1. Bell Ringer Quick Questions: (Think of a response for discussion)
Bell Ringer Quick Questions: (Think of a response for discussion)*Do not write answers
How did geography impact the first civilizations?
How did changes in the Neolithic Revolution lead to the development of River Valley Civilizations?
How would one define civilization?
Civilization – form of culture in which some people live in cities and have complex social institutions, use some form of writing, and are skilled in science, art, and technology

2. Ways of the World: A Brief Global History with Sources Second Edition
Robert W. Strayer
Ways of the World: A Brief Global History with Sources Second Edition
Chapter 2
First Civilizations: Cities, States, and Unequal Societies (3500 B.C.E.–500 B.C.E.)
Copyright © by Bedford/St. Martin’s

3. Who does this statue represent? Describe the figure.
What made the person represented in this statue significant in his time?
How does this statue reflect one of the new qualities of early civilizations?
1. This statue shows Raherka, an “inspector of the scribes” of Egypt’s Fifth Dynasty, with his wife, Mersankh, around 2350 b.c.e. The couple wears their hair in similar traditional styles and is dressed modestly in tunics. Mersankh stands slightly behind her husband on his left and holds onto his left arm with her left hand. The hair of the figures is colored black, and the skin and clothing shows remnants of ochre and yellow colors.
2. The ability to write was a defining feature of early civilizations, and those who mastered it enjoyed exceptional respect and influence. As a scribe, Raherka assumed an unusual position in the Fifth Dynasty, and the inclusion of his wife suggests that his prestige and significance also reflected on his family.
3. Figurative art of the Paleolithic era usually did not represent specific individuals. As a statue with features depicting specific individuals, this statue is an example of the art of early civilizations.
1. Who does this statue represent? Describe the figure.
This statue shows Raherka, an “inspector of the scribes” of Egypt’s Fifth Dynasty, with his wife, Mersankh, around 2350 b.c.e. The couple wears their hair in similar traditional styles and is dressed modestly in tunics. Mersankh stands slightly behind her husband on his left and holds onto his left arm with her left hand. The hair of the figures is colored black, and the skin and clothing shows remnants of ochre and yellow colors.
2. What made the person represented in this statue significant in his time?
The ability to write was a defining feature of early civilizations, and those who mastered it enjoyed exceptional respect and influence. As a scribe, Raherka assumed an unusual position in the Fifth Dynasty, and the inclusion of his wife suggests that his prestige and significance also reflected on his family.
3. How does this statue reflect one of the new qualities of early civilizations?
Figurative art of the Paleolithic era usually did not represent specific individuals. As a statue with features depicting specific individuals, this statue is an example of the art of early civilizations.

4. I. Something New: The Emergence of Civilizations
A. Introducing the First Civilizations
1. Sumer (Mesopotamia) 3500 – 3000 B.C.E.
2. Egypt, & Nubia, 3500–3000 B.C.E.
2. Norte Chico(Central Coastal Peru), 3000–1800 B.C.E.
3. Indus Valley and Oxus, 2200 B.C.E–1700 B.C.E.
4. China: Xia, Shang, & Zhou, 2200–771 B.C.E.
5. Olmec, 9000 B.C.E. (Central America)
a. All developed polytheistic belief systems
I. Something New: The Emergence of Civilizations
A. Introducing the First Civilizations
1. Sumer, Egypt, & Nubia: City states emerged in Sumer in Southern Mesopotamia around 3500–3000 B.C.E. and produced the first written language. Egypt developed along the Nile and had a clear territorial base, unlike the fluid city states of Mesopotamia. Egypt’s architectural monuments, such as the pyramids, are obviously very well known. Nubia developed as a distinct civilization further south on the Nile.
2. Norte Chico: From roughly 3000 to 1800 B.C.E. in a coastal area in central Peru, some twenty-five urban centers developed. While lacking rainfall, the area was watered by snowmelt-fed rivers from the Andes. These small cities engaged in specialized production, such as cotton nets, and exploited the rich fisheries. They did not develop farming based on grain but grew beans and fruit. Without protective walls or archeological signs of warfare, these cities seem to have been very peaceful. While they did not develop writing, they may have used knotted cords to record information. While isolated from the rest of the world, at some point maize from Central America arrived.
3. Indus Valley and Oxus: In South and Central Asia, two distinct cultures developed in the Indus Valley and in the Oxus Valley. The Indus saw the development of large and planned cities but did not produce lasting monumental architecture as in Mesopotamia and Egypt. Throughout the region there seems to have been a system of standardized weights and measures, as well as architectural style, but there is little indication of a political hierarchy or a centralized state. While environmental degradation led to the collapse of this civilization, some cultural patterns, such as religious rituals and yoga positions, remain to this day. Further north in the Oxus Valley, a culture emerged that blended both irrigated agriculture and stock raising with long-distance trade connections.
4. Xia, Shang, & Zhou: In China, a series of dynasties established cultural and political patterns such as the centralized state, the concept of the Mandate of Heaven, and a character-based writing system, that would last until the early twentieth century.
5. Olmec: Along the Gulf of Mexico, the Olmec civilization took shape around 1200 B.C.E. and set the cultural patterns for centuries in Mesoamerican, as seen by the survival of architectural styles, rituals, and ceremonial ball games.

6. Mesopotamia: ”Land Between the Two Rivers”
The Tigris & Euphrates River System
Mesopotamia: ”Land Between the Two Rivers”
Marsh Arabs, So. Iraq

7. The Mighty Nile River: “Longest River in the World”

8. Egypt: The “Gift of the Nile”
Nile Delta
Annual Nile Flooding
95% of the Egyptian people live on 5% of the land!

9. Cairo, Egypt: Most Populated City in the Middle East
17,000,000+ People!

10. The Fertile Crescent

11. Bodies of Water Amur River Sea of Japan Yellow Sea Huang-He River
Yangtze River
Xi River
Pacific Ocean
South China Sea

12. South American Chavin - Early Peruvian Civilzation

13. Bodies of Water (HW tonight)
Black Sea
Caspian Sea
Dardanelles Strait
Atlantic Ocean
Tigris River
Mediterranean Sea
Euphrates River
Jordan River
Suez Canal
Strait of Hormuz
Persian Gulf
Nile River
Gulf of Oman
Red Sea
Arabian Sea
Gulf of Aden
Indian Ocean

14. I. Something New: The Emergence of OTHER Civilizations The Phoenicians
Seafaring people along the eastern Mediterranean coast
Traded a number of goods with other people
Purple dye
Cedar lumber
glass
Established colonies throughout the Mediterranean
Developed an alphabet of 22 characters

15. Mostly nomadic herders
I. Something New: The Emergence of OTHER Civilizations The Hebrews (Israelites) 1200 B.C.E.
Mostly nomadic herders
Influenced both Mesopotamia and Egypt due to its geographic location near the eastern Mediterranean
Developed the first monotheistic religion
Ten Commandments
Forefathers, Abraham and Moses entered into covenants with God (Yahweh)

16. I. Something New: The Emergence of Civilizations
B. The Question of Origins
1. Roots in Agricultural Revolution
2. Growing population density, competition, and subordination
I. Something New: The Emergence of Civilizations
B. The Question of Origins
1. Roots in Agricultural Revolution: While agriculture was essential to the rise of these civilizations, not all agricultural societies developed into civilizations. There is much debate over the missing factor that lead to increased social complexity.
2. Growing population density, competition, and subordination: Increased population growth led to increased population density, which resulted in both an increased need for cooperation and organization on public works projects such as irrigation but also increased competition and conflict over resources. Strong and organized state systems provided an obvious advantage. Losers were incorporated into these growing societies as a subordinated class.

17. I. Something New: The Emergence of Civilizations
C. An Urban Revolution (Cities) *Urbanization*
1. Uruk(50,000), Mohenjo Daro and Harappa(40,000), & Teotihuacán(200,000)
2. Centers of politics, administration, culture, and economics
3. Impersonal and unequal
Something New: The Emergence of Civilizations
An Urban Revolution
1. Uruk, Mohenjo Daro, Harappa, & Teotihuacán: Examples of urban centers in Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley, and Mesoamerica that would have stunned individuals from non-urban societies.
2. Centers of politics, administration, culture, and economics: Main functions of cities.
3. Impersonal and unequal: Due to size and specialization of labor, cities would have been alienating because no one could know everyone in the city and social hierarchies would have created clear divisions among various social groups. This would be in sharp contrast to the relative equality of the world of the gather/hunters or villagers.

19. Akkadian bronze of Sargon
This stern-faced, life-size cast-bronze head, with its stylized ringleted beard and carefully arranged hair, shows Mesopotamian craftsmanship at its finest. It is thought to be either Sargon ( B.C.E.) or Naram-sin (ca B.C.E.). (Claus Hansmann)
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

20. Overview of Ur
Overview of Ur
This photograph gives a good idea of the size and complexity of Ur, one of the most powerful cities in Mesopotamia (present Iraq). In the lower right-hand corner stands the massive ziggurat of Umammu. (Georg Gerster/Photo Researchers, Inc.)
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

21. Saharan rock art
Saharan rock art
An unknown artist painted the dynamic scene of giraffes on a Saharan rock in what is now Libya in 5000 B.C.E. This was from a rainy era when hunters could view majestic herds of game. (Robert Estall Photography)
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

22. II. The Erosion of Equality
A. Hierarchies of Class
1. Inequalities of wealth, status, & power
2. Impact of urbanization
3. Elite privileges
4. Wealth producers
5. Slaves
Hierarchies of Gender
1. Sex versus gender
2. Patriarchal ideal versus reality
3. Farm labor, warfare, and property
II. The Erosion of Equality
A. Hierarchies of Class
1. Inequalities of wealth, status, & power: Class distinctions were based on access to wealth, social status, and the ability to control and use power.
2. Impact of urbanization: Urbanization decreased village egalitarianism and increased social inequality.
3. Elite privileges: Elites enjoyed privileges based on wealth and power but also enjoyed the legal, ceremonial, and symbolic trappings of status.
4. Wealth producers: The vast majority of humans were commoners who produced most of the surplus wealth. Commoners felt wealth was extracted by the elites, often producing resentment.
5. Slaves: Enslaved by war, crime, or debt, slaves were at the bottom of social hierarchies and they worked a variety of tasks.
B. Hierarchies of Gender
1. Sex versus gender: Sex refers to the biological distinctions between male and female in a given species but gender refers to the social construction of male and female identities.
2. Patriarchal ideal versus reality: Most cultures expressed a patriarchal ideal of male supremacy, but reality often reflected a much wider diversity of experiences. Women could often find ways to exercise agency outside of the ideal form.
3. Farm labor, warfare, and property: In trying to explain the origins of gender inequality, some scholars have looked to heavy farm labor while others have stressed a class of male warriors. Still others point toward concerns about property inheritance and lineage.

23. II. The Erosion of Equality
C. Patriarchy in Practice
1. Law and female sexuality
2. Respectable and non-respectable women
3. Decline of the goddesses
II. The Erosion of Equality
C. Patriarchy in Practice
1. Law and female sexuality: Because male law makers were so concerned with property and inheritance, early laws developed that governed women’s sexual behavior with harsh punishments for female transgressors.
2. Respectable and non-respectable women: Social ideals often focused on respectable women (who might be veiled as in Assyria), yet there were frequently classes of non-respectable women such as prostitutes and slaves who lived outside the controlling social norms.
3. Decline of the goddesses: In many early societies, male deities tied to wisdom and warfare began to replace female goddesses tied to agriculture.

24. III. The Rise of the State
A. Coercion and Consent
1. The need for organization
2. Monopoly on the legitimate use of violence
3. Religion and political power
B. Writing and Accounting
1. Literacy and social status
2. Tracking wealth and property
III. The Rise of the State
A. Coercion and Consent
1. The need for organization: Collective projects such as building irrigation systems and fighting other communities required someone with the authority to organize and control the effort. Thus, increased social complexity required authority.
2. Monopoly on the legitimate use of violence: The early state systems reserved the sole right to use physical force, leading to a decrease in interpersonal violence.
3. Religion and political power: In addition to force, belief in the spiritual powers of the rulers could be a source of authority.
B. Writing and Accounting
1. Literacy and social status: Access to literacy was often revered as an almost magical skill and gave the literate increased social power.
2. Tracking wealth and property: The earliest uses of writing were to track and account for taxes and the exchange of goods and labor. This gave more power to the bureaucracy.

25. III. The Rise of the State
The Cuneiform system was the first written language and used pictographs to represent entire words and concepts, and had many thousands of characters.
A Sumerian cuneiform tablet from the city of Lagash, B.C., from the Ur III period. This tablet contains calculations of the area of fields for the town of Lagash.

26. Cuneiform- evolved from the use of pictures to represent the sounds of words or parts of words.

27. III. The Rise of the State Technological Developments of ERVC’s
Farming tools-ploughs, hoes, rakes, wheel
Irrigation-dikes, canals, plumbing, sewage systems
Metallurgy-copper, bronze, iron
Pottery
Wheeled chariots
Architecture-pyramids, ziggurats, temples
Crafts, jewelry
Record keeping-writing, calendars, math
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

28. III. The Rise of the State
C. The Grandeur of Kings
1. Lifestyles of the rich and famous: Elites used their wealth as symbols of power. They and their families lived in luxurious palaces and enjoyed fancy clothes and jewelry.
2. Mandate of Heaven: Chinese (religious) ideology that the monarch is an intermediary between heaven and earth and has divine favor as long as he rules benevolently
a. Most ERVC’s had state authority that was connected to the divine
3. Death styles of the elite: Elaborate burial rituals marked the passing of important rulers. These could include being buried with material wealth and later the construction of elaborate tombs. Like palaces, they communicated the power of the elite to commoners.

29. 1. What is this statue, and where is it located?
This statue is one of seventeen large figures in the territory of the ancient Olmec civilization in Mesoamerica. At six feet in height and seven feet in width and with very specific facial features, they represent individual Olmec rulers.
2. What do you think was the purpose of these statues?
At this massive scale, these statues were not only supposed to impress the spectator with the size and powerful presence of the represented rulers; they also marked the rulers’ unmovable claims on the territory since these facial statues were too big to remove.
3. Consider the work involved in the creation of these statues. What does this tell us about the authority of these rulers?
Carving these massive heads out of rock must have required considerable work and skill. These rulers’ authority was considerable enough to compel the creation of these monuments and demand a very personal representation of power in their territories.
1. What is this statue, and where is it located?
This statue is one of seventeen large figures in the territory of the ancient Olmec civilization in Mesoamerica. At six feet in height and seven feet in width and with very specific facial features, they represent individual Olmec rulers.
2. What do you think was the purpose of these statues?
At this massive scale, these statues were not only supposed to impress the spectator with the size and powerful presence of the represented rulers; they also marked the rulers’ unmovable claims on the territory since these facial statues were too big to remove.
3. Consider the work involved in the creation of these statues. What does this tell us about the authority of these rulers?
Carving these massive heads out of rock must have required considerable work and skill. These rulers’ authority was considerable enough to compel the creation of these monuments and demand a very personal representation of power in their territories.
Olmec Head
The word Olmec comes from an Aztec term for the peoples living in southern Veracruz and western Tabasco, Mexico, between about 1500 and 300 B.C.E. All later Mesoamerican cultures derived from the Olmecs. Measuring 9 feet, 4 inches in height, and over 10 tons in weight, this colossal basalt head monument from San Lorenzo is a superb example of Olmec sculpture intended as architecture. The facial features have led some scholars to suggest African influences, but that hypothesis has not been proven. (Nathaniel Tarn/Photo Researchers, Inc.)

30. Code of Hammurabi (Pg (77) 95-97)
Is it just a code of laws?
What else could it tell us about ancient Mesopotamian economy and society?
Are there any comparisons to 21st century laws and our system of justice?
Law Code of Hammurabi
The principal collection of laws in ancient Mesopotamia was the code of Hammurabi, the Babylonian ruler. Unearthed by French archaeologists in , this stele contained the code, which Hammurabi claimed rested on the authority of the gods. (Hirmer Verlag Munich)

31. IV. Comparing Mesopotamia and Egypt
Class Activity

32. IV. Comparing Mesopotamia and Egypt
A. Environment and Culture
1. Different rivers: The unpredictable and dangerous Tigris and Euphrates stood in sharp contrast to the regular and predictable Nile. The Nile was also isolated from invaders by deserts, while Mesopotamia was a crossroads and thus saw many invasions.
2. Pessimistic Mesopotamia & Optimistic Egypt: This dangerous geography created a pessimistic culture and dim view of the after life in Mesopotamia. Egyptians, however, were an optimistic culture that expected the comfortable life cycles of Egypt to continue in the next life.
3. Soil health: The Mesopotamians experienced soil degradation due to overuse, but the Nile rejuvenated Egypt’s soil every flood season.
B. Cities and States
1. Violent and unstable city-states: The numerous Mesopotamian city-states engaged in rivalries and warfare. Cities rose and fell over the centuries.
2. Security, stability, and political longevity: In contrast, isolated and geographically coherent (thanks to the Nile’s gentle current running against the prevailing winds) Egypt enjoyed striking security and political longevity.

33. IV. Comparing Mesopotamia and Egypt
C. Interaction and Exchange (Diffusion)
1. Long-distance trade: Trade connected Egypt and Mesopotamia south to Nubia and Punt and east to the Indus Valley civilization.
2. Cultural influences: Religious and philosophical ideas spread with trade, as did social and military practices. The Phoenicians serve as an excellent example of this process.
3. Migrations, rivalries, and diplomacy: As people came into contact as states or in periods of migration, conflicts arose, resulting in both military engagements and systems of diplomacy.

34. V. Reflections: “Civilization”: What’s in a Word?
A. Debate on terminology: Many scholars do not use the term “civilization.”
B. Ambiguous views of civilization: Some critics do not believe that civilization was necessarily a good thing.
C. Are civilizations solid?: Some critics points out that there are no clear definitions of civilization or distinctions between civilized and non-civilized societies.

35. Comparison: First Civilizations shared all of the following features EXCEPT
a. empires of continental size.
b. class hierarchies.
c. monumental architecture.
d. sharp gender inequality.

36. Change: Which of the following was NOT a development that distinguished First Civilizations from even the most advanced chiefdoms of the Neolithic era?
a. States capable of greater oppression of subjects
b. Larger populations
c. Writing
d. Social stratification

37. Connection: Which of the following was NOT an outside influence that profoundly shaped the formation of the First Civilization in Egypt?
a. Pyramid building from the island of Crete
b. Ideas of “divine kingship” from central or eastern Sudan
c. Domesticated donkeys and cattle from the Sudan
d. The arrival of wheat and barely from Mesopotamia

38. Connection: Which of the following was not a reason rulers were allowed to maintain political power in early societies?
Writing systems
Monumental architecture
Religious beliefs
Charismatic personalities

39. Essay topic – CCOT READ: Ch 3 – Pgs. 108-115
Analyze and then Explain the continuities and changes from the Paleolithic Era to the First Civilizations to the second wave of civilization from 3500 B.C.E C.E.
CCOT Thesis Practice Template