Topic 3
Rise of Civilizations
Objectives
Knowledge
To explore how technological changes, changes of settlement locations, and
changes of government bring about the rise of “civilization”
Skills
1. To understand and use sources
2. To infer and analyse sources
Attitude
To appreciate the wisdom of people in ancient times
Teaching Flow
1
2
Items
Format
Teaching Objectives
Content
Question to
ponder
Task 1
Questioning and
introduction
Map, timeline and
table filling
To let students have a
clear learning focus
To help students form
the concept of
“civilization”
How do civilizations
emerge?
Characteristics of the four
centres of civilization in
ancient times.
To enable students to
know the relationship
between the work of
archaeologists and
historical study
To enable student to
understand the
civilizations of the
Fertile Crescent and of
River Nile
Methods for dating
archaeological remains by
archaeologists
3
To know
more
Brief introduction
4
Task 2
Table filling and
time line
5
Task 3
Mind map
6
Conclusion
Summary chart
To assess whether
students understand
the characteristics of
“civilization”
Consolidation
Relationship between
“civilization” and
technological changes,
changes of settlement
locations and change of
government
Factor for the rise of
“civilization” and its
characteristics
Summary of the major
issues discussed in this
topic
1
Question to ponder
How did civilizations emerge?
Task 1 Looking for traces of “civilizations” of the ancient times
Source A
Below shows information about the four major ancient civilizations:
2
Source：History, Curriculum Development Institute, Education Bureau
1. Fertile Crescent Civilization:
about 4000 BC
2. Nile River Civilization:
about 3500 BC
3. Indus Valley Civilization:
about 3000 BC
4. Yellow River Civilization:
about 1760 BC
Topic 3
Rise of Civilizations
With reference to Source A, mark the names of the earliest human civilizations on the time
line below, and add the era:
a
b
c
d
Suggested answers:
a
Beginning of Fertile Crescent Civilization (about 4000 BC)
b
Beginning of Nile River Civilization (about 3500 BC)
c
Beginning of Indus Valley Civilization (about 3000 BC)
d
Beginning of Yellow River Civilization (about 1760 BC)
To know more
3
In general, there are two methods for dating archaeological remains.
The first method is carbon-dating. Carbon has always been found in the air and supports
life (both animals and plants). Most carbon atoms are stable (not changing over time), but
a tiny portion (0.0000000001 percent), known as Carbon 14, is radio-active. That is to say,
this carbon atom decays over time: every 5730 years, it loses half its mass. By examining
the proportion of carbon 14 in a sample of living organism (wood or bone) using very fine
equipment, the archaeologist can work out the approximate age at which it died.
The other method is to record very carefully the layers in which material objects are found
and to compare layers of objects in different locations. If earth has not been disturbed, the
older objects are found in the lower layers. So, by noting where the layers are, and what
objects have been found in each, and comparing the styles of these objects, the
archaeologist is able to reconstruct the history of how these objects are transformed over
time. That record can be used as a time line for measuring changes in different locations.
Task 2: Exploring the Fertile Crescent Civilization (Fertile Crescent is also
known as Mesopotamia) and the Nile River Civilization
Uruk of nowadays Iran is one of the oldest cities discovered by archaeologists. Consider the
following concluding article about archaeological findings in Uruk so as to understand how
civilizations emerge.
Source B
For thousands of years, southern Mesopotamia (ancient Iraq) was home to hunters, fishers,
and farmers, exploiting fertile soil, rivers, and abundant animals. By around 3200 BC, the
largest settlement in southern Mesopotamia, if not the world, was Uruk.
Uruk was a true city dominated by monumental mud-brick buildings decorated with
mosaics of painted clay cones embedded in the walls, and extraordinary works of art.
Large-scale sculpture in the round and relief carving appeared for the first time, together
with metal casting. Simple pictographs were drawn on clay tablets to record the
management of goods and the allocation of workers’ rations. These pictographs are the
precursors of later cuneiform writing.
Cities such as Uruk continued to expand. During the Early Dynastic period (2900–2350
BC), when city-states dominated Mesopotamia, the city rulers gradually grew in importance
and increasingly sought luxury materials to express their power. These goods, often from
abroad, were acquired either by trade or conquest.
4
Source: Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art. “Uruk: The First City”. In Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum
of Art, 2000- .http://www.metmuseum./org/toah/hd/uruk/hd_uruk.htm
1. Identify from Source A the main characteristics of the Fertile Crescent Civilization
Description
Main Characteristics of the
Evidence
Categories
Fertile Crescent Civilization
Settlement
Near rivers
Fertile land, river, and adequate
animals
Communication Writing (and its function)
Hieroglyph
Technology
Metal
There were carved objects
made of metallic casted pieces.
Governance
Government
Dynasties, rulers of the cities or
expedition
2. Which economic activity do you think was the most important in enabling the people of
Uruk to survive, hunting, fishing, or agriculture? Explain your answer with reference to
Source B.
Suggested answer:
According to Source B, the words “exploiting fertile soil, rivers” suggest that the most
important activity of people at ancient times was agriculture. It was because fertile land and
abundant water supply favoured the sustainable development of agriculture.
Topic 3
Rise of Civilizations
3. Study the items below that were discovered in Egypt. They can be dated back to 3000 B.C.,
a time before the pyramids were built.
Source C
Source D
Top
Top
Middle
Middle
Bottom
Bottom
5
Source:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:NarmerPalette_ROM.jpg.
a. Telling a story together:
Form into groups to describe the pictures in Sources C and D. Explain what the Sources
reflect.
Suggested Answers:
Top part of
the palette
Source C
Source D
Bull’s head
Bull’s head
ruler: a man in a
procession, while
10 headless
corpses are lying
on one side.
Hints from Teacher / Background
Information
Symbolized the king’s power.
Middle part
of the
palette
Source C
Source D
A man is
grasping another
man’s hat.
Who is this
man?
Crown / Ruler
Strange
appearance;
animals with their
necks entwined
together
What is the
animal to the
top-right part of
the man?
Eagle / Bird
Hints from Teacher / Background
Information
Symbolizes: The crown in Source C
belonged to upper Egypt (i.e. south
part), while the crown in Source D
belonged to lower Egypt. Therefore,
Source C shows that the king of upper
Egypt conquered some enemies, and
Source D shows that he was in a
triumphant procession after becoming
the king of lower Egypt.
The bird on the left diagram is called
Horus and it represents the king.
In Source D, the strange looking
animals with their necks entwine
probably represent the joining of upper
and lower Egypt.
What is below
the animal?
Papyrus plants
The papyrus plants show that the war
occurred in the northern part of the Nile
River.
6
Bottom part There are two
of the
men running
palette
A bull is
trampling
enemies and
taking down a
city wall.
What
activity is
going on as
reflected?
A scene of victory War location:
Northern part of the Nile River
A war scene
b. Find from Sources C and D the main characteristics of the ancient Egyptian
civilization.
Teaching Tips
As Task 2 already shows the main characteristics of a civilization,
the teacher may decide, based on the students’ ability, whether to
provide the table below for their group discussion.
Topic 3
Rise of Civilizations
Suggested answers:
Main Characteristics of
the ancient Nile River Evidence
Civilization
Settlement
Near a river
The Nile River
City
A city has been set up. You can see
from the left picture the enemies are
running away; on the right picture there
are bulls attacking the wall of the city.
Communication Writing
There were already traces of writing,
because on the right picture there is a
mark between the heads of the bulls on
the top of the palette. Historians of
Egyptian history tell us that the mark
there have got the king’s name.
Technology
Metal
The objects shown in Source C and
Source D were made of metal.
Description
Category
Task 3: What are the characteristics of “civilization”?
After completing the above task, what do you think are the characteristics of “civilization”?
Fill in the mind map below.
7
？
Settlement
along river
bank /
valley
？
Characteristics
of
“civilizations”
？
？
？
Suggested answers:
Writing already invented/Religion already developed/
Metal tools already used / Government already established/City already formed/Other
reasonable answers
Conclusion
“Civilization” is one of those words which are impossible to define. Historians use it to
indicate the beginning of writing, cities, government and the use of tools. The rise of
civilization is a very long process; it indicates the gradual development of large numbers
of people living together, using their own inventions to control their surroundings.
The area around Iran and Iraq, known to historians as Mesopotamia, has yielded records
of many ancient cities. Other parts of the world where cities appeared by 2000 BC
include: Egypt, the Indus Valley (in India), and North China.
At about 3,000 BC, cities, writing, governments and, in some places, the use of bronze
began to appear in some parts of the world. They created a new environment for human
beings living together. From that time on, we begin to have written records of history.
8
Summary Chart
1. Technological changes: e.g. use of bronze
2. Change of settlement location: e.g. living in cities.
3. Change of government: e.g. led by rulers.
Contributed to
the rise of
civilizations.