Early Bronze Age Civilizations Ancient World Instructor Pacas

The Bronze Age 3500-800 BCE Early Bronze Age 3500-2000 BCE Middle Bronze Age 2000-1300 BCE Late Bronze Age 1300-800 BCE

Bronze The Early Bronze Age 3500 – 2000 BCE Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin. It is a much more resilient metal than copper alone and it is much stronger and easier to work. As such it transformed human history as it became a metal that allowed powerful individuals to expand their political hold over larger territories due to the technological advancements in armor and weapons. Because bronze requires tin there was a need to expand the already existent sphere of trade and conquest in the ancient world to areas that could supply this much needed metal. Greece, Cyprus and other areas in the Aegean could supply the emerging kingdoms of the Middle East with the necessary metal.

In Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Egypt the technology utilized to work bronze varied from casting, forging and annealing as well as cold forging the metal. In China, which developed bronze working techniques later than these other civilizations to the west, the metal was only cast. Archaeologist and historians believe that China was not influenced by its western neighbors but developed their techniques independently from these other civilizations.

Ancient Civilizations of India and Pakistan Instructor Pacas

Harappan Civilization

Civilization of Harappa Around 3000 BCE or perhaps a little earlier some sophisticated villages began to emerge in north-west India and present day Pakistan. By 2600 BCE these urban centers extended to present day Western Chinese borders and borders with present day Iran. Around 2300 BCE they had coalesced into a uniform civilization with standardized roads, homes, complex drainage systems, granaries, etc.

Harappa Artist interpretation of Harappa Left: Excavation of Harappa

Harappa These ancient civilizations of India and Pakistan possessed the largest urban settlement of the four major civilizations of antiquity: Iraq, Egypt, South East Asia, and China. The settlements possibly spread from West to East and were concentrated on the Indus River.

Its northern borders reached to the Himalayas and its southernmost border reached the Arabian Sea.

Writing

Harappa Cont’d The writing of this civilization has not yet been deciphered, thus the historians are not able to piece much of their history. It is believed that the cities were abandoned by much of the population by around 1900 BCE. Indo-Aryans intruded into the region around 1700-1500 BCE and settled these depopulated cities becoming the ruling group of the region.

Harappa Cont’d Harappa, Mohenjo Daro, and the others traded not only between themselves but quite possibly the civilizations of Iraq (Sumerians or Akkadians). Harappan Civilization knew how to work bronze and possessed an advanced bronze technology. They traded in copper, tin, and lead all necessary for bronze manufacture with the civilizations as far as Mesopotamia and perhaps Cyprus and Anatolia.

Harappa Cont’d Furnaces have been discovered at these sites which lends proof that the ancient civilizations produced bronze goods. Harappan Civilization was perhaps the first group in antiquity to produce cotton and thus engage in the manufacture of cotton cloth. They cultivated rice, wheat, barley, dates, and cotton. They had domesticated: camels, goats, water buffalo, and possibly elephants.

Cont’d By 2300 BCE the society had become extremely stratified with distinct socio-economic classes and perhaps a rudimentary form of caste system based on socio-economics There were contrasting differences between the opulence of the homes of the wealthy vs. those of the poor.

Religion Shiva? And animals Harappa & Mohenjo Daro (top left) Some scholars believe that the animal Motifs are like heraldic emblems because The writing on each is different though the Same animal is represented…the animal Occurs the most often is the ‘unicorn.’ (top left) Shiva? And animals Harappa & Mohenjo Daro

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