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Introducing Early Civilizations
Early Civilizations
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After agriculture, the next step in setting our
framework for world history is the emergence of
civilization as a form of human organization.
This is where history is usually seen as starting
(especially in the Western tradition).
The first human civilization developed in
Mesopotamia around 3,500 BCE.
Four or five other early, pioneering civilizations
can also be identified over the next 2,000 years.
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These civilizations, all of them agricultural,
generated a number of key innovations that
have not had to be reinvented since.
Can you think of any?
Civilizations did not, however, spread uniformly.
Early Civilizations
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So what is/what makes a civilization?
To many historians, civilization (from the Latin
word civilis which means “of the citizens”)
implies increased human organization and
more defined cultural expressions: (most
importantly) writing, formal architecture, urban
planning, formal laws, trade, and the use of
some sort of currency.
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The early civilization period of world history
runs roughly from 3,500-1,000 BCE (often
referred to as the Bronze Age) and from 1100500 BCE (the early Iron Age).
Civilization first emerged in the Middle East
about 5,000 years after the advent of
agriculture.
Before that time, agriculture had permitted the
development of some isolated cities, usually
with populations of about 10,000 people (but
usually a lot less).
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It is important to realize that agriculture did
not quickly nor inevitably lead to civilization.
Some agricultural societies (for example, in
West Africa) reached the modern period
without forming what we call a civilization.
Early Civilizations
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The emergence of civilization in the Middle
East was preceded by other technological
developments in addition to the maturing of
agriculture (like the plow and wheel).
Early Civilizations
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Between 4,500-4,000 BCE, people in the
Tigris-Euphrates valley (that is
Mesopotamia—so named by the Greeks as
“the land between the rivers”) were
beginning to use bronze for tools, weapons,
and adornment.
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Bronze Age tools, weapons, and jewelry.
Early Civilizations
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The use of bronze improved military and
production capacities, but it also required longdistance trade and travel.
Bronze—the amalgam of copper and tin—
forced early peoples to travel great distances
because tin deposits were very remote.
So to create bronze, early peoples were forced
to travel and trade over long-distances (this
created an important feature marking early
civilizations).
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Locations of known tin deposits during the
Bronze Age.
Early Civilizations
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A procession of civilizations developed first in
Mesopotamia, and some of these expanded
into empires in the Middle East.
Civilization then emerged in Egypt along the
Nile around 3500-3000 BCE.
A third civilization, discovered recently,
developed along the coast of Peru (called
Norte Chico) between 3,000-1,800 BCE
Early Civilizations
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The Indus Valley (or Harappan) civilization
originated around 2,600 BCE in the
northwestern region of the Indian
subcontinent along the Indus River(present
day Pakistan).
A fifth center of civilization developed in
northern China along the Yellow (or Huang
He) River around 2,200 BCE.
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A sixth center of civilization emerged in
Central America, the Olmec.
All of these civilizations except the Olmec
clustered along river valleys or coastal
areas which was no accident.
River valleys and coastal areas provided
the most abundant opportunities for
agriculture and an agricultural surplus.
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To take the maximum advantage of river
systems, early civilizations had to develop
irrigation systems.
This led to a high degree of coordination and
probably some property definition which
probably encouraged early governments to
formalize their rules and regulations.
Rivers/coasts also increased trade
opportunities.
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But civilization, like agriculture, involved a
mixture of advantages and disadvantages.
We must remember that for several thousand
years, civilization didn’t spread to most parts
of the inhabited world.
We must also be careful when drawing the
line between civilization and barbarian. It
tends to be the “civilized” people who look
down on others (which created elitism).
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Civilizations, by writing rules and law,
formalized the inequality between men and
women and the wealthy and poor.
Civilizations developed a more extensive
social structure for men and women…both
between the upper classes (associated with
politics, military leadership, and religion), and
the lower classes (associated with rural
production, military conscription, and
sometimes slavery).
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Most civilizations extended the capacity for warfare
well beyond the hunter/gatherer and agricultural
societies.
Pressures from the outside increased the importance
of military activity (which was often a disadvantage
for ordinary people since they often had to leave
their farms).
An ancient Hittite warrior 16th century BCE.
Early Civilizations
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But how did they get started? (the question
archeologists, historians, sociologists, and
anthropologists have been asking for years)
Some scholars emphasized the need to
organize large-scale irrigation projects as a
stimulus for the earliest civilizations, but
archeologists have found the most complex
water control projects developed long after
civilizations had already been established.
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Others theorize that powerful states developed
to protect the privileges of favored groups
(Marx’s Conflict Theory).
A recent theory (Anthropologist Robert
Carneiro) proposed that a growing density of
population, producing more congested and
competitive societies, created the incentives
for innovations (like better irrigation, the plow,
etc that could produce more food) because
opportunities for territorial expansion were not
readily available.
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Since rich agricultural land was limited by
geography (oceans, mountains, deserts),
areas with dense populations generated
intense competition among rival groups,
which led to repeated warfare.
A strong and highly organized state was a
definite advantage in such a competition.
Losers often couldn’t flee to new lands so
they were absorbed into the winner’s society
as a lower class.
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Successful leaders of the winning side emerged
as an elite with an enlarged base of land, a class
of subordinated workers, and a powerful state at
their disposal—in short, a civilization.
Early Civilizations
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Ritual sacrifice, often of
people, usually
accompanied the growth of
civilization, and the new
rulers normally served as
high priests or were seen
as divine beings, their right
to rule legitimated by
association with the sacred.
Statue of the King of
Lagash (Sumer).
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia
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The inevitable pressures of rising population,
coupled with technological improvements led to
an important change (documented c. 4500 BCE);
this change was a shift of populations into the
river valleys, particularly into lower Mesopotamia.
The movement was brought on by several
breakthroughs, including the creation of improved
tools (mostly made of wood but some were
metal) and plows and the domestication of oxen.
By 3500 BCE, plows were pulled by two to eight
oxen.
Sumer
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Populations moved into lower Iraq (Sumer)
and began to clear the dense undergrowth of
the delta areas which were very fertile.
This period, known as the al-Ubaid Period
(c. 4500-3500 BCE), was marked by larger
settlements, more intensive agriculture, and
increasing populations of people which will,
after about 1000 years, lead to the
development of the first cities (c. 3500 BCE).
Sumer
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The first specific
civilization to emerge
was Sumeria (lower
Mesopotamia-Iraq).
A Sumerian warrior
(engraved on a shell)
c. 2500 BCE with
bronze sickle-sword,
helmet, and battle-axe.
Sumer
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Sumeria would be followed over the next
several thousand years by a succession of
states, including Babylonia and the states of
the Hittites, Assyrians, Chaldeans, and
others.
The attractions of civilization drew migrants
and invaders to the region, particularly from
Central Asia and the Arabian Peninsula.
Sumer
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Sumeria, the prototype of early civilization,
offered a number of features that agricultural
societies without civilization lacked.
Sumer
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Sumer was the first to offer features of
human organization not present in
agricultural economies…
 Formal political apparatus with leadership
 Certain degree of structure
 Monumental architecture
 Civilizations are usually defined as stated
societies rather than stateless societies.
Sumer
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Civilizations, beginning with Sumeria, have
writing, which enables recordkeeping, is
associated with bureaucracies, allows longdistance communication and the expansion of
trade, and affects the generation and
preservation of knowledge.
Sumer
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Economic development, trade, and temple
taxes drove the need to invent writing.
Sumer had a writing system in place
sometime between 3100- 2900 BCE.
Writing was done with a stylus in wet clay.
As a result, the shape of the characters
tended to be in the form of a wedge. When
Sumerian writing was first discovered in the
19th century, it was called cuneiform, which
means “wedge-shaped.”
Sumer
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The Sumerians were the first to create an
alphabet (that we know of):
Sumer
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Collective learning began to accelerate as
the knowledge created by a whole society
was recorded and preserved.
In Sumeria (and Mesopotamia) literacy led
to the rapid expansion of knowledge,
especially in astronomy (calendars) and
mathematics (surveying).
Sumer
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The Sumerians were the first to develop
science (astronomy) and mathematics to aid
their farmers.
Sumerians used a mixed counting system
based partly on 10 and partly on 60 (they
counted animals by 10 and grain by 60).
The Sumerians were also the first to create a
calendar based on astronomical observations
and they created astrological charts and
forecasts.
Sumer
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They devised a
calendar based on
12 months and
divided the 24 hours
of the day into 60
minutes with 60
seconds each.
The Sumerians
divided the circle
into 360 degrees.
Sumer
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The Sumerians were the first to use the
plow.
Sumer
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Another feature of civilization is the
existence of cities and increased
dependence on cities.
Cities meant concentrations of people that
could facilitate cultural exchange and
technological development.
Cities also depended on more elaborate
trade than an agricultural society, fostering
the development of a merchant class.
Sumer
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During what is known as the Uruk Period
(c.3500-3100 BCE), villages evolved into
cities quite rapidly.
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The cities of Sumeria were of considerable
size compared to previous concentrations of
populations. The whole of Sumer, which was
about the size of Connecticut, may have had
a population of 500,000 or more.
Sumer
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Around 3000 BCE there was a large influx
of people coming from the Arabian
Peninsula into Sumer (probably unable to
survive the increasingly arid conditions).
By 2500 BCE, 80% of all Sumerians were
living in urban centers.
Sumer
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Archeologists agree that Uruk
(today Warka) was probably
the world’s first city, and it was
the largest city of Sumer during
the Uruk Period.
It was home to the legendary
king Gilgamesh (the fifth king
of Uruk); another well known
city of Sumeria was the biblical
Ur.
Sumer
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Built along the banks of the Euphrates River
(today the river flows about 15 miles to the
west), by 3500 BCE, Uruk covered an area
comparable to Athens in the fifth century BCE
and half the size of Rome in the first century
CE.
The population of Uruk went from 10,000 in
3500 BCE to 20,000 in 3300 BCE to 4050,000 around 3000 BCE to an estimated 80100,000 people at the time of Gilgamesh
(2750-2500 BCE).
Sumer
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Uruk contained three areas: the walled city that
included temples, palaces, and residences of
citizens; an outer area with farms, cattle fields,
and gardens; and a commercial area with the
stores of foreign merchants.
Urban dwellers did something other than farm;
they were scribes, priests, bureaucrats, bakers,
cooks, potters, silversmiths, and snake
charmers (from the Standard Professions List
found in Uruk which listed over 100 different
professions going back to 3000 BCE).
Sumer
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Uruk had walls 20ft high and 6 miles in
length surrounding the city and in the city’s
center, visible for miles around, was a
stepped pyramid (ziggurat) topped with a
temple.
Sumer
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The ziggurat may have been built as a bridge
between heaven and earth.
Built on seven levels, the ziggurat
represented seven heavens and planes of
existence, the seven planets and the seven
metals associated with them and their
corresponding colors.
Sumer
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Some archeologists believe ziggurats were
not places for public worship…instead they
were the dwelling places of the gods.
The gods were believed to have created
humans to be their servants, to care for
them.
So each city set up its ziggurat to attract its
chosen god/goddess to take up residence
in the city, so they could be close to
mankind, and to protect the city and bring it
prosperity.
Sumer
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As if it was human, the god/goddess was
housed, fed, and clothed by a retinue of
priests.
Religion created social cohesion and
legitimized the ruler’s authority, with local
religions eventually giving way to the state
religion of the rulers.
As a result the priests were very powerful
members of Mesopotamian society.
Sumer
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In Uruk, there have been
two ceremonial centers
excavated: the smaller
one known as the White
Temple was associated
with the sky-god, An, the
father of all gods,
representing patriarchal
authority.
Sumer
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The larger temple, called the
Eanna Complex, was
associated with An’s
daughter Inanna, the divinity
of the storehouse, the Queen
of Heaven, the goddess of
love.
This Babylonian lion was the
symbol of Inanna/Ishtar.
It is estimated that 1,500
laborers worked 10 hours a
day for 5 years to build the
Eanna Complex.
Sumer
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There were at least 20 major city-states in
Sumer and a number of lesser towns. Major
city-states included Nippur in central Sumer,
considered the most sacred city of the land.
Sumer
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Mesopotamian rulers were thought to be
stewards of their city’s patron gods.
Their symbols of kingship—crown, throne,
scepter, mace—were said to be of divine
origin, sent to earth when the gods
established monarchy.
Sumer
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It is estimated that by 3000 BCE, every
major city was ruled by a king who claimed
absolute authority over his city-state
without claiming to be divine (until an
Akkadian king made that claim during his
rule 2254-2218BCE).
It is believed the temple (i.e. the gods)
owned 1/3 of the farmable land and the
ruling family perhaps another third.
Sumer
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As labor became specialized, inequalities
developed—in wealth, status, and power.
In every civilization, wealth was piled up, not
spread out.
This erosion of equality and the development
of social hierarchy eventually came to be
regarded as normal and natural.
Sumer
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Upper classes everywhere enjoyed great
wealth in land or salaries, were able to avoid
physical labor, and occupied the top positions
in political, military, and religious life.
Frequently, classes were distinguished by the
clothes they wore, the houses they lived in,
and the manner of their burial.
The Mesopotamian legal Code of Hammurabi
depended on social status…clearly class had
consequences.
Sumer
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In all civilizations, free commoners represented
the vast majority of the population.
It was their surplus production—appropriated
through a variety of taxes, rents, required labor,
and tribute payments—that supported the upper
classes.
At least some of these people were aware of,
and resented, these forced extractions and their
position in the social hierarchy.
Sumer
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At the bottom of the social ladder everywhere
were slaves. It seems that slavery and
civilization emerged together.
The Code of Hammurabi mentions slavery in a
casual, accepted, matter-of-fact way.
Female slaves, captured in the many wars
among rival Mesopotamian cities, were put to
work in large-scale weaving enterprises, while
males maintained irrigation canals and
constructed ziggurats.
Sumer
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Others worked as domestic servants in the
households of their owners.
In all early civilizations, slaves were prisoners
of war, criminals, and debtors—all were
available for sale (to work in the fields, mines,
shops, homes of their owners…or on
occasion, for sacrifice).
This idea of “people owning people” was an
enduring feature of civilizations well into the
19th century.
Sumer
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The Mesopotamians
had a word for
freedom, but it
meant a gift from
their all-powerful
king…(the Egyptians
didn’t even have a
word for freedom).
Sumer
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Warfare seems to be a constant theme for
the people of Sumeria going back to at
least 4000 BCE.
After Gilgamesh, seven kings ruled Uruk
until overthrown by Ur in 2560 BCE. For
the next 200 years there seems to be war
without end.
Wars were usually fought over who
controlled the land and access to the
water.
Sumer
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Sumerian kings controlled professional
armies with metal helmets, bronze
weapons, and uniforms.
Some soldiers fought from four wheeled
carts pulled by donkeys, but most, armed
with long spears and swords, were infantry.
Sumer
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The Sumerians thought of themselves as a
single people—they referred to themselves as
the “black-haired people” – but they were loyal
to the individual city-states and the divinities
associated with cities.
Sumerian cities lacked materials that could be
used for building; hardwoods, stone, and
metal had to be imported as were more exotic
goods. These things could only be attained
be developing extensive trade routes to as far
away as western Iran, Syria, or Asia Minor.
Sumer
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The Sumerians were outstanding merchants,
with evidence of a Sumerian community in the
Delta region of Egypt and as far away as
Syria.
Merchant convoys demanded organization,
which came from the temples. Each of the
great temples in a Sumerian city-state was run
by a group of priests, among whom was a
figure known as an en. An en managed the
economic and administrative side of the
temple, instead of the ritual/religious side.
Sumer
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Mesopotamian culture, and we know this
from epics—the first piece of great
literature that historians know of, the great
epic poem Gilgamesh—had a definitely
gloomy outlook, with less confidence that
after death one could ascend to a happier
afterlife.
Sumer
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Mesopotamian society was paternalistic
towards women while insisting on their
submission to the unquestioned authority of
men.
A woman caught sleeping with another man
could be drowned at her husband’s
discretion, whereas he could have hanky
panky with his female servants (but not
another man’s wife).
Sumer
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Divorce was much easier for a man than a
woman.
Rape was a serious offense, but the injured
party wasn’t primarily the woman, it was the
father or husband of the victim.
Respectable women (those under the
protection and control of one man) were
required to be veiled when outside the home.
Nonrespectable women (slaves and prostitutes)
were forbidden to do so and were subjected to
severe punishments if they presumed to cover
their heads.
Sumer
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Sumeria declined as drought was coupled
with declining agricultural productivity from
increased salinity in their soil.
As soil gets waterlogged from irrigation, salt
rises to the surface (wheat can tolerate a salt
level of 0.5% and barley 1.0%).
Historians can trace the decline of wheat
production: in 3500 BCE wheat was 50% of
Sumeria’s crop; by 2500 BCE it was 15%; by
1700 BCE total crop yields had fallen by
nearly 70%, causing Sumeria to become the
impoverished backwater to other empires.
Sumer
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Sumerian records recorded between 24002000 BCE refer to the salinization and loss of
fertile ground caused by excessive
irrigation…the Sumerians were aware of what
was happening.
The problem of long-term sustainability, of
not overexploiting the environment, has
haunted complex societies for over 4000
years.
Sumer
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Clothing: Before the
invention of textiles, people
wore animal skins for
warmth.
After the domestication of
sheep and goats in
Mesopotamia, people wore
sheep and goat skins: the
men used a belted skin as a
kind of skirt, while women
wore skins like a robe.
Sumer
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Farmers around the eastern end of the
Mediterranean domesticated a tall plant
with blue flowers called flax.
From the stem fibers (which grow to 4ft)
people learned to make linen.
Sumer
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This is a very labor intensive plant; it had to be
watered, weeded, harvested, then dried. The
dried stalks had to be dampened to rot the
fleshy part of the stem off the fibers, which
then had to be spliced together by wetting
them with saliva (which contains an enzyme
that causes the cellulose to break down).
Finally the fiber had to be spun into thread and
woven into cloth. This took roughly 57 days of
labor to clothe one person for a year.
Sumer
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Since turning flax into linen was so labor
intensive, in Uruk linen was reserved for the
priests and statues of the gods.
It was much easier to produce fabric out of
wool; 100 sheep could clothe 40 people a year.
Men in Uruk wore woolen skirts below their
knees.
Paying tribute may have forced poor families to
sell their daughters into debt slavery to work in
urban textile workshops that employed
thousands.
Egypt and the Nile River Valley
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When people first began moving into the Nile
River valley (c. 9000 BCE), they found fertile
soil and annual flooding at the right season.
By 4000 BCE agricultural villages stretched
along the Nile from the Mediterranean to
northern Sudan, with villages trading with
each other and cooperating in irrigation
networks.
Egypt and the Nile River Valley
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Even though Egypt was influenced through
trade with Mesopotamia, it developed
different social/political systems.
Mesopotamia had tightly organized citystates, initially ruled by priests, then ruled by
kings that claimed divine authority.
Egyptian pharaohs (who were thought to be
gods) created and maintained a unified state.
Egypt and the Nile River Valley
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According to tradition, between
3100-3000 BCE a leader
named Menes (also known as
Narmer) united both parts of
Egypt…Lower Egypt at the Nile
delta and Upper Egypt which
went to the first cataract (there
are 6 cataracts on the Nile—a
cataract is an unnavigable part
of the river from rapids or
waterfalls.
Egypt and the Nile River Valley
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Egypt’s largest city at the time was
Hierakonopolis (Upper Egypt) with a
population of about 10,000.
To expedite unification, Menes founded the
city of Memphis (near present-day Cairo).
One could sail from the first cataract to the
Mediterranean in about a week.
Egypt and the Nile River Valley
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Egypt established divine
kingship early on, with the
pharaoh considered a god
living on Earth; he was
associated with Horus,
“the One on High,”
symbolized by the golden
falcon or hawk.
Egypt and the Nile River Valley
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The king’s role was to preserve the
equilibrium of creation and to allow the world
to function as it should.
Egyptian ideology stressed the continuity of
the past as necessary for prosperity, and
prosperity was achieved by wise and pious
kings.
Egyptian morality was based on respect for
universal equilibrium as personified by the
goddess Ma’at.
Egypt and the Nile River Valley
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Ma’at (left)
represented balance,
order, and truth…the
antithesis of chaos.
The annual flooding of
the Nile gave a sense
of assurance and
security to Egyptians
that the gods would
provide stability.
Egypt and the Nile River Valley
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Unlike the Sumerians, who thought of death as
the end, a place of perpetual darkness (The
House of Dust), the Egyptians believed in a vivid
life after death that continued one’s full earthly
existence.
Mummification and an elaborate tomb (if you
could afford it) protected the body and ensured
their afterlife.
Egypt and the Nile River Valley
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Osiris was the lord of
death, afterlife, and
rebirth.
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Isis was the mother of
Horus and the wife of
Osiris. She represented
motherhood.
Egypt and the Nile River Valley
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The Egyptian emphasis on monuments
implied incredible labor organization.
It is estimated that it took 80,000 men
laboring for 80 days a year 20 years to build
the Great Pyramids.
Egypt and the Nile River Valley
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Egyptian art and
architectural styles
would influence
Greece and later
Rome.
Egyptian artistic styles
and colors reflected a
much happier outlook
on life/afterlife.
Egypt and the Nile River Valley
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Both societies were
patriarchal, but in the upper
classes of Egyptian society,
women had greater
responsibilities and social
standing.
There were several important
women rulers and consorts in
Egyptian history (Nefertiti,
Hatshepsut, Cleopatra, etc).
Egypt and the Nile River Valley
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Neighboring countries were clearly shocked by
the relative freedom of Egyptian women.
Women were portrayed in a very public way
alongside men at every level of society.
Women were also depicted with great care in
Egyptian art.
Egypt and the Nile River Valley
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Egyptian women also enjoyed a surprising
degree of financial independence, with
surviving accounts and contracts showing
that women received the same pay rations as
men for undertaking the same job.
Women could own property and slaves, sell
land, make their own wills, sign their own
marriage contracts, and initiate divorce.
Egypt and the Nile River Valley
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The Greek historian Herodotus believed the
Egyptians 'have reversed the ordinary
practices of mankind'.
Egypt and the Nile River Valley
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Egypt was also unusual in that it didn’t
practice infanticide—the deliberate killing
of babies/young children to control the
population (both for individual families and
for society as a whole).
Most early civilizations, and possibly other
societies as well, practiced infanticide.
It was practiced in Mesopotamia.
Egypt and the Nile River Valley
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Like the Mesopotamians, the Egyptians
excelled in applied mathematics.
Egypt and the Nile River Valley


By the third millennia BCE, Egyptian
math and astronomy had created a
calendar of 365 days (twelve 30 day
months, each divided into three 10 day
weeks). They devoted the extra 5 days
of the year to feasts honoring their most
important gods.
They also calculated a day divided into
24 hours (the Sumerians were the first to
do this).
Egypt and the Nile River Valley


The Egyptians, like the Mesopotamians, began
writing with simple pictographs, but they soon
supplemented them with symbols representing
sounds and ideas.
They decorated their buildings, including temples,
with written symbols leading Greek visitors to call
them “holy inscriptions,” or hieroglyphs.
Egypt and the Nile River Valley

The Egyptian
alphabet had fewer
characters than its
Mesopotamian
counterpart, but it
eventually grew
into several
thousand
character/sounds.
Egypt and the Nile River Valley



The names of
kings/queens (gods) were
written in oval cartouches.
A cartouche represented
a looped rope that had
magical power to protect
the name written inside it.
It was supposed to ward
off evil spirits in this world,
and the next.
Egypt and the Nile River Valley



Egyptian crops were brought in from the Near
East to the Nile—that would be cattle, sheep,
barley, wheat—these are not native to the Nile
Valley and they arrived between 5000-4500
BCE when movement across the Sinai was
much easier.
By about 4500 BCE the Nile assumed it
current course, which is essentially a canyon.
The Nile is very predictable and its flood
patterns were quickly learned.
Egypt and the Nile River Valley


Herodotus wrote with envy how easy it was to
cultivate along the Nile in comparison to other
river systems and how people could easily
move out of the flood plain and return.
The Nile promoted Egyptian cultural and
linguistic unity from the beginning, lasting
past Alexander the Great to the Roman and
Byzantine eras.
Egypt and the Nile River Valley


The Nile was the basis of all directions and
understanding of the world to the Egyptians.
To the Egyptians, to go up the Nile meant to
go south; to go downstream meant to go
north.
To the Egyptian world view, the Nile was the
center of the universe, and it was part of the
divine order that was eternal (unlike
Mesopotamian chaos).
Egypt and the Nile River Valley



About 2200 BCE Egypt experienced over two
centuries of drier conditions and low flood
levels, which brought famine to the Nile
valley.
The central power of the pharaohs
diminished, trade through Syria declined,
neighboring kingdoms invaded, and unity
wasn’t restored until about 2000 BCE.
Afterward Egypt remained independent until
conquered by Alexander the Great in 332
BCE.
Egypt and the Nile River Valley


A question of recent interest has been the skin
color of the ancient Egyptians (were they
lighter skinned Semitic people from the Middle
East or darker skinned African people?).
Scholars have concluded that Egypt was
actually a bridge between Asia and Africa so
its people were a wide mixture of skin color
and hair types. Egyptian art even shows them
between lighter Asians and darker Africans.
Egypt and the Nile River Valley


No barriers to
immigration have been
found in Egypt’s earliest
laws; Semitic people as
well as Nubians came.
Egyptians, aware and
tolerant of ethnic
differences, seemed
more concerned that
immigrants behaved
culturally as Egyptians.
Egypt and the Nile River Valley

So we can see that two civilizations that
were quite close to each other developed
different kinds of political institutions
(Egypt was much more centrally
organized), separate lines of cultural
activity, and Egypt was subjected to
invasion less than Mesopotamia (causing
other differences).
Norte Chico


Less well known and only recently
investigated by scholars was a third early
civilization that developed along a 30 mile
stretch of the central coast of Peru from
roughly 3,000 to 1,800 BCE (about the same
time as Sumer and Egypt).
Known as Norte Chico, archeologists have
discovered 25 urban centers spread out over
700 sq miles.
Norte Chico
Norte Chico



Like Mesopotamia, this civilization developed
without any help from others…they had no
model to follow.
The cities of Norte Chico were smaller than in
Mesopotamia and show less evidence of
economic specialization.
The economy appears to have been based
on anchovy and sardine fishing, cotton,
beans, squash, and avocados…not upon
grain-based agriculture.
Norte Chico
A circle of upright stones marks the base
of the main pyramid at Caballete in the
Fortaleza Valley.
Norte Chico


Several settlements had rectangular or circular
stone pyramids that were 100 m x 90 m at the
base.
They were built by carefully assembling stones
and plastering them to form a smooth floor
before adding the next layer.
Norte Chico

Each site also had a circular sunken plaza,
typically 20 m to 40 m in diameter.
Norte Chico

Brick walls of a Norte Chico pyramid.
Norte Chico




One of the best archeological sites was the
city of Caral (14 miles inland and 120 miles
north of Lima).
Caral had six pyramids, two plazas, an
amphitheater, and ordinary houses.
Caral supported a population of about
3,000 people.
The living arrangements seem to have
been large, well kept rooms atop the
pyramids for the elite, ground-level
complexes for the craftsmen, and shabbier
outlying houses for the workers.
Norte Chico
Norte Chico
 These flutes were found inside a mound
pyramid in Caral, 450’x 500’ x 60’ high with
a 30’ wide staircase.
 Made of condor and pelican bones,
archeologists also found 37 cornets made
of deer and llama bones.
Norte Chico

Archeologists also found a 5,000 year old
quipa, (a series of knotted cords, later used
by the Inca for accounting purposes).
Norte Chico
 Unlike Egypt or Mesopotamia, the Peruvian
civilization did not develop pottery or
writing, and few sculptures, carvings, or
drawings have been uncovered.
 Without pottery, food could not be boiled, it
could only be roasted.
 There has not been any art found except for
the flutes and some painted gourds (with a
“god” figure).
Norte Chico



Unlike every other early civilization, Norte
Chico developed without a staple grainbased food.
Conflict and war are the normal impetuses
for congregating in cities to have a common
defense.
But the cities of Norte Chico lacked
defensive walls, and there has been no
evidence discovered of warfare or human
sacrifice (no burned buildings or mutilated
corpses).
Norte Chico



After about 1200 years
of a maritime based
economy, the
inhabitants began to
grow corn.
They moved north or
south, because they
needed more arable
land.
A petroglyph found in
the Norte Chico region.
Norte Chico

Archeologists recently
found remains of a
plaza/temple complex
229 miles north of Lima
(called Sechin Bajo)
that date to 5,500 years
ago—making them
2,000 years older than
Norte Chico.
Indus River Valley



The fourth known civilization developed in the
Indus and Saraswati river valleys.
It is believed the Indus peoples arrived from
Africa about 40,000 BCE.
By 2,500 BCE, the Indus Valley civilization
embraced an area larger than Mesopotamia and
Egypt combined, or coastal Peru; it occupied an
area twice the size of Texas (most of modern
Pakistan and northern India).
Indus River Valley


Unfortunately, less is
known about the Indus
civilization than others
because most of the
earliest physical
remains are covered by
water.
The earliest accessible
remains date to about
2500 BCE.
Indus River Valley

The Indus Valley civilization seems to have
developed elaborate cities with highly
advanced urban technologies.

Indus cities were built on square grid patterns
that had main roads and 12 evenly measured
segments (blocks).
The major cities of Harappa and Mohenjo Daro
(more than 250 miles apart) could have had
40,000+ inhabitants.

Indus River Valley



Besides being laid out in grid patterns
(indicating advanced urban planning), each
city was surrounded by walls of standard sized
kiln-dried bricks.
Each city had a fortified citadel, a large granary,
and a site for collecting and redistributing taxes
(which were paid in grain).
There were marketplaces, small temples, and
public buildings.
Indus River Valley

Artists conception of the city of Harappa:
Indus River Valley



Despite the size of this civilization, common
patterns prevailed: standardized weights,
measures, architectural styles, even the
size of bricks.
Houses varied from one room to several
rooms, some with internal courtyards.
Evidence shows that houses in these cities
had indoor plumbing and running water.
Indus River Valley


Indus Valley cities had impressive sewage
and sanitation systems, with pipes under the
streets to carry away wastewater.
Here is an example of a brick-lined Harappan
sewer.
Indus River Valley


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
There is evidence that Indus Valley cities traded
with cities as far away as Mesopotamia, China
and (Myanmar) Burma.
From what is now Iran they received gold, silver,
copper, and semi-precious stones.
With Sumer they traded beads, ivory, and
timber for wool, leather, and olive oil.
By 2300 BCE Indus Valley ships were
anchoring in Sumerian ports.
By 2000BCE, they were trading with Arabia and
eastern Africa.
Indus River Valley



Surrounding the cities were advanced
agricultural systems that produced wheat,
rye, peas, rice, and cotton (the first to grow
cotton).
Many domesticated animals were also raised,
especially cattle, sheep, goats, chickens, and
water buffalo.
Irrigation systems were designed to help
control the rivers.
Indus River Valley


Unlike its Middle Eastern counterparts, the
Indus Valley civilization apparently had no
palaces, temples, elaborate graves, kings, or
warrior classes (that we know of).
There is little evidence of a political hierarchy
or centralized state so historians are unable
to explain the obvious complexity,
coordination, and specialization within
Harappa.
Indus River Valley



It seems to have been a land with-out large
scale conflict.
There are no depictions of soldiers or warfare
in its art; some arrowheads, spears, and
daggers have been found but no swords,
maces, battle-axes, helmets, shields, or
chariots.
Some scholars believe that Hindu themes of
non-violence and respect for all life trace their
origins to this period.
Indus River Valley

And the culture was literate, but what has been
found is shrouded in mystery because
historians haven’t been able to decipher
Harappan writing.
Indus River Valley


Thousands of clay seals, copper tablets, and
other artifacts with inscriptions using about 400
signs have been found, some dating to 3000
BCE, but the language vanished with its
people.
No one agrees what the language was; no
inscription is longer than 26 characters; no
bilingual text like the Rosetta Stone has been
found.
Indus River Valley



Current theories include the civilization was a
series of small republics, that it was ruled by
priests, or that the people followed an early
form of the caste system.
How ever their society was organized, the
Indus Valley civilization disappeared by about
1,700 BCE and historians don’t know why.
Some believe it could have been from
invasions (bodies with smashed skulls have
been found), others from internal warfare.
Indus River Valley



The leading theory is that this civilization
overextended itself (built too much),
exhausted the local environment, which in
turn impacted food production.
Repeated irrigation increased the amount of
salt in the soil, reducing crop yields.
The making of mud bricks, dried in ovens,
required an enormous amount of wood for
fuel, causing large-scale deforestation and
soil erosion.
Indus River Valley

Examples of Indus Valley art.
Indus River Valley

Many features of this early civilization—
ceremonial bathing, yoga positions, ritual
burning, bulls and elephants as religious
symbols, styles of clothing and jewelry—
continued into classical India and persist into the
present.
Huang he civilization
Huang he


The earliest civilization of China (c. 2,200
BCE) was also mysterious, but historians
know that it was very different from the
Indus Valley model.
It developed in isolation along the Yellow
River (known as the Huang he River),
however there is some evidence that there
was some contact with India and
Mesopotamia.
Huang he civilization

Chinese legends say their civilization began
with their mythic ancestor P’an Ku, who
separated Heaven and Earth with one slice
of his mighty sword.
Huang he civilization

The first Chinese civilization, (known as the
Longshan culture 3000-2000 BCE), seems to
have earned to unwind silk from a particular
species of moth caterpillar, which they
domesticated and learned to spin into silk
fiber/cloth.
Huang he civilization



By 2500 BCE walled settlements and wheelthrown pottery appeared.
Apparently in most years there was enough
rainfall for crops to grow without complex
irrigation systems, but people dredged the
rivers and built canals to control flooding.
Sophisticated pottery and jade ornaments
have been dated to this period, indicating
specialized craftspeople.
Huang he civilization

Between 2000-1600 BCE a northern nomadic
people known as the Xia (Chia) (actually
thought to be mythical until archeological digs
in the 1960’s and 70’s) migrated south into
the fertile valleys of the Huang he River.

There they settled and grew millet, soybeans,
wheat and barley (perhaps from Mesopotamia)
and introduced rice (from the south). Hemp (for
clothing) and pigs were also raised.
Huang he civilization


The ideal of a very centralized state began
in the Xia dynasty, whose legendary
monarch Wu spent 13 years organizing and
building flood control projects that
“mastered the waters and made them flow
into great channels.”
Archeologists have found a palace-type
structure, a bronze foundry, a pottery
workshop, and several “modest” homes
dating to the Xia.
Huang he civilization
Huang he civilization



By 2000 BCE, the Xia had mastered
horseback riding, were skilled potters, wove
silk, and made bronze weapons.
The Xia were overthrown by a rebellion and
another nomadic group from the north, known
as the Shang (1600-1046 BCE), established
China’s first dynasty.
The Shang conquered most of the other
tribes and established many of the
foundations of later Chinese civilization.
Huang he civilization
Huang he civilization



Under the Shang, hereditary kings ruled
claiming divine descent, supported by an
aristocracy of elites.
The Shang king was believed to be an
intermediary between the supreme being
(Shangdi) and ordinary mortals.
No legal codes have been found; kings
apparently issued proclamations and
decrees.
Huang he civilization



Shang rulers viewed their kingdom as the center
of the universe and they claimed lordship over all
humans.
The Shang erected lavish tombs for their rulers
and buried hundreds of sacrificial victims to
accompany them in the afterlife.
Peasants, not owning their land, provided
services for plots to cultivate, security, and a
portion of the harvest.
Huang he civilization


Shang religious leaders (shamans/priests) often
acted as oracles, foretelling the future.
Early Chinese writing (ideography) dates to this
period as writing on oracle bones was intended to
predict the future and to assist Chinese rulers with
governance.
Huang he civilization


The extended family was extremely important
because families venerated their ancestors.
They believed that the spirits from their
ancestors passed to another realm from
which they could protect their surviving family
members, if the descendants showed the
proper respect.
Huang he civilization



The ethic of family solidarity included a sense
of the living and the dead working together.
No organized religion or official priesthood
existed; the eldest male of each family
presided at rituals honoring the ancestors’
spirits.
Shang nobles felt they were in constant
communication with their ancestors, but they
had no personal diety who intervened in
human affairs.
Huang he civilization


The symbols on oracle bones were gradually
standardized and formed the basis of China’s
written language.
By the end of the Shang period, it’s estimated
there were over 3000 characters.
Huang he civilization



By 1000 BCE the Chinese had gone from
using bronze to iron.
The Chinese had an early interest in
astronomy, ideographic writing, art, and
music.
By the Zhou dynasty (1,046-256 BCE), the
distinctive Chinese political ideology had
further developed…the ruler, now known as
the Son of Heaven, continued to act as the
intermediary between heaven and earth.
Huang he civilization



He ruled by the Mandate from Heaven (Tien
Ming), so long as he governed with
benevolence and maintained social harmony
among his people.
The Zhou needed to persuade their people
that they were the rightful and legitimate
rulers, especially since they acquired much
territory through conquest.
So they invented the Tien Ming (Destiny from
Heaven).
Huang he civilization



The Mandate was given to the rightful ruler
on the condition he ruled wisely and fairly and
was responsible for the wellbeing of his
people.
If a ruler became unjust or uninterested in his
people, Heaven would remove the Mandate
and another family could claim it.
In time, this idea applied to everyone not just
the rulers, and relationships within the family
became the moral basis for Chinese life.
Huang he civilization


Chinese civilization, more than any other,
has experienced cultural continuity from its
earliest times into the modern age.
Centralized bureaucracies led by powerful
leaders, elaborate rituals, advanced
technology, and intricate architecture and
art have been hallmarks of China’s culture
for several thousand years.
The Olmec
The Olmec


More than 1500 years before the Maya and
2000 years before the Aztecs were a little
known people called the Olmecs.
Their civilization began in the steamy jungles
of Mexico’s Gulf coast between 1500-1200
BCE.
The Olmec
The Olmec


They built large settlements, established
extensive trade routes, developed religious
rituals (including ceremonial ball games), and
had blood-letting and human sacrifice (including
child sacrifice).
The Olmec economy was agricultural, based on
maize, beans, and squash.
The Olmec


It developed and grew around well watered
alluvial soil, just like the Mesopotamians, the
Egyptians, the Indus, and the Huang He
peoples.
Materials used in Olmec artifacts include
obsidian, magnetite, and jade (which suggests
long-distance trade since obsidian comes from
Guatemala, 250 miles away).
The Olmec

Olmec cities arose
from competing
chiefdoms and
became ceremonial
centers filled with
elaborate temples,
altars, pyramids,
and tombs of rulers.
The Olmec

New World’s oldest
writing:
Sixty-two signs incised on
a block of serpentine date
to the first millennium
B.C.E. and are thought to
be the earliest writing in
the New World. The
Cascajal block, was found
by road builders in a pile
of debris.
The Olmec


Often regarded as the “mother civilization” of
Mesoamerica, the Olmec produced the
earliest examples of sophisticated artwork
and their style was adopted by later peoples,
like the Maya and Aztec.
The most famous Olmec artifacts are 17
colossal stone heads, presumed to have
been carved between 1200 B.C. and 900
B.C. out of volcanic basalt.
The Olmec
The Olmec



These heads, which range in height from 5 ft.
to 11 ft. and weigh as much as 40 tons, are
generally thought to be portraits of rulers.
Even more amazing is that these heads are
up to 80 miles from the nearest stone quarry
and this civilization didn’t have pack animals
or the wheel.
In some cases, the heads were even hoisted
up 150 ft to their final position.
The Olmec


Archeologists are still
trying to figure out
the Olmec religion,
but it seems to be
based on a jaguargod.
Rulers were also
believed to be
relatives of
supernatural beings.
The Olmec


Then around 300 BCE
this civilization
disappeared (no one
knows why).
They left behind almost
no known written records
(the only ones found were
discovered by accident in
2006) and the high
humidity has caused all
human remains to rot
away.
Legacies


It appears that by 1200-1000 BCE, most of
these early civilizations were in decline, ready
to be replaced by other emerging
civilizations.
For example, the legacy of Mesopotamia and
Egypt transferred to regional cultures along
the eastern Mediterranean…the most famous
being the Phoenicians.
Legacies

The Phoenicians were famous as merchants
and tradesmen whose lasting impact was to
create an alphabet of 22 letters (which the
Greek and Latin alphabets were based on).
Legacies







Many “inventions” of the early civilizations are
fundamental to human history and didn’t need to
be re-invented:
the wheel and taming of the horse
the creation of writing and early alphabets
the creation of key mathematical and astronomical concepts
the creation of functional calendars and divisions of time
the development of well organized monarchies and
bureaucracies
the creation of monumental architecture (some of which still
exists)
Legacies



Another lasting legacy seems to be more
philosophical …
The “Western tradition” (starting with
Mesopotamia) stressed a gap between
humans and nature (often represented as
gods).
The “Eastern tradition” tended to emphasize
a “oneness” or harmony with nature.