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Chapter 1
The Ancient Near East:
The First Civilizations
Timeline
The First Humans
Hominids
Australopithecines (3-4 million years ago; simple stone tools;
limited to Africa)
Homo Erectus (1.5 million years ago; larger, more varied tools;
moves into Europe and Asia)
Homo Sapiens (“wise human being”)
Neanderthals, (c. 100,000 – 30,000 years ago)
• Neander Valley in Germany, other parts of Europe and Middle East
• More advanced stone tools; burial of the dead
Homo Sapiens Sapiens, (c. 200,000 B.C. – Present)
• “Wise, wise human being”
• Replaced Neanderthals
• Spread throughout the world
Map 1.1: The Spread of Homo Sapiens Sapiens
The Hunter Gatherers of the Old
Stone Age
Paleolithic Age, (c. 2.5 million years ago –
10,000 years ago)
Hunting and Gathering
Nomadic Bands (20 – 30 people)
Division of labor between men and women
Discovery of Fire (c. 500,000 B.C.)
Source of light and heat; cooking of food
Cultural activities notably cave paintings
Neolithic Revolution
(c. 10,000 – 4000 B.C.)
Agricultural Revolution
Move from hunting and gathering toward systematic growing of
food
Consequences of Neolithic Revolution
Permanent Settlements (Çatal Hüyük)
Trade
Specialized Division of Labor
Improved Tools
Domestication of Animals
Development of Writing
Use of Metals
Copper + Tin = Bronze
Bronze Age (c. 3000 B.C. – c. 1200 B.C.)
The Emergence of Civilization
Six Characteristics of Civilization
Urban Focus – Cities become very important
Distinct Religious Structure (gods; priests)
Political and Military Structures (bureaucracy;
armies)
Social structure based on economic power
Writing – Record keeping
Artistic and Intellectual Activity
Civilization in Mesopotamia
The City State of Ancient Mesopotamia
Begins at Sumer (c. 3000 B.C.)
City States (Eridu, Ur, Uruk, Umma, Lagash)
Temples to the gods / Ziggurats
Theocracy (gods rule the cities through priests)
Kingship (divine in Origin)
Economy primarily agricultural
Some trade
Three Major Social Groups
• Nobles, Commoners, and Slaves
Map 1.2: The Ancient Near East
Empires in Ancient Mesopotamia
Early Dynastic Age (c. 3000 – 2340 B.C.)
Instability; warfare between city states
Akkadian Empire (c. 2340 – c. 2100 B.C.)
Sargon
Third Dynasty of Ur (c. 2112 – 2000 B.C.)
Amorites
Hammurabi (1792 – 1750 B.C.)
Code of Hammurabi
282 Laws
Strict Justice / Severe Penalties
Principle of Retaliation
Responsibility of Public Officials
Consumer Protections
Agriculture and Trade
Family / Marriage / Domestic Affairs
Culture of Mesopotamia
The Importance of Religion
City State linked to god or goddess.
Epic of Gilgamesh
Polytheistic (belief in many gods)
Human beings subservient to gods
Divination
Cultivation of New Arts and Sciences
Writing, (c. 3000 B.C.)
• cuneiform = “wedge-shaped”
Record Keeping; Past Events; Literature
Mathematics
• Number System based on 60
• Geometry
• Astronomy
The Development
of Cuneiform
Egyptian Civilization:
“The Gift of the Nile”
Nile River
Annual, predictable flooding
Food Surplus
Transportation
Security
Changelessness
Mud and thatch wall of Egyptian farmhouse in the
Nile River Valley.
Map 1.3: Ancient Egypt
The Old and Middle Kingdoms
Upper and Lower Egypt United (c. 3100 B.C.)
Old Kingdom (c. 2686 – 2125)
Prosperity and Stability
Pharaohs (Divine Kings)
• Absolute Rulers
• Ma’at
Bureaucracy – Vizier
Nomes (Provinces)
First Intermediate Period (c. 2125 – 2055 B.C.)
Middle Kingdom (c. 2055 – 1650 B .C.)
Changing Role of Pharaoh
Society and Economy in
Ancient Egypt
Organized Hierarchically
Pharaoh at the top
Upper Class (Nobles and Priests)
Merchants and Artisans
• Trade
Lower Class; Serfs
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•
•
•
Majority of population
Bound to land
Tax payers
Military service; labor force
Culture of Egypt
Spiritual Life and Egyptian Society
Religion
• Sun Cult (Atum; Re)
• Osiris, Isis, and Seth
• Book of the Dead
Pyramids
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•
•
•
City of the Dead
Physical Body / Spiritual Body (Ka)
Mummification
Great Pyramid at Giza (c. 2540 B.C.)
Art and Writing
• Functional / Integral in ritual
• Art Formulaic
• Writing (Hieroglyphs)
Osiris as Judge of the Dead
Chaos and a New Order: The
New Kingdom
Second Intermediate Period (c. 1650 – c. 1550 B.C.)
Hyksos Invasion
Bronze Age
New Methods of Warfare
New Kingdom (c. 1550 – 1085 B.C.)
Militarism and Imperialism
Amenhotep IV (c. 1364 – 1347 B.C.)
• Worship of Aten (god of the sun disk)
Tutankhamen (1347 – 1338 B.C.)
• Restoration of old gods
Rameses II (c. 1279 – 1213 B.C.)
Decline (after 1085 B.C.)
Nubians in Egypt
Life in Ancient Egypt
Marriage
Husband – master of the house
Wife – head of the household; education of children
Women
Labor
Hatshepsut
Arranged Marriages
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•
•
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Reproduction
Love
Divorce allowed
Adultery strictly prohibited
On the Fringes of Civilization
Farming established in Europe (4000 B.C.)
Megalithic Structures
Built around 4000 B.C.
Most famous is Stonehenge in England
Required coordination of labor for construction
The Impact of the Indo-Europeans
Indo-European Languages
Homeland
Migrations (c. 2000 B.C.)
Table 1.2: Some Indo-European Languages
Map 1.4: The Egyptian and Hittite Empires
The Hittite Empire
Rise and Fall of the Hittite Empire
Suppiluliumas I (c. 1370 – 1330 B.C.)
Relations with Egypt
Reasons for fall
Assimilation of other cultures
Discussion Questions
What were some of the key characteristics that separated
homo sapiens sapiens from other early hominids?
What were the reasons behind the Neolithic Revolution?
Why is Mesopotamia called the Cradle of Civilization?
What does the Code of Hammurabi tell us about
Mesopotamian society?
What role did the Nile River play in the development of
Egyptian civilization?
Why was Egyptian civilization so centered on death and
dying?
What function did women play in Mesopotamian society?
What does the existence of megalithic structures tell us
about the societies that built them?