 Existed between 3300 BCE and 2000 BCE

 Spread cities  Overcame lack of water- had irrigation system  Epic of Gilgamesh  Arithmetic/Geometry  Architecture- arches, columns, ramps, pyramids  Cuneiform

 Earliest governments were controlled by temple priests  In times of war- toughest fighters would take control of government

 Polytheistic religion- usually each city prayed to a particular god  Had class system  1) Kings, priests, landholders  2) Wealthy merchants  3) Ordinary Farmers  4) Slaves

 “Old Kingdom”- existed from about 3200 BCE to 2180 BCE

 Pyramid Building  Writing- Hieroglyphics  Wrote on papyrus  Written numbers- very interested in geometry

 Developed calendar- only 6 hrs. off!  Medicine  Used heart rate  Treated broken bones (casting)  Treated cuts and fevers  Also used make-up!!!

 Pharaohs= “god- kings”  Controlled religion, government, army  Had absolute power

 Polytheistic- two most important gods were sun god and god of dead  Built huge temples to honor dead  Believed in afterlife- mummification

 Social Classes  1) King/queen/royal family  2) Wealthy landowners, government officials, priests, army commanders  3) Merchants/artisans  4) Farmers/laborers  5) Slaves

-Lasted from 2500 BCE to about 1750 BCE, possibly as long as 1500 BCE or 1350 BCE, depending on source -It is a great mystery what happened to the Indus Valley Civilization

 Planned cities- grid system  Used oven baked bricks for houses  Sophisticated plumbing and sewage system  Written language  Sophisticated trade- long-range communication  Created cotton cloth

 Thought to be a theocracy, but little factually is known

 Uniform religion and culture  Leisure time was important  Believed animals were important  Religion- most important god was the mother goddess, many images of pregnant women

 Lasted from about 1700 BCE to 1027 BCE

 Built wood cities with massive earthen walls  Built and used horse drawn chariots  Developed more modern written language  One character per syllable

 Used dynastic system (will last in China until 1911!!!!)  Ruled by line of Shang rulers

 Two main values: family and war  Respect for parents was given the utmost importance  Family greatly linked to religion  Oracle bones

 Nobles (landowners) vs. Peasants (those who worked on the land  No middle class!