Chapters 1-4
Unit I
Lesson 2:
Cradles
of
Civilization of
Ancient Times
Sumer
Located:
• b/t the Tigris & Euphrates Rivers in
Mesopotamia (“land b/t the rivers”),
providing fertile soil to grow crops to
sustain life with a surplus of food from
irrigation
• within the Fertile Crescent region
within the Middle East in what is now
Iraq
Major accomplishments:
• est. Babylon as 1st center of trade (city)
• built ziggurats – tier-shaped temples;
intro. plow and the wheel; 1st to use (blend of tin & copper)
bronze
• hierarchy of society from kings & priests to scribes
(professional writers) to merchants & artisans to farmers
•
1st to intro. any form of written language called
cuneiform
•
used stylus to mark on wet clay tablets
•
deciphered (translated) by discovery of the Behistun
Rock
The size of the whole monument
is larger than half a football field;
100 feet high, 150 feet wide. One
example of the quality of
workmanship that went into the
monument is the preparation of
the surfaces. Where loose rocks
and cracks were found, hot lead
was added as a stabilizer or
filler…at 300 plus feet!
Engraved on a cliff ledge 345 feet about the ground, the Behistun
Inscription stands as a monumental feat of the ancient world.
Located at the foot of the Zagros Mountains in western Iran near
the modern town of Bisitun, the Behistun Rock was commissioned
by King Darius I of Persia (522-486 B.C.).
Government:
(kind of rule with complete power):
• autocratic
(a gov’t ruled by a religious leader):
• theocratic
(center of trade & surrounding area):
• ruled city-states
• Babylonian king, Hammurabi
• intro. world’s 1st written law code
• harsh, “eye for an eye…”
Religion:
polytheistic
King Hammurabi’s court of law
EGYPT
Nile R.
Located:
• along the Nile River in N.E. Africa, providing fertile soil to
grow crops to sustain life with a surplus of food from irrigation
projects
• also known as “Kemet” meaning “Black Earth or Black Soil;”
Herodotus, Greek historian and the father of history, called
Egypt the “gift of the Nile”
Major accomplishments:
• 1st capital [and center of trade)
called Memphis by 1st pharaoh,
Menes,
when he united Upper Egypt and
Lower Egypt
• built pyramids
• became the best known doctors
around the
Mediterranean Sea area
•
hieroglyphics on papyrus [written] by scribes
• deciphered (translated) by discovery of the Rosetta
Stone found in 18th century (A.D. 1700s)
by a soldier serving under the leadership of French
Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte while on campaign in Egypt
• chariots ; canals; embalming (mummification);
facial make-up
Government:
• Pharaohs as autocrats / theocrats ruling with the
power of
(series of rulers from the same family)
• dynasties
Religion: polytheistic
INDIA
Indus R.
Located:
• along Indus River in South Asia, providing fertile soil to grow
crops to sustain life with a surplus of food
• major centers of trade: Harappa (Pakistan) & Mohenjo-Daro
(near Arabian Sea) with cities built on a grid pattern
The Great Bath
Major Accomplishments:
• underground sewer system
• use of bronze, copper, silver, shell, ivory
• pictograms by scribes; later Sanskrit as cultural
form of writing
Government:
• kings ruling
• dynasties as autocrats / theocrats
Gupta Dynasty as example:
• gave India its (time period of
greatest achievement)
• Golden Age
• earliest form of Arabic numerals
as we use today
• vaccinations against diseases
such as smallpox
• most families patriarchal (led by
the eldest male);
• family was most basic unit in
society
•
Religion: polytheistic
CHINA
Located:
• along Huang He River (the Yellow
River or the “River of Great Sorrow”),
providing fertile soil more times than not
to grow crops to sustain life with surplus
food if loess did not cause catastrophic
flooding
• China is considered the world’s oldest
continuous civilization
Major Accomplishments:
• Shang dynasty was the 1st to shape the Chinese
civilization
• several centers of trade, but for centuries, each preferred
to remain
isolated from outside influences (outsiders may change
Chinese culture)
• metal-casting ; jade; silk; kaolin (a fine white clay)
• seafarers, merchants, artisans
• scribes wrote characters in vertical columns;
• later intro. elegant calligraphy using brush &
ink
Government:
•
kings as autocrats / theocrats ruling dynasties
• by order of the “Mandate of Heaven”: from old dynasty’s
cycle of
disaster to new dynasty’s cycle of
prosperity, which eventually becomes the old dynasty with
problems, leading to a new dynasty
Religion:
• polytheistic,
honoring
spirits of their
ancestors
THE
AMERICAS
Location:
• Paleolithic groups of Asian people
first crossed a land bridge
connecting Asia and Alaska, now
called the Bering Strait, following
migrating animal herds in search of
food.
• These early Americans spread
southward, settling along lakes and
rivers, where they learned to farm
maize (corn) and beans, tomatoes
and squash to sustain life with a
surplus of food.
Major Accomplishments:
• The Olmecs as the oldest American
civilization:
• ceremonial centers with pyramid-shaped
temples
• calendar; carved inscriptions by scribes;
intricately carved
jade; figurines & jewelry
Some as much as 9 ft. tall; each carved from a single chunk of volcanic basalt; total
of 17 colossal heads have been unearthed so far
• utilized rubber
for ball games
[the Olmecs: the
“Rubber People”]
• domesticated animals like llama for their
wool
• traders
• influenced the Mayas & the Aztecs
Government:
• priestly leadership with polytheistic
religious devotion