Chapter 1
Early Civilization in West Asia, Africa, the Aegean and
the Western Hemisphere
Origin of Crops and Domestic Animals
The Ancient Near East
1. Protoneolithic culture developed independently in northern Syria and the Jordan Valley at Jericho near the Dead Sea in Palestine. Existing as
early as by 8000 B.C.E., Jericho covered several acres by 7000 B.C.E. Massive fortified walls 6 feet 6 inches at the base and at some places 20
feet high surrounded the city. Enclosed within the wall were the houses of the two thousand inhabitants. In the north on the central plateau of Asia
Minor above the Taurus Mountains was the Neolithic town of Çatal Hüyük which covered about thirty-two acres and housed about six thousand
inhabitants living in one story mud-brick houses built around inner courtyards. Reaching its zenith between 6700 and 5700 B.C.E., the community
apparently grew wealthy due to trade in obsidian that was used in jewelry, mirrors, or knives. With adequate rainfall and both plants and animals to
domesticate, agriculture apparently began in these plains rather than the river valleys.
2. The headwaters of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers are found in the mountains of Armenia (modern Turkey). The land between the two rivers is
a rolling plateau broken by limestone suitable for pasturage. Beyond the Tigris are wooded hills and fertile, well-watered valleys. The Euphrates
flows over a course of about 1675 miles while the Tigris winds for almost 1150 miles and joins the Euphrates about 120 miles from the Persian Gulf
at the Shatt al-Arab. Subject to rains, tributaries, and the melting snow in the Zagros Mountains between April and May, the two rivers irregularly
flood leaving deposits of rich alluvial silt in the swamps of the delta. Such conditions fostered the necessity for water management through irrigation
and drainage canals. This required both population concentrations (cities) and organizational and bureaucratic controls. One of the earliest cities
was Uruk near the Euphrates. It occupied an area of about a thousand acres and was surrounded by a six-mile long wall with defensive towers
every thirty to thirty-five feet. The housing consisted of both the flats of peasants and larger dwellings of civil and religious officials.
3. Overland trade routes in Mesopotamia usually followed the Euphrates because the banks of the Tigris are frequently steep and difficult. The
excellent location of Babylon allowed it to dominate the trade of Mesopotamia. Merchants followed the Tigris north to the lands of Assyria and
Armenia while the Euphrates led northwest to Syria, Palestine, and the Mediterranean.
4. The early residents of Mesopotamia, the Sumerians, arrived at the mouths of the Tigris and Euphrates around 4000 B.C.E. and by 3000 B.C.E.
had created a number of independent city-states, most notably Ur, Uruk, and Lagash. Vulnerable due to the ease of invasion from the north and
constant warring over land and water rights, Semites from Akkad conquered the area. By 1700 B.C.E., the Sumerian element was completely
submerged due to the union of Mesopotamia by the Amorite (Semite) Hammurabi (1792-1750 B.C.E.) of Babylon.
5. The Hittites, Indo-Europeans, arrived in Asia Minor about 2700 B.C.E. By about 1750 B.C.E. the Hittite Empire had extended itself to Babylon
where the dynasty of Hammurabi was extinguished. Hittite strength came from being the first in the Near East to master the technology of smelting
iron. This gave them both a military and commercial advantage. The empire disappeared about 1200 B.C.E. in part due to the attack of marauders
called the "Sea People."
Question:
1. What physical and geographical characteristics might affect development of organized society?
The Ancient Near East
 Mesopotamia
 Sumerian city-states
Ur, Uruk, Lagash
 Agriculture
 Artisans
Ziggurats
Ensi
Cuneiform
Religion
 Akkadian Empire.
Sargon
 Amorites (Old Babylonians)
Code of Hammurabi
 Assyrian Empire
 Chaldean Empire
Ancient Egypt and the Nile
1. The Nile River flows north almost 4200 miles from its southernmost source in modern-day Burundi in central Africa. In ancient times, the arable
portion of the Nile Valley extended about 800 miles upriver from the mouth. The river floods every spring from about June to the end of October over
a narrow strip of land that is never more than thirteen miles wide. Catch basins built by the Egyptians trapped water over the soil that allowed the salt
to settle. Because the color of the soil left by the flooding Nile is black, Egyptians called their country Kemet which means black.
2. At the Nile Delta about one hundred miles from the Mediterranean Sea, the river splits into a number of branches that flow to the sea. This
territory, north of Memphis, is called Lower Egypt while the land upstream to the south along a narrow ten to twenty mile wide valley, is referred to
as Upper Egypt. Like the delta of the Tigris and Euphrates, engineering works were required to make full use of the waters. Unlike the Tigris and
Euphrates that required large population centers to help control the unpredictable rivers, massive intervention was not needed. For this reason, the
population remained rural.
3. Granite and sandstone for building were mined near the First Cataract. Minerals came from the hills and deserts to the east. Nevertheless, Egypt
lacked copper and timber that were acquired from Sinai and Palestine. The Nile Delta was the source of salt for Egypt
4. The Nile was reflected in the Egyptian creation myth which declared that before creation there was a watery void and then, just as the Nile recedes
leaving little hillocks of mud, the primeval watery void subsided leaving an island hillock upon which sat the creator-god Atum who brought into
existence all other beings and phenomena of the universe. (John A. Wilson, The Culture of Ancient Egypt, p. 59)
5. For administrative purposes, the Old Kingdom was divided into twenty-two provinces in Upper Egypt and twenty in Lower. After 2000 B.C.E.,
most pharaohs made Thebes their capital. The temples to Amon and tombs of the pharaohs and their queens were built into cliffs at nearby Luxor.
6. South of the delta is Memphis, the capital of the Old Kingdom (2700-2200 B.C.E.). North of the capital is Djoser's Pyramid, the first pyramid to be
built, and Giza where the Great Pyramid and the Sphinx are located. These pyramids served as burial places for the pharaohs of the Old Kingdom.
The largest of the pyramids is Khufu (Cheops) dating from about 2540 B.C.E. Standing 481 feet high and 756 feet on each side, it covers thirteen
acres and is composed of 2.3 million stone blocks averaging 2.5 tons each. The pyramid was covered with limestone blocks (subsequently removed
for building Cairo). The four sides coincided closely to the four points of the compass.
7. During a religious struggle in which the worship of Aton was introduced and the temples of rival gods were closed, Amenhotep IV or Akhnaton
(1367-1350 B.C.E.) sought to lessen the power of the priesthood of Amon-Re at the capital of Thebes by moving the center of government two
hundred miles north to Akhetaton (near modern Tell-el-Amarna) where an immense temple to Aton was built.
Questions:
1. What impact did the Nile have upon Egyptian civilization?
2. Describe how the physical environment of Mesopotamia and Egypt differed and the manner in which this might contribute to the emergence of
different civilizations.
Ancient Egypt and the Nile
 African Civilization
 Egyptian Civilization
Upper and Lower Egypt united, 3000 B.C.E.
Old Kingdom, 2700-2200 B.C.E.
 Pharaoh
 Religion
 Pyramids
Middle Kingdom, 2050-1750 B.C.E.
Hieroglyphs
Hyksos, 1750-1550
 Horse-drawn chariots
 New Kingdom, 1550-1150 B.C.E.
Amenhotep IV (Akhnaton), 1369-1353 B.C.E.
 The Kushite Kingdom
Meroë
 Iron production
The Pyramid at Gizeh
The Temple of Queen Hatesheput in the Valley of King
Peoples and Cultures of Central and Latin America
1. The first wave of immigrants to reach South America were primitive hunters and gatherers. The second wave brought big game hunters. Lush
vegetation that supported game began to decrease with the last glacial retreat around 9000 B.C.E. To supplement the decline of animals for food,
the people turned to agriculture. Its beginning was apparently in the highlands of Middle America, the Andean altiplano, and on the desert coast of
Peru. Here soil was rich and was often put under cultivation leading to a larger population. Irrigation projects required cooperation and regulation
that gave rise to centralized governments that eventually extended their authority over large areas.
2. The tribal level of organization was found in difficult environments where production was limited such as dense forests, plains, or the extremely
wet, dry, or frigid areas. These were hunting and gathering non-sedentary people. Chiefdoms involved intensive agriculture supporting a dense
population living in large villages ruled by chiefs. State organization required intense agriculture and maintained a large territory and commerce
between regions. Increased agricultural demands were accomplished by merging political and religious authority into one individual.
3. True cities developed and became centers of population, administration, and religion.
Questions:
1. How did agriculture develop and what were the consequences?
2. What were the various forms of social organization?
Peoples and Cultures of Central and Latin America
 Amerindian Civilization
 Chavin culture, 900-200 B.C.E.
 Olmec Culture, 1400-500 B.C.E.
Traders, farmers
Spread of Olmec culture
La Venta
 Temples
 Heads
Classical Greece
 Early Aegean Civilization
 Minoan Civilization, 2000-1450 B.C.E.
Knossos, Crete
Writing and trade
 Indo -Europeans
Origins north of the Black Sea
Linguistic roots
Patriarchal society
Hittites, 1600-1200 B.C.E.
 Mycenaeans, 1600-1200 B.C.E.
Indo-European
Trojan War
Dorians
 The Greek Dark Age, c. 1100-c. 750 B.C.E
The Assyrian and Persian Empires
1. The Armenian highlands and the plains of Babylon bound the lands of ancient Assyria on the north and south. In the east, the Zagros Mountains
lying just beyond the Tigris River hemmed in Assyria. These geographical roadblocks kept the Assyrians from ever permanently expanding north
and east. To the west, however, the absence of natural boundaries and strong powers after the demise of the Hittite Empire permitted Assyrian
expansion to the Mediterranean.
2. Mesopotamia and the surrounding lands were satisfactorily endowed but those of Assyria were not. Although iron deposits were present, the
Assyrians had to seek other mineral resources from Armenia, Persia, central Asia Minor, the Danube region, and Egypt. Regular rainfall meant no
large irrigation works were needed and as a result Assyria became a land of farming villages with few significant cities. Trade was generally carried
out by foreigners. The aggressive nature of the Assyrians may have been due to threats from their war-like neighbors to the north and east and from
Babylon to the south. These threats prompted political cohesion and militarism.
3. By 700 B.C.E., Assyria controlled Mesopotamia, parts of the Iranian plateau, parts of Anatolia, Syria, Palestine, and Egypt down to Thebes. The
Assyrian army used a variety of tactics including guerrilla and siege warfare as well as terror, especially laying waste the land of enemies by destroying
dams, burning crops, cutting down trees, obliterating towns, and committing atrocities against the people. Prisoners were often deported from their
lands to Assyria where they repopulated areas decimated by warfare. Over the course of three centuries some four to five million people were
deported to Assyria resulting in a very racially and linguistically mixed people.
4. Babylonia became wealthy due to its location on the trade routes crossing Mesopotamia, a strong agriculture, and a developed textile and metals
industry. An eight-mile wall, encircled by a moat filled from the Euphrates surrounded the capital of Babylon. The city was adorned with temples and
palaces including the Hanging Garden, which consisted of terraces and an artificial mountain upon which was a lush garden irrigated by water piped to
the top.
5. The original homeland of the Persians was Persis in the southwestern corner of modern Iran. The western coast along the Persian Gulf is narrow
and harborless. Hemming in this hot arid region to the east are abrupt mountains rising to six thousand feet. Beyond the mountains is a high plateau
broken by valleys, which are fertile and blessed with adequate rainfall. Here in a temperate climate a considerable population could be supported.
Nevertheless, this was not the basis for an empire since there was no outlet to the sea and the only routes west were through the mountain roads to
Susa and Babylon. The harshness of Persis is characteristic of all of Persia. High mountains that isolate the interior from the sea surround a vast
central plateau, which extends from the Tigris-Euphrates valley in the west to the Indus valley in the east. On this broad plain lay scattered oases and
two immense salt deserts (Dasht-i-Lut and Dasht-i-Kavir covering some 38,000 square miles) which physically form a barrier between the east and
west. The Dasht-i-Kavir southeast of the Caspian Sea is mostly covered with salt instead of sand and is devoid of water or plant life. Facing the
impossible desert, nomads migrating into Persia from central Asia and the steppes of Russia would turn east to India or west to Mesopotamia.
6. Darius (521-486 B.C.E.), after a year of civil war, began strengthening the empire. He built a canal linking the Red Sea and the Mediterranean by
way of the Nile, campaigned into western India extending Persian territory to the Indus River, and conquered Thrace making the Macedonian king a
vassal. In 499 B.C.E., the Ionian Greek city states revolted and after receiving aid from mainland Greeks, invaded Lydia and burned the provincial
capital of Sardis. The rebels were punished and Darius invaded the Greek mainland culminating in his defeat at the Marathon in 490 B.C.E.
The Assyrian and Persian Empires
Question:
1. How did the geography of the Near East impact the character of the Assyrians?
 Ancient Persian Civilization
 Rise of the Persian Empire
Indo-European
Cyrus (559-530 B.C.E.)
Darius I 522-486 B.C.E.)
Royal Road
Persian Culture and Religion
Zoroastrianism