PART I
From Hunting and Gathering to Civilizations, 2.5 million–
1000 B.C.E.: Origins
Overview. The first human beings appeared in east Africa over two million years ago. Gradually humans
developed a more erect stance and greater brain capacity. Early humans lived by hunting and gathering.
The most advanced human species, Homo sapiens sapiens, migrated from Africa into the Middle East,
then into Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Americas. Over time, they learned to fashion tools and weapons
from stone, bone, and wood, and were, therefore, able to move away from hunting-and-gathering
practices to form larger groups. The beginnings of agriculture, about 10,000 B.C.E., were based on
improved tools during the New Stone Age (Neolithic). The development of agriculture was a radical
change in humans’ way of life. By providing a dependable source of food, people could stay in one place,
develop toolmaking technologies using metals, and, by increasing agricultural output, free individuals to
specialize in other kinds of work. More elaborate political and cultural forms slowly emerged.
Civilization emerged in five different regions. While focusing on the agricultural revolution, we must not
lose sight of the many areas in which other systems prevailed. Hunting-and-gathering was not only a
different economic system, it brought with it differences in gender relations, daily life, and social
complexity.
Big Concepts. Each of the key phases of the long period of early human history (2.5 million B.C.E.—
1000 B.C.E.) can be characterized by a central topic or Big Concept. The first of these is the development
of human hunting skills, the adaptation of those skills to the shift geography and climate of the Ice Age,
and the patterns of human migration. The second Big Concept is the rise of agriculture and the changes in
technology associated with the Neolithic revolution (9000 B.C.E. and 4000 B.C.E.). These changes set in
motion the agricultural phase of human experience that lasted until just a few centuries ago. The final Big
Concept is the appearance of increasingly distinctive human societies through agriculture or nomadic
pastoralism and the early contacts among these societies, particularly after 3500 B.C.E. when larger and
more formally organized societies, often with early cities as well, emerged and began to develop more
consistent patterns of interregional trade.
Triggers for Change. The phase of human history talked about in this chapter is mainly the story of
accommodating different environments, especially in the search for food. Around 10,000 years ago, near
the Black Sea, humans turned to agriculture, as hunting became less productive. The reasons for the
change are not clear, but possibilities include population pressure, and shortages caused by accidental or
deliberate over-hunting. Agriculture brought essential changes in social organization, tool-making, and
specialization of occupation.
The Big Changes. Agriculture involved a different set of challenges and benefits than did hunting-andgathering. The demands of farming meant a sedentary life and larger settlements. Social structures
became more complex, and greater gender divisions of labor. Agriculture also made possible the key
elements of civilization: states, towns, and monumental building. The first four civilizations arose in river
valleys that made irrigation, and, hence, large-scale agriculture possible.
Continuity. This transition took place over millennia. Many peoples adhered to their traditional
economy, which meant, as well, adherence to traditional social and cultural ways. As they took to
farming, traditionally women’s work, men developed ideas of superiority over women. This can be
interpreted not as innovation, but as a way to compensate for change.
Impact on Daily Life: Children. Hunting-and-gathering societies necessitated small families, because of
the migratory lifestyle and limited resources. With farming, however, not only were larger families
possible, they made sense. Children were an integral part of traditional agriculture. Birth rates increased
enormously, although infant mortality remained high. The importance of child labor, moreover, brought
with it strict control over children. A culture of parental dominance developed—totalitarian in some
instances.
Chapter 1 deals with the emergence of agriculture and its impact on human life, the spread of agriculture,
and the persistence of other patterns.
CHAPTER 1
From Human Prehistory to the Early Civilizations
CHAPTER OUTLINE SUMMARY
Introduction
Stages of early material and social development
Technological and organizational innovations made possible by agriculture
Social, political, intellectual, artistic effects of agricultural way of life
Two main adaptations to diverse ecosystems: farming and pastoral peoples
I. Human Life in the Era of Hunters and Gatherers.
Human species
Emerged 2 to 2.5 million years ago
Spread to every landmass (except polar regions)
Drawbacks: violence, dependencies of babies, back pain, awareness of death
Advantages: opposable thumb, sexual drive, omnivorous, expressions, brains, speech
Paleolithic (Old Stone) Age accounts for two million plus years of human development
Simple tools: rocks, sticks for hunting and warfare
Fire tamed about 750,000 years ago
Homo erectus emerged between 500,000 and 750,000 years ago
A. Late Paleolithic Developments
Homo sapiens sapiens originated about 240,000 years ago
Bands of hunter gatherers, significant equality between sexes
Communication facilitated group cooperation and transmission of technical knowledge
Greatest achievement of Paleolithic people: sheer spread of species across the earth
Migrations out of eastern Africa facilitated by: scarcity, fire, animal skins for clothing
Land bridge from Siberia to Alaska facilitated migrations into Americas 30,000 years ago
Warmer climates and rising ocean levels eliminated land bridge by 8000 B.C.E.
Chinese settlers reached Taiwan, the Philippines, and Indonesia 4500 to 3500 years ago
Mesolithic (Middle Stone) Age
From about 12,000 to 8000 B.C.E.
After end of last great ice age
Improved tool development aided transportation, housing, fishing, and food preparation
Animals domesticated
Increases in population resulted in conflict and warfare
More dramatic changes occur in Neolithic (New Stone) Age
Agriculture, cities, and other foreshadowings of civilization
II. The Neolithic Revolution
Development of agriculture: deliberate planting for later harvest
Fueled population increase from 6 to 8 million to 100,000 million people in 3000 years
Gave rise to elaborate social and cultural patterns we would recognize today
Conditions for agricultural development
Retreat of last great ice age
Climate conducive to improved food supply increases population
Population increase prompts search for new, reliable food
End of ice age replaced big animals like Mastadons with smaller game in forested areas
By 9000 B.C.E people increasingly turn to wild grains, berries, nuts
The Domestication of Plants and Animals
Plants: first by accident, slow development to seed selection and deliberate planting
Animals: (By 9000 B.C.E.) pigs, sheep, goats, cattle for meat, skins, and dairying
Early stage agricultural as well as nomadic societies
A. The Geography of Early Agriculture
Farming initiated in Middle East: arc of territory from present-day Turkey to Iraq and Israel
Began as early as 10,000 B.C.E., advanced rapidly after 8000 B.C.E.
Stimulated by fertility of region, barley and wheat, lack of forests with game
Gradual spread to other areas: parts of India, north Africa, Europe
Independent development in southeast Asia spreading to China, rice cultivation
Spread from Mediterranean coast to west Africa by 2000 B.C.E., local grains, root crops
Independent development in the Americas around 5000 B.C.E., corn cultivation
Meaning of “revolution”
Dramatic shift towards agricultural societies but not in relation to speed
Hunting and gathering persisted alongside agriculture
Took thousands of years to develop and thousands more to spread
B. Patterns of Change
Term “revolution” appropriate in terms of magnitude of change
Agriculture required more regular work than hunting and gathering
Rewards of agricultural life
Support larger population
Better food supply
Settled existence with houses and villages
Domesticated animals provided not only hides but wool for more varied clothing
Agriculture gained ground
Success hard to deny
Cleared forests drove out hunters or converted them
Contagious diseases of settled peoples infected hunter-gatherers without immunities
Some hunting gathering societies persisted
Small societies in southern Africa, Australia, islands of southeast Asia, northern Japan
Isolated and unchanged until 100 years ago
Northern Europeans and south Africans converted about 2000 years ago
Central America and northern South America developed agriculture about 5000 years ago
Most of North America hunting-and-gathering, limited agriculture until recent centuries
Herding societies
Climate conducive to herding as the basic socioeconomic system of central Asia
Nomadic invaders played vital role linking civilizations until a few centuries ago
C. Further Technological Change
Agriculture basis for rapid change in human societies
Stimulated greater wealth and larger populations, stimulating specialization and innovation
Agriculture required new techniques, knowledge, and tools
Example: science to understand weather and flooding
Example: need to store grains and seeds stimulated basket-weaving and pottery
Example: First potter’s wheel (around 6000 B.C.E.) stimulated better, faster pottery
production
Prehistory versus history
Despite shift to agricultural societies in Neolithic period, technically still “prehistorical”
Distinction based on concept of recordkeeping associated with writing
Distinction blurred by current use of tools and burial sites as historical records
Preagricultural—agricultural distinction more to the point
Preagricultural change marked in thousands of years
Agricultural change marked in decades and centuries
First big change: metal tools introduced in Middle East around 4000 B.C.E.
First copper, bronze soon after
By 3000 B.C.E. metal-working so common in Middle East, referred to as Bronze Age
Stone tools persisted in many parts of the world
Metal working extremely useful to agricultural and herding societies
Metal hoes improved farming
Metal weapons superior to stone or wood
Metal-working early specialization
Agriculture freed up labor, metal-working one such result
Specialization does not require innovation but does provide a climate of discovery
Knowledge of metals spread to other parts of Asia, Africa, and Europe
Manufacturing artisans as well as farmers benefited from knowledge of metals
Example: metal tools enhanced woodworking
III. Civilization
Agriculture the basis of building larger, more stable human communities
An exception: Mesolithic fishing villages along the lakes of Switzerland
Most hunting peoples moved in groups of tribes composed of 40 to 60 people
Hunting societies could not settle permanently without game running out
Some agricultural peoples remained unstable by employing the “slash and burn” method
Definition: burning an area, cultivating crops until soil is depleted, moving on
Example: People of the American South until 150 years ago
Herding peoples of central Asia, Middle East, Sudan, and elsewhere moved in tribal bands
A. Settled Societies
The major agricultural regions involved permanent settlements
Advantages: houses, wells, etc. built to last for generations
Key incentive for stability in Middle East, China, parts of Africa, India: irrigation devices to
channel river water into fields
Settled villages—groupings of several hundred people—useful
Advantageous to regulate river’s flow, build and maintain irrigation ditches and sluices
Advantageous for defense
Characteristic pattern of residence from Neolithic period until our own day
Neolithic settlements spread in agricultural societies, as late as 1500 B.C.E.
Example: Çatal Hüyük
c. 7000 B.C.E., southern Turkey
Large (32 acres), lavish décor in buildings, religious images common, some trade
By 1500 B.C.E., engaged in production activities such as tools and jewelry
Political and military specializations emerged with growth of linked cities and villages
Emergence of kings with divine status
By 3000 B.C.E., Çatal Hüyük identified as civilization
Characteristics of civilization appeared as early as 6000 or 5000 B.C.E.
Origins of civilization around 3500 B.C.E. in Middle East along Tigris and Euphrates rivers
Northern Africa (Egypt) soon after
Northwestern India along Indus river around 2500 B.C.E.
These three civilizations had some interaction
Two separate civilizations developed later in China and in Central America
B. Defining Civilization
(1) Inclusive definition: enough economic surpluses to form divisions of labor and a social
hierarchy involving significant inequalities
(2) Narrower definition: formal political organizations or states as opposed to family or tribes
Most civilizations characteristically produced huge kingdoms or empires
Most civilizations depend on significant cities
City a center of wealth, power, politics, ideas, art, intellectual activity, manufacture, trade
Most civilizations developed writing
First in Middle East around 3500 B.C.E., Cuneiform (writing with wedgelike characters)
Advantages: government messages, records, tax management, contracts, treaties
More elaborate political structures emerge as a result
Substantiates value of collecting data, building on the past, and gaining wisdom
Encourages notion of organized human inquiry
Broad literacy irrelevant for growth of civilizations, not common until under 200 years ago
History of civilization covers the history of most people as civilizations ruled most people
Civilized or not civilized
If defined narrowly, hunting, nomadic, and some agricultural societies not civilizations
Too few resources or stability or lack of writing and strong political organization
Long history of the civilized looking down on others
Example: Greeks called non-Greeks “barbarians”
Incorrect to view history as a divide between civilization and primitive nomads
Civilization not a synonym for “good”
Civilizations incur greater class, caste, ruler—ruled divisions, slavery, war, gender
inequalities
Nomadic or hunter-gatherer people depend on word of mouth communications
Tends to promote intense social regulation, veneration of elders, less strict childrearing
Historical role of hunter-gatherers and nomads
Hunter-gatherers became increasingly isolated
Nomadic herding people flourish with aid of technologies in riding and weaponry
Nomads had major role in world trade and developing contact among settled peoples
Significance of civilizations
Technological, political, artistic, intellectual changes for large populations
Environmental impact such as deforestation, erosion, flooding due to agriculture and
mining
Early river valley civilizations pilot tests of new social organizations
Consistent process of development and spread of civilization only begins about 1000
B.C.E.
C. Tigris—Euphrates Civilization
First civilization in Middle East—Mesopotamia
Developed: writing, law, trade, religion, money, elaborate architecture, city planning
By 4000 B.C.E. farmers familiar with copper, bronze, and had invented the wheel
They had a pottery industry and developed artistic forms
Irrigation required coordination of communities leading to complex political structures
By 3500 B.C.E. the Sumerians had developed the first real civilization
Achievements of the Sumerians
Alphabet and writing (cuneiform)
Astronomy, numerical system
Religion
Professional priests, rituals, shrines
Ziggurats first monumental architecture
Polytheism (gods in aspects of nature)
Patron gods, earth from water, flood story, gloomy afterlife
Legacy carried into Old Testament influencing Judaism, Christianity, Islam
Political and Social Organization
City-States
Establish boundaries
State religion
Courts
Kings
Defense, war
Priests
With kings, administer state land and slaves
Slavery
Warfare ensured supply of slaves
Variable existence, slaves could purchase freedom
Commerce
Agricultural prosperity
Irrigation, wheeled carts, fertilizers
Silver means of exchange, first money, facilitated trade
Defense
Region a constant temptation for invaders
Difficult to defend
Fell to Akkadians who continued Sumerian culture
Period of decline, followed by Babylonian rule
Babylonians
Extended own empire, bringing civilization to other parts of Middle East
Hammurabi
Law Code establishing courts, duties, rights, punishments
Invasions persisted, fragmentation followed
Semitic peoples and languages came to dominate but continued culture of the conquered
Greatest turmoil between 1200 and 900 B.C.E., favoring smaller, regional kingdoms
After 900 B.C.E., Assyrians, then Persians, created large new empires in the Middle East
D. Egyptian Civilization
Civilization formed by 3000 B.C.E. along Nile River
Benefited from trade and technological influence of Mesopotamia
Very different society and culture then Mesopotamia
Less open to invasion
Unified state for most of its history
Economy more government-directed, smaller business class
Government
Pharaoh, powerful king, intermediary between gods and men
Pharaohs built pyramids (splendid tombs) for themselves from 2700 B.C.E. onward
Continuity
Despite some disruptions, Egyptian civilization basically intact until after 1000 B.C.E.
Spread into Sudan, impact on later African culture
Interaction with African kingdom of Kush
Comparative achievements with Mesopotamia
Science and alphabet less developed
Math more advanced and influential
Art lively, colorful; architecture influential
Concept of afterlife more pleasant
E. Indian and Chinese River Valley Civilizations
Civilization formed by 2500 B.C.E. along Indus River
Large cities: Harappa and Mohenjo Daro, buildings had running water
Traded with Mesopotamia
Developed own alphabet and artistic forms
Invasions by Indo-Europeans and natural calamities destroyed much
Harappa writing still not deciphered
Not enough evidence to claim much about culture or influence on subsequent Indian culture
Indo-European migrants combined early Indian culture with their own
F. The Great Cities of the Indus Valley
Hundreds of miles apart but very similar layout and construction
Precise grid pattern, walled city and buildings of kiln-dried bricks
Inference: considerable coordination of labor power required
Large, well-fortified citadels
Inference: strong ruling class
Citadels possibly sanctuaries when attacked and community centers in peacetime
Structures appear to have included assembly halls, places of worship, and public baths
Citadel at Mohenjo Daro appears to have had a cloister housing priests nearby
Citadels had granaries nearby
Inference: ceremonial, preparation for shortages, regulation of grain production, sale
Complex agricultural system
Irrigation inferred
Cultivation of wheat, rye, peas, cotton, possibly rice
Animals domesticated
Fish dietary staple
Trade and contact
Harappa cities major trading centers
Trade enhanced with use of riverboats and ox carts
Jade from China
Jewels from Burma
Harappa stone seals manufactured in Indus region found in Mesopotamia
Seals used by merchants to ensure crates and urns remain unopened during transport
Inference: trade highly developed
Despite contact, did not adopt superior tools, weaponry of Mesopotamian metal-workers
Inferences: conservative, resistant to change, vulnerable to invasion
Harappa representations of mother goddesses and horned god found in Sumer and
Persian Gulf
Inference: extensive trade of commodities throughout urban centers of Mesopotamia
Religion
Rule by priestly class functioning as intermediaries between populace and fertility gods
Demise of early Indus River Valley civilization
Short term disasters: flooding, earthquakes
Long-term climatic changes: shift in monsoon and temperature patterns, desertification
Urban centers abandoned
Invaders settle or take over
Evidence in changed pottery style, loss of town planning, quality of building
Inference: priestly elite lost control over artisans and laborers
Some invaders were Aryan herders
Replaced irrigation and agricultural development with cattle-raising
Economic decline followed shift away from crop cultivation
Evidence suggests violence a possible contributing factor in decline
Result possibly of flight from invaders or flooding
Three primary factors precipitating decline
Environmental changes
Related administrative decline
Nomadic migrations
G. Early Civilization in China
Developed independently along Yellow River (Huanghe), later contact with India and
Middle East.
By 2000 B.C.E., irrigation, advanced technology, science, music, intellectual life, pottery,
writing (ideographic)
By 1000 B.C.E., introduced iron and working with coal
Shang
Shang kingdom laid foundations for Chinese civilization by 1500 B.C.E.
Originally nomads, conquered Yellow River region establishing kingdom
Horseback, chariots, bronze weapons
Non-Shang subjects foot soldiers
Warfare involved amassed troops and hand-to-hand combat
Ruled by strong kings and system of vassalage to build empire
King intermediary between supreme being, Shangdi, and mortals
Kingdom viewed as center of world
Dominion all of humankind
Kings responsible for affairs of state, fertility of kingdom, well-being of subjects
Sizeable bureaucracy
System of vassalage providing land tenure, tribute, military service, administrative duties
Common people provided labor and produce
Rituals, oracles, sacrifices
Performed by rulers and nobility
Purpose: fertility, avert or appease natural disasters, good crops, large families, etc.
Sacrifices of grains, incense, wine, animals offered in elaborate cast bronze vessels
Ritual ceremonies and contests offered human sacrifice
Oracles—sacred people who could prophecy—performed by shamans
Consulted for harvests, warfare, travel, marriages, etc.
Ritual objects basis of artistic expression
Writing
Shaman interpretation of patterns on bones or tortoise shells led to inscribing on them
Standardization of designs evolved into consistent written character set
Enlarged, simplified and stylized over time
From bones and bronze, to bamboo slips, silk scrolls, wooden plates
China invented paper in the 1st century C.E.
Elaborate array of pens and inks
Writing basis of Chinese culture
Unified otherwise very diverse peoples, languages, regions into one common identity
Began with elites but filtered into artisan and cultivating classes
IV. The Heritage of the River Valley Civilizations
Lasting impact
Monuments like pyramids
Inventions
Wheel
Tamed horse
Alphabets and writing implements
Mathematical concepts like square root
Calendar
Functional monarchies and bureaucracies
These are the foundations of all later civilizations
All of the pioneering civilizations were in decline by 1000 B.C.E.
Diving line between early and later civilizations, especially in India
A. Heritage of Early Civilizations
India: much ignorance of link between early and later civilizations
China: definite connection between Shang and all that followed
Claim that Western civilization originated in Middle East and Egypt not precise
Romans emulated god-like king but other political forms less apparent
City-states persisted in Middle East
Ideas about slavery may have been passed on
Specific scientific achievements passed from Egypt to Greece, especially math
Techniques passed on but perhaps not concepts
Hard to assess continuity regarding ideas like humankind’s relationship with nature
Can measure continuity of art and architecture
Mesopotamian art and Egyptian architecture influenced the Greeks
Greeks influenced European and Muslim cultures
B. New Societies in the Middle East
Connection between early and later civilizations found in smaller cultures
Regional cultures influenced by Mesopotamians and Egyptians
Often flourished while larger civilizations were in decline
Became influential in their own right
Phoenicians
Simplified writing, devised 22 letter alphabet, predecessor of Latin and Greek
Improved Egyptian numbering, set up colonies and trading centers around Mediterranean
Lydians first introduced coined money
C. Judaism
Jews most influential of smaller Middle Eastern groups
Semitic, influenced by Babylonians, settled around Mediterranean around 1200 B.C.E.
Introduced monotheism
Single God guided destinies of the Jewish people
Priests and prophets defined and emphasized this belief
History of God’s guidance of his people, basis for the Hebrew Bible
Jewish religion and moral code survived foreign rule from 772 B.C.E. to Roman conquest in 63
B.C.E.
Judaism survives to this day, also basis of Christianity and Islam
Durability sustained by lack of interest in converting non-Jews
Jewish God increasingly abstract, less humanlike
Represents basic change
God: powerful, rational, just
Linked ethical conduct and moral behavior
Religion a way of life not a set of rituals and ceremonies
Greatest impact when Jewish beliefs were embraced by proselytizing faiths
D. Assessing the Early Civilization Period
Legacy that flourished, persisted, and spread across Europe, Africa, Asia
Basic tools
Intellectual concepts like mathematics and writing
Political forms
Break between institutions of early and later civilizations
Fairly firm break in India resulting from climatic shifts, invasions, political decline
China, an exception, relatively continuous forms flow from early to later civilization
Middle East break from riverine civilizations to following Persian and Greek empires
Middle East smaller cultures provided bridge, producing new inventions and ideas
Significant theme: proliferating contact against backdrop of fierce local identity
Increased diversity of languages and cultures across planet
Concurrent increased trade/contact between groups
By 1000 B.C.E., Phoenicians traded with Britain, Egypt traded with China
Civilization an integrating force at the regional level
Unique development of civilizations, only sporadic contact between them
Smaller identities persisted
Shared features of early civilizations
Cities, trade, writing, etc. meeting common basic definition of civilization
Diversity of civilizations
Each civilization unique in its processes, beliefs, attitudes, styles, etc.
CHAPTER SUMMARY
A Hunter. An example of Neolithic culture can be found near the Pecos River, in the American
Southwest, around 10,000 B.C.E. The hunter, traveling between communities, lit a fire and cooked a
small animal, using tools he had brought with him and fuel found nearby. Humans had migrated to North
America from northeast Asia as early as 25,000 B.C.E. Speech was possible by about 80,000 B.C.E.
Chapter Summary. Between the Old Stone Age (Paleolithic) and the New Stone Age (Neolithic)—
12,000 to 8,000 B.C.E.—changes in human organization and food production prepared the way for the
emergence of the first civilized societies. Neolithic development of agriculture was the first truly
revolutionary transformation in human history. Neolithic farmers were able to remake environments to
suit their needs, producing surpluses for the support of specialized elites in agriculture, commerce, and
manufacturing. The combination of factors usually resulted in urban settlements marked by complex
social stratification. Full civilizations emerged first in the Tigris-Euphrates valley, by 3500 B.C.E., and in
Egypt along the Nile by 3000 B.C.E. The two very different civilizations had distinct political and
cultural characteristics that influenced political forms, art, science, and architecture of neighboring and
distant succeeding generations. Many small centers sprang up after 1500 B.C.E., mixing their cultures
with Mesopotamian influences. Some of the smaller cultures had major influences. The Phoenicians, a
maritime commercial society, absorbed important influences from major civilization centers, and around
1300 B.C.E., they devised a simplified alphabet that became the ancestor of the Greek and Latin lettering
systems. The Hebrews, a Semitic people influenced by Babylonian civilization, moved into the southeast
corner of the region around 1600 B.C.E. Their distinctive achievement was the development of a
monotheistic and ethical religion that has persisted through the ages and is the basis of Christianity and
Islam. East and South Asia also developed unique civilizations near great river systems. Chinese
civilization emerged along the Huanghe River. In North China the formation of the Shang kingdom, from
around 1500 to 1122 B.C.E., and the succeeding Zhou dynasty, marked the origins of the distinctive and
enduring Chinese civilization. The ancestor to Indian civilizations, Harappa, flourished in the Indus River
Valley. All early river valley civilizations encountered difficulties around 1000 B.C.E., establishing a
break between the early and later periods of civilization. Climatic change, administrative weakness, and
Nomadic Aryan invaders brought an end to the Harappan period in India between 1500 and 1000 B.C.E.
The Aryans established the basis for a new pattern of civilization in South Asia.
Human Life in the Era of Hunters and Gatherers. The human species emerged over a period of 2 to
2.5 million years, spreading to every landmass except polar regions. Most of this period is referred to as
the Paleolithic (Old Stone) Age. Despite a propensity for violence, the disadvantages of a long period of
dependency of infants on their mothers, and back pain due to an increasingly upright position, the species
developed unique capacities for adaptation and survival. Between 500,000 and 700,000 years ago, Homo
erectus, a less apelike species, whose larger brain and erect stance allowed better tool use, emerged. Fire
was tamed about 750,000 years ago. Most groups supported themselves through hunting and gathering.
Late Paleolithic Developments. About 240,000 years ago Homo sapiens sapiens emerged, also in Africa.
The success of this subspecies means that no major changes in the basic human physique or brain size
have occurred since its advent. More complex tool production, and impressive artistic and ritual
creativity, demonstrated sophisticated levels of thinking. Fire, more sophisticated tools aiding
transportation, housing, fishing, and food preparation, plus the effects of climatic change, allowed the
human species to spread widely. In the Mesolithic (Middle Stone) Age, from about 12,000 B.C.E. to 8000
B.C.E., humans had moved from Africa into Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Americas. More dramatic
change was to occur in the Neolithic (New Stone) Age.
The Neolithic Revolution. Human groups experimented with different survival strategies. Most
individuals were members of small bands of hunters and gatherers constantly moving in pursuit of game
and plants. Others harvested wild grains and established long-enduring settlements where they resided for
a year or even longer. However, only the communities making the transition to true farming were capable
of producing civilizations. The resulting food surpluses and increasing populations supplied by
agriculture—deliberate planting of grains for later harvest—made urban life and occupation specialization
possible. With agriculture, human beings were able to settle in one spot and focus on particular economic,
political, and religious goals and activities. The reasons for this change are unclear, but climatic shifts
associated with the close of the last ice age forced migration of game animals and changed wild crop
distribution. People had long observed wild plants as they gathered their daily needs. Hunters and
gatherers either experimented with wild seeds or accidentally discovered domestication. Once learned, the
practice developed very slowly as people combined the new ideas with old techniques. From about
12,000 B.C.E., different animals—dogs, sheep, goats, pigs, and cattle—were tamed. Animal products
improved the quality of life and increased crop yield.
The Geography of Early Agriculture. Hunting-and-gathering societies persisted as sedentary
agricultural societies developed. Animal domestication led to pastoralism in semi-arid regions. Pastoral
peoples posed a serious challenge to agricultural societies and created extensive empires. Interactions
between nomads and agriculturalists were a long-enduring major theme in world history. The
agriculturists increased in numbers and spread their production techniques for grain crops and fibers from
the Middle East to Asia, Europe, and northern Africa. Africans south of the Sahara evolved
independently, developing root and tree crops. Rice, first cultivated in Southeast Asia, spread to China,
India, and the Southeast Asian islands. Maize (corn) was developed in the Americas. Many scholars have
termed the development of agriculture, the Neolithic Revolution, but the term is a bit misleading in that
the shift to agriculture was no sudden transformation and many peoples continued to rely on hunting-andgathering and herding.
Patterns of Change. The growing population of sedentary humans, with their plants and animals,
transformed their immediate environments. Agriculture supported larger populations with a more reliable
food supply. Agricultural peoples could afford to build houses and villages. Despite the many benefits of
a more sedentary existence, people did not uniformly embrace it. Some people came to agriculture as a
result a diminishing supply of game, some were converted as conquering people moved in, some simply
disappeared, the victims of diseases for which they had no immunities. On the steppes of central Asia, the
climate was more conducive to herding and, in North America, Indians practiced only limited agriculture
until just a few centuries ago. Nomadic invaders played a vital role across the millennia linking major
civilizations until just a few centuries ago. Nonetheless, villages and their cultivated lands became the
dominant feature of human habitation.
Further Technological Change. Surplus production allowed the development of specialized
occupations, including political and religious elites, and specialized production of tools, weapons, and
pottery. Early science developed to understand weather and flooding patterns. The first potter’s wheel
stimulated better, faster pottery production. One basic change took place fairly soon after the introduction
of agriculture. The discovery of metal tools dates back to the Middle East around 4000 B.C.E. First
copper, then bronze entered the picture. By about 3000 B.C.E. the last of the stone ages had passed into
the Bronze Age. The distinction between “history” and “prehistory”, long dependant on the introduction
of writing as the distinguishing characteristic, has been blurred in recent years as scholars have learned
how to include objects and burial sites as part of the historical record. The preagricultural—agricultural
distinction is more central.
Civilization. Agriculture encouraged the formation of larger as well as more stable human communities
than had existed before Neolithic times. Most hunting people lived in small tribal groups and moved with
the supply of game. Some agricultural peoples moved also, practicing a slash and burn method of
agriculture whereby an area would be farmed until the soil became too depleted. Herders moved in tribal
bands, with strong kinship ties as well.
Settled Societies. Major agricultural regions involved more permanent settlements with structures, wells,
and irrigation systems that were meant to last for generations. Irrigation and defense required the
coordination of larger groups of people, and by 7000 B.C.E. population centers numbering in the
thousands. One of the earliest settlements in the Neolithic transformation was at Çatal Hüyük.
Çatal Hüyük. Çatal Hüyük, was founded around 7000 B.C.E. in southern Turkey. It was the most
advanced human center of the Neolithic period. A rich economic base was built on extensive agricultural
and commercial development. Standardized construction patterns suggest the presence of a powerful
ruling elite associated with a priesthood. Well-developed religious shrines indicate the growing role of
religion in people’s lives.
Defining Civilization. Scholars have argued for two ways to define civilizations. The broader view takes
it to mean that a society has developed enough economic surpluses to form divisions of labor and a social
hierarchy involving significant inequalities. The narrower view suggests that the chief difference between
civilizations and other societies, agricultural or not, involves the emergence of formal political
organizations or states as opposed to family or tribes. The word civilization comes from the Latin term for
city, and in truth most civilizations depend on the existence of significant cities that function as centers
for governance, commerce, trade, sharing ideas, art, and science. Most civilizations also develop a form
of writing to help manage taxes, contracts, treaties, and communications over long distances, as well as
record events, observations, and ideas. People in civilizations have had a long history of looking down on
societies unlike their own. The Greeks and Romans did; as did the Chinese and Aztecs. Europeans during
the 17th and 18th centuries revived the perceived difference between civilized and barbarian societies.
Interestingly, many nomadic societies were appalled at the doings of civilized peoples; they also have
contributed significantly to world history. The term “civilization” cannot be equated with “good.” It
commands the attention of historians because it is the form of human existence that has continued the
process of technological change and political organization and generated the largest populations and most
elaborate artistic and intellectual forms.
Having started in 3500 B.C.E., civilization developed in four initial centers—the Middle East,
Egypt, northwestern India, and northern China—over the following 2500 years. (An early civilization
would emerge in Central America, though slightly later in time.) Such early civilizations, all clustered in
key river valleys, were in a way pilot tests of the new form of social organization. Only after about 1000
B.C.E. did a more consistent process of development and spread of civilization begin.
Tigris–Euphrates Civilization. The first civilization appeared between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers
in a part of the Middle East long called Mesopotamia, generating the basic definition of civilization. Its
society was based upon economic surplus and was able to support priests, government officials,
merchants, and artisans. The spreading irrigation systems made regional coordination vital. A clearly
defined government developed. Most individuals lived in the countryside. In the emerging cities,
residents amassed wealth and power; they exchanged ideas encouraging technological innovation and
artistic development; they promoted specialization in trade and manufacture. Sumerians, migrating from
the north about 4000 B.C.E., mixed with local groups to establish Mesopotamian civilization. Already
competent with copper and bronze manufactures, the wheel, pottery production, and irrigation processes
and technologies, the Sumerians established the world’s first civilization from scratch around 3500
B.C.E.
Around 3500 B.C.E. the Sumerians introduced writing to meet the needs of recording religious,
commercial, and political matters. Their system of writing, called cuneiform, evolved from pictures
baked on clay tablets that eventually became phonetic elements. Its complexity confined its use mostly to
specialized scribes. Writing helped to produce a more elaborate culture. In art, statues and painted
frescoes adorned temples and private homes. The Sumerians created patterns of observation and abstract
thought, such as the science of astronomy and a numeric system based on units of 12, 60, and 360, still
useful to many societies today. Their religion, based upon a pantheon of anthropomorphic gods
intervening arbitrarily in human affairs, was accompanied by fear and gloom among believers. Each city
had a patron god. Priests were important because of their role in placating gods and in making
astronomical calculations vital to the running of irrigation systems. Many Sumerian religious ideas
influenced Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Political organization was based on city-states; their leaders—kings and local councils—ruled
agricultural hinterlands. The government defined state boundaries, regulated and enforced religious
duties, and provided court systems for justice. Kings were responsible for defense and warfare, and,
along with priests, controlled land worked by slaves. Political stability and the use of writing allowed
urban growth, and agricultural, commercial, and technological development. The Sumerians were not
able to create a unified political system able to resist pressure from invaders, especially those who had
copied their achievements. The first of these were the Akkadians, the Babylonians followed later. The
Babylonian king, Hammurabi, is noted for establishing a code of law articulating court procedures,
property rights, duties of family members, and punishments for crimes his subjects could expect. The
Babylonians maintained Sumerian cultural traditions, extending its influence into other parts of the
Middle East. New Arrivals, particularly Semitic peoples, adopted the culture of conquered peoples. But
large political units declined in favor of smaller city-states or regional kingdoms, particularly during the
centuries of greatest turmoil, between 1200 B.C.E. and 900 B.C.E. Thereafter, new invaders, first
Assyrians and then Persians, created large new empires in the Middle East.
Egyptian Civilization. Egyptian civilization, formed by 3000 B.C.E., benefited from contacts with
Mesopotamia, but produced a very different society. Egyptian civilization flourished along the Nile
River for 2000 years before beginning to decline around 1000 B.C.E. Less open to invasion, Egypt
retained a unified state throughout most of its history and influenced later African culture. Egypt’s
rulers, pharaohs, were contacts between gods and people, and had immense power. Political organization
and economic development were coordinated under the authority of a pharaoh thought to possess the
power to assure the prosperity of the Nile agricultural system. The pyramids were constructed to
commemorate the greatness of pharaohs. In comparison with Mesopotamia, Egypt’s science and
alphabet were less developed though mathematics proved more advanced and influential. For example,
Egyptian mathematics produced the idea of a day divided into 24 hours. Egypt’s art was lively and
colorful, depicting, for example, an afterlife in which people might be surrounded by the pleasures of
earthly life. Egyptian architectural forms were also quite influential in Egypt but also in other parts of
the Mediterranean.
Indian and Chinese River Valley Civilizations. River valley civilizations developed in two other
centers. A prosperous urban civilization emerged along the Indus River by 2500 B.C.E., supporting
several large cities, including Harappa and Mohenjo Daro, whose houses even had running water. Indus
River peoples had trading contacts with Mesopotamia, but they developed their own alphabet and artistic
forms. Infiltrations by Indo-Europeans, however, plus natural calamities, resulted in such destruction that
it makes it hard to speak with confidence about either the nature of this culture or its subsequent influence
on India. It remains true that civilization never had to be fully reinvented in India.
The Great Cities of the Indus Valley. Harappa and Mohenjo Daro were densely populated, walled
cities similar in layout and construction. They were built on a square grid pattern divided by main streets
into smaller, precise grids. Buildings and walls were made of standardized kiln-dried bricks. The
massive scale required an autocratic government able to manage large numbers of workers. Each city
possessed fortified citadels that served as defensive sanctuaries, community centers, assembly halls or
places of worship, and public bathing tanks. Large granaries located nearby stored grain, whose sale and
production may have been regulated by the state. The main food crops were wheat, rye, peas, and
possibly rice, and domesticated animals and cotton were also part of the system. Irrigation systems
controlled the rivers’ flow. The cities were major trading centers; there is evidence of trade with
Mesopotamia, China, and Burma. The Harappans remained conservative and resistant to external
influences, including weapon development. A powerful class of priests, drawing authority from their
role as intermediary between the populace and gods, dominated society. Promoting fertility was a
paramount concern. The most prominent deity depicted was a horned god. The concern with fertility also
was demonstrated by numerous mother-goddesses. The presence of these figures, in Sumer and other
urban sites in the Persian Gulf region, suggests that large quantities of various commodities were traded
in the region spanning Mesopotamia and the Indus River valley.
The precise causes of Harappan decline remain disputed. Evidence suggests that the region
suffered from severe flooding and earthquakes. Shifts in climatic patterns eventually transformed the
fertile region into an arid steppe. The priestly class lost power. Civilization disappeared as Aryan
pastoralists conquered the indigenous agricultural population and settled in their place. The Aryans,
warrior herders, may have consciously destroyed or neglected the irrigation system on which the
Harappan people had once depended. They were superb horsemen, employed chariots, and had more
effective weapons than the Harappans. The interaction between the invaders and indigenous peoples
established the basis for India’s great classical civilization.
Early Civilization in China. Chinese civilization took form independently along the Yellow River
(Huanghe), although some overland trading contact with India and the Middle East did develop. A state
arose to carefully regulate irrigation in the flood-prone river valley and by 2000 B.C.E., the Chinese had
advanced technology, science, music, intellectual life, pottery, an early system of ideographic writing,
and could ride horses. By 1000 B.C.E., they had introduced iron, which they soon learned to work with
coal. By 1500 B.C.E., one tribe, the Shang, skilled horsemen, chariot drivers, and metalworkers, became
dominant and established the foundations of Chinese civilization. They were warlike nomads, ruled by
strong kings, regarded as the intermediary between the supreme being and mortals; he held responsibility
for the fertility of the state. The king presided over a sizeable bureaucracy and system of vassalage
ascribing land tenure, tribute, military service, and administrative duties. The state itself was understood
as the center of the world. Shang elites were preoccupied with rituals, oracles, and sacrifices. They
joined the ruler in propitiating spirits to provide crops and offspring. Artistic expression peaked in
bronze vessels used for offerings of grain, incense, wine, and animals. Human sacrifice occurred during
ritual warfare and ceremonies. Shamans performed oracular functions for harvests, wars, journeys, and
marriages. Readings were taken from animal bones and tortoise shells. They were drilled and seared, and
the resulting cracks were interpreted. Patterns inscribed on the bones and shells formed the basis for a
written language that provided the diverse peoples of the loess zone with a common culture. The initially
pictographic characters evolved to convey complex ideas. By the end of the Shang period there were
3000 characters. The bones and bronze vessels on which the characters were first carved gave way to
bamboo, silk, and wooden surfaces. In the 1st century C.E., they were replaced by the Chinese invention
of paper. The written language made communication possible between the elites, and eventually artisan
and cultivating classes, of the many different groups across the region’s diverse cultures and languages.
The use of increasingly standardized and sophisticated characters provided a bond between river valley
peoples. Writing became fundamental to Chinese identity and the growth of civilization.
The Heritage of the River Valley Civilizations. Many accomplishments of the river valley
civilizations had a lasting impact. Monuments such as the Egyptian pyramids have long been regarded as
one of the wonders of the world. More prosaic achievements are fundamental to world history even
today: the invention of the wheel, the taming of the horse, the creation of usable alphabets and writing
implements, the production of key mathematical concepts such as square roots, the development of well
organized monarchies and bureaucracies, and the invention of functional calendars and other divisions of
time. Almost all later civilizations are built on the massive foundations first constructed in the river
valleys. Despite the many accomplishments, over 2500 years, most of the river valley civilizations were
in decline by 1000 B.C.E.
Heritage of Early Civilizations. While the Harrapan civilization of the Indus valley collapsed, and
much was lost, influences persisted at the core of following Indian civilizations. Harappan civilization
had a markedly different legacy than the Shang. The region where the Chinese polities emerged became
the center of a civilization continuing until today. The system of writing was one of many factors in the
evolution of Chinese civilization. Mesopotamia and Egypt differed in influencing regions beyond their
spheres. Europeans, even North Americans, are sometimes prone to claim these cultures as the “origins”
of the Western civilization in which we live. These claims should not be taken too literally. It is not clear
that either Egypt or Mesopotamia contributed much to later political life, though the Roman Empire
emulated the concept of a godlike king and the existence of strong city-states in the Middle East itself
continued to be significant. Ideas about slavery may have been passed on from these civilizations.
Specific scientific achievements proved vital, for example the Greeks studied Egyptian mathematics.
Scholars argue, however, on how much was passed on beyond certain techniques for measuring time or
charting the stars. Some historians of philosophy have argued that Mesopotamian-influenced cultures
emphasized a division between humanity and nature, in sharp contrast to the Chinese understanding of
harmony, which they claim affected later civilizations around the Mediterranean in contrast to China. It
is, however, hard to assess these continuities. Mesopotamian art and Egyptian architecture had a more
measurable influence on Greek styles, and through these, in turn, later European and Muslim cultures.
New Societies in the Middle East. There was a final connection between early and later civilizations in
the form of regional cultures that sprang up under the influence of Egypt and Mesopotamia, along the
eastern shores of the Mediterranean mainly after 1200 B.C.E. Civilization had spread widely enough to
encourage a set of smaller centers to emerge, mixing their cultures with Mesopotamian influences. These
cultures produced important innovations that would affect later civilizations in the Middle East, the
Mediterranean, and other parts of the world as well. For example, the Phoenicians devised a simplified
alphabet that became the ancestor of the Greek and Latin lettering systems. They also improved the
Egyptian numbering system Phoenician traders established colonies on the shores of the Mediterranean
in Europe and North Africa. Another regional group, the Lydians, first introduced coined money.
Judaism. The most influential of the smaller Middle Eastern groups were the Jews, who gave the world
the first clearly developed monotheistic religion. The Hebrews, a Semitic people influenced by
Babylonian civilization settled around the Mediterranean around 1200 B.C.E. Their distinctive
achievement was the development of a monotheistic and ethical religion. They regarded themselves as a
chosen people under God’s guidance. Their religious ideas were written down in the Hebrew Bible and
other writings. The Jewish religion and moral code persisted even as the Jewish state suffered
domination by foreign rulers, from 772 B.C.E. until the Romans seized the state outright in 63 B.C.E. In
Jewish hands, the concept of God became less humanlike, more abstract. This represented a basic
change in not only religion but humankind’s overall outlook. God had not only a power but also a
rationality unlike the capricious traditional gods; the Jewish God was orderly and just, and individuals
would know what to expect if they obeyed God’s rules. God was also linked to ethical conduct, to proper
moral behavior. Religion for the Jews was a way of life, not merely a set of rituals and ceremonies. The
Jews were not important politically, but their written religion enabled them, even when dispersed, to
retain cultural identity. The Jews did not try to convert other peoples, but the later proselytizing faiths of
Christianity and Islam incorporated their ideas.
Assessing the Early Civilization Period. Overall, the river valley civilizations, flourished for many
centuries, created a basic set of tools, intellectual concepts such as writing and mathematics, and
political forms that would persist and spread to other parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Invasion and
natural calamities in India, and invasions and political decline in Egypt, marked a fairly firm break
between the institutions of these river valley civilizations and those that would later develop. Huang he
civilization, in contrast, flowed more fully into the more extensive Chinese civilization that would
follow. The Middle East, where civilization had first been born, provided the most complex heritage of
all. Here too there was a break between the riverine empires and the civilizations of Greece and Persia
that would later dominate the region. However, smaller cultures, such as that of the Jews, provided a
bridge between the river valley period and later Middle Eastern society, producing vital new inventions
and ideas. One final result of the first, long period of human civilization is clear: a pattern of division of
the world’s peoples. Small groups of people had spread to every corner of the world, developing
separate languages and cultures. The rise of agriculture stimulated new links, for example, the
Phoenicians traded with Britain for metals whereas the Chinese traded their silks with Egypt. Here we
have one of the basic themes of history: steadily proliferating contacts against a backdrop of often fierce
local identity. Civilization itself was an integrating force at a larger regional level though smaller
identities persisted. Four distinct centers of civilization (five, if the emerging Olmec culture in Mexico is
included), shared the basic features defining civilization, like cities, trade, and writing, but each
developed widely varied patterns, from style of writing to beliefs about nature. Civilization and
considerable diversity thus coexisted hand in hand.
GLOBAL CONNECTIONS: The Early Civilizations and the World. Mesopotamia and Egypt
presented two different approaches to relationships outside the home region. Mesopotamia was flat, with
few natural barriers to recurrent invasion from the north. Perhaps for this reason, Mesopotamian leaders
thought in terms of expansion, conquering territories within the Middle East. Many traders pushed
outward dealing either with merchants to the east or sending expeditions into the Mediterranean and
beyond, and also to India. Egypt, though not isolated, was more self-contained. There was important
trade and interaction along the Nile to the south, which brought mutual influences with the peoples of
the Kush and Ethiopia. Trade and influence also linked Egypt to Mediterranean islands like Crete, south
of Greece. River valley civilization in had fewer far-reaching contacts than its counterpart in
Mesopotamia. Ultimately, however, contacts with China would shape development in Japan, Korea, and
Vietnam. Already in the river valley period, the Chinese were advancing new technologies, for example
the manufacture of silk, which would have wide influence on later interregional trade. Chinese irrigation
systems became increasingly sophisticated, involving engineering principles that would gain wider
scope later on. Harappan society traded widely with Mesopotamia, but there is little evidence of
significant influence. Harappan civilization proved much more vulnerable to natural disasters and
climate change, particularly in contrast to China. Comparison of the early civilizations thus emphasizes
quite different patterns of scope and legacy.
KEY TERMS
Hunting and gathering: means of obtaining subsistence by humans before the mastery of sedentary
agriculture; normally typical of tribal social organization.
Civilization: societies with reliance on sedentary agriculture, ability to produce food surpluses, and
existence of nonfarming elites, along with merchant and manufacturing groups.
Paleolithic: the Old Stone Age ending in 12,000 B.C.E.; typified by use of evolving stone tools and
hunting and gathering for subsistence.
Neolithic: the New Stone Age between 8000 and 5000 B.C.E.; period in which adaptation of sedentary
agriculture occurred; domestication of plants and animals accomplished.
Nomads: cattle- and sheep-herding societies normally found on the fringes of civilized societies;
commonly referred to as “barbarian” by civilized societies.
Culture: combinations of ideas, objects, and patterns of behavior that result from human social
interaction.
Homo sapiens: the species of humanity that emerged as most successful at the end of the Paleolithic.
Agrarian revolution: occurred between 8000 and 5000 B.C.E.; transition from hunting and gathering to
sedentary agriculture.
Pastoralism: a nomadic agricultural lifestyle based on herding domesticated animals; tended to produce
independent people capable of challenging sedentary agricultural societies.
Çatal Hüyük: early urban culture based on sedentary agriculture; located in modern southern Turkey;
larger in population than Jericho, had greater degree of social stratification.
Bronze Age: from 4000 to 3000 B.C.E.; increased use of plow, metalworking; development of wheeled
vehicles, writing.
Mesopotamia: literally “between the rivers”; the civilizations that arose in the alluvial plain of the
Tigris-Euphrates river valleys.
Potter’s wheel: a technological advance in pottery making; invented circa 6000 B.C.E.; encouraged
faster and higher-quality ceramic pottery products.
Sumerians: people who migrated into Mesopotamia circa 4000 B.C.E.; created the first civilization
within the region; organized area into city-states.
Cuneiform: a form of writing developed by the Sumerians using a wedge-shaped stylus and clay tablets.
City-state: a form of political organization typical of Mesopotamian civilization; consisted of
agricultural hinterlands ruled by an urban-based king.
Ziggurats: massive towers usually associated with Mesopotamian temple connections.
Babylonian Empire: unified all of Mesopotamia circa 1800 B.C.E.; collapsed due to foreign invasion
circa 1600 B.C.E.
Hammurabi: the most important Babylonian ruler; responsible for codification of the law.
Pharaoh: the term used to denote the kings of ancient Egypt; the term, “great house” refers to the palace
of the pharaohs.
Pyramids: monumental architecture typical of Old Kingdom Egypt; used as burial sites for pharaohs.
Hieroglyphs: form of writing developed in ancient Egypt; more pictorial than Mesopotamian cuneiform.
Kush: African state that developed along the upper reaches of the Nile circa 1000 B.C.E.; conquered
Egypt and ruled it for several centuries.
Monotheism: the exclusive worship of one god; introduced by Jews into Middle Eastern civilization.
Phoenicians: seafaring civilization located on the shores of the eastern Mediterranean; established
colonies throughout the Mediterranean.
Harappa and Mohenjo Daro: major urban complexes of Harappan civilization; laid out on planned
grid pattern.
Aryans: Indo-European nomadic, warlike, pastoralists who replaced Harappan civilization.
Huanghe (Yellow) River Basin: site of the development of sedentary agriculture in China.
Shang: 1st Chinese dynasty.
Oracles: shamans or priests in Chinese society who foretold the future through interpreting animal
bones cracked by heat; inscriptions on bones led to Chinese writing.
Ideographic writing: pictograph characters grouped together to create new concepts; typical of Chinese
writing.