Download The Earth and its Peoples -Chapter 3 Spice Chart Social Political

1
The Earth and its Peoples -Chapter 3 Spice Chart
Social
While elite groups
shared similar values
and enjoyed a relatively
high standard of living
the peasants who
constituted the majority
of the population may
have seen some
improvement in their
standard of living, but
far less than the wealthy
elite.
There was a persistent
flow of Kassites (people
from the Zargos
Mountains to the east)
into Babylon and by
1460 B.C.E. they had
come to political
prominence. They
embraced Babylonian
language and culture and
married into the local
population.
Horses arrived in
western Asia around
2000 B.C.E. Horses
increases the speed of
Political
In the seventeenth
century B.C.E. both
Mesopotamia and Egypt
succumbed to outside
invaders. This allowed
many smaller states to
prosper.
By 1500 B.C.E.
Mesopotamia was
divided into two distinct
political zones:
Babylonia in the south
and Assyria in the north.
The city of Babylon rose
to political prominence
under the dynasty of
Hammurabi in the
eighteenth and nineteenth
centuries.
During their 250 years in
power, the Kassite lords
of Babylonia defended
their core area and traded
Intellectual
Most societies of the
Eastern Hemisphere
entered the Iron Age by
the early first
millennium B.C.E. Iron
offered many
advantages over bronze
such being more readily
available and forming
harder, sharper edges.
The Hittites were the
first to use iron.
The Hyksos used
military technologies
that gave them an
advantage in warfare,
such as faster chariots
and the composite bow
which had a greater
range and velocity than
a simple wooden bow.
Cultural
The Late Bronze Age
has been referred to as
a “cosmopolitan era”
meaning that it was a
time of widely shared
cultures and ideas.
Economic
Extensive diplomatic
relations fostered the
flow of goods and ideas
between different nationstates. This became a
period of greatly
increased trade as a
result.
During the second
millennium B.C.E.
Mesopotamian culture
spread across most of
western Asia. The
Elamites and the
Hittites adopted
cuneiform.
Mesopotamian myths
and styles of art were
widely imitated.
The city of Ashur
anchored a key trade
route across the northern
Mesopotamian plain and
onto the Anatolian
Plateau. The Assyrians
exported textiles and tin
in exchange for silver
from Anatolia.
The New Kingdom in
Egypt was a period of
innovation. Egypt
became diplomatically
The Pharaoh
Akhenaten attempted to
change the Egyptian
polytheistic religion
The Hittites exploited
Anatolia’s rich deposists
of copper, silver and iron
to gain influence in
2
travel and
communication between
people of great distances
and revolutionized
military tactics as well
as trade.
for raw materials but did
not pursue territorial
conquests.
In Mycenaean cities,
there was a fortified and
enclosed
palace/administrative
complex which served to
carry out operations of
state as well as a place
of refuge in time of
danger. Nearby lay the
tombs of rulers. Large
houses belonging to
aristocrats lay outside
the walls. The peasants
lived on the lower slopes
and in the plain below,
close to the land they
worked.
Around 1200 B.C.E. for
reasons historians
largely do not
understand large
numbers of people were
on the move.
The Hittites rose to
power in Anatolia from
around 1700 to 1200
B.C.E. They were known
for their horse-drawn
chariots and their
superior iron metallurgy.
These two advantages in
tandem gave them
military superiority.
The Egyptian New
Kingdom was an
aggressive expansionist
states, extending its
control into SyriaPalestine and south into
Nubia. These territories
linked to the states of
western Asia and Egypt
was exposed to foreign
fruits and vegetables,
new musical
instruments, and new
technologies such as an
improved potter’s wheel
and weaver’s loom.
The Minoans and
Mycenaeans each had
their own written
language known as
Linear A and Linear B
respectively. These
languages used pictorial
signs to represent
syllables and are
recognizably early
forms of Greek.
into a monotheist
religion devoted to the
sun god Aten. He also
attempted to create a
new style of art. After
his death, his religious
reforms were removed
and the old cultural
system was reinstated.
The Minoans created
colorful frescoes, built
details sculptures and
depicted plants and
animals on vases.
international commerce.
The Mycenaeans
borrowed from Minoan
culture adopting their
styles and techniques of
architecture, pottery
making and fresco and
vase painting.
Numerous Aegean pots
found throughout the
Mediterranean and
Middle East which once
contained wine and olive
oil show evidence of an
extensive trade network.
Due to their lack of key
natural resources such as
metals and timer, the
Minoan and the
Mycenaean civilizations
were heavily dependent
on trade.
3
acted as a buffer zone in
case of an attack.
While Greek legends tell
that the Minoans
controlled much of the
Greek mainland, there is
little evidence of their
political control
exceeding the island of
Crete.
Other possible exports
include weapons and
other crafted goods, as
well as slaves and
mercenary soldiers.
The Aegean peoples
depended on imports of
amber, grain and metals
to sustain their economy.