1. Characteristics of civilizations

2. What led to the establishment of civilizations?
1. Where did the first civilizations appear?
2. Was there a stable food supply during the Paleolithic Era? Explain.
3. How did the Neolithic Revolution create a predictable food supply?
4. What is a food surplus?
5. How did food surpluses lead to the development of civilizations?

3. What is Civilization?
A civilization is often defined as a complex culture with five characteristics:
advanced cities
specialized workers
complex institutions
record keeping
advanced technology
Many historians believe that one of the first civilizations developed in Sumer

5. Advanced Cities
Cities are characterized by more than just the size of their population
Cities are centers of trade where people travel to in order to buy and sell goods
Merchants- people who earn money through trading with others

6. Specialization of Workers
Specialization: division of work into specific jobs
Made possible due to food surpluses and better farming technology
Artisans: skilled workers who make goods by hand.
May produce goods such as jewelry, tools, weapons, clothing, and pottery
Other professions such as tax collectors, merchants, soldiers, priests, and so on

7. Complex Institutions
Institution: a long-lasting pattern of organization in a community.
Government- needed to make laws and keep order in society
This meant that a minority group—kings, queens, high officials, priests, generals— exercised control over the labor and social behavior of everyone else.

8. Complex institutions
Religion- cities often had temples and religious leaders who governed activity in ancient cities. Temples were often important for both government and trade
In the city of Ur their massive temple was called a ziggurat
Economy- an organized system where people trade goods and services
Since money had not yet been created, the Ancient Sumerians bartered
Barter: trading goods instead of using money to buy something

10. Record Keeping
As society became more complex, it became necessary to keep written records of governmental, religious, and economic activity
Ancient Sumerians used scribes to keep records
Scribes- professional record keepers
Cuneiform- system of writing used by scribes to keep records

11. Improved Technology
New technology was needed to solve problems in ancient cities
Around 3,500 BCE Sumerian metalworkers discovered a type of metal called bronze
Bronze Age- refers to the time when people began using bronze, rather than copper and stone, to make tools and weapons
Bronze tools and weapons were stronger and sharper than stone-based materials

13. Social class
groups used to organize people based on some criteria, usually their wealth or importance to society

14. Public works
Monumental buildings such as moats, city walls, temples, palaces, public plazas, and tombs of rulers.

15. Where were early river valley civilizations located

16. What are the advantages of settling near rivers?
What are the disadvantages of settling near rivers?

17. homework
1. Review your notes for today’s class.
2. In your notebook, answer the question:
Which of the features of civilization do you think is most important? Why?