Name_____________
Handout: Characterizations of Civilization (PEC)
Date________
Unit________
POLITICAL
Government, Writing, Laws, and Military:
Life in a civilization was very different than hunter-gatherer experiences. Surplus food from
agriculture created a need to store, protect, and distribute food. Flood water from rivers was also a
problem for ancient river civilizations (Mesopotamia, Egypt, Indus Valley, and China). Dams,
dikes, and irrigation projects had to be organized on a massive scale in order to handle annual
floods. In addition, with surplus food, new systems and measures had to be created in order to
manage commerce and limit conflict.
In order to solve these problems, ancient civilizations created governments. Governments created
small groups or agencies to focus on specific tasks. For example, there were agencies that
collected food, measured river height, or managed emergency teams during floods. In addition, as
trade increased, governments also regulated the prices and quantities of food.
Important to government management was a system of writing. An organized and readily
available document (clay tablets or papyrus paper) catered to the large and complex economy of
civilizations. For example, a document on crop fertilizer (animal feces) could be passed onto
farmers who want to increase food yield, inventors who want to improve fertilizer methods, or to
government officials who would save the document for later use. At first writing was
pictographic, which means whole pictures represented a noun or verb. Like a picture of a sun half
colored in next to a flax plant could mean flax plants only like partial sun, not direct sun. As time
passed, writing became alphabetic, a system in which symbols represented sounds of words.
The government also created laws in order to protect people’s rights and wealth as well as
establish rules of social & moral conduct. In general, there are three kinds of law: political
(relationship of citizen to government, economic (accumulation, preservation, use, and
distribution of wealth), and cultural (social values important to society and values of “right” and
wrong”, morality). Laws were not always fair in ancient times. Often different social classes were
given different rights and punishments and in most cases upper classes like royalty or religious
figures benefited from the rule of law. On the other hand, ancient laws created a common set of
laws that limited incessant conflict and promoted economic prosperity.
The government also managed the military. With surplus food and a need to find resources,
governments funded and trained a military. The military was organized by rank, often the leaders
were high ranking citizens like nobility or government officials, and the common soldiers were
recruited from the farmers or slave class. In some cases, early civilizations created a permanent,
paid army that would go on military campaigns during the summer and build public works (road,
buildings, irrigation etc.) during the winter.
ECONOMICS
Cities as Administrative and Market Centers & Specialization of Labor
Cities formed to accommodate government affairs and markets. For example, government
officials communicated important information to citizens; recorded farming, trade, and military
news; and served on committees to legislate, execute, or judge on important matters of the
civilization. The city also acted as the center of trade. Farmers and merchants exchanged
products, and consumers would come to the market to buy special items like tools or decorative
items (jewelry, art, writing etc.).
Trade and storage of food also became a common practice as a result of more food availability.
With new technologies and more time to voyage to different parts of the world, civilizations
interacted to improve the economic and cultural prosperity of their communities. Storage was
important for survival as well. Mother nature can be unreliable; a devastating flood year or no
flood at all can mean massive starvation and death. But with long term silos and extra food, on
many occasion civilizations tightened their belts and waited for the next growing season.
Lastly, surplus food allowed a small percentage of the population to focus on other jobs and
activities. This specialization of labor was critical to the technological and cultural progress of
civilizations because people had the time and energy to make more efficient tools, ponder new
ways of thinking about life, and explore creative practices like art and dance. For example, an
artisan class emerged during ancient times. These people were skilled craftspeople who worked
with metal to make tools, bricklayers who built walls and homes, and cloth workers who built
textiles.
CULTURAL
Leisure, Social Classes, Complex Religion, Art & Architecture, and Sense of Time
Sedentary life, surplus food, and specialization of labor also catered to new ways of playing.
Sports, games, dance, art, and exploration to other regions were now possible.
Specialization of labor also led to the creation of different social classes. Religious figures like
priests and government officials typically were at the top of the social order. Next came a small
class of merchants and military officers, followed by the artisan class. At the lowest level were
peasants. In many civilizations, slaves were at the lowest level. Slaves could be obtained from the
spoils of war, slave markets, by their family members to pay off family debts, or from criminal
punishment.
As early civilization centered on the earth for survival, many civilization worshipped gods
connected to land, water, and sky. Unlike popular religions today (Islam & Christianity), ancient
peoples were polytheistic, they worshipped many gods. For example, ancient Egyptians
worshipped Osiris the river and afterlife god, Amon-re the sun god, and Isis the fertility god.
In order to increase their favor with the gods, ancient peoples erected temples and monuments for
worship. In many civilizations, vast amounts of wealth were invested into religious monuments
like Ziggurats in Mesopotamia or the Pyramids in Egypt. Monuments were also created to display
the wealth and power of rulers. For example, since pyramids took very long to built (decades),
pharaohs would immediately begin the construction of pyramids in order to show off their
accomplishments before they died. Other buildings with more practical purposes were built as
well. Governments invested in irrigation projects, roads, and public buildings to improve life in
the city.
Lastly, planting food made it necessary for early civilization to understand flood cycles, day and
night hours, and seasons. As such, new professions such as astronomer and mathematicians
evolved to learn more about the movements of the stars and cycles of the earth.