The first civilization appeared in the Near East several millennia after the beginning of sedentary life. ◦ The Mesopotamian civilization - land between the rivers. ◦ The Nile Valley civilization ◦ The Indus Valley civilization ◦ The Chinese civilization
Civilizations developed in fertile plains, with rivers flowing through them. In the spring they spilled over their banks, creating floods. Water levels then receded. ◦ Peasants build major irrigation projects creating regular and abundant harvests. Building canals to direct water towards fields requiring irrigation. Building dikes to prevent canal water form flooding the cultivated land. Building reservoirs to store floodwaters for times of drought.
Agriculture permitted more people to feed ◦ creating certainty increasing the population size and villages into cities.
Organization of Labour: ◦ Agricultural surpluses and development of trade caused a need to account for products they traded and objects made - ACCOUNTING ◦ Agricultural surpluses led to the emergence of trades. Mesopotamians split into even more trade groups, each interdependent providing each other with the goods or services they needed.
Peasants: Craftspeople Merchants Soldiers
Agricultural products: ◦ Wheat, barley, sesame and millet Ore: ◦ Bronze, copper, gold, iron, lead, silver and tin Wood: ◦ The type is not actually specified in the picture depicted below.
Pictograms were useful for simple items but not for complex situations. Pictograms slowly became simpler symbols representing sounds. This was the beginning of cuneiform. Originally read from right to left and in columns, writing is now from left to right and in rows….Like today!!!! Its complexity was reserved for scribes who played an important role in Mesopotamian society.
Mesopotamian kings imposed laws ◦ The Code of Hammurabi (Code of Civil Rights): The oldest law code known today. It is a stele. It contains 282 laws Social status of the guilty person or the victim determined the gravity of the sanctions.
Powerful king of Babylon unifying all of the cities of Mesopotamia. Created a vast kingdom of which Babylon was the capital.
All Mesopotamians had the same religion. It is the oldest known – yet it is unknown. Mesopotamians worshiped many gods. The king was considered as their representative on Earth building temples as his home.
Drink Food jewellery and Perfumes
The second civilization in history, Egypt was in the fertile Nile Valley. Egypt was ruled by two kingdoms: the Lower Egypt and the Upper Egypt. Eventually both kingdoms became one. The Nile valley was ruled by the Pharaoh
Pharaoh: Dignitaries: Soldiers, scribes, merchants, craftspeople and priest: Peasants: Slaves:
Hieroglyphs: ◦ Sacred symbol invented in ◦ Primarily used for religious texts. ◦ Reading was done in columns from top to bottom, from right to left, or left to right. ◦ It contained app. 750 symbols representing a symbol or a sound.
Created around 2900BC in Asia. The cities were built in evenly distributed grid pattern of straight streets and intersected at right angles by alleys. Social Organization: ◦ Religious and administration buildings were located in the upper part of the city. The lower part grouped the inhabitants together. Some lived in luxurious homes while others lived in very small and cramped houses. Strong centre oversaw urban development. Indian Writing: ◦ Has nearly 400 symbols still not deciphered.
Civilization developed in the east of the Indus Valley civilization, on the Huang-Ho fertile plain. It depended on agriculture and trade like the Mesopotamian. ◦ Chinese Writing: Oldest writing created since 3500BC. Ideograms: Symbols representing an idea. Social Organization: As in Mesopotamia and Egypt, the Chinese were very hierarchical.
King Nobility People Slaves
The king’s power was represented by the dragon – a god powerful enough to make the rain fall and help produce bountiful harvests. This power was also passed from father to son, as the qualities of a leader were inherited.