1. Early Societies in Southeast Asia and the Indo-European Migrations
Chapter 2
Early Societies in Southeast Asia and the Indo-European Migrations

2. Ch 2.1 Objectives:
Understand what characteristics make up a complex society.
Understand where and why the first complex societies came about in Mesopotamia.
Including elements of PERSIA that influenced later societies

3. Civilization Defined Urban Political/military system
Social stratification
Economic specialization
Religion
Communications
“Higher Culture”

4. Urban
Establishment of agricultural communities meant that some people would not grow/raise their own food
Sets up need for trade/barter
Job Specialization
Social Hierarchy
Organization
Customs/Culture

5. Political/military system
A sense of order and protection was needed
Elected leaders
A “big Man’ temporary dictator- in times of attack
Led to hereditary King
Run w/support of military leaders
Often family members
Other family became religious leaders

6. Social stratification
Leaders- Kings, Nobles- royal family
Clerics- Priests,
Commoners
Farmers
Artisans/Craftsmen
Dependent Clients- worked on others land (rent)
Women
Slaves

7. Economic specialization
Not everyone is gathering food
Trades & craftsman come about
Job Skills

8. Religion Set to keep good times rolling Honor spirits, gods
Organize cultural activities (ceremonies)
Answers to questions w/o answer
Why are we here? What’s next

9. Communications Language Writing Spread of ideas
Establishment of records (history)

10. “Higher Culture” Art Music- comes w/ceremonies Literature
Only w/ ‘free time’
Literature
Cultured Arts- plays?

11. Mesopotamia Early Mesopotamia, 3000-2000 B.C.E. “Between the Rivers”
Tigris and Euphrates
Modern-day Iraq
Cultural continuum of “fertile crescent”
Sumerians the dominant people

12. The Wealth of the Rivers
Nutrient-rich silt
Key: irrigation
Necessity of coordinated efforts
Promoted development of local governments
City-states
Sumer begins small-scale irrigation 6000 BCE
By 5000 BCE, complex irrigation networks
Population reaches 100,000 by 3000 BCE
Attracts Semitic migrants, influences culture

13. Sumerian City-States Cities appear 4000 BCE
Dominate region from BCE
Ur (home of Abraham, see Genesis 11:28), Nineveh (see Jonah)
Ziggurat home of the god
Divine mandate to Kings
Regulation of Trade
Defense from nomadic marauders

14. The Ziggurat of Ur

15. Political Decline of Sumer
Semitic peoples from northern Mesopotamia overshadow Sumer
Sargon of Akkad ( BCE)
Destroyed Sumerian city-states one by one, created empire based in Akkad
Empire unable to maintain chronic rebellions
Hammurabi of Babylon ( BCE)
Improved taxation, legislation
Used local governors to maintain control of city-states
Babylonian Empire later destroyed by Hittites from Anatolia, c BCE

16. Legal System The Code of Hammurabi
Established high standards of behavior and stern punishment for violators
lex talionis – “law of retaliation”
Social status and punishment
Teachers should run the world
women as property, but some rights

17. Later Mesopotamian Empires
Weakening of central rule an invitation to foreign invaders
Assyrians use new iron weaponry
Beginning 1300 BCE, by 8th-7th centuries BCE control Mesopotamia, Syria, Palestine, most of Egypt
Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon (r ) takes advantage of internal dissent to create Chaldean (New Babylonian) Empire
Famously luxurious capital - Hanging Gardens
Nebuchadnezzar by William Blake

18. Mesopotamian Empires, 1800-600 BCE

19. Ch 2.2 Objectives:
Understand the technological, social, and cultural developments that occurred in Mesopotamia.
Understand the significance of the Hebrews, Phoenicians and Indo-Europeans from the time period.

20. Technological Development in Mesopotamia
Bronze (copper with tin), c BCE
Military, agricultural applications
Iron, c BCE
Cheaper than bronze
Wheel, boats, c BCE
Shipbuilding increases trade networks

21. Social Classes Ruling classes based often on military prowess
Originally elected, later hereditary
Perceived as offspring of gods
Religious classes
Role: intervention with gods to ensure fertility, safety
Considerable landholdings, other economic activities
Free commoners
Peasant cultivators
Some urban professionals
Slaves
Prisoners of war, convicted criminals, debtors

22. Patriarchal Society Men as landowners, relationship to status
Patriarchy: “rule of the father”
Right to sell wives, children
Double standard of sexual morality
Women drowned for adultery
Relaxed sexual mores for men
Yet some possibilities of social mobility for women
Court advisers, temple priestesses, economic activity
Introduction of the veil at least c BCE

23. Development of Writing
Sumerian writing systems form 3500 BCE
Pictographs
Cuneiform: “wedge-shaped”
Preservation of documents on clay
Declines from 400 BCE with spread of Greek alphabetic script

24. Uses for Writing Trade Astronomy Mathematics Calculation of time
Agricultural applications
Calculation of time
12-month year
24-hour day, 60-minute hour

25. Mesopotamian Literature
Epic of Gilgamesh, compiled after 2000 BCE
Heroic saga
Search for meaning, esp. afterlife
This-worldly emphasis

26. Ch 2.3 Objectives:
Understand the significance of the Hebrews, Phoenicians and Indo-Europeans from the time period.

27. The Early Hebrews Patriarchs and Matriarchs from Babylon, c. 1850 BCE
Parallels between early biblical texts, Code of Hammurabi
Early settlement of Canaan (Israel), c BCE
Biblical text: slavery in Egypt, divine redemption
On-going conflict with indigenous populations under King David ( BCE) and Solomon ( BCE)

28. Moses and Monotheism
Hebrews shared polytheistic beliefs of other Mesopotamian civilizations
Moses introduces monotheism, belief in single god
Denies existence of competing parallel deities
Personal god: reward and punishment for conformity with revealed law
The Torah (“doctrine or teaching”)

29. Foreign conquests of Israel
Assyrian conquest, 722 BCE
Conquered the northern kingdom
Deported many inhabitants to other regions
Many exiles assimilated and lost their identity
Babylonian conquest, 586 BCE
Destroyed Jerusalem
Forced many into exile
Israelites maintained their religious identity and many returned to Judea

30. Israel and Phoenicia , 1500-600 BCE

31. The Phoenicians City-states along Mediterranean coast after 3000 BCE
Extensive maritime trade
Dominated Mediterranean trade, BCE
Development of alphabet symbols
Simpler alternative to cuneiform
Spread of literacy

32. Indo-European Migrations
Common roots of many languages of Europe, southwest Asia, India
Implies influence of a single Indo-European people
Probable original homeland: modern-day Ukraine and Russia, BCE
Domestication of horses, use of Sumerian weaponry allowed them to spread widely

33. Indo-European migrations 3000-1000 BCE

34. Implications of Indo-European Migration
Hittites migrate to central Anatolia, c BCE, later dominate Babylonia
Influence on trade
Horses, chariots with spoked wheels
Iron
Migrations to western China, Greece, Italy also significant