Prologue & Chapter One
Foundations of Western Civilization, to 1000 B. C.
The Making of the West (vol. I)
[Before] civilization. . . people had to roam around to hunt and gather food in the
wild, using tools made from stone, bone, and wood. They were constantly on the
move, hoping to find enough to feed their families and still have something left over
for offerings to the supernatural forces they believed controlled nature.
Technological change altered this way of life fundamentally, if slowly, beginning
about ten to twelve thousand years ago, when people in southwestern Asia developed
agriculture and domesticated animals.
These revolutionary developments opened the way to civilization . . . Gradually,
settlements grew larger, until around 4000-3000 B. C. the first cities formed in
Mesopotamia (modern Iraq). Thus began the earliest civilization . . .
[Religious] concerns permeated early civilization. This characteristic appeared
prominently in the special religious status of Mesopotamia’s rulers, who were
responsible for creating order on earth by establishing laws and making sure the
people honored the gods. The same was true in Egypt, where civilization emerged
about 3100-3000 B. C., when the land became a unified state a central authority . . .
By 2000 B. C., civilizations also appeared in Anatolia (today Turkey), on islands in
the eastern Mediterranean Sea, and in Greece; all of them learned from the older
civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt . . . We are sure . . . the early civilizations of
Mesopotamia, Egypt, Minoan Crete, and Mycenaean Greece began the history of
Western civilization and that a violent period of crisis from about 1200 to 1000 B.
C. threatened to end its story.
These early civilizations developed and changed as a result of both intended and
unintended consequences . . . These early civilizations also thrived on cultural
interaction. From the earliest times, trade and war brought different peoples into
contact . . .
MAJOR SECTIONS
1) Before Civilization [Prologue]
2) Mesopotamia, Home of the First Civilization
3) Civilization in Ancient Egypt & the Levant
4) Civilization in Bronze-Age Greece & Anatolia
Big Picture Questions [Prologue & Chapter 1]
1) How did pre-historic peoples live before civilization? How & why did this
change over time?
2) What is meant by the term "civilization"? When, where, & how did the earliest
civilizations DEVELOP over time?
3) How did these early civilizations DIFFER from one another?
SIMILARITIES? What are some REASONS for the differences?
4) In what ways did early civilizations INTERACT with one another? How did
they INFLUENCE each other?
5) What types of EVIDENCE are used to piece together the history of prehistoric
peoples and early civilizations? How do they differ from each other?
These questions are to guide reading, note taking, & studying. You should be able
give specific examples & elaborate in detail on each question. Also re-read the
introduction & conclusion of the chapter for the broad themes. Use these questions &
the sample timeline below as models for creating your own study guides on
subsequent chapters. Please see me with any questions.