaur
– The Fall, 1400 B.C.E.
Lost Civilizations
of the Bronze Age
• The Mycenaeans of Greece, ca. 1600 B.C.E.
– Origins
• Minoan Influences
– Society
– Trade
Lost Civilizations
of the Bronze Age
• The Sea Peoples and the End of the
Bronze Age, 1200 B.C.E.
– The Invasion of the Sea Peoples
• Evidence from the Iliad
– Troy and the Trojan War
– The Defeat of the Sea Peoples
• Egyptian Victory under Ramses III (r. 1182-1151
B.C.E.)
– The End of the Bronze Age
• The Invasion of the Dorians, 1150 B.C.E.
• Mycenaean Flight and Resettlement in Ionia