1. 6. Olmec 1200BCE –near Veracruz
First written lang in Americas (900BCE)
Culture influenced later Mesoamerican civs

2. Complex political gov’t
Public buildings/pyramids
Agriculture
Writing
Sculpture

3. Olmec Culture Religion Polytheistic society
Religion was a dominant aspect to Olmec life, and many of the rulers during that time were considered god like/ godly.
Full-time priest also had an immense amount of power and influence on the Olmec people.

4. Social
The secular elite (including chieftains) supervised agrarian craftwork and transactions
Ruler--> priest/shaman--> elite--> everyone else (commoners)

5. Diet? Domestic maize Chili, palm nuts, squash
Protein – domesticated dog
Supplemented with deer, fish, turtles

8. Eyes, Fangs
Rope, held

9. Were-jaguar baby

12. The others
nomads

13. NOMADS: BARBARIANS? Pastoralism Seen as savages by the settled
Domestication of animals
Way of life based on herding
Often on fringes
Bordered settled areas
Seen as savages by the settled
Interaction vs. conflict
Nomads traded, coexisted with settled areas
Nomads warred on, conquered settled areas
Often protected merchants, allowed trade
Prior to 1500 BCE little major threat
Chariot Peoples (Central Asian Indo-Europeans)
Domesticated horse, invented chariot, iron weapons
Pushed into SW Asia, S. Asia, E. Asia, Europe
Responsible for spread of ideas, trade

14. 1st Civilizations: characteristics and comparasions

15. Roots in Ag. Rev.
Developed form earlier chiefdoms and was gradual
So why some but not others?
Need for large scale irrigation?
Needs of elite groups, warfare, trade?
Population density fosters competition for limited ag. land?
Origins?

16. An Urban Rev. Cities most distinctive feature of 1st civs
Most impressive to visitors
Lay at the heart of 1st civs
Capitals
Centers of culture
Places of exchange
Center of manufacturing
Cities create more specialization and inequality
An Urban Rev.
Ishtar gate, Babylon 575BCE

17. Erosion of equality Hierarchy of class
1st civs and cities magnify inequalities
Major turning point in human social history

18. Upper class Wealth Avoid labor Finest things Top positions
Distinguishable by
Clothes, houses,
Burial
treatment by law

19. Free commoners Majority of population
Farmers, artisans, soldiers, etc.
Their surplus appropriated to upper class
Sometimes resented

20. Slaves Bottom of social hierarchy Emerged with civilization
1st gen were war prisoners, criminals, debtors
Labor
Sometimes sacrificed
Varied
Egypt and Indus had less than Mesopotamia
Differed from recent Am. Slavery
Not ag., children freed, not defined by race

21. Hierarchy of gender
Civ undermined earlier more equal relationships between men and women
Patriarchy emerges 1st civs.
Intensive ag (plows) favor male labor
But it still develops where there were no plows (Mesoamerica, Andes)

22. Gender ..whys? (all theory, not necessary to copy)
1. product of social complexity
Men less important at home, more available to assume specialist roles
Used authority to shape values in ways that benefited men at the expense of women
2. women assoc. with nature due to reproduction roles
Civ as master over nature?
Women associated with inferior nature?
3. warfare
Large-scale military conflict in 1st civs
Service restricted to men
4. private property/commerce
Need to restrict female sexual activities ->insure inheritance
Exchange of wives, concubines, female slaves as part of male commerce

23. Patriarchy in Practice
Mesopotamia:
Laws codify family life
Regulation of female sexuality
Goddesses replaced by male deities
Egypt
Greater opportunity than most 1st civs
Own property, slaves
Divorce, marry
Poetry suggests affection between sexes

24. Rise of the State Gov’t central to stability in 1st civs State
Defense, irrigation, adjudicate conflicts
Serves upper class: protects privilege, requires farmers to give to the city
Uses force to secure its will
Force not always necessary
Claiming authority given by gods

25. Trade
Trade expands during this period from local to regional and transregional.
With trade you have the exchange of goods, ideas, and technology
It ranges as far as Mesopotamia to Indus Valley

26. Writing All 1st civs (except Andes) Defines elites Provides means for
Propaganda
Accurate record keeping/calendars
Gives weight to laws
Fosters literature, philosophy, learning
Can be a threat to rulers

27. Final note: civilization : the word

28. Modern Assessment of 1st civs
Pro:
Art, reflections on life, productive tech, writing
Con:
Massive inequalities, oppression, slavery, war, subordination of women, epidemic disease

29. Civilization…as a word
Scholars have reservations about the word…
Implies superiority, “higher society”, unreservedly positive, implies inferiority
It is a clear cut definition between historical boundaries
It is deeply embedded in our way of thinking about the world