World History Unit One:
the
start of Civilization
Characteristics of Early Civilization
1.
Developed Cities
Cities developed as centers of trade for a region.
Characteristics of Early Civilization
2. Organized Government –
As cities grew, the needs of the
people also grew and required
leadership to rule and oversee
meeting those needs. These needs
included projects that required
planning and organization, such as
building irrigation systems.
Governments were also formed to
create laws and a justice system,
gather taxes, and organize defense.
Characteristics of Early Civilization
3. Formalized
Religion
Government and religious institutions were often
closely connected in early civilizations. Religious
leaders were powerful because they lead
important ceremonies and interpreted the will of
the gods.
Characteristics of Early Civilization
4. Specialization of Labor
As cities grew, they
became more complex
and a need for more
specialized workers
grew. Examples of
specialized laborers
included tax collectors,
engineers, artisans
(skilled craftspeople),
merchants, and traders.
Characteristics of Early Civilization
5. Social Classes
New jobs
enabled
social
classes to
develop
based on
people’s
occupations,
wealth, and
influence
Characteristics of Early Civilization
6. Record Keeping and Writing
Writing systems grew from a need for permanent record
keeping (i.e. tax records). Writing systems enabled early
civilizations to create a written record of their society.
Characteristics of Early Civilization
7. The Arts and
Architecture
Styles and
techniques
reflected wealth
and power of
each civilization’s
culture and
brought prestige
to rulers
ANCIENT
CIVILIZATIONS IN
MESOPOTAMIA AND
ALONG THE NILE
The Fertile Crescent is also
called the Cradle of Civilization
This is because many of the world’s first civilizations developed
between the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf.
Geographic factors contributing
to the rise of the civilizations of
the Fertile Crescent
• Fresh Water Source
– Provides rich soil for
farming
– Drinking Water
– Annual floods
replenish soil
• Temperate Climate
– Crop growing season
adequate
– Comfortable to live
year round
•Natural Resources including clay allow for the making of
writing tablets, pots, and tools
Civilizations of Mesopotamia
• Mesopotamia =
“Land between the
Rivers”
–Located between the
Tigris and Euphrates
Rivers
–A rich alluvial plain
and moderate climate
•Represents the
eastern half of the
Fertile Crescent
I. Geography of the Fertile Crescent
A. Environmental Challenges (4500-3500BCE)
1. Flooding
2. No natural barriers (protection)
3. Limited natural resources (present day Iraq)
B.
Creating Solutions
1. irrigation
2. defensive fortifications
3. trade
The Sumerians
3500 BCE – 2350 BCE
Sumer
Technological Contributions of
the Sumerians
• Cuneiform Writing
– Alphabet had
approximately550
characters
– Results: first written
record of history!
• System of Numbers
Cuneiform Tablet
– Based on the number
60, we use this system
to keep time
Technological Contributions of
the Sumerians
Drawing of a Ziggurat
• Architecture
– First pyramids called
ziggurats
– Religious structures
Picture of a Ziggurat at Ur
Technological Contributions of
the Sumerians
•
•
•
•
Arch
Wheel and axle
Sail
Plow
The Spread of Cities
1. Surplus crops and goods expanded trade
a. Cultural Diffusion —new ideas or products spreading
from one culture to another
Cultural Life of the Sumerians
 Warlike
 search for power
and prestige
between city-states
First Empire
Builders
War Scene from the Standard of Ur
Ca. 2700 BC
Sargon of Akkad
(2350 BCE)
Started the first
empire
Cultural Life of the Sumerians
• Polytheistic Religion
– many gods centered
on the natural world
and the leaders
• Three Social Classes
– Nobles and Priests
– Commoners
– Slaves
Sculpture of a Sumerian
The Babylonians
1900 BCE – 1700 BCE
The Babylonians
King Hammurabi wrote the first
legal code, known as
Hammurabi’s Code
– 282 written laws
– Belief in justice shown
in “eye for an eye”
– Uniform – but different
punishments for different
classes
-----government has
responsibility for what
occurs in its society
-Rigid class system
Remains of
Hammurabi’s Code
The Egyptians
3100 BCE to 1640
BC E
Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt
A.
1. The
Gift of the Nile
1. Nile- 4100 miles long
a. Abrupt line between fertile and desert
b. Cyclical- flood, plant, harvest, etc.
c. Promoted trade
II. Egypt Unites into a Kingdom
Menes-3100BC
1. United Upper and Lower Kingdoms
2. Memphis-capital
a. first dynasty (of 31 spanning 2600 years)
A. Pharaohs Rule as gods
Pharaohs--god-like rulers
1. controlled government and army
a. Theocracy-type of government in which
the ruler is a divine figure
2. believed pharaohs controlled the Nile, crops, etc.
III. Egyptian Culture
A. Religion and Life
1. Polytheistic
a. 2000 gods and goddesses
i. Ra (Sun god), Isis (represented
mother and wife)
b. believed in afterlife, Osiris (god of the dead)
c. mummification-- embalming and drying the
corpse to prevent it from decaying
ii. Book of the Dead
C. Egyptian Writing
"No limit may be set to art, neither is there any craftsman
that is fully master of his craft“
1. Hieroglyphics (sacred carving)
a. pictographs then alphabet
b. papyrus (tall stalks of reeds that grew in marshy delta)
2. Rosetta Stone
Practice using hieroglyphics by writing your name and a phrase using the key
below.
Rosetta Stone
Questions to Consider
• How important were geographic factors to
the development of early civilization?
• What were the most important
advancements to World History?