FOUNDATIONS OF CIVILIZATION Chapter 1, Section 2 FOUNDATIONS OF CIVILIZATION

REVIEW We have briefly traced the development of humans from Ardipithecus-begins to walk upright Australopithecus-walks upright Homo Habilis-makes stone tools-Paleolithic Age begins Homo erectus-makes & uses fire, hunts, migrates from Africa into Asia & eventually into Europe Neanderthals live in Europe and Asia. Wear clothing, bury their dead. Homo sapiens-migrates out of Africa, into Europe and Asia. Creates beautiful art in caves. Eventually Neanderthals die out. Mesolithic Age-much more advanced tools Neolithic Agricultural Revolution starts the Neolithic age-farming (planting crops & herding animals, settling in villages & towns.

WHAT IS THE NEXT STEP????

CIVILIZATION!!

4000BC-3000BC: CIVILIZATION! Many people around the world continued to live by hunting and gathering. However, those who had shifted to farming and settled in permanent villages and towns, began to advance more rapidly. In 4 regions around the world, cultures became more complex, and reached the point we call “civilization”.

4000BC-3000BC: Civilization! These places were: 1)Valley of the Tigris & Euphrates rivers (southwest Asia), called Mesopotamia; 2) The Nile River valley (Egypt-North Africa); 3) The Indus River valley (Pakistan-southern Asia); 4) the Huang River valley (China)

CIVILIZATION Civilization is a complex culture that has at least 3 characteristic, and many historians add * 2 more. Characteristics: 1) surplus (extra) food; 2) towns or cities with governments; 3) job specialization (people perform different jobs) *4) writing *5) calendar

River valleys: advantages and problems Many early farmers wanted to live near a river: water to drink, water for crops, fish to eat, transportation. The river valleys of the Tigris & Euphrates, Nile, Indus & Huang have a common feature: The rivers rise and flood their blanks periodically. Except for these rainy periods, the climate is (at least somewhat) dry Early farmers had to deal with these challenges: getting water to crops during the dry season and protecting their crops and homes from floods.

Surplus food-irrigation & dikes To get water to crops in the dry season, they developed irrigation: digging ditches and canals to move water to fields. To protect their homes and crops from floods, they built dikes: walls along the banks of the rivers These projects led to more food, which caused population to grow These projects required coordination & cooperation, and so helped promote the development of governments.

Cities with governments Governments developed because larger numbers of people required more rules to keep order and settle disputes, and carry out common projects. Strong leaders were needed to make & enforce these rules. This led to governments. These governments kept order & settled disputes, carried out common projects such as irrigation & dike building, and protected the people from attack by outsiders.

JOB SPECIALIZATION (DIVISION OF LABOR) Job specialization, or division of labor, is when different people perform different jobs. Job specialization came about because the surplus of food made made it was possible for some people to perform tasks other than producing food. Therefore some people became artisans: workers skilled at a craft, such as making pots, making baskets, carpentry. Others became merchants or traders, who bought goods from farmers or artisans, transported them and traded them. As they transported goods from place to place, they also spread ideas. Cultural diffusion is the spread of ideas and other aspects of culture from one place to another.

* The two additional requirements for civilization Some form of writing Calendar

Calendars Early in their histories, the river valley civilizations developed calendars. They needed to know when to expect the yearly flood, and when to plant crops.

calendars Two types of calendars Lunar calendar divided time into months, from one full moon to the next-29 ½ days.

Solar Year Solar calendar divided time into solar years, about 365 ¼ days (we know this is the time it takes for the earth to go around the sun. This was more difficult to determine accurately. In cultures in which the river flood was highly predictable, they counted from one flood to the next. Soon they started using the position of stars.

Calendars 12 lunar months equals 354 days (11 less than 365 days). They wanted a way to make the lunar calendar and solar calendar work together. Each culture did this differently. Some counted 12 lunar months, plus an 11 day festival.

Development of writing Civilized society was more advanced, and needed a way to keep records. Earliest records were often records of taxes collected or goods traded. Later they needed to write laws and contracts, the words of religious rituals and prayers, and the deeds of great leaders.

How writing developed Writing developed differently in different civilizations. This is an outline of how it often developed: A picture is drawn to represent a thing The picture may come to represent a broader idea as well as a thing. The picture comes to represent a sound. The picture is simplified into a symbol.

Writing The earliest known writing was developed about 3100BC in Mesopotamia (valley of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. It is called cuneiform The next form of writing was developed about 3000BC in Egypt (valley of the Nile River). It is called hieroglyphics. History (“real history”) began with writing.

Development of the use of metals The use of metals is not a requirement for civilization, but most civilizations did begin to use metals. The first metal used was copper—began about 6000 years ago, in the valleys of the Tigris-Euphrates & Nile rivers The next metal used was bronze , a mixture of copper and tin. Began about 5000 years ago, also in the valleys of the Tigris-Euphrates & Nile. This began the “Bronze Age” Finally they began to use iron Began about 3,200 years ago probably in what is now Turkey. This began the “Iron Age”.

Family and religion-a theory and generalization Before the Neolithic Revolution, generally speaking, men hunted and women gathered wild plants. Women also prepared food and took care of children. Female goddesses seem to have been important: they represented life. After the Neolithic Revolution, generally speaking, women tended gardens and men plowed and planted the larger fields. Men also herded animals. Female goddesses continued to be important for a while, but gradually declined, as male sky gods became more important.