Download presentation
Presentation is loading. Please wait.
Published byJames Spencer Modified over 6 years ago
1
The Urban Revolution British archaeologist, V. Gordon Childe
Attempting to explain the emergence of cities in the ancient Middle East And the social/cultural trends that cities therefore embodied
2
The Urban Revolution Cities State organization Social hierarchy
Extraction of surplus Full-time specialization of labor Writing and mathematics Monumental architecture
3
Types of tombs from c. 3rd – 5th Centuries
Tombs (kofun) Types of tombs from c. 3rd – 5th Centuries
4
5th century tomb of Emperor Nintoku, in Sakai (near Osaka)
Tombs (kofun) 5th century tomb of Emperor Nintoku, in Sakai (near Osaka)
5
Diffusion of urban idea
T’ang dynasty of China ( A.D.) provided model for Japanese imperial capitals (and model for notions of how a complex state should be organized) diffusion or adaptation of Chinese social, cultural, political, technological patterns
6
Diffusion of urban idea
Diffusion of pattern, rather than underlying similarities of development or process Not an “urban revolution” in Childe’s sense, but elements of what makes a city possible are still apropos
7
Diffusion of urban idea
Took a few attempts in Japan to get it right. Series of Chinese style capitals Asuka Fujiwarakyo Nara Heiankyo (present-day Kyoto)
8
Chang-an, capital of the T’ang dynasty
A.D.
9
Chang-an Imperial capital Cosmological significance of urban plan
Social/political structuring of capital around institutions of state, as well as cosmological significance of Imperial court
10
Plan of Fujiwarakyo (near present day Kyoto)
Early Japanese cities Plan of Fujiwarakyo (near present day Kyoto)
11
Plan of Heiankyo (the present day Kyoto)
Early Japanese cities Plan of Heiankyo (the present day Kyoto)
12
Tourist map of present day Kyoto)
Early Japanese cities Tourist map of present day Kyoto)
13
Compare Heiankyo
14
. . . with Edo 1747 French map of Edo, by the mapmaker Bellin
Similar presentations
© 2025 SlidePlayer.com. Inc.
All rights reserved.