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Day 1: Mesopotamia
•Mesopotamia is also known as the “Fertile Crescent”, and was located on the
Tigris-Euphrates River in present day Iraq
•Flooding was unpredictable leaving villages vulnerable, yet left silt behind, which
added to the fertile soil
•Mesopotamia was organized into city states, ruled by kings who established
dynasties
•Hammurabi led the city state of Babylon, and created a code of laws
•These laws dealt with social problems and listed punishments based on social
classes
1. City-States in Mesopotamia
Video: Mesopotamia- From Nomads to Farmers
Video- 20 minutes
Farming
Inventions
Religion
Mesopotamia
Timekeeping
City-states/
Government
Writing
When Marduk sent me to rule over men, to give the protection of right to the land, I did right and in
righteousness brought about the well-being of the oppressed.
Below are situations Hammurabi faced. Decide what you think to be a fair way to deal with the
problem. Then, click to see what Hammurabi declared. Would Marduk, the supreme god, be pleased
with your decisions?
Below are situations Hammurabi faced. Decide what you
think to be a fair way to deal with the problem.
What should be done to the carpenter who builds a house that
falls and kills the owner?
What should be done when a "sister of god" (or nun) enters the
wine shop for a drink
What happens if a man is unable to pay his debts?
What happens to the wine seller who fails to arrest bad
characters gathered at her shop?
What should be done about a wife who ignores her duties and
belittles her husband?
What should be done if a son is adopted and then the birthparents want him back?
What should happen to a boy who slaps his father?
How is the truth determined when one man brings an
accusation against another?
YOUR SOLUTION
HAMMURABI’S
SOLUTION
The Rise of Early Civilizations By the early fourth millennium B.C., the population of the Tigris Euphrates increased; and city-states arose. By 2000 BC the cities of Sumer had grown so large
that some like Ur, the capital city, had populations more than 200,000 persons.
Hammurabi, the Priest King Hammurabi (ca. 1792 - 1750 BC) united all of Mesopotamia under
his forty-three year reign of Babylon. Although Hammurabi's Code is not the first code of laws (the
first records date four centuries earlier), it is the best preserved legal document reflecting the social
structure of Babylon during Hammurabi's rule.
About the Code Two hundred eighty-two laws, concerning a wide variety of abuses, justify
Hammurabi's claim of having acted "like a real father to his people . . . [who] has established
prosperity . . . and (gave) good government to the land."
See for Yourself
The laws were discovered in 1901 on a stela now in the Louvre Museum of
Paris, France.
What should be done to the carpenter who builds a house that
falls and kills the owner?
What should be done when a "sister of god" (or nun) enters the
wine shop for a drink?
What happens if a man is unable to pay his debts?
What happens to the wine seller who fails to arrest bad characters
gathered at her shop?
What should be done about a wife
who ignores her duties and belittles
her husband?
What should be done if a son is adopted and then the birthparents want him back?
What should happen to a boy who slaps his father?
How is the truth determined when one man brings an accusation
against another?
If a builder builds a house for a man and does not make its
construction sound, and the house which he has built collapses
and causes the death of the owner of the house, the builder shall
be put to death.
If a "sister of god" (nun) who is not living in a convent opens a
wine shop or enters a wine shop for a drink, they shall burn that
woman.
If a man be in debt and is unable to pay his creditors, he shall sell
his wife, son, or daughter, or bind them over to service. For three
years they shall work in the houses of their purchaser or master;
in the fourth year they shall be given their freedom.
If bad characters gather in the house of a wine seller and she
does not arrest those characters and bring them to the palace,
that wine seller shall be put to death.
If the woman has not been careful
but has gadded about, neglecting
her house and belittling her
husband,
they shall throw that woman into
the water.
If a man takes in his own home a young boy as a son and rears
him, one may not bring claim for that adopted son.
If a son strikes his father, they shall cut off his hand
If any one bring an accusation against a man, and the accused go
to the river and leap into the river, if he sink in the river his accuser
shall take possession of his house. But if the river prove that the
accused is not guilty, and he escape unhurt, then he who had
brought the accusation shall be put to death, while he who leaped
into the river shall take possession of the house that had belonged
to his accuser.
ZIGGURAT
Egypt
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
1JqlAD7dn-E&feature=related
Day 2: Egypt
• The Nile floods on a predictable schedule
• The desert separated & protected Egypt: separated
from other civilizations, protected from invasion
• Upper & Lower Egypt were united possibly by a king
named Narmer
• Pharaohs were believed to be descended from the gods,
hence Egypt was a theocracy.
• Society was structured into social classes
• Pyramids protected the Pharoahs “ka”-eternal life force
into the afterlife
Video Presentation on Egypt
As you watch the two video clips on Egypt,
answer the questions on the video
worksheet.
Egypt’s Social Hierarchy
Hierarchy =
•Categorization of a group of people according to ability or status.
•A series in which each element (people) is graded or ranked
Indus River Valley
Day 3: Indus River Valley
• India is a subcontinent, with two major
rivers: Indus and Ganges
• Monsoon winds contribute to the climate,
and can be unpredictable
• There is evidence of trade with
Mesopotamia—cotton cloth from the area
found in Sumer
Map of India
• Label your map of India using p. 45 in the
textbook
• Identify the following:
Himalaya Mountains
Eastern Ghats
Deccan Plateau
Indus River
Brahmaputra River
Hindu Kush Mountains
Western Ghats
Thar Desert
Ganges River
Indus River Valley
Read over the packet of cards given to your
group, and fill in the worksheet with five
key ideas about each topic
When you are finished, turn your paper over
and create a travel poster advertising why
people should go to the Indus River
Valley to settle
These will be collected for a grade
Create a brochure for the Indus River ValleyOutside- picture and slogan encouraging someone to visit
Inside- 3 panels- one on Land, one on Technology and one on
trade and travel:
For EACH panel:
•Write five sentences describing the positive attributes of that
category
•Draw a picture that highlights something specific in that
category
Fold so there
are 3 panels
inside.
River Dynasties in China
Day 4: Chinese Dynasties
• China’s geography includes many natural
barriers: the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea,
Pacific Ocean, the Taklimakan & Gobi
Deserts
• Early civilizations developed on the Yangtze &
Yellow (Huang He) Rivers
• Family was the center of Chinese life, it
included ancestor worship
Day 4: Chinese Dynasties
• The Shang Dynasty ruled from 1700
BC-1027 BC
• The Zhou Dynasty claims the “Mandate
of Heaven” from the Shang
• Feudalism develops in China under the
Zhou
• China will fall into chaos with the fall of
the Zhou
The Mandate of Heaven
Tien
(Heaven) Tien
(Heaven)
The Mandate of Heaven
• belief that heaven gives the
right to rule
The Mandate of Heaven
• ruler must be
– moral
– ethical
– good
The Mandate of Heaven
• in exchange, subjects are
loyal and obedient
The Mandate of Heaven
• bad leadership = right to rebel
Four Ways to Lose the Mandate:
• weak, corrupt or cruel
leadership
• natural disasters:
– earthquakes
– floods
– famine
• losing the loyalty and support of
the people
• losing a war, failing to meet the
needs of subjects, rebellion
New Dynasty
•brings peace
•rebuilds infrastructure
•gives land to peasants
•protects people
New Dynasty claims
Mandate of Heaven
Generations go by,
New Dynasty
becomes…
The
Dynastic
Cycle
Problems
•floods, earthquakes, famine
•peasant revolts
•invaders attack empire
•bandits raid countryside
Old Dynasty
•taxes people too much
•stops protecting the people
•lets infrastructure decay
•treats people unfairly
Old Dynasty loses the
Mandate of Heaven
New Dynasty
•brings peace
•rebuilds infrastructure
•gives land to peasants
•protects people
New Dynasty claims
Mandate of Heaven
Generations go by,
New Dynasty
becomes…
The
Dynastic
Cycle
Problems
•floods, earthquakes, famine
•peasant revolts
•invaders attack empire
•bandits raid countryside
Old Dynasty
•taxes people too much
•stops protecting the people
•lets infrastructure decay
•treats people unfairly
Old Dynasty loses the
Mandate of Heaven
Dynastic China Timeline
B.C. A.D.
Yuan
(Mongol)
1279-1368
Qin
221-206
1650
B.C.
Zhou
1027221
Han
206 B.C. - 220 A.D.
B.C.
Sui
581617
A.D.
Tang
617-907
A.D.
Song
9071279
A.D.
Ming
13681644
A.D.
Qing
(Manchu)
16441911
A.D.
Columbus arrives in
the “New World”
China’s total # of years = 3,561
United States total # of years = 236
United
States of
America
1911
Shang
1650-1027
A.D.
Period of
Disunity
B.C.
Shang Dynasty
You will receive a reading packet on the
Shang Dynasty
As you read through the packet:
• List three important facts that you
learned from each part of the reading
• Draw a picture to summarize or show what
you learned
Chinese writing could be read by everyone, even
though they spoke various languages.
These Chinese coins are made of
bronze. Their shape resembles a
digging tool such as a hoe or spade.
The earliest evidence of
Chinese writing is seen on
oracle bones like this one found
in the city of Anyang.
Mesopotamia
•Flooding of Tigris and Euphrates
are unpredictable
•sail
•Independent city-states
•Irrigation
•Cuneiform
•City-states governed first by
priests, then kings
•No natural barriers
•plow
•City-states eventually united into
first empires by conquerors
•Limited national resources for
making tools or buildings
•Bronze
•wheel
As you look at these
statements, decide if they fit
into one of these categories:
Environment, Power and
Authority, or Science and
Technology
Egypt
•Hieroglyphics
•Kingdom with strong
government organization
•pyramids
•Flooding of the Nile is
predictable
•Theocracy, pharaohs ruling as
gods
•Mathematics (geometry)
•Pharaohs built pyramids
•Nile an easy transportation link
between Egypt’s villages
•Medicine
•Deserts were natural barriers
As you look at these
statements, decide if they fit
into one of these categories:
Environment, Power and
Authority, or Science and
Technology
Indus Valley
•Strong centralized
government
•Planned cities
•Indus flooding
unpredictable
•Monsoon winds
•writing
•Social divisions not
significant
•Cities built on precise grid
•Plumbing and sewage
systems
•Mountains, deserts were
natural barriers
As you look at these
statements, decide if they fit
into one of these categories:
Environment, Power and
Authority, or Science and
Technology
China
•Huang He flooding
unpredictable
•writing
•silk
•Mountains, deserts natural
barriers
•Community and family more
important than individual
•Sharp divisions between nobles
and peasants
•Coined money
•Geographically isolated from
other ancient civilizations
•Cast iron
•Mandate of Heaven
As you look at these
statements, decide if they fit
into one of these categories:
Environment, Power and
Authority, or Science and
Technology
Environmental Factors Shape River Valley Civilizations
People would settle in areas
with water and fertile soil
for farming.
The earliest civilizations
formed in river valleys.
Sumerian villages were
located on open plains
without natural barriers.
The Sumerians built fortified
cities to help villages protect
themselves.
The Nile River flowed
through upper and lower
Egypt.
The Nile River helped unify
upper and lower Egypt by
creating a transport link.
China’s land forms featured
mountains and deserts.
Mountains and deserts were
barriers to invasion, which led to
an enduring Chinese culture.
The Indus River linked its
civilization to the sea.
Trade developed between
the Indus River civilization
and outside cultures.