Question:
Why are the development of domesticated animals and settled agriculture
significant to the emergence of the early civilizations?
Sample Responses:
1) The domesticated animals are a way of food, using animals to turn, plow the ground, settled
agriculture they were able to plant grain & vegetables. By these two things they no longer
had to roam for foods or travel long distances for meat.
2) This allowed civilizations to be self supportive and emerge into a greater civilization. They
could create a market for food so those who don’t own land or domesticated animals could
purchase or trade. This led to civilizations like Mesopotamia and then greater empires like
Akkadia.
3) People were able to remain in one place and produce their own food rather then having to
roam the land to obtain it. The early agricultural settlements gradually grew to become
cities. As the numbers of fields being cultivated grew so did the supply of food. Gradually
some people were able to discontinue farming and take up other trades in cities, due to the
surplus available. The growth of cities then led to the growth of civilization.
4) [Domesticated] animals & agriculture were like the primary sources for other fields to be
developed in the early civilization. For example, people found out that they can use the
sheep not just for meat but also for byproducts such as wool & milk which led the
development of industries like textiles (making cloth) by using woolens. The agriculture
made people cultivate several crops like wheat and several other grains. Both agriculture &
domesticated animals started & increased the trade between cities which influenced the early
civilization.
5) People could settle down in one place instead of having to roam for food. They could have a
surplus of food and concentrate on other crafts.
6) People were able to live in larger groups and staying in an area because they did not have to
hunt/gather food. People could make more food then what was needed so others could do
crafts or other “jobs.” Irrigation of fields making them green, villages having agricultural
workers, city’s fortress walls . . . helped support civilizations.
7) There was no way to advance or become organized because they were too busy scavenging
and trying to survive. When they didn’t have to go hunt or gather it opened up more time to
organize and to explore.
8) Before people had domesticated animals and agriculture they had to go where the food was.
These two inventions allowed people to stay in one place and still provide for their families.
Furthermore it eventually led to specialized jobs where people didn’t have to farm but could
trade their goods for food.
Practice ID (Pick ONE):
Epic of Gilgamesh
cuneiform
city-state
Sample Responses:
a) Cuneiform was the first form of writing for Sumerians in c. 2350 B.C. in Mesopotamia. It
was essentially wedge carving (cuneiform coming from the Latin word for wedge) into a clay
tablet which used both phonetic and pictograph symbols to structure language. Professional
scribes usually wrote cuneiform for at first keeping accounting records of trade and then later
for carrying out traditions, culture and stories to the next generation. We now have records
of what these people did and how they thought.
b) Cuneiform was a type of writing used by the Egyptians throughout their history. It was
chiseled into stone in temples on buildings and other statues. Cuneiform wasn’t exactly an
alphabet rather each symbol had a specific meaning. When these symbols were strung
together various ideas and messages were conveyed. This was important because it was a
change from drawings to something closer to an alphabet.
a) In the Bronze Age 4000-1000 B.C. city-states emerged in Mesopotamia. People were
becoming more organized through city-states which is when a city is independently governed
and is also governing the countryside around it. By having a city-state people would be safer
and would benefit off of the irrigated land and the canal systems the city-states offered.
b) City-states were urban centers for economical & political control over the countryside around
them. They emerged during the Bronze Age (4000-1000 B.C.) in the areas between the
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers of the Fertile Crescent (in modern-day Iraq). Since agriculture
and trade were the primary sources for the prosperity of the cities, they developed
governments to administer economic activity and laws. City walls protected against outside
invaders. City-states also had temples of mud brick (ziggurats) where priests sacrificed to
the many gods to keep their favor. Outside the walls, fields were irrigated by systems of
ditches. All of this showed the growing hierarchy and specialization of early Mesopotamian
civilization.
a) Epic of Gilgamesh was a book probably written during the Bronze Age. It was a story
probably told by a commoner emphasizing the power of the gods. It was a story about a hero
that tried to trick his way out of death and to seek and achieve immortality. Gilgamesh was
not only a hero, but he was king of Uruk. The people prayed to the gods to send someone
down to destroy Gilgamesh and the gods did, but the creature they sent became friends, thus
not defeating Gilgamesh. Together they killed Humbaba a giant, and after Humbaba’s death,
the creatures did as well.
b) Epic of Gilgamesh emphasized the gods are awesome & limits of human control over the
circumstances of life. It is like a story. Gilgamesh was the king of the city of Uruk. It was a
long poem that sought to cheat death & achieve immortality. In the epic mother of gods
created a rival to Gilgamesh she created man of nature. He had a lot of hair.