Transcript Inquiry 2 Emergence of a Civilization

Inquiry 2
Emergence of a
Civilization
Writing:
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Its a means of communicating.
Plays a big part of our lives!
The Importance of Law in Our Society
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What is the importance of law today? In order to establish this
we must first establish what the point of law is. Law and order is
essential in all communities. In an orderly law-abiding
community people can plan ahead, work in safety and do
business in trust. In most modern societies order means stability.
The guarantees of this order take place in the form of laws.
Laws are rules and customs that the citizens of a community
regard as binding upon them and can be enforced by the
courts. Laws provide boundaries so that people realize where
and when they are committing an offence. One of the
principal objects of the law is to safeguard (make safe) the
rights of citizens. Our basic rights are what give us our freedom
in daily life. The freedom of speech, the right to a fair trial etc…
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First seeds of civilization:
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The Nile Valley Civilization (green)
The Mesopotamian Civilization (purple)
The Indus Valley Civilization (red)
The Chinese Civilization (blue)
Irrigation use in agriculture:
All four (4) civilizations developed on
fertile land and near rivers.
 Each spring, the water levels rose and
spilled over the banks and flooded the
area for several months.
 Water levels eventually receded and left
behind fertile mud (silt) on the ground.
 Farmers now had fertile soil to grow
crops.
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Major Irrigation projects:
Farmers were forced to develop an
irrigation system* because of dry
seasons – no water!
 Floods occurred once a year – they
were periodic.
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*An irrigation system involves capturing
water and sending it across the crop
fields on a regular basis throughout the
year.
Irrigation projects involved:
1.
Building canals to get water to fields.
2.
Building dikes to retain water in canal.
3.
Building a reservoir to store floodwaters.
How did agriculture affect civilizations?
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It allowed more people to be fed and
families to grow in numbers.
Small villages grew into large cities.
Large cities required a leader.
A chief would rule and pass laws which
everyone had to follow.
Written laws were formal, permanent and
undisputable.
These cities became organized.
This is what a civilization is!
Why did the Mesopotamians invent
writing?
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Mesopotamians needed to record and
communicate information to others.
Keeping track of food surpluses would
be impossible without recording
quantities.
Food surpluses lead to the creation of
more trade groups:
Trade groups needed and relied on each
other.
 They provided each other with goods and
services.
 Labour was organized into four (4) trade
groups:
1. Peasants
2. Artisans
3. Merchants
4. Soldiers
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1. Peasants:
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They produced food.
These crops included wheat, barley,
sesame, and millet
They raised livestock.
Most of the population was peasants.
2. Artisans:
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Made tools, pots, weapons, bricks, etc.
Built houses, public buildings, boats and
wagons.
3. Merchants:
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Bartered with other Mesopotamian
cities and with people living outside of
Mesopotamia.
4. Soldiers:
Protected the goods and territory from
robbers.
 Protected roads travelled by merchants.
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Trade:
Merchants travelled long distances to
trade.
 Mesopotamia traded food surpluses for
products that they did not have.
 What products did other civilizations give
to Mesopotamia?
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1. Hittites
offered copper, lead, silver, iron
2. Canaanites offered copper, bronze, tin,
gold
3. People from the Zagros mountains offered
iron and steel
Evolution of Writing:
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People began writing around 3,500 BC.
They started by drawing objects, and
engraved their drawings (called
pictograms) on moist clay tablets.
Pictograms:
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Pictograms represented animals and
objects (i.e. number of cows, bags of
grain).
What about more complex explanations
that involved emotions and detailed
thoughts?
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Pictograms were simple and quite limited
in what they could describe.
From Pictograms to Cuneiform Writing:
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A writing system invented by the Sumerians
in ancient Mesopotamia.
It pre-dates letters by 1500 years.
It is the earliest known writing system in the
world.
It was often inscribed on damp clay tablets
using a special shaped tool called a stylus.
Cuneiform had approximately 700 symbols.
Only scribes knew how to read and write in
cuneiform.
How was the Mesopotamian Society
Organised?
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It was a hierarchical society.
A person’s hierarchical position depended on
his wealth, his job and/or who he knew.
An artisan was considered more valuable than
a peasant because he was skilled and harder
to replace.
The peasants, who simply worked the fields,
were unskilled and less valued than highly
trained warriors who were given the important
role of defending the city from invaders.
Political Power in the Cities:
Mesopotamia had 10 major cities.
 Each city was:
a) Independent from the others
b) Built near crop fields
c) Surrounded by protective walls
d) Composed of two (2) parts:
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Lower city
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Higher city
Lower city:
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This part of the city was inhabited by the
peasants. In the event of an attack, the lower
city would be overtaken by the enemy and the
peasants would be killed.
Higher city:
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This part of the city was inhabited by all the
important people. It was harder to get to
because it was built on a mound. Its where all of
the important institutions/buildings were located
(temples, the ziggurat, the royal palace and
food/supply warehouses etc.).
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It was safer to be in the higher city because the
enemy would have a harder time overtaking it
because it was more elevated than the lower
city.
Social groups in Mesopotamia
The king (inherited this position):
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He was the supreme ruler of all major
Mesopotamian cities.
He managed the army, irrigation projects and
food supplies.
He represented the Gods on Earth.
The Elite:
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They were the high priests, army
commanders, rich merchants.
They advised the king and carried out his
orders.
The Free people:
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Priests, artisans, peasants, merchants,
soldiers, and civil servants.
Peasants gave part of their harvest to the
king in the form of a tax.
The slaves:
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They were prisoners of war.
They had no rights.
They received no wages ($) for their work.
Law and Justice:
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The king`s authority ensured stability and unity
within society
Written laws ensured/guaranteed that justice
was served!
Anyone caught violating/breaking laws were
punished.
These laws applied to everyone.
The Code of Hammurabi:
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It is the oldest written law code that exists.
Hammurabi had these laws engraved on a stele.
Were these laws just? Fair?
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These laws were not fair because the punishment for
breaking the law was not the same for everyone.
What you did for a living, who you knew and what
you owned played (called social status) a big part on
the severity of the punishment for breaking a law.
The punishment was harsher for a peasant than a
member of the elite.
For crimes against persons:
 The code applied the law of retaliation (an eye for an
eye!) which meant that the criminal would receive
the same damage he had inflicted onto his victim.
Family issues:
 The code sought to protect women and children.