Chapter 1: Early Humans and the First Civilization
The First Humans
 Prehistory= before written records
 Rely on conjecture
 Hominids- humanlike creatures…3 to 4 million years
ago…Africa…Australopithecines “southern apemen”
o Used stone tools
 Homo habilis…Homo erectus
The Emergence of Homo sapiens
 250,000 years ago…Homo sapiens “wise human being”
 Homo sapiens sapiens…Africa between 200,000 and 150,000 years ago
 Out of Africa around 70,000 years ago
 Neanderthals…200,000 and 30,000 BCE…stone tools, buried dead…replaced
by Homo sapiens
The Spread of Humans: Out of Africa or Multiregional?
 different theories…multiregional?
 Archaeological evidence still supports Africa as earliest place of human
habitation
 By 10,000BCE; members of Homo sapiens sapiens could be found throughout
the world.
The Hunter-Gatherers (Foragers) of the Paleolithic Age
 Paleolithic= Old Stone Age
 Perhaps lived in small bands of 20-30 individuals
 Nomadic
 Tools became more refined: harpoons and fish-hooks
 Men and Women participated in gathering food
 Hypothesized that Paleolithic Age was more egalitarian than settled societies
 Systematic use of fire…500,000years ago…source of light, heat, protection,
cooking
 Paleolithic Cave Art
The Neolithic Revolution, 10,000 to 4000 BCE
 End of last Ice Age around 10,000BCE
 Neolithic Age- “New Stone Age”
A Revolution in Agriculture
 Biggest change was the transition from hunting-foraging to farming
 Planting of grains/ vegetables…domestication of animals
 Settled societies…food surplus…population increase…specialization of
labor…rise of cities
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More gradual: Mesolithic Age “Middle Stone Age” 10,000-7,000BCE
Systematic agriculture developed independently in different areas of the
world between 8000 to 5000 BCE
Middle East/ Fertile Crescent- cultivation of wheat and barley
China- rice/ millet/ pigs
Mesoamerica: beans, squash, maize
Neolithic Farming Villages
 growing of crops led to relatively permanent settlements
 Oldest in Middle East: Jericho: Canaan near Dead Sea by 8000BCE
 Catal Huyuk, modern Turkey, 32 acres, 6,000 inhabitants…few streets, holes
in rooftops…gridlike pattern…food surplus led to specialization of
labor…religious shrines
 Venus figurines/ “Earth Mothers”- religious? Fertility?
Consequences of the Neolithic Revolution
 houses built for protection, and storehouses
 TRADE/ interdependence
 Specialization of Labor
 Obsidian- volcanic glass
Hunting and
Foraging
Rise of
Craftspeople
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Settled
Improved
Agriculture
Tools
Interdependence/ Rise of Cities
Trade
Food Surplus
Social
Stratification
Specialization
of Labor
Economic
Stratification
Shift in gender roles…men assumed primary responsibility for working in the
fields and herding animals…women cared for home and children
Patriarchy: society dominated by men
Enduring patterns: fixed dwellings, domesticated animals, regular farming,
division of labor, men holding power…Neolithic Revolution as a turning point
in human history
Between 4000 to 3000BCE: development of writing for record keeping
Metal-casting
Copper was first metal used for producing tools, after 4000BCE- alloy of
bronze (copper and tin) was created, and was more durable than copper
Bronze Age: 3000BCE to 1200BCE….then Iron Age
As wealth increased…cities needed protection…walled cities
The Emergence of Civilization
 Focus Question: What are the characteristics of civilization, and what are
some explanations for why early civilizations emerged?
 Civilization= complex culture in which large numbers of people share a
variety of common elements
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1. An urban focus…cities centers for political, economic, social, cultural, and
religious development
2. New Political and Military Structures…organized government bureaucracy
and armies
3. New social structure based on economic power…kings and upper class of
priests, political leaders, and warriors dominated…free common
people…very bottom of social hierarch= class of slaves
4. The development of more complexity in a material sense…agricultural
surplus led to new occupations…demand for luxury items…organized trade
grew substantially
5. A distinct religious structure…gods were deemed crucial to community’s
success…professional priestly class
6. The development of writing…kings, priests, merchants, and artisans used
writing to keep records (writing vs. record keeping)
7. New and significant artistic and intellectual activity…monumental
architectural structures
Early Civilizations Around the World
 Between 3000 and 1500BCE, the valleys of the Indus River in India
supported a flourishing civilization…important cities= Harappa and
Mohenjo-Daro
 Written records have yet to be deciphered
 Economy based on agriculture and trade with Mesopotamia
 Shang Dynasty, along Yellow River in Chinaa
 Also early civilizations: Central Asia (Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan)…Peru in
Supe River Valley…Chavin
Causes of Civilization
 Not really sure…material? Religious?
Civilization in Mesopotamia
 Greek for “Between the Rivers”
 Needed large scale irrigation
 Tigris and Euphrates flooded unpredictably
The City-States of Ancient Mesopotamia
 Sumerians…origins unclear…by 3000 BCE, had established independent citystates of Ur, Uruk, Umma, Eridu
Sumerian Cities
 cities were surrounded by walls
 used sun-dried mud bricks
 Ziggurat= stepped tower/ temple
 Priestly class very important
 Theocracy: government by divine authority
Kingship
* Sumerians viewed kingship as divine in origin- agents of the gods
Economy and Society
 primarily agricultural
 commerce and industry also important
 WHEEL around 3000BCE, led to carts
 Social classes: elites, dependent commoners, free commoners, slaves
Empires in Ancient Mesopotamia
 A lot of conflict and warfare
 “smoke lies on our city like a shroud”
Sargon’s Empire
 Akkadians to the north
 2340 BCE: Sargon, leader of the Akkadians, overran the Sumerian city-states
and established a dynastic empire
o used former rulers as governors
o Akkadian rule ended by 2100BCE
 1792BCE: Hammurabi took control (Amorites/ Old Baylonians)
Hammurabi’s Empire
 Hammurabi: 1792-1750BCE
 Well-disciplined army of footsoldiers
 Established a capital at Babylon
 Strong interest in state affairs
The Code of Hammurabi: Society in Mesopotamia
 best known for law code of 282 laws
 “eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth”
 largest category of laws focused on marriage and the family
 punishments depended on status of those involved
The Culture of Mesopotamia
 Spiritual worldview was of fundamental importance to Mesopotamian
culture
 Importance of priestly class
The Importance of Religion
 Physical environment had a big impact
 Ferocious floods, heavy downpours, scorching winds, oppressive humidity
 Polytheistic
 An, Enlil, Enki, Ninhursaga
 Divination through examining sacrificial animal’s entrails
The Cultivation of Writing and Sciences
 Cuneiform- wedge shaped writing with reed stylus on clay tablets
 The Epic of Gilgamesh- epic king of Uruk…desire for immortality
o Utnapishtim (similar to biblical Noah)
 Math: number system based on 60
Egyptian Civilization: “The Gift of the Nile”
 Nile River was crucial
The Impact of Geography
 Longest river in the world
 Annual flooding
 Nile: transportation and farming
 Natural barriers: deserts, cataracts, Mediterranean Sea
The Old and Middle Kingdoms
 Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms
The Old Kingdom
 3100BCE: first Egyptian royal dynasty under Menes, united Upper and Lower
Egypt
 2686-2180BCE
 Pyramids
 Pharaohs
 Ma’at: chief ruling principle of pharaohs…spiritual precept that conveyed the
ideas of truth and justice and right order and harmony
 Vizier- “steward of the whole land”…in charge of bureaucracy
 Provinces- nomes…led by Nomarchs
The Middle Kingdom
 2055 to 1650BCE
 characterized by a new concern of the pharaohs for the people/ shepherds
Society and Economy in Ancient Egypt
 organized along hierarchical lines…with god-king at top
 elites, merchants with international trade
 lower classes- serfs
The Culture of Egypt
 achievements were part of a cosmic order suffused with the presence of the
divine
Spiritual Life in Egyptian Society
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Polytheistic
Sun- Atun/ Re
Osiris/ Isis/ Horus
Cult of Osiris
The Pyramids
 Pyramids
 Complex of buildings dedicated to the dead
 Spiritual body, called a ka
 Mummifcation
 Pyramids were tombs for the mummified bodies of the pharaohs
 Great Pyramid for King Khufu
Art and Writing
 art was largely functional
 very formulaic
 hieroglyphics: “priest-carvings”
Disorder and a New Order: The New Kingdom
 1650BCE: Middle Kingdom ended with invasion of the Hyksos…used horsedrawn war chariots…brought bronze
The Egyptian Empire
 18th dynasty: made use of the new weapons to throw off Hyksos domination,
reunite Egypt, establish the New Kingdom
 Queen Hatshepsut: Deir el Bahri…military expeditions…ceremonial beard
Akhenaten and Religious Change
 Amenhotep changed his name to Akhenaten
 New capital at el-Amarna
 Failed attempt at monotheism
Decline of the Egyptian Empire
 Ramesses II: 1279-1213BCE
 End of New Kingdom in 1070
 Later Egypt was invaded by Alexander the Great, and became a part of the
Roman Empire
Daily Life in Ancient Egypt: Family and Marriage
 Generally married young…men could have multiple wives, if first wife was
childless
 Women retained control of property and inheritance
 Marriage arranged by parents
The Spread of Egyptian Influence: Nubia
 Nubia/ Sudan
 Then Nubia became Kush
 Kushite monarchs took control of Egypt until 663BCE
New Centers of Civilization