Download The Dawn of Civilization Prehistory to AD 300

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The Dawn of Civilization
Prehistory to AD 300
The Dawn of Civilizations
• 1. The Beginnings of Civilization (Prehistory – 1000 BC)
• 2. The Ancient Near East (4000 BC – 550 BC)
• 3. The Nile Civilizations (5000 BC – AD 300)
• 4. Ancient India and China (2500 BC – 250 BC)
A. The Beginning of Civilization (Prehistory – 1000 BC)
• 1. The First People
• 2. The Beginning of Agriculture
• 3. Foundations of Civilizations
• Main Ideas
• For millions of years people used stone technology to satisfy their basic
needs -food and shelter
• Then, after the Ice Age ended, people began to farm
• This breakthrough gave rise to the first civilizations
1. The First People
 History-the study of the distant past
 Archaeologists-study artifacts - objects that people made in the past
 Anthropologists-study people and their culture - a society’s knowledge, art,
beliefs, customs, and values
o Mary and Louis Leakey-anthropologists who made several key
contributions to Early Human Origins
o The Laetoli footprints
Human Origins
• “Theories on prehistory and early man constantly change as new evidence comes
to light.”
• Louis Leakey, British anthropologist
The Stages of Human Development
• Paleolithic Age:
• (Old Stone Age )
• 2,500,000 BCE to 8,000 BCE
1. 4,000,000 BCE – 1,000,000 BCE
2. 1,500,000 BCE -- 250,000 BCE
3. 250,000 BCE – 30,000 BCE
4. 30,000 BCE -- 10,000 BCE
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Stage One
• 4,000,000 BCE – 1,000,000 BCE
 Australopithecines - appeared in Africa
 Hominids --> any human like beings that walked upright
 Nutcracker Man - discovered by Mary Leakey
 An Apposable Thumb
Stage One

HOMO HABILIS “Man of Skills” )
 found in East Africa
 created stone tools Handy man
Stage Two
 1,6000,000 BCE – 30,000BCE
 HOMO ERECTUS ( “Upright Human Being” )
 BIPEDALISM
 Larger and more varied tools --> primitive technology- axes
 First hominid to migrate and leave Africa for Europe and Asia.
 First to control fire ( 500,000 BCE )
Stage Three
• 200,000 BCE – 10,000 BCE
• Africa and migrated throughout the world
• HOMO SAPIENS
• “Wise Human Being” Spoken language
• First to create fire
• Neanderthals
• 200,000 BCE – 30,000 BCE
• Cro-Magnons
• 40,000 BCE – 10,000 BCE
Possible Human Migration Theories
• Radiation theory suggests that the first people came from mid east Africa and
migrated throughout the world
• Parallel Evolution theory suggests that civilization started around the same time in
certain areas of the world
Neanderthals
 Neander Valley, Germany (1856)
 First humans to bury their dead
 Made clothes from animal skins
 Lived in caves and tents
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Neanderthal Sites
 Lived in caves and tents
 Migrated to Europe and Asia
Cro – Magnons
 Homo sapiens sapiens- “Wise, wise human”
 By 30,000 BCE they replaced Neanderthals.
Homo Sapiens in Europe
 Homo Sapiens migrated from Africa and spread throughout Europe
• Cro Magnons sites – most were located in modern day Spain and France.
Life during the Old Stone Age
 2,500,000 BCE – 10,000 BCE
 Paleolithic Age
 Made tools
 hunting (men) & gathering (women)
 small bands of 20-30 humans
 NOMADIC (moving from place to place)
Stone Age Art and Religion
 Early humans produced a variety of art in cave walls
 Scholars are not certain what purpose early art served
 Maybe to teach hunting skills, or chronicle hunts
 Religion - animism - belief that all things in nature have spirits
 Cave paintings honor the animal spirits
Early Hominid Findings
• What three continents did historians find early hominids?
The Last Ice Age
• 70,000 BCE – 10,000 BCE
• Long periods of freezing weather
• Land bridges such as Beringia helped Early Hominids spread throughout the
world
2. The Beginnings of Agriculture
 Early Settlement Communities – Jarmo and Catal Huyuk
The Neolithic Age
 “New Stone” Age
 10,000 BCE – 4,000 BCE
 Gradual shift from:
 Nomadic lifestyle  settled, stationery lifestyle.
 Hunting/Gathering  agricultural production and domestication of
animals.
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The Agricultural Revolution

8,000 BCE – 5,000 BCE
 Agriculture developed independently in different parts of the world.
 SLASH-AND-BURN Farming
Jarmo
 Early Settlement Community
 Growing crops on a regular basis made possible the support of larger populations
 More permanent, settled communities emerged.
 9,000 BCE  Earliest Agricultural Settlement at JARMO ( northern Iraq ) wheat
Catal Huyuk
 8,000 BCE  Largest Early Settlement at Çatal Hüyük
( Modern Turkey ) - 6,000 inhabitants
 12 cultivated crops
 Division of labor
 Engaged in trade
 Organized religion
 Small military
Otzi the Iceman
• Discovered in 1991 by hikers in Italy’s Otztal Alps
• 5,300 year old body from the New Stone Age
• nickname -Otzi the Iceman
• His belongings were well preserved
• Evidence suggests that he was murdered
• His remains give historians many clues to Neolithic societies
3. Foundations of Civilization
• The next step in the development in human settlements
• Cities to civilizations
A Complex Society is known as a Civilization
• Cities
• Well organized governments
• Complex religions
• Job specialization
• Social classes
• Art and architecture
• Public works
• Record Keeping Writing
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What does a civilization need?
• Cities
• Well organized governments
• Complex religions
• Job specialization
• Social classes
• Art and architecture
• Public works
• Record Keeping Writing
Where did the first civilizations develop?
• The earliest civilizations developed in the fertile lands around rivers.
• They were in Asia and Africa.
• The rich soil and abundant water allowed people to grow excess crops.
• This allowed people to take on jobs other than farming.
What caused governments to develop?
• People had to work together to control flood water, create irrigation, and build
canals.
• Some of these projects required leadership and from this leadership, government
developed.
• Social classes were also created.
Social Classes Develop
 Social classes developed based on people’s jobs.
 Priests and nobles were at the top.
 Artisans were below them.
 Then came peasant farmers.
 Slaves were at the bottom.
 Writing develops, probably so that priest could write. Early writing was made up
of pictographs.
 Pictographs use pictures to express ideas.
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The Dawn of Civilization
Prehistory to AD 300
The Dawn of Civilizations
• 1. The Beginnings of Civilization (Prehistory – 1000 BC)
• 2. The Ancient Near East (4000 BC – 550 BC)
• 3. The Nile Civilizations (5000 BC – AD 300)
• 4. Ancient India and China (2500 BC – 250 BC)
B. The Ancient Near East (4000 BC – 550 BC)
• 1. Mesopotamia and Sumer
• 2. Fertile Crescent Empires
• 3. Hebrews and Judaism
• 4. The Persian Empire
• Main Idea
• Ancient Near East refers to a number of cultures
• Cradle of Civilization--world’s first peoples
• First to develop writing, use the wheel, and create empires
1. Mesopotamia: The City between Two Rivers
• 5500 BC - farming developed in Mesopotamia
• Floods of the rivers, led to fertile soil
• Grew wheat and barley
• Developed methods to control the water - canals
• The Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers - home to some of the riches soils in the
world
Ancient Fertile Crescent Area
• The Middle East: “The Cradle of Civilization”
• Fertile Crescent - curve between Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf
Sumerians-first civilization in Mesopotamia
• People who developed the first civilization in Mesopotamia
• Called their land Sumer
• Large cities began to appear in 3000 BC
• Over time, each city formed its own city-state. A political unit with a government
• This led to fighting over land and water
Sumerian Religion – Polytheistic-belief in many gods
• Anthropomorphic Gods
• Enki-the god of crafts, water, intelligence, and creation
• Innana-the god of sexual love, fertility, and warfare
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Ziggurat at Ur
§ Temple -in each city a large temple rose to the sky
§ “Mountain of the Gods”
§ For defense, a massive wall circled each city
Cuneiform: “Wedge-Shaped” Writing
• Sumerian writing using sharp tools to make wedge-shaped symbols on clay
tablets
Cuneiform Writing
• Used Cuneiform to keep business accounts and other records
• They worked on law and grammar as well as works of literature, such as stories,
poems, and songs
Deciphering Cuneiform
Sumerian Scribes
• “Tablet House”-Sumerian School
• required years of schooling, but improved their social status
• Sumerians who kept records
• Math system based on number 60 and a circle into 360
Sumerian Cylinder Seals
 Story through a Picture
Gilgamesh
• The Epic story of the legendary Sumerian king who after the death of his friend,
sought the answer of immortality
• left his home and killed a group of lions
Gilgamesh Epic Tablet: Flood Story
The Royal Standard of Sumer
• As trade increased in Sumer, social ranking developed in Sumer
• Top - kings, priests
• Middle - landowners and merchants
• Followed by artists, farmers
• Bottom - slaves
Mesopotamian Trade
• “The Cuneiform World”
• What are some items that were traded?
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Sargon of Akkad: The World’s First Empire [Akkadians]
 Akkadians-established the world’s first empire Med Sea to Persian Gulf
• Sargon I - created a permanent army and conquered all of Sumer and northern
Mesopotamia - used cunieform
The Babylonian Empires
• Tribe known as the Amorites settled in Babylon on the Euphrates
• 1792 BC - Amorite king Hammurabi united all of Mesopotamia
• Became known as the Babylonian Empire
Hammurabi’s [r. 1792-1750 B. C. E.] Code
• Hammurabi - oversaw building projects, improved tax system, increased trade
• Most famous for his code of laws - 282 laws dealing with issues from trade to
injury to theft to murder
Hammurabi, the Judge
• “If a man puts out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out”
• Honored the Sumerian Gods
• Under his reign, Babylon became Mesopotamia’s greatest city
Babylonian Math
• Highly sophisticated
• Used geometry that was necessary to build elaborate structures and irrigation
systems
• Also made scientific advancements
• invented the wheel and the plow
Babylonian Numbers
2. Fertile Crescent Empires
 Hittites
 Assyrians
 Chaldeans
 Phoenicians
 Hebrews
 Persians
Indo-European Migrations: 4m-2m BCE
• The Middle East: “The Crossroads of Three Continents”
• What are the three continents?
• Indo-Europeans- tribes who spoke similar languages and invaded Mesopotamia
The Hittite Empire
• Hittites-war-like Indo-European tribe from modern day Turkey
• conquered surrounding peoples including the Babylonian Empire
• Success was due to use of the horse-drawn chariots
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Hittite Chariots & Warriors
• Horse-drawn chariot –heavy and slow but very powerful
• carried three men - one man drove, a second fought, and a third held a shield for
defense
• extra defender enabled the Hittites to move their chariots in close to enemy forces
while staying protected
Hittite Writing
• Used Sumerian cuneiform
• Used a code similar to Hammurabi
• First people in the area to master iron working
• Used to make ornaments, tools, and weapons
Hattusas
• The capital of the Hittite Empire
• The Lion’s Gate - is the entrance to the Hittite capital
A Balance of Power: 1200 B. C. E.
• Hittite rule reached its peak in the 1300’s
• Hittite Empire fell to powerful raiders, known as Sea Peoples
The Battle of Kadesh
° Ramses II of Egypt
° Muwatalli of Hittite
° Kadesh-largest chariot battle ever fought
° Treaty of Kadesh peace treaty
The Assyrian Empire
• Fierce determination and military might to become supreme power in the region
• City of Assur along the upper Tigris River
• originally from northern Mesopotamia
Assyrian Military Power
• Assyrian soldiers carrying away the enemy’s gods.
• fierce warrior society
• Cavalry-armed with iron weapons
• masters of siege warfare
• Such brutality led to growing bitterness toward Assyrians
Jewish Captives: 8c BCE
• “Many of the captives I burned in a fire. I . . . cut off their hands . . . cut off their
noses , , , put out their eyes
• Ashurnasirpal II, quoted in Barbarian Tides, 1500-600 B.C.
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Assyrian’s Greatest Achievement
• Iibrary in the Assyrian capital of Nineveh-20,000 cuneiform tablets including
most famous Epic of Gilgamesh
The Chaldean Empire
• The Chaldean Empire took over after the fall of the Assyrians
• made the old city of Babylon the capital of the new empire
Nebuchadnezzar II’s Babylon
• The most famous Chaldean king-defeated the Egyptians and the Jews and rebuilt
the city of Babylon
• known as a warrior and a builder
• Also captured Jerusalem
Babylon’s Entrance
 Ishtar Gate eighth gate to inner city of Babylon
Babylon’s Hanging Gardens
• Hanging Gardens
of Babylon-a grand palace in the city with thousands of trees and flowers
• rebuilt Babylon as a place of splendor - numerous palaces and temples, including
a ziggurat
• Ancient writers listed the Hanging Gardens as one of the seven wonders of the
world
Israelites in Captivity
• Many Jews were taken as slaves from Jerusalem to Babylon
• eventually freed when Persians conquered Babylon
The Phoencian Empire
• A very wealthy trading society of western Asia whose legacy is still felt today
• Lay at the western end of the Fertile Crescent along the Mediterranean Sea Sidon and Tyre
A Phoenician Bireme Ship
• Excellent sailors and dominated the Mediterranean Sea
• Today known as Lebanon-farming was difficult so they turned to trading
• Traded at ports in Egypt, Greece, Italy, and Spain
• Historians suggest that they reached Great Britain, but not sure
Carthage: Phoenicia’s Mightiest Colony
• A Major trading route
• on the coast of northern Africa
• Carthage later became a powerful city in the Mediterranean Sea
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The “Royal Purple” Dye
• Trade brought great wealth
• A local shell produced a purple dye used to color fabric, became very popular
• Giant cedar trees were prized for timber
• Also experts in glassblowing- the art of heating and shaping glass
• other exports - ivory carving, silverwork, and slaves
Phoenician City of Byblos: “Home of the Alphabet”
• Their greatest achievement - the alphabet
• One of the world’s first alphabets
• consisted of 22 letters
• Greek modified their language to include vowels
• Their version is the ancestor of the modern alphabet to write in the English
language
Phoenician Alphabet
3. The Ancient Hebrews
• The Kingdom of Israel
• The ancient Hebrews and their religion, Judaism, have been a major influence on
western civilization
Abrams Journey from Ur, Mesopotamia
• One day God spoke to Abram: “Get thee out of thy country . . . Unto the land that
I will show thee.”
• (Genesis 12:1)
• Canaan  The “Promised Land”-Mediterranean Sea
Abraham’s Genealogy
• Islam-Quran
• Abraham married Hagar
• They had a son, Ishmael
• 12 Arabian Tribes
• Muhammad (the last prophet)
• Quran and the Five Pillars of Islam
• Mecca (Muslims)
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Judaism-Torah
Abraham had another wife Sarah
They had a son, Isaac
He had two children, Jacob/Israel and Esau
12 Tribes of Israel
2 Tribes - (Jews) of Judah- Jerusalem
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Jesus Christ (son of God)
The Hebrew Bible - Old Testament in the Christian Bible
Other 10 tribes-(Israelites) (Hebrews)
Abraham’s Journeys
• Why did Abraham take this route? Why did he not travel straight across to the
Promised Land
Yahweh’s- God of Judiasm - “Covenant” With His People
• The Torah
 The first 5 books of the Hebrew Bible.
 The most sacred text in the Jewish religious tradition.
 Old Testament in Christian Bible
Ancient Palestine
 Between Mediterranean Sea and Jordan River-Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria
Land of Goshen, Egypt
• Driven by famine, the Israelites left Canaan and went to Egypt
• The Pharaoh, Egypt’s ruler, feared an Israeli uprising and made them slaves
Moses
• “Prince of Egypt”-enslaved several Israelites
• “Shepherd of His People.” Led his people out of Egypt (Moses)
The Exodus
• Moses went to the Pharaoh and demanded that the slaves be sent free
• The Pharaoh refused and God sent a series of terrible disasters on Egypt
• The Exodus - Journey In which Moses led the Israelites of out Egypt
Route of the Exodus
• Israelites traveled through the desert for years
• They came to a mountain called Sinai
Moses and the 10 Commandments
• A new “covenant” with Yahweh
• God met Moses at Mt. Sinai
• God gave Moses Two stone tablets with 10 moral laws
Mount Sinai
• The Ten Commandments state that only god exists (monotheism)
• stress the importance of life, self-control, and justice
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The Kingdom of Israel
• The Torah says that Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years before entering
Canaan
• God promised land to be “flowing with milk and honey”
• They regained control of Canaan and called it the kingdom Israel
King David’s Empire
• King Saul of Israel - the first king
• David-second Israeli king in 1000 BC
• Well loved and the people united behind him
• Under David, Israel grew into a strong kingdom centered on the capital, Jerusalem
King Soloman’s Empire
• Solomon’s Kingdom-Israel reached its height in wealth and influence
• The son of David
• Praised in the Hebrew Bible
• Traded with other Near East powers
• Built a magnificent temple in Jerusalem
Ancient Jerusalem
• The land of Israel
• founded by David - capital
• King Soloman’s Temple
• The Arc of the Covenant
The Temple Mount, Jerusalem
 Solomon’s Temple Wall: The “Wailing” Wall
King Solomon’s Temple
• The First Temple
• Judges, prophets - holy men who believed to carry messages from God
• Mission - to keep Israelites focused on their faith
Inside the Temple Tabernacle
• The Arc of the Covenant
The Death of Soloman
• Death of Solomon -12 tribes split
• Judah-two tribes (Jews)-taught monotheism-belief in one god
• fell to Chaldeans- destroyed Soloman’s Temple and enslaved thousands of Jews
to Babylon
• Israel-10 tribes
• fell to the Assyrians
• scattered the peoples of Israel across their empire
• Kingdom of Judah and Israel
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Israelites in Captivity
• Diaspora-scattering of Jews outside Judah
• Jews called this enslavement the Babylonian Captivity (50 years)
• The Persian Empire will eventually capture Babylon and let the Jews return to
Jerusalem
4. The Persian Empire
• Formed one of the largest and best governed empires in the ancient world
• made great cultural achievements
Cyrus the Great
 Overthrew his grandfather Astyages, king of the Medes
 A tolerant ruler  he allowed different cultures within his empire to keep their
own institutions.
 The Greeks called him a “Law-Giver.”
 The Jews called him “the anointed of the Lord.” (In 537, he allowed over 40,000
to return to Palestine).
 Son was madman led Persia into rebellion
Darius the Great
 Built Persepolis.
 He extended the Persian Empire to the Indus River in northern India.
(2 mil. s.q. mi.)
 Built a canal in Egypt.
Darius the Great
 Established a tax-collecting system.
 Divided the empire into districts called SATRAPIES.
 Built the great Royal Road system.
 Established a complex postal system.
 Created a network of spies called “the King’s eyes and ears.”
Ancient Persepolis
• The capital of the Persian Empire
• Built by Darius I
• located in Persia near the Persian Gulf
Persepolis
• The greatest cultural achievement of the Empire
• center was a high-ceiling audience hall with magnificent decorations and art and
structure
The People of Persepolis
• Carved soldiers and royal officials lined the walls, all bearing gifts for the mighty
emperor in whose hall they stood
• Lions and bulls also appeared on the gates and columns
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Persian “Royal Road”
• Built by Darius I
• connected Persepolis (Persian Empire) to the rest of the Middle East and Africa
• Communication was central in the Empire
• Network of high quality roads
• World’s first highway stretching more than 1,500 miles
Persian Archers & Soldiers
• The heart of Darius’ Army
• Ten Thousand Immortals-highly trained soldiers
• Hand picked for their skills and dedication, these soldiers often acted as a
bodyguard for the emperor
• In battle, supported by cavalry soldiers mounted on horses and camels and by
chariots
Zarathustra [Zoroaster], 6c BCE:
Good Thoughts, Good Deed, Good Words
• During the reign of Cyrus and Darius, a new religion took hold in Persia
• Zoraastianism - based on the teaches of Zoroaster
Dualistic Battle of Good vs. Evil
• World created by Ahura, the source of everything good, true, and pure to the
world
• Opposing force was Ahriman - evil spirit that led to destruction
• Dualism-the belief that the world is controlled by two opposing forces, good and
evil
Zend-Avesta (The “Book of Law”)
• Their sacred text, their book of law
• People have free will and can act as they chose
• The “Sacred Fire”  the force to fight evil.
Extent of Zoroastrianism
• Spread through three continents
• The emperors worshiped Ahura Mazda
• When the Persian Empire fell, so Zoroastrianism almost disappeared
• Persia fell to a Greek king named Alexander the Great in 330’s BC
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The Dawn of Civilization
Prehistory to AD 300
The Dawn of Civilizations
• 1. The Beginnings of Civilization (Prehistory – 1000 BC)
• 2. The Ancient Near East (4000 BC – 550 BC)
• 3. The Nile Civilizations (5000 BC – AD 300)
• 4. Ancient India and China (2500 BC – 250 BC)
C. Ancient Nile Civilizations (5000 BC – AD 300)
• 1. The Kingdom of Egypt
• 2. Egyptian Culture
• 3. The Nubian Kingdoms
• Main Idea
• It is known as the site of one of the world’s earliest civilizations
• The land of the pyramids and pharaohs
1. A View of Egypt by Satellite
• Most important physical feature in Egypt
• The longest river in the world going through the largest desert in the world
The Annual Flooding of the Nile• The Nile River floods every year
• Spring rains feed the river’s sources south of Egypt
• The flood lands cover the surrounding land with a rich black silt
The Fertile Nile Valley
• Delta-area at the mouth of the river made up of silk deposits
• Egyptian’s name for the country - the Black land
Nile Irrigation-the Shaduf
• Shadufs - A Machine that early Egyptians used to Move Water
Ancient Egyptian History
 Nile Culture Begins
 Archaic
 Old Kingdom
 Middle Kingdom
 New Kingdom
 Late Period
 Greek Ptolemaic Era
 Roman Period
3900 BC
3100 - 2550 BC
2500 – 2134 BC
2040 - 1640 BC
1550 – 1070 BC
750 – 332 BC
332 – 30 BC
30 BC – AD 395
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Menes:
• The two kingdoms of Egypt were unified under a ruler named Menes
• founded the city of Memphis, capital of Egypt
• adopted the symbols of Upper and Lower Egypt - the cobra and the vulture
• wore a red and white crown to symbolize unification
The Old Kingdom
• Stepped Pyramid at Saqqara
• rise of the Third Dynasty 2650 BC marked the beginning of the Old Kingdom,
lasting about 500 years
• The most famous symbols of Old Kingdom are the pyramids
• pyramids were built as tombs for Egypt’s rulers
• “Bent” Pyramid of King Sneferu
Giza Pyramid Complex
• The largest and most famous of the Old Kingdom pyramids are located in the
town Giza
• Inside or below each pyramid was a hollow chamber in which a dead king was
buried
Some Famous Egyptian Pharaohs
• Pharaohs - “great house” absolute power- human god
• Thutmose III -1504-1450 B. C. E.
• He created the largest empire Egypt had seen
• Tutankhamon -1336-1327 B. C. E.
• King Tut during the New Kingdom
• Ramses II- 1279-1212 B. C. E.
• Regarded as Egypt’s greatest, most celebrated, and most powerful pharaoh
2. Egyptian Social Hierarchy
• Pharaohs at the top
• Viziers - government officials responsible for advising the pharaoh, carrying out
orders, and trying court cases
• below viziers - hundreds of lesser officials
• below them nobles
Egyptian Priestly Class
• Because the pharaoh was thought to be a god, religion and government were
closely intertwined in the Old Kingdom
• Egypt was a theocracy, a state ruled by religious figures
Egyptian Nobility
• Power local nobles began to assert their own authority as rivals to the pharaoh
• As a result, Egypt’s internal order and stability gradually disappeared
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The Middle Kingdom
• Pharaohs of the Old Kingdom eventually lost power due to economic problems,
invasions, and civil wars with their noble class.
• Famine and widespread added to the chaos
• New dynasty came to power, the Middle Kingdom 2055
• Middle Kingdom pharaohs encouraged sailing and trading with foreign lands
• Despite improvements made, the Middle Kingdom fell to raiders from Syria
The New Kingdom
• The Hykos, Raiders from Syria, invaded the Nile Delta and conquered Lower
Egypt
• Ruled Egypt for 100 years; eventually Egypt drove them out
• New Kingdom pharaohs decided to build militaries to protect Egypt from foreign
invasion
Hatshepsut
• Hatshepsut-best known for encouraging trade - her trading expeditions are carved
on her walls of her temple
• One of the few women to control Egypt
• She wanted to be treated like a pharaoh, so she dressed like a man
• Part human part lion
Ankhenaton: First Monotheist?
• Egyptians had been worshipping many gods for centuries
• Amenhotep IV-believed in one god- Aten-the god of the sun
• He banned the worship of any god but Aten; built new capital Akhetan
• Did not last long - King Tut restored polytheism and moved kingdom back to
Thebes
King Tutankhamon
• King Tut served as a pharaoh in the New Kingdom 1336-1327 B. C. E.
• Restored belief in the traditional gods of Egyptians
Howard Carter
• Howard Carter 1922
• Archaeologist who discovered King Tut’s Tomb
• they discovered the jars that held the pharaoh’s organs
King “Tut’s” Tomb
 Entrance to King Tut’s Tomb
 King Tutankhamon’s Death Mask
King Tutankhamun’s Tomb
• The Tomb of pharaoh Tutankhamon, “King Tut” was one of the richest
archaeological discoveries ever made
• It provided historians many clues to Egyptian civilization
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Treasures From Tut’s Tomb
• The tomb contained a wealth of treasures, including a magnificent golden coffin
that held Tut’s mummy
• The tomb also had hundreds of items for the pharaoh to enjoy the afterlife
The Ankh and the Cross of life
 Egyptian Hieroglyphic character that reads Eternal Life
 The over head represents the Nile Delta, with the vertical representing the path of
the river and the east and west represents the unification of lower and upper Egypt
 The “Cross” of Life-Represents the passage from life to death
Abu Simbel: Monument to Ramses II
Pharoah Ramses II went to war against the Hittite Empire
• both claimed victory
• both armies agreed to a truce
• “Nubian Monuments”-built to commemorate Battle of Kadesh
Queen Nefertiti
• As a sign of peace, he married the Princess of the Hittites
• Wife of Pharoah Ramesses II in the 13th Century BC
• Ramses the Great ruled for 60 years. He built more temples and monuments than
other other pharaoh
Egyptian Creation Myth
 The Goddess Nut-Personifies Moisture
Egyptian Gods & Goddesses:
 Osiris-king and judge of the dead
• He introduced civilization to Egypt
• Soon after, he was killed by his brother, Seth, who cut the god’s body into
pieces that he scattered around Egypt
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Isis-Goddess of Nature and Women
• She sought out the pieces, reassembled them, and brought him back to life
• Horus-God of the sky
• child of Osiris who sought revenge on his uncle Seth
“The Sacred ‘Trinity’”
 When Osiris replaced Anubis as the judge of the dead
The Final Judgement
° Anubis was a judge of the dead and the protector of ceremonies and of mummy
makers.
° Osiris became the new judge and replaced Anubis
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Preparations for the Underworld
° Egyptians believed that when the physical being died, a force called the ka
escaped
° Believed that the ka might vanish if the body was not preserved - mummification
° ANUBIS weighs the dead person’s heart against a feather.
° He weighed the souls of the dead to decide their fate
° Those who had light souls were good in life and were rewarded; those who had
heavy souls were evil and were fed to a terrible monster
Preparation for the Afterlife
• The process Egyptians developed for the breakdown of a dead body
• Early on, only pharaohs and members of royal family could be mummified
• Later, the process was made available to anyone who could afford it
Materials Used in Mummification
° First step - remove organs (except the heart)
° the body was packed with materials to keep shape
° Then it was wrapped and artists painted the dead person’s features on the outside
of the mummy itself or on a mask
1. Linen
6. Natron
2. Sawdust
7. Onion
3. Lichen
8. Nile Mud
4. Beeswax
9. Linen Pads
5. Resin
10. Frankinsense
Journey to the Underworld
• A boat for the journey is provided for a dead pharaoh in his tomb
• The dead travel on the “Solar Bark.”
Egyptian Book of the Dead
•
A collection of hymns, spells, and instructions
• Allows the deceased to pass into the afterlife
Shabtis
• Shabtis -The Pharaoh’s Servants in the Afterlife
• Dead Egyptians were buried with all the possessions they need in the afterlife
• Besides treasures, dead pharaohs needed people to serve them
• Royal tombs were filled with statues of servants that the Egyptians thought would
come to life to serve the pharaoh’s ka.
Egyptian Mummies
 Seti I 1291-1278 B. C. E.
 Queen Tiye, wife of Amenhotep II 1210-1200 B. C. E.
 Ramses II 1279-1212 B. C. E.
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The Valley of the Kings
• valley in Egypt where Egyptian kings were buried in tombs
The Valley of the Queens
 Temple of Queen Hatshepsut
Scenes of Ancient Egyptian Daily Life
° Egyptian family life varied widely from class to class
° Father at head of household
° men did most of the manual labor
Ancient Egyptian Housing
• Peasant Homes
• largest part of Egyptian society (90%)
• spent most of the time in the field
• could be recruited to work on pyramids
• lived in tiny huts
• Middle Class Homes
• These included the artisans, craftspeople, and the merchants
• made and sold the goods sold to other lands
• lived in brick homes with rooms
An Egyptian Woman’s “Must-Haves”
° Women worked outside the home
° had more rights than women in other societies
° Women primary role - take care of children
° Men and women wore perfume and makeup
Egyptian Scribe
° The best way to gain social status was to become a scribe
° Scribes ability to read and write made them highly sought after
° Composed and copied religious texts, collected taxes, and kept public records
Hieroglyphic “Cartouche”
• Egyptians were prolific writers
• They recorded the events of their society in great detail
• System that uses picture symbols to represent objects, sounds, ideas
• one of the world’s first writing systems
Hieroglyphics “Alphabet”
 24 “letters” + 700 phonetic symbols
Papyrus  Paper
• Papyrus Plant-grew along the Nile and provided an excellent writing service
• Because of Egypt’s dry climate, papyrus did not compose and is still readable
Egyptian Math & Craftsmanship
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°
°
°
Interested in Math and Science
Used subjects to improve their lives
understood basic principles of arithmetic and geometry
Champollion & the Rosetta Stone
• Champollion deciphered the Stone, which gave us modern understanding of
hieroglyphic writing
• long passages of ancient writings
• same text written in three different scripts: hieroglyphics, demotic, and ancient
Greek
• unlocked the secrets needed to translate Egyptian hieroglyphics
Who Are These Strange People?
• The reign of Ramses marked the end of Egypt’s greatness
• Challenges came in the form of foreign powers
• first of the major invasions was the Sea Peoples
• No one is sure who the Sea People were, but their invasions did bring an end to
the Hittite Empire and Egypt
Routes of the “Sea Peoples”
 The end of the New Kingdom!
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The Dawn of Civilization
Prehistory to AD 300
The Dawn of Civilizations
• 1. The Beginnings of Civilization (Prehistory – 1000 BC)
• 2. The Ancient Near East (4000 BC – 550 BC)
• 3. The Nile Civilizations (5000 BC – AD 300)
• 4. Ancient India and China (2500 BC – 250 BC)
Ancient India and China - 2500 BC – 250 BC
• 1. Early India
• 2. Hinduism
• 3. Buddhism
• 4. China’s First Dynasties
• Main Idea
• Like Mesopotamia and Egypt, India and China were each home to an
early river civilization
• They developed their own governments, languages, customs, and social
structures
• Religions and philosophies helped shape the lives of people in Asia
Early Civilizations of Ancient India
• Early civilization arose in the Indus River Valley, flourished, and then
mysteriously died out
• Later, India’s Vedic civilization developed a culture based on old and new beliefs
(Hinduism)
Indus River Civilizations
• Indus River Valley
• Subcontinent-large landmass that is part of a continent
• first two Indus River Civilizations were the Harappan and Mohenjo-Daro Mound of the Dead
Wide View, Mohenjo-Daro
• The first ruins of the Indus River Valley
• Within these ruins, archaeologists found hundreds of artifacts, including statues,
that can help us learn more about ancient Indian life
Aerial View of Mohenjo-Daro
• Mohenjo-daro was well planned and carefully laid out
• Streets ran in grid pattern, north-south, east-west
Citadel (Fortress) Of Mohenjo-Daro
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•
•
•
In the largest cities, a walled, elevated citadel, or fortress, enclosed buildings such
as granaries, warehouses, and meeting halls
Homes, workshops, and shrines were built outside the citadel
Such planning suggests a central authority held the power
Well, Mohenjo-Daro
• people drew water from community wells
• Or drew water from smaller wells dug in the courtyards of their homes
Drain, Harappa
• Public drainage systems carried away waste-water
A Main Street, Mohenjo-Daro
• Streets ran in grid pattern, north-south, east-west
• Major avenues that were twice as wide as minor streets
Granery, Mohenjo-Daro
• Economy was based on agriculture and trade
• Most people farmed and herded livestock
Harappan Writing
• More than 3,000 samples of Indus script have been found, including many seals
that depict realistic animals alongside the writing
Indus Civilization Seals
• Despite the best efforts of the archaeologists and linguists, however, no one has
yet been able to decipher even one word from any of the seals
• Unicorn Seal, Harappa, Bison Seal, Mohenjo Daro, Horned-God Seal, Mohenjo
Daro
A Male Head, Mohenjo-Daro
 Dravidian-originators of Indus River Civilization
The Vedic Age
• Sometime after 2000 BC, a new people took control of India.
• Aryans – “noble”
• Historians disagree where they came from (either Indo-European or originated
there)
Aryan (noble) Migration
 pastoral  depended on their cattle.
 warriors  horse-drawn chariots.
 Took control of the Harappan civilization
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Sanskrit- ancient Indian writing
The Vedas
 1200 BCE-600 BCE.
 written in SANSKRIT.
 Hindu core of
beliefs:
 hymns and poems.
 religious prayers.
 magical spells.
 lists of the gods and goddesses.
Varna (Social Hierarchy)






Rigveda – Vedic society divided into four social classes
Priests and teachers
Warriors and Rulers
Traders, farmers, herders
Servant
Pariahs [Harijan]  Untouchables
Caste System
 Brahmins – the mouth
 Kshatriyas – the arms
 Vaishyas – the legs
 Shudras –the feet
Religions of South Asia
• Hinduism gave birth to Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism
• Christianity –Jesus Christ, son of God – the Bible
• Islam – Muhammad-last prophet to talk to Allah – t he Quran
• Do you think Islam had an effect on Hindu India?
Hinduism?
• The religion of Hinduism developed and evolved over a long time in India, giving
rise to a variety of beliefs and practices and to other religions, including Jainism
What is Hinduism?
• One of the oldest religions of humanity
• The religion of the Indian people
• Its origins are difficult to trace
How did Hinduism begin?
• No particular founder
• Indus River Valley Civilization >5000 years ago
• Aryans enter 4000 - 3500 years ago
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•
Vedic Tradition 3500 – 2500 years ago:
What do Hindus believe?
• One impersonal Ultimate Reality – Brahman-the creator
• Atman, the soul, is Brahman trapped in matter
• Reincarnation – reborn into this world lifetime after lifetime (Samsara)
• Karma – spiritual impurity due to actions keeps us bound to this world (good and
bad)
How does Hinduism direct life in this world?
– Dharma-set of spiritual duties-based on class and station
– Four “stations” of life (Caste) - priests & teachers, nobles & warriors, merchant
class, servant class
– Four stages of life – student, householder, retired, renunciant
What are the Sacred Texts?
• Shruti (“heard”) – oldest, most authoritative:
– Four Vedas (“truth”) – myths, rituals, chants
– Upanishads - metaphysical speculation
• Smriti (“remembered”) – the Great Indian Epics:
– Ramayana
– Mahabharata (includes Bhagavad-Gita)
What are the spiritual practices of Hinduism?
• Yoga-meditation in order to attain moksha
• Ultimate goal of life – to release Atman and reunite with the divine, becoming as
one with Brahman (Moksha)
Who do Hindus worship? – the major gods of the Hindu Pantheon
 Brahma, the creator god
 Vishnu, the preserver god
 Shiva, god of constructive destruction (the transformer)
 Appears as Shiva Nataraj, lord of the dance of creation
 and with his wife, Parvati, and son Ganesha (the elephant headed remover of
obstacles)
What about the goddesses? Devi – the feminine divine
• Saraswati, goddess of wisdom, consort of Brahma
• Lakshmi, goddess of good fortune, consort of Vishnu
• Parvati, divine mother, wife of Shiva
• Durga, protectress
• Kali, destroyer of demons
All these deities are but Manifest forms (attributes and functions) of the impersonal
Brahman
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Jainism
• 500 BC – a group of Hindus broke away
• Mahavira – Jainism – thought Hindus placed too much emphasis on ritual
• Ahimsa- nonviolence towards living things; avoid stealing and tell the truth
Buddhism
• Buddhism, which teaches people that they can escape the suffering of the world
through the Buddhist teachings, developed in India and spread to other parts of
Asia
Siddhartha Gautama
 Unlike Hinduism, Buddhism can be traced to one single founder, Siddhartha
Gautama
 Prince of a small kingdom; he lived sheltered life and sought the answer to ending
suffering
 After years of meditation searching for Nirvava he became Enlightened
 He transformed into Buddha
What is the fundamental cause of all suffering?
 Therefore, extinguish the self, don’t obsess about oneself. Give up all materials
and possessions of the world.
Four Noble Truths
 There is suffering in the world. To live is to suffer. (Dukkha)
 The cause of suffering is self-centered desire and attachments. (Tanha)
 The solution is to eliminate desire and attachments.
(Nirvana = “extinction”)
 To reach nirvana, one must follow the Eightfold Path.
Eightfold Path
 Right View
 Right Intention
 Right Speech
 Right Action
Right Livelihood
Right Effort
Right Mindfulness
Right Concentration
Eightfold Path
 The union with the ultimate spiritual reality.
 Escape from the cycle of rebirth.
Types of Buddhism
 Therevada Buddhism
 Mahayana Buddhism
 Tibetan Buddhism
 Zen Buddhism
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Theravada Buddhism
 The oldest school of Buddhism.
 The “Way of the Elders” or the “Small Vehicle.”
 Found in southern Asia.
 The monastic life is the best way
to achieve nirvana.
 Focus on wisdom and meditation.
 Goal is to become a “Buddha,” or “Enlightened One.”
 Over 100,000,000 followers today.
Mahayana Buddhism
 The “Great Vehicle.”
 Founded in northern Asia (China, Japan).
 Buddhism “for the masses.”
 Seek guidance from Boddhisatvas, wise beings.
 Goal: Not just individual escape from the wheel, but the salvation of all humanity
through self-sacrifice of those enlightened few.
Tibetan Buddhism
 The “Diamond Vehicle.” [Vajrayana]
 Developed in Tibet in the 7c CE.
 A mix of Theravada and Mahayana.
 Boddhisatvas include Lamas, like the Dalai Lama.
 The Tibetan Book of the Dead
[Bardo Thodol].
The Dalai Lama
Zen Buddhism
 The “Meditation School.”
 Seeks sudden enlightenment [satori] through meditation, arriving at emptiness
[sunyata].
 Use of meditation masters [Roshi].
 Beauty, art, and aesthetics:
 Gardens.
 Archery.
 Tea ceremony.
 Calligraphy.
China’s First Dynasties
• China’s river valley civilizations built the foundations of a long shared Chinese
culture.
• The achievements of the Shang and Zhou dynasties can be felt to this day.
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Neolithic China
• “Peking Man”
(750,000 – 500,000 BCE)
• China’s isolation helped early civilization develop and grow without foreign
intrusion for several centuries.
Yellow River Civilization
• China first civilizations, like India, Egypt, and the Middle East began around
fertile river valleys.
• Chang Jiang and Huang He (Yellow River) – annual floods
• Loess-fine dusty soil that was carried into China by desert winds
Pan-Gu
 Mythical Creator of the Universe
Yu, the Great
 Founder of the Asia
“Huangdi” – Emperor
 The “Yellow Emperor.”
 Legend has it that he ruled for over 100 years.
 Associated with the invention of wheeled vehicles, ships
Emperor Fuxi
 Mythical Asia ruler.
 Taught the Chinese how to read and write, according to legend.
The Shang Dynasty
 Most historians date the beginning of early Chinese civilization to the rise of the
Shang Dynasty.
 According to legend formed around 1766 BC and centered around the Yellow
River valley. During the Bronze Age
Religious Beliefs
• Much of what historians know about the Shang, comes from studying royal
tombs.
• Shang religion centered around ancestor worship.
• Oracle Bones-bits of animal bones used to advise Shang
• Part of their worship
The Evolution of Chinese Writing
 Pictographs – the development of writing tied into the oracle bones
 Symbols actually written on the bones to represent objects or ideas
 Semantic-Phonetics – eventually replaced Chinese pictographs
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Oracle Bones Calendar
• Shang astronomers created precise calendars based on the cycles of the moon.
• They may have created one of the first systems of money.
Shang Bronzes
• Major advances in bronze making
• Artists created highly decorated bronze vessels and objects – used in religious
rituals
The Zhou Dynasty
• The Shang ruled China for more than 600 years, but in 1100 BC, armies from a
nearby tribe called the Zhou invaded and established a new ruling dynasty.
Western Zhou: 1027-771 BCE
• The Zhou held power for several centuries
• Divided into two periods
• Western Zhou - Xian
• Eastern Zhou - Luoyang
Eastern Zhou: 771-256 BCE
• During the reign of the first period, the dynasty experienced peace.
• Later, however, conflict arose in China and the kings moved east.
• When the Zhou conquered the Shang, their leaders worried that the Chinese
would not accept them.
• To gain acceptance, they introduced the Mandate of Heaven.
The Mandate of Heaven
1. The leader must lead by ability and virtue.
2. The dynasty's leadership must be justified by succeeding generations.
3. The mandate could be revoked by negligence and abuse; the will of the people
was important.
The Dynastic Cycle
• The rise and fall of dynasties in China – any power that lost power was because
they lost their mandate
Zhou Achievements
• The Zhou learned how to use iron, which replace the Bronze Age.
• This strengthened their empire – catapult and the first cavalry
• Better farming techniques, roads and canals, transportation and communication
Decline of the Zhou
• Warring States Period – 403 BC – 221 BC – a number of small states headed by
nobles fought for land and power over the king
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•
Eventually, the Qin dynasty rose to power and ended the reign of the Zhou
Dynasty.
Major Chinese Philosophies
• Conflicts during the Warring States Period allowed many Chinese thinkers to
question the nature of society and of people’s roles in it.
• Confucianism – treat one another humanely to improve society – Kongfuzi
• Daoism – retreat from the laws of society and yield to the laws of nature
• Legalism – the law is the supreme authority – rule with a firm hand
Confucius
* 551 – 479 B.C.E.
* Born in the feudal state of Liu.
* Became a teacher and editor of books.
* Express love and respect for one another by practicing traditional manners
Major Confucius Principles
 Li --> Rite, rules, ritual decorum (Binding force of an enduring stable society)
 Ren --> humaneness, benevolence, humanity
 Shu --> Reciprocity, empathy
 Do not do unto others what you would
not want others to do unto you.
 Yi --> Righteousness
 Xiao --> Filial Piety (Respect your elders!)
The Analects
* The single most important Confucian work.
* In Chinese, it means “conversation.”
* Focus on practicalities of interpersonal relationships and the relationship of the
role of rulers and ministers to the conduct of government.
Saying from The Analects
* Knowing what he knows and knowing what he doesn’t know, is characteristics of
the person who knows.
* Making a mistake and not correcting it, is making another mistake.
* The superior man blames himself; the inferior man blames others.
* To go too far is as wrong as to fall short.
Legalism
* 280? - 233 B.C.E.
* Han Fe Zi.
* Lived during the late Warring States period.
* Legalism became the political philosophy of the Qin [Ch’in] Dynasty.
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Legalism Principles
1. Human nature is naturally selfish.
2. Intellectualism and literacy is discouraged.
3. Law is the supreme authority and replaces morality.
4. The ruler must rule with a strong, punishing hand.
5. War is the means of strengthening a ruler’s power.
6. Authoritarian – individuals should obey authority rather than exercise individual
freedom The ruler, therefore, “cracks his whip” on the backs of his subjects!
Daoism
* Not sure when he died.
[604 B.C.E. - ?]
* His name means “Old Master”
* Was he Confucius’ teacher?
The Dao De Jing
* The basic text of Daoism.
* In Chinese, it means The Classic in the Way and Its Power.
* “Those who speak know nothing: Those who know are silent.”
These words, I am told, Were spoken by Laozi.
If we are to believe that Laozi, Was himself one who knew,
How is it that he wrote a book, Of five thousand words?
Daoism Principles
1. Dao [Tao] is the first-cause of the universe. It is a force that flows through all life.
2. A believer’s goal is to become one with Dao; one with nature. [“The butterfly o the
man?” story.]
3. Wu wei --> “Let nature take its course.”
--> “The art of doing nothing.”
--> “Go with the flow!”
4. Man is unhappy because he lives acc. to man-made laws, customs, & traditions that
are contrary to the ways of nature.
The Dao
 To escape the “social, political, & cultural traps” of life, one must escape by:
 Rejecting formal knowledge and
learning.
 Relying on the senses and instincts.
 Discovering the nature and
“rhythm” of the universe.
 Ignoring political and social laws.
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The Universe of Opposites – Find the balance
* Feminine
Masculine
* Passive
Active
* Darkness
Light
* Cold
Warmth
* Weak
Strong
* Earth; Moon
Heaven; sun
Uniqueness of Daoism
 How is a man to live in a world dominated by chaos, suffering, and absurdity??
 Confucianism --> Moral order in society.
 Legalism --> Rule by harsh law & order.
 Daoism --> Freedom for individuals and less govt. to avoid uniformity and
conformity.