Ancient River Valley Civilizations Notes

Vocabulary Hunter-gatherer Animism Paleolithic Agriculture Look up these vocab words and write the definitions in your notebook. You can find these words in the glossary of your textbook. Hunter-gatherer Animism Paleolithic Agriculture Neolithic Nomad

Dawn of History Old Stone Age or Paleolithic Age “Lucy” 1959 by Leakey's in Tanzania First people were hunters and gatherers Animism – spirits in everything

One of the oldest debates in the study of human evolution centered around the question of which came first: big brains, or walking upright? Discuss how the discovery of "Lucy" provided evidence for one side of this debate.

Neolithic Agricultural Revolution :farming and domestication of animals Lead to cities and civilizations Civilizations grew along rivers

4 Oldest River Valley Civilizations Ancient Egypt Mesopotamia (Sumer and Babylon) Ancient China Ancient India

WHAT IS A CIVILIZATION??? CIVILIZATION- group of people living and working together for the purpose of creating an organized society.

EIGHT BASIC FEATURES OF A CIVILIZATION: Writing Systems (2) Infrastructure- public works such as bridges, roads etc. (3) Government / Laws

*NOTES* (4) Art / Architecture 5) Social Classes 12

(8) Development of Cities *NOTES* (6) Organized Religion (7) Job Specialization (8) Development of Cities 13

Features of Civilization Organized Government Religions Job Specialization Social Classes Arts and Architecture Infrastructure Writing

Sumer and Babylon Fertile crescent – Tigris and Euphrates City-states ruled by hierarchy Built ziggurats for religion Cuneiform – wedge writing Sargon – 1st empire builder Hammurabi – code, 1st written laws Phoenicians create the alphabet

India Grew around Indus River Valley Polytheistic with mother goddess Aryan society: Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas Vedas – story of early Indian civilizations Priests, Warriors, everyone else

Egypt Along the Nile River with yearly floods Pharaohs seen as gods, ruled in dynasties Religion – polytheism, gods for nature Afterlife – Osiris, mummification, tombs Pyramids used as tombs Hieroglyphics written on papyrus

China Grew around Huang He (Yellow) River Dynasties – Shang, Zhou Religion – polytheism, ancestor worship Mandate of Heaven – divine right to rule Feudal state Silk making, first books