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Ancient Civilizations - Cornell Notes
I. Dawn of History
A. Paleolithic Age (Old Stone Age)
What are the
characteristics
of the
Paleolithic
Era?
How did
people obtain
food during
the Neolithic
Era?
1. When - 2 million BCE to 10,000 BCE
2. First people lived more than 2 million years ago in East Africa
3. Hunters and Gatherers
a. People lived nomadic lifestyles
b. Men would hunt game animals and fish
c. Women would collect fruits, berries and other edibles
4. Adapting to their environment
a. Tools
1. Simple tools - digging sticks, spears and axes out of
stone, bone or wood.
2. Clothing - skins of animals
b. Shelter – caves
c. Fire - people learned to build fires for warmth and cooking.
5. Paleolithic Societies
a. Groups numbered between 20-30 people
b. Developed spoken languages
1. Allowed people to communicate during a hunt
6. Early belief systems
a. Polytheistic – early forms of animism
b. People began burying the dead
1. Burials suggest that people believed in an afterlife
2. The dead were buried with their tools and weapons
7. Migration
a. People migrated from Africa to Asia, Europe and North
America
b. Led to cultural diffusion
1. Also occurred through warfare and trade
8. Scarce resources
a. Hunting and gathering sustained human life for millions of
years, but people barely survived.
b. People moved from place to place because resources were
scarce
c. People needed a more reliable way of obtaining a supply of
food
B. Neolithic or Agricultural Revolution (New Stone Age)
1. When - 10,000 BCE
2. Important discoveries
a. Farming
1. People learned to plant seeds to grow food
2. Led to permanent settlements
3. Sedentary agriculture – Farm in one place
b. Domesticate animals
1. Tamed animals they had been hunting
2. Herded and penned the animals
3. Used for food, clothing, labor and transportation
Why was the
Neolithic Era
considered a
revolution?
3. Impact of Neolithic Revolution
a. Farming led to a more reliable source of food
b. As food supply increased, so did the population
1. Population of settlements numbered in the hundreds to
thousands
2. Permanent communities formed
c. New Technologies – people needed new tools in order to
meet their new needs
1. Calendars – helped determine when to plant and
harvest crops
2. Metal tools – built bronze and then iron plows that
were pulled by animals
3. Irrigation systems – brought water from rivers to
farms
4. Metal weapons – developed bronze and then iron
weapons to defend their resources and villages
C. Rise of Civilizations
Why were
rivers valleys
important to
early
civilizations?
1. Rivers valleys - home to the first civilizations
a. Fertile Land – the yearly floods provided arable land
b. Fresh Water – gave people water source
c. Transportation – Used the river as a means of transportation
d. Trade – as the civilizations grew and expanded, more
people came into contact with one another
2. Characteristics of a Civilization
a. Cities – populations grew into the thousands due to
increased food supplies
b. Central governments – provide order, organization and
protection
c. Traditional economy – based on farming and other skilled
crafts such as pottery, clothing and other goods
d. Organized religion – polytheistic, where priests would
perform ceremonies to ensure plentiful crops and
protection
e. Specialization of labor - increased food supplies allowed
people to perform different jobs in society
f. Social classes emerge – based on one’s occupation
1. Priests, warriors, craftsmen or artisan, and farmer
2. Chiefs - emerged as leaders
3. Women’s status declined as men took lead roles as
warriors
4. Warfare increased as resources became scarce
g. Systems of writing – Used for record keeping. Early
writing used pictures and then developed into symbols
h. Art and architecture – Built temples and palaces to honor
religious and political leaders.
i. Public works – built infrastructure such as roads, bridges
and walls for protection
II. River Valley Civilizations - (4000 BCE - 1650 BCE)
A. Nile River Valley – Egypt (North Africa)
How did the
Nile allow
Egypt to
centralize its
government?
1. Geographic Setting
a. Region – North Africa, Middle East
b. Topography – Mostly Desert
1. Natural barrier – provided protection from invasion
2. Lack of arable land
c. Nile River - River flows from South to North
1. Silt from floods leaves a rich deposit of soil
2. Used as a highway for travel and trade
3. Villages merge to form cities along river becomes into
one kingdoms: Upper Egypt (South) and Lower Egypt
(North)
4. Nile Delta - in Lower Egypt, where the Nile emptied
into the Mediterranean Sea
2. Government
a. Pharaohs – ruler of Egypt that is believed to be both a God
and a King
1. Absolute power – claimed divine right
2. Centralized Government – Strong central
government/leaders
3. Bureaucracy – Run by a Vizier to help run
government business, such as collecting taxes
b. Dynasty – Ruling family of Egypt; When the pharaoh died,
power was passed onto the another family member
c. Menes – Pharaoh (3100 BCE) - United Upper and Lower
Egypt to create the first dynasty
1. Used the Nile to link Upper and Lower Egypt
3. Religion
a. Polytheistic – Worshipped many gods
1. Amon-Re – The Sun God and the Chief God
2. Osirus – God of the Nile, controlled the Nile’s annual
flood
b. Afterlife – Egyptians prepared the dead for life after death
1. Pyramids – Tombs and monuments used to store the
remains of dead pharaohs as they await the afterlife
What
Egyptian
contribution
would you
consider the
most
important to
today’s
society?
4. Society
a. Social Classes
1. Upper Class – Pharaoh, Priests, Nobles
2. Middle Class – Merchants and artisans (skilled
workers)
3. Lower Class – Peasants (Farmers)
4. Slaves
b. Role of Women:
1. Legally own property
2. Run business
3. Divorce
c. Contributions
1. Papyrus – Paper making
2. Hieroglyphics – Writing system that used pictures to
represent words and ideas
a. Rosetta Stone- Helped translate Egyptian writing
3. Literature - poetry, songs, hymns and fiction
4. Surgery and Medicine
a. Mummification preserving the dead helped them
diagnose illnesses and perform surgery
5. Calendar – based on 365 days (solar)
6. Number system - based on 10 (10, 100, 1000, etc)
B. Tigris & Euphrates Rivers – Mesopotamia (Middle East)
1. Geographic Setting
a. Region – Middle East
b. The Fertile Crescent – a crescent shaped region of good
farmland created by the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers that
stretches from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea
c. Mesopotamia – The land between the rivers
d. Few natural barriers
1. Cultural diffusion – exchange of goods and ideas
2. Invasion – lack of barriers allowed for several
invasions
2. Sumerian Civilization – (3000 BCE)
a. Government
1. City- States – Sumer was divided into independent
areas that included a city and the surrounding land
2. Rulers – seen as the chief servant to the gods
a. Role – Enforced laws, collected taxes, led armies
into war, kept records, maintained city walls
and irrigation systems
b. Religion
1. Polytheistic – Gods had human qualities and were tied
to the forces of nature
2. Each city-state had their own God or Goddess
3. Ziggurats - Stone temples made out of sun-dried
bricks that were used for religious purposes
c. Social Classes
1. Upper Class – Ruling family, officials and high priests
2. Middle Class –Merchants and artisans (skilled
workers)
3. Lower Class – Peasants (Farmers)
Why were
irrigation
systems
important to
the
development
of
civilizations?
What are the
characteristics
of
Hammurabi’s
Code?
d. Contributions
1. Inventions
a. Sailboat
b. Wheel
c. Plow
d. Walled cities
2. Architecture
a. Ziggurats
3. Irrigation Systems – a network of canals that provided
water for those away fro the river banks
4. Cuneiform – Writing systems that used wedged
shaped marks to keep records
5. Math contributions
a. Basic algebra
b. Geometry
c. Number system - based on 6
6. Literature - The Epic of Gilgamesh
3. Babylonian Civilization
a. Government
1. Centralized government – strong central government
2. Hammurabi – (1792-1750 BCE) God-like king
3. Code of Hammurabi – 300 codified laws carved in
stone
a. Criminal Law – robbery, assault, murder
b. Civil law – business contracts, property, taxes,
marriage and divorce
c. Specific punishments for specific laws
d. Harsh punishments – “Eye for an Eye”
e. Unequal enforcement – Lower social classes
vs. nobles, men vs. women, adults vs. children
– laws were harsher for lower classes, women
and children)
b. Contributions
1. Contract - written agreement
2. Astronomy – Study of universe
a. Lunar calendar (12 months, 7 day week, 24 hr
day)
3. Number system - based on 60 (60 minute hour, 360
degree circle)
4. Map makers – cartographer
C. Indus River Valley – Indian Subcontinent (India and
Pakistan)
1. Geographic Setting
a. Region - South Asia
b. Mountain ranges
1. Hindu Kush
2. Himalayan
c. Climate - Hot dry
d. Monsoons – seasonal winds that brought rainfall to the
Indian Subcontinent
e. Indus River - Floods brought rich soil and destruction
(unpredictable due to monsoon rains)
Why are
written
records
important to
understanding
history?
2. Mystery
a. Little is known about the Indus river valley because
historians and archaeologists have not been able to decipher
the writing system.
b. All that is known comes from archaeological finds
3. Government
a. Centralized government – strong central government
1. Well-Planned Cities – Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro
2. Streets with grids
3. Uniformed Systems - weights and measures
4. Religious buildings
5. Buildings used to store grain
4. Contributions
a. Plumbing systems – baths, drains, sewers
b. Buildings made of brick
c. Irrigation ditches and flood barriers
d. Wheel
D. Yellow River Valley (Huang He) and the Yangzi River –
China (3000-2500 BCE)
What are the
positive
impacts of
natural
barriers?
What are the
negative
impacts of
natural
barriers?
1. Geographic Setting
a. Region – East Asia
b. Natural barriers – mountains, deserts, rainforest, ocean
1. Isolation
c. River Valleys
1. Huang He – Yellow River
a. Loess - yellow matter in river that brings nutrients
to soil
b. Floods – given the nickname, “River of Sorrows”
2. Yangzi River
2. Government
a. Decentralized government
1. Shang Dynasty – 1650 BCE
2. Dynasty – Ruling family of China; when the emperor
died, another family member took over
3. Kings controlled small areas of land
4. City-states – ruled by groups of families
3. Religion
a. Polytheistic – worshipped many gods and nature spirits
b. Early form of Daoism
1. Yin and yang – opposing forces that held nature in
balance
c. Ancestor Worship – honored ancestors with sacrifices and
shrines
4. Society
a. Social Classes
1. Upper Class - Royals family and nobles
2. Merchants and artisans
3. Peasants – farmers
The belief that
your culture is
superior to
others is
known as?
b. “Middle Kingdom” - Due to isolation, early Chinese
thought of themselves as the center of the universe
5. Contributions
a. Writing system
1. Thousands of characters made it hard to learn
2. Pictographs – drawings of objects
3. Ideographs – Drawings of thoughts and ideas
III. Classical Civilizations
A. Zhou Dynasty – China (1027 BCE-221 BCE)
What
European
theory is
similar to the
Mandate of
Heaven?
What was a
positive
impact that
Confucianism
had on
Chinese
society?
1. Government
a. Overthrew the Shang Dynasty
b. Mandate of heaven – Right to rule comes from heaven; used
to explain the dynastic cycle
c. Dynastic Cycle – cycle that explained the rise and fall of
dynasties, based on the mandate of heaven
d. Feudal government – Zhou emperors granted control of
large areas of land to their supporters. The local lords
controlled their own areas, but owed military service to the
emperor
2. Economy
a. Trade – increased as a result of new roads and canals that
were built (infrastructure)
b. Money – Chinese copper coins as a form of currency
c. Agriculture – expanded after the development of iron tools
such as plows and axes
3. Contributions
a. Confucianism – Belief system that provided order and
stability in China by creating rules of behaviors for
individuals based on filial piety; Best government was
educated
b. Daoism – Belief system that stressed harmony in nature,
based on the Dao and concepts of the yin and yang; best
government, governed least
c. Literature – “Book of Songs” – poems that describe
farming, government, ceremonies and love
d. Astronomy – Studied planet movements and ellipses to
create a 365 day calendar
e. Silk – Fine clothing material that was China’s most
valuable export
f. Iron – used for weapons and tools
B. Qin Dynasty – China (221 BCE – 206 BCE)
What are the
similarities
between the
Qin’s
Legalism and
Hammurabi’s
Code?
1. Government
a. Overthrew the Zhou dynasty – Shi Huangdi claims to be
China’s “First Emperor”
b. Centralized government
1. Abolished feudal states
2. Created military districts with an official heading
each area
c. Legalism - strict set of laws that imposed harsh penalties.
Used to jail, torture and kill those who imposed the
emperor. Would target nobles and Confucian scholars.
d. Burned books – ordered the destruction of all books of
literature and philosophy
2. Economy
1. Standardized weights and measures
2. Created national coins
3. Repaired canals and roads
3. Contributions
a. Great Wall of China – Built to China’s civilized world
from nomadic invaders from the north (Mongols)
1. Thousands of workers died building the wall due to
harsh conditions.
C. Han Dynasty – China (206 BCE - 220 CE)
Why is it
important to
have an
educated
government?
How is the
Silk Road
similar to the
internet?
1. Government
a. Dynastic Cycle - People despised the Qin’s dynasty’s
harsh laws and heavy taxes; Led by peasants, the Han
Dynasty would take control of China
b. Han Dynasty – Reduced taxes and repealed Legalism
c. Civil Service Exams – Emperor Wudi improved China’s
government by setting up exams based on Confucian
principles; this would assure Chinese officials were given
jobs based on merit, not their family influence
2. Economy
a. Infrastructure – improved roads and canals to improve
trade
b. Monopoly – set up an monopoly on iron and salt; this gave
the government another source of income other than the
taxes on peasants
c. Silk Road – Wudi opened a trade route to the west that
expanded from china to the Middle East and Eastern
Europe. China would capitalize on its silk production ($$);
New goods were introduced to China
Even though
Civil Service
Exams helped
provide China
with a stable
government,
how did they
also promote
in unequal
society?
3.
Society
a. Scholar gentry – Wealthy educated class emerged from the
Civil Service Exams
b. Women – Confucian principles had women subordinate to
men; women were not allowed to take the exams and could
not take a government job
4.
Contributions
a. Technology
1. Paper making from wood pulp
2. Wheel barrow
3. Fishing reel
4. Rudder – device to help steer ships
5. Suspension bridges
6. Iron stirrups
b. Science
1. Acupuncture – needles are inserted under the skin
to relieve pain and to treat illnesses
c. Arts
1. Temples and palaces
2. Jade and Ivory carvings
3. Bronze artworks
4. Silk
5. Literature – “Lessons for a Woman” – Roles for
men and women
5.
Fall of the Han Dynasty
a. Political Causes – Weak rulers after the death of Wudi;
unable to control powerful warlords
b. Economic Causes – Did not maintain canals and roads
which were vital for trade to prosper; Increased taxes on
the peasants, led to a revolt
c. Military Causes – Warlords overthrew the last Han
emperor in 22 CE, the empire was split into several
kingdoms; invaders overran the Great Wall and set up their
own kingdoms
D. Greece (1750 BCE – 133 BC)
1.
Geographic setting
a. Located in southeast Europe, it consists of many mountains
isolated valleys and small islands
b. The Mediterranean and Aegean Seas were an important
link to the outside world
c. The Greeks became skilled sea traders allowed for cultural
diffusion where they exchanged goods and ideas
(technology)
1. They adopted the Phoenician alphabet for their own
use.
What were the
differences
between
Spartan
society and
Athenian
society?
2. Early civilizations
a. Minoans – 1750 BCE the first Greek civilization was
established.
1. The Minoans traded with Egypt and Mesopotamia
3. Government
a. Due to the rugged mountains and isolated valleys, Greek
civilizations revolved around the small city-state or polis.
b. This geography prevented the Greeks from building a large
empire like the Egyptians or Mesopotamians
4. The Rise of City States
a. Greek culture – Greek city-states had independent
government but shared many cultural characteristics such
as: language, religion, and sports.
b. Between 750 BCE and 500BCE the city states had several
different types of government
1. Monarchy – first form of government
2. Aristocracy - landowning nobles gained power
c. Sparta – A Totalitarian, Military Dictatorship
1. At the age of seven boys moved into the military
barracks
2. They trained hard and faced rigid discipline
3. Girls also trained hard to strengthen their bodies
4. Healthy women produce healthy babies
5. Sparta was an totalitarian state that produced an
excellent military
6. But they did not trade, create products, nor were
they scholarly so they left no cultural achievements
7. Spartan inability to change, would lead to its
decline
d. Athens – A Limited Democracy
1.
Under the leadership of Pericles (460BCE – 429
BCE
2.
Direct-Democracy - all “citizens” participated in
government by debating all political actions.
3.
To be a citizen you must be: a male, over 30, who
owns land
4.
Women were seen as needing male guidance and
were not allowed to participate.
5.
Slaves and foreign born also did not participate
What is the
blending of
ideas, goods
and culture
known as?
5. Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic age
a. Macedonia was a mountainous region in the kingdom of
northern Greece.
b. Alexander the Great built an empire that included the
Egypt, Persia and parts of India
c. Hellenistic culture - blended aspects of Greek, Persian,
Egyptian and Indian life.
d. This culture gave more rights and opportunities to women.
e. Although the empire fell soon after his death, Hellenistic
culture had a lasting impact in the regions he had ruled
6. Greek and Hellenistic Contributions
a. Philosophy
1. Greek thinkers tried to use observation and reason to
understand why things happened
2. The word philosopher means “lover of wisdom”
3. Socrates - Developed the scientific method: leaning
about beliefs and ideas by asking questions;
Government put him to death
4. Plato - Believed government should control the lives
of the people; Divided society into three classes;
workers, philosophers and soldiers
5. Aristotle - Believed on strong and good leader should
rule; Believed people ruled through reason
b. Literature
1. Famous for plays - tragedies and comedies
2. Famous poet: Homer
a. Iliad - Set in the Trojan War - the ten-year siege
of Ilium by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of
the battles and events during the weeks of a
quarrel between King Agamemnon and the
warrior Achilles
b. Odyssey – a sequel to the Iliad, The poem
mainly centers on the Greek hero Ulysses and
his long journey home following the fall of
Troy. It takes Odysseus ten years to reach home
3. The first true historian: Herodotus
a. Considered the “father of history” for his
careful historical writing
c. Art and Architecture
1. Greeks believed in beauty, balance, and order in the
universe
2. Greek Statues - were life-like, and showed the human
body in the perfect form
What
buildings in
the United
States were
influenced by
the
Parthenon?
The Discus Thrower
3. Parthenon - The most famous Greek building
Greece is
often
considered the
father to
Western
Civilization.
What
contributions
did the Greeks
provide for
Western
Civilizations?
A modern copy of what the Parthenon looked like
4. Use of columns
5. Symmetry
d. Science
1. Aristarchus discovered that the earth rotated on its
axis and moved around the sun
2. Archimedes explored the principals of levels and
pulleys
3. Hippocrates, a Greek physician, studies the causes of
illness and looked for cures
e. Mathematics
1. Pythagoras; the formula of a right triangle
2. Euclid: wrote a book that became the basis fir
modern geometry
E. Rome (509 BCE – 476 CE)
1. Geography
a. Italy – located in the center of the Italian peninsula
b. Mediterranean Sea – helped the Romans trade and expand
into an empire that spanned three continents (Europe,
North Africa and the Middle East)
Why was
Rome’s legal
system often
considered the
greatest
contribution
to Western
Civilization?
2. Government
a. The Roman Republic – established a government where
people had the power to elect representatives
b. Senate – most powerful governing body of the republic
c. Roman Law – Rome’s greatest achievement
1. Twelve Tables – codified laws of Rome that
guaranteed the right to all Roman citizens
2. Basic principles – equality under the law, right of the
accused to face the accuser and defend one’s self, idea
of being innocent until proven guilty
3. Males had authority over his wife and family
3. Society
a. Patricians – Upper class, landowning Roman citizens that
made up the Senate
b. Plebeians – Social class made up of farmers, merchants,
artisans and traders who had little power
c. Women – were subordinate to men, but gained right to hold
a prominent public role and own businesses
4. Roman Empire
a. Conquering an Empire – By 270 BCE, Rome had
conquered the Italian peninsula and then used the
Mediterranean Sea to conquer an empire that spanned three
continents:
1. Europe (including present day England, France,
Germany, and Greece)
2. North Africa – Mediterranean Coast
3. Southwest Asia (Middle East) - Asian Minor
What
geographic
feature
allowed Rome
to trade with
and conquer
three
continents?
b. Civil War – Rome erupted into civil war as ambitious
generals (including Julius Caesar) tried to conquer Rome
for themselves. After the murder of Caesar, Octavian
(Caesar’s Grandnephew) emerged the victor.
c. Emperor – Octavian changed his name to Augustus and
ruled Rome with absolute power and the age of the Roman
Empire had begun.
Why must
civilizations
have a strong
government in
order to have
a strong
economy and
vice versa?
d. Strong Central Government
1. Civil Service Exams – ensured a well educated
government officials
2. Reformed tax system
3. Uniform coins – made trade easier
4. Strong military – expanded and protected the empire
b. Pax Romana – “Roman Peace” was a time of peace and
prosperity or a golden age.
1. Trade - Roman influence, through vast road networks
and the Mediterranean Sea. People freely traded with
others in the empire and with other parts of the
world, such as China and India, via the Silk Road.
2. Goods – grain from Nile River Valley, ivory and gold
from Africa, spices and gems from India and silk
from China
c. Religion - 313 CE Emperor Constantine legalizes
Christianity - Edict of Milan
d. Engineering
1. Roads – allowed for trade and military expansion
Why were
Rome’s roads
important for
a strong
government
and economy?
Why were
aqueducts an
important
reason why
Rome was the
first city with
over a million
people?
2. Arches – engineering technique that allowed Rome to
create large buildings
3. Concrete – material used for large buildings
4. Aqueducts – bridge-like structures that used the
roman arch to carry water from the hills to the cities
What modern
building have
been
influenced by
Roman
architecture
and
engineering?
5. Dome – a half, sphere-like roof
The Pantheon – Temple to all Roman Gods
6. Coliseum – Stadium built in Rome that was used for
Gladiator fights, chariot races and executions (Bread
and circuses)
Rome’s
centralized
government
provided
stability
(provided
trade, military
protection) for
nearly a
thousand
years. What
effect do you
think this has
on society,
when it is
taken away?
5. Fall of the Roman Empire
a. Political Causes
1. Government becomes too strict
2. People stop supporting the government
3. Corrupt officials
4. Divided empire becomes too weak
b. Economic Causes
1. Heavy taxes
2. Use too much slave labor
c. Military Causes
1. Constant invasions
2. Borders become too big to defend
3. Forced to hire foreign soldiers to protect the borders
d. Social Causes
1. Gap between the rich and the poor widens
2. People become selfish and lazy