1. Chapter 1 – Early Civilizations
8000 BCE
to 600 CE

2. Terms of Times B.C. : Before Christ
B.C.E. : Before Common Era (non-Christian)
A.D. : Anno Domini (After the year of our Lord)
C.E. : Common Era

3. Paleolithic Age The “Old Stone Age” ICE AGE!
Crude stone tools and weapons
Nomads
“Cave Man”

4. Neolithic Revolution. We move to about 8,000 BC
when village life began in the New Stone Age. . . Also known as the
Neolithic Revolution.
NEW STONE AGE

5. A TOTALLY new way of living:
From
Hunter-Gatherers
to Agriculture

6. INVENTION OF AGRICULTURE
Mesopotamians first to engage in agriculture
Around 8000 BC
Cereal crops
Wheat
Barley
Herd animals
Sheep
Goats
Woman probably first farmer
Grain-collecting then noticed that stored wild grain could be grown on purpose

7. Agriculture changed how people lived
Agriculture (Farming)
Growth of Cities
Division of Labor (Specialization)
Trade
Writing and Mathematics

9. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Self-actualization
(self-knowledge,
fulfillment of
personal potential)
Esteem
(autonomy, achievement, recognition)
Social
(belonging, affection)
Safety
(security, protection from harm)
Physiological
(Hunger, thirst, shelter)
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

10. What does it mean to be civilized?
Characteristics of a Civilization:
Advanced Cities
Complex institutions
Government, Religion, Economy
Specialized Occupations
Record Keeping / Writing
Advanced Technology

11. Cities Rivers provided: Rivers provided challenges:
water supply
transportation
food supply from animals
Rivers provided challenges:
flooding
irrigation
Required organized, mass labor (corvee)
Construction and repair of canals and irrigation ditches
Euphrates River

12. Institutions: Government
Central authority needed to control:
Labor
Storage of grain
Dispersion of foodstuffs among population
Early governments first led by priests
Later controlled by warrior chiefs
or kings

13. Institutions: Government
Governments became more complex as new responsibilities arose such as:
tax collecting
law making
handling public works projects
organizing systems of defense

14. Complex Religions Generally polytheistic
Many gods represented natural forces
Others controlled human activities
Priests and worshippers tried to gain gods’ favor through complex rituals and sacrifice
Directed by unquestionable ruling class of priests
King regarded as a god or as a god’s agent

15. Complex Religions
Temples often built to honor specific gods and goddesses
Mayan temple
Egyptian temple
Mesopotamian ziggurat

16. OCCUPATIONS Needs of agriculture and stability Clay pottery
Woven baskets
Woolen and linen clothing
Sophisticated tools and weapons
Plow

17. Job Specialization or Occupations
Artisans specialized in various jobs, such as:
Bricklayers
Blacksmiths
Production of luxuries (Things You Don’t Really Need)
Metal technology

18. Writing Probably first used by priests
Earliest writing used pictograms
Chinese calligraphy
Egyptian hieroglyphs
Mesopotamian cuneiform

19. Writing Symbols later added to represent words and then sounds
Scribes were specially trained to read, write, and record information
Religion
Trade
Government
Learning became cumulative

20. Social Classes People ranked according to their profession Chief
Priests
Nobles
Wealthy merchants
Artisans
Peasants/farmers
Slaves
Egyptian social structure

21. Social Classes
Priestly class is part of the beginning of social differentiation
Class structure based on specialization of labor
Generated class differences
Priests (“We talk to god, you don’t.)
Aristocrats/warriors (“We have weapons, you don’t.”)
Common people (“I guess we work...?”)
Slaves (“Uh, oh!!!”)

22. BRONZE AGE Around 3000 BC in Sumer Use bronze (not stone or copper)
Gives people advantages in warfare

23. Mesopotamia – Fertile Crescent
Sumer – The Earliest of the River Valley Civilizations
Sumerian Civilization grew up along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in what is now Kuwait.

25. Sumer: City of Ur On the banks of the Euphrates River
Religious: Polytheistic
Agricultural Economy
Irrigation System
Bartered for goods

26. Sumerians invented: Brick technology Wheel
Base 60 – using the circle degrees
Time – 60 minutes in an hour, 60 seconds in a minute
12 month lunar calendar
arch
ramp
Ziggurat (pyramid shape)

27. Ziggurat – “Mountain of God”
Click on the pictures for more information on ziggurats.

28. Sumerian Writing: Cuneiform
Cuneiform is created by pressing a pointed stylus into a clay tablet.