Period 1:
Technological and Environmental
Transformations, to c. 600 B.C.E.
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I. Archeological evidence indicates that during the Paleolithic era,
hunting-foraging bands of humans gradually migrated from their
origin in East Africa to Eurasia, Australia, and the Americas, adapting their
technologyand cultures to new climate regions
.
A. Humans used fire in new ways: to aid hunting and foraging, to protect
against predators, and to adapt to cold environments. Fire is considered a
technology, and an effect of the changing climates.
B. Humans developed a wider range of tools specially adapted to
different environments from tropics to tundra. Stone tools for hunting, and
preparing food and shelter. Later Bronze and then Iron tools will be used for
farming, shelter, and protection.
C. Economic structures focused on small kinship groups of hunting –foraging bands
that could make what they needed to survive. However, all groups were selfsufficient; they exchanged people, ideas, and goods. web of social relationships that
form an important part of the lives of most humans in most societies
I. Beginning about 10,000 years ago, the Neolithic Revolution led
to the development of new and more complex economic and social
systems.
A. Possibly as a response to climatic change, permanent agricultural villages emerged first
in the lands of the eastern Mediterranean. Agriculture emerged at different times in
Mesopotamia, the Nile River Valley and Sub-Saharan Africa, the Indus River Valley, the
Yellow River or Huang He Valley, Papua New Guinea, Mesoamerica, and the Andes.
Know where these places are located.
B. Pastoralism developed at various sites in the grasslands of Afro-Eurasia. Branch of
agriculture concerned with the raising of livestock. It is animal husbandry: the care,
tending and use of animals such as camels, goats, cattle, yaks, llamas, and sheep.
D. Agricultural communities had to work cooperatively to clear land and
create the water control systems needed for crop production. Slash and burn agriculture ,
Deforestation, irrigation and damming water for crops. ( Environmental Damage)
E. These agricultural practices drastically impacted environmental
diversity. Pastoralists also affected the environment by grazing large
numbers of animals on fragile grasslands, leading to erosion when
overgrazed. (Environmental Damage)
II. Agriculture and pastoralism began to transform human societies.
B. Surpluses of food and other goods led to specialization of labor, including
new classes of artisans and warriors, and the development of elites. ( First
Social Classes)
C. Technological innovations led to improvements in agricultural
production, trade, and transportation.
Required examples of improvements in agricultural production, trade,
and transportation:
• Pottery improved ag production because they used this to carry water and
keep the food stored
• Plows Quicker and easier way to break the ground to plant crops, uses
domesticated animals as muscle.
• Woven textiles used for cloth and clothing, valuable for trade
• Metallurgy the technology of making metal. Replaced stone tools and
weapons, where easier, faster and lighter to make.
• Wheels and wheeled vehicles Used to transport crops from the fields, and
for transportation and trade.
Key Concept 1.3. The Development and Interactions of
Early Agricultural, Pastoral, and Urban Societies
From about 5,000 years ago, urban societies developed, laying the
foundations for the first civilizations. The term civilization is normally used to
designate large societies with cities and powerful states. While there were
many differences between civilizations, they also shared important features.
They all produced agricultural surpluses that permitted significant
specialization of labor. All civilizations contained cities and generated complex
institutions, such as political bureaucracies, armies, and religious hierarchies.
They also featured clearly stratified social hierarchies and organized longdistance trading relationships. Economic exchanges intensified within and
between civilizations, as well as with nomadic pastoralists.
As populations grew, competition for surplus resources, especially
food, led to greater social stratification, specialization of labor, increased
trade, more complex systems of government and religion, and the
development of record keeping. As civilizations expanded, they had to
balance their need for more resources with environmental constraints such as
the danger of undermining soil fertility. Finally, the accumulation of wealth in
settled communities spurred warfare between communities and/or with
pastoralists; this violence drove the development of new technologies of war
and urban defense.
II. The first states emerged within core
civilizations.
A. States were powerful new systems of rule
that mobilized surplus labor and resources
over large areas. Early states were often led
by a ruler whose source of power was
believed to be divine or had divine support
and/or who was supported by the military.
Egyptian Pharaohs revered as gods.
Chinese emperors where considered Son’s of
Heaven ( Mandate of Heaven)
• B. As states grew and competed for land and
resources, the more favorably situated — including
the Hittites, who had access to iron — had greater
access to resources, produced more surplus food,
and experienced growing populations. These states
were able to undertake territorial expansion and
conquer surrounding states.
The Hittite military made successful use of
chariots. Although belonging to the
Bronze Age, they were the forerunners of the
Iron Age. Were situated geographically and
had access to more food and resources.
C. Early regions of state expansion or empire building were
Mesopotamia, Babylonia, and the Nile Valley.
Political Structures and forms of governance
-Sumerian kings emerged into Mesopotamia, ventured their own societies, and later conflicts turned to wars.
•
-Conquerors extended their authority and built empires that took over affairs of cities and people
•
-Each king had their own way of governing their empire
Revolts and revolutions
-Sargon seized control and his empire embraced all of Mesopotamia
•
-After Sargon's empires fell of rebellion, Hammurabi later reigned as king of four quarters of the world, and became a
more efficient ruler than Sargon since he had his own techniques
•
-After Hammurabi's reign was over, Assyrians took over
•
-However, Assyrian's empire was really unpopular which resulted in a fall and Babylonian empire was taking over for
the second time
Empires
-Mesopotamian empires became stronger when Sumerian kings started improving on their reign
•
-Hammurabi reigned the Babylonian empire and did a better job than Sargon because of his code, and ruling
techniques
•
-The Assyrian empire ruled after the Babylonian empire collapsed but its domination was quite unpopular
•
-So for half a century, Babylon once again dominated Mesopotamia after the Assyrian empire had fallen
Nations and nationalism
-For almost a millennium, Sumerians cities such as Babylon, Kish, Nippur, Lagash, Uruk, Ur, and Eridu dominated affairs in
Mesopotamia
•
-Basically, these empires ruled and took place in parts all over Mesopotamia
Regional, trans regional, and global structures and organizations
-The organization of each empire was operated differently in their own ways
•
For example, Sumerian kings ruled in cooperation with nobles, Sargon reigned by conquering and seizing, Hammurabi
ruled by a code, and Assyrians ruled by organizing powerful armies
•
-The structure counted on whether kings ruled great or not, if not, their empire would fall because of rebellions
D. Pastoralists were often the developers and disseminators of new
weapons and modes of transportation that transformed warfare in
agrarian civilizations. Compound bows and iron weapons
New modes of transportation• Chariots • Horseback riding
Early civilizations developed monumental architecture and urban
Planning (Kings imposed taxes to pay for the construction of these
monuments, as well as conquered peoples free labor “slavery” like in
Mesopotamia and Egypt )
• Ziggurats Religious monuments ( Mesopotamia )
• Pyramids ( Egypt)
• Temples ( all of them)
• Defensive walls ( all of them)
• Streets and roads ( all of them)
• Sewage and water systems ( Indus )
• Elites, both political and religious, promoted
arts and artisanship.
• Sculpture
• Painting
• Wall decorations
• Elaborate weaving
Systems of record keeping arose independently in all early
civilizations and subsequently were diffused.
• Cuneiform ( Mesopotamia )
• Hieroglyphs ( Egypt)
• Pictographs ( China)
• Quipu ( Chavin)
D. States developed legal codes, including the
Code of Hammurabi, that reflected existing
hierarchies and facilitated the rule of
governments over people.
F. Trade expanded throughout this period from
local to regional and trans regional, with
civilizations exchanging goods, cultural ideas,
and technology.
• Between Egypt and Nubia
• Between Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley
• G. Social and gender hierarchies intensified as
states expanded and cities multiplied.
Patriarchal Gender Systems - social system in
which males are the primary authority figures
central to social organization, occupy roles of
political leadership, moral authority and control
of property, and where fathers hold authority
over women and children. It implies the
institutions of male rule and entails female
subordination.
H. Literature was also a reflection of culture.
• The “Epic of Gilgamesh” We know that Mesopotamia
believed in many gods; we know they were self-conscious
of their own cultivation of the natural world; and we know
they were literate.
• Rig Veda- Rig means praise in Sanskrit, and the Rig Veda is a
collection of hymns which sing praise for the gods. To this day,
the book is considered the most holy of all Hindu texts, even
though many of the gods who are the chief subjects in the
hymns have lost much of their importance.
• Book of the Dead- The spells in the Book of the Dead depict
Egyptian beliefs about the nature of death and the afterlife.
The Book of the Dead is a vital source of information about
Egyptian beliefs in this area.