Transcript division of the society into classes

Origins and beginnings
Transition to Complex societies
Adapted from:
http://intra.burltwpsch.org/users/rlee/apworl
d.htm
What are the ingredients that transform a society
into a civilization? What is an inherent problem
with the word “civilized”?
• cities that serve as administrative centers rather than isolated
communities usually coupled with monument building
• a political system based on territory rather than kinship
• a specialization of labor in areas other than food production called
division of labor
• advancing technological skills
• the division of the society into classes, which accompanies the
accumulation of wealth and prestige
• a recordkeeping system formed from a writing system
• long-distance trade, as opposed to local trade
• major advances in the sciences and arts.
• The term civilization is an ambiguous concept and must be
discussed carefully because of the tendency throughout time to
equate civilization with our own way of life. People tend to define
themselves as “civilized” and anyone else as “uncivilized” or
“barbaric.”
Other than learned behavior – what
is culture?
• Culture consists of learned patterns of action and expression and
includes art, music, clothing, dwellings, tools, values, beliefs, and
languages.
• Although Stone Age music and dance remain hidden from
investigation, early human art and tools are important sources for
studying Stone Age culture.
• Cave paintings reveal much about human society and wildlife.
• The development of increasingly specialized tools is evident in the
archaeological record.
• Tools for gathering and digging food as well as for killing and
butchering animals demonstrate human ingenuity.
• Tool and weapon design changed along with new methods of hunting
and agriculture, revealing the adaptability of the human species.
• Methods of food preparation are deduced from the tools made for
those tasks and are important indicators of cultural phenomena, such
as the gendered division of labor
Indus – Mesopotamia - Egypt
• All three civilizations were built around fertile river valleys.
• The resulting surplus production of foodstuffs supported a government
and religious infrastructure, a middle class of merchants and artisans.
• All three civilizations also developed a complex system of writing to
accompany the growth of government and urban life.
• While little is known about Indus religion, Egyptians and
Mesopotamians linked their religious beliefs and practices to the
natural environment.
• Because of the size of the Indus River system, the civilization there
was much larger than that in Mesopotamia.
• Whereas the Mesopotamian civilization was urban centered, that of
the Indus Valley was more dispersed and rural.
• Metals were more readily available in the Indus Valley, both those
occurring naturally and those acquired through trade.
• Consequently, metal objects tended to be more utilitarian in design
and more generally distributed through the population.
• Metal objects in Egypt and Mesopotamia, on the other hand, were
more likely to have a decorative and ceremonial function.
As the Harrapan script has yet to be deciphered, how do
historians make inferences about the civilization of the
Indus River Valley?
• The geography provides some clues.
• For example, the rivers, ocean access, and particularly the mountain
ranges all shape the history of the region.
• The geography supports intensive cultivation therefore city life and
civilization is possible.
• The excavations of the cities Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa are also
fertile places to find information on this society.
• The archaeological evidence of the cities helps to figure out
information on settlements. The identity of the people who lived
there isn’t certain; however, the design and construction of the cities
can be examined and suggests the existence of a central
government. The natural resources, crafts, and metals can also be
discovered. Trade contacts through the Persian Gulf are also
evident, although we know little about their religious, social,
economic, and political structures. The decline of this civilization is
also not certain. There is speculation that natural disaster like
earthquake or flooding may be responsible.
What are social divisions and how do they appear within Mesopotamian
society, and what are reasons for those divisions?
• Divisions arise among groups of people because of differences in
wealth, social or religious functions, and legal and political rights.
• Social classes are formed when a society grants or acknowledges
status and privilege because of these imbalances.
• Wealthy and middle classes were formed in Mesopotamia with the
establishment of a royalty, a religious hierarchy, large landholdings,
and long-distance trade.
• There were three distinct classes:
– the large landholders, royalty, priests, and merchants
– dependent farmers and most artisans and workmen
– slaves.
• Slavery was not economically crucial to Mesopotamian society, and
it was not an inherited condition.
What was the political structure within the Mesopotamia region
and how was this main framework of civilization created?
• Mesopotamia was a civilization based on villages and cities and
thus relied on the existence of a large agricultural sector to supply
those urban areas with food.
• An agricultural surplus makes possible the existence of merchants,
artisans, government officials, scribes, and religious specialists who
are not directly engaged in producing food themselves.
• The city supplied markets for foodstuffs and crafted items, and
military protection for the agriculturalists.
• As political leadership in Sumerian Mesopotamia grew, leaders were
able to organize and coerce labor to build an irrigation system,
dikes, canals, and roads, which contributed to further agricultural
expansion.
• As cities grew, political, social, religious, educational, judicial, and
economic institutions expanded as well.
How did the status and experience of women change as Mesopotamian society
developed into a civilization?
• Because of their primary role in procuring much of the family’s food,
women in hunter-gatherer societies had relatively high status. In the
transition to food production, women’s status suffered as more of the
heavy cultivating work was done by men.
• As increased food supplies encouraged larger family size, raising
children occupied greater portions of women’s time, further detracting
from their social status.
• When Mesopotamia developed an urban middle class and private
wealth, women were used to enhance family status and privilege
through arranged marriages and family alliances. It is possible that the
women also began to wear the veil at this time.
• New laws granted higher levels of control to male family members.
• Despite the fact that women had no political role, some women worked
outside the home in such occupations as textile weaving, brewing,
prostitution, tavern keepers, bakers, and fortunetellers in addition to
carrying out the ever-present domestic duties, preserving families, and
raising children throughout time.
The conditions leading to the transition from food gathering to food cultivation
had universal environmental implications but resulted in regional and irregular
spread of the technology and also led to differences in types of agriculture.
• Changes in the global climate about ten thousand years ago made
increased food supplies necessary, and humans began manipulating native
plants to enhance their food supply.
• As hunter-gatherers returned yearly to the same sites, they deliberately
scattered seeds from desirable plants to encourage their growth.
• Using fire and rudimentary tools, they cleared land for cultivation and
discouraged the growth of unwanted plants.
• Selecting seeds from the highest-yielding plants eventually led to new types
of crops.
• Climate and soil conditions heavily influenced the development of
agriculture.
• Emmer wheat and barley were among the first grains grown in the Middle
East but were unsuitable for humid or dry climates.
• In those areas, root crops or other grains such as sorghum and millet
predominated.
• Agricultural Revolutions developed independently in many different places.
– Maize, for example, became the most important domesticated crop in the
Americas but was unknown in other parts of the world.
Geography contributed to Egyptian
vision of cosmic order
• The abundance and benevolence of the environment of the Nile Valley
gave their vision of the cosmos a quality that emphasized renewal and
bounty.
• The support of the monarchy was related to the support of this cosmic
order.
– The king was a chief priest as well as political leader.
– Egypt had many gods, many of whom were depicted with animal heads,
others with human form.
• There is a correlation between the benevolent environment and the
development of temples and festivals held for the gods.
– Egyptians believed that the afterlife was a journey beset with hazards.
– There was extensive preparation for this journey in the embalming process
to help with the journey.
• Later the Book of the Dead provided a map for the living on how to
maintain this cosmic order
One of the most enduring symbols of Egypt is the pyramids. How does the role
of the Pharaoh engender the construction of the pyramids and contribute to the
strength of Egypt?
• The Egyptians viewed the pharaoh as a god on earth, the incarnation of
Horus and the son of the sun god Re.
• The pharaoh had come to earth to maintain ma’at, the divine order of the
universe.
• He was the link between the people and the gods, therefore ensuring the
welfare and prosperity of the country.
• The death of the pharaoh was a critical moment because the well-being of
the state depended on him.
• Therefore every effort was made to ensure that he had a safe journey back
to the gods in his afterlife.
• Massive resources were poured into the construction of royal tombs, the
celebration of funeral rites and offerings in chapels.
• The tombs started as flat-topped rectangular tombs made of mud brick, but
this was replaced with a pyramid design that has become an enduring
symbol of ancient Egypt.
• Between 2550 and 2490 B.C.E. the Egyptians erected huge pyramids at
Giza, which were the largest stone structures ever built by human hands.
• Amazingly this construction was done without machinery, with only stone
tools and muscle power.
• These construction projects connected the Egyptians and allowed them to
share culture better than even the Nile that brought them together.
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How was the first Egyptian civilization shaped by its natural environment?
Imposing natural barriers of desert and harborless seacoast surrounding
Egypt protected it from outside influences and threats.
Egypt was also well endowed with the natural resources necessary for
forming a civilization.
Those barriers and resources allowed Egypt to develop a unique culture in
isolation and security.
Except for a narrow stretch of fertile land along the Nile River, Egypt is
almost entirely desert. Without adequate rainfall, agriculture was made
possible only by the yearly flooding of the Nile, which carried rich deposits
of silt along with it.
The Nile was also the primary means of communication and transportation.
Reeds growing in marshy areas along the river were used for making
papyrus (paper), as well as items such as sails and ropes.
Egyptians had plenty of stone and clay for building materials; they also had
access to metals, from which they could fashion tools and decorative
objects.
Because of the need to predict the Nile floods and survey taxable
agricultural land, mathematics and astronomy became advanced sciences
in Egypt.
Egyptian religion was rooted in the physical landscape of the Nile Valley
and the recurrent cycles and periodic renewal caused by the environment.
Discuss the importance of technology and the various Mesopotamian
technological advances. Would you describe the Mesopotamians as
“advanced”? Why?
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In general, technology refers to the tools and machinery that humans use to
manipulate the physical world.
– Technology is what is used to overcome your environment
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Scholars now use the term technology more broadly to describe any specialized
knowledge that is used to transform the natural environment and society.
The Mesopotamians developed many different technological advances to control
their environment such as irrigation, which is essential for agriculture, and the
building and maintenance of canals, dams, and dikes.
They also developed transportation such as carts, sledges, and boats for
maneuvering in the varied terrain.
They also became skilled in metallurgy, developing bronze.
The advantage of bronze was its malleability over stone as well as its strength and
durability.
Mesopotamians also developed brick building materials, which were used for the
construction of monumental architecture.
Therefore they developed the knowledge of engineering and architecture.
The Mesopotamians also developed the potter’s wheel, weapons and machinery of
warfare, and a number system.
Perhaps one of the most important technological contributions of the
Mesopotamians was their system of writing.
Originally developed to keep economic records, this system of cuneiform was also
used for political, literary, religious, and scientific purposes.
Why did Neolithic peoples form permanent settled
communities? What were the advantages and
disadvantages of those communities?
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Humans formed permanent settled communities to ensure a more
dependable food supply.
There were numerous cultural and societal benefits to community life as
well.
The religious practices of food producers reflected their lifestyles and
differed greatly from those of hunter-gatherers.
Neolithic communities helped develop and spread the large language
families across the globe. Architecture evolved as towns grew.
Objects too large and cumbersome for hunting and gathering peoples
became practical and necessary for settled life, creating a demand for such
items as pottery.
Consequently, trade and craftwork became important.
Early metalworking emerged, but mostly for decorative and ceremonial
uses.
Still, there were drawbacks for agriculturalists and pastoralists.
Their diets were not as varied or nutritious as the diets of hunter-gatherers,
and farmers had to work longer and harder than foragers.
The Egyptian hieroglyphic and Mesopotamian cuneiform writing systems had
similar purpose but the Egyptian system developed well beyond its original
purpose. How were the systems similar in development, purpose and results?
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The earliest form of Egyptian writing, a system of hieroglyphics, developed at the
beginning of the Old Kingdom.
Hieroglyphics were picture symbols, made with a brush, standing for words,
syllables, or sounds.
The writing system was developed for government administration, but Egyptians
used it for purposes beyond recordkeeping.
Tales of adventure, magic, and love, as well as religious hymns and instruction
manuals, were recorded in hieroglyphics and the simplified systems descending
from them.
The Egyptians also developed writing material called papyrus, which was made
from the stems of the papyrus reed.
This is a difference because the plant grew only in Egypt but was in high demand
throughout the ancient world.
The Mesopotamians wrote instead on a moist clay tablet with a pointed stylus,
producing wedge-shaped symbols.
Both systems of writing were highly specialized activities requiring long training
and practice.
Literacy afforded individuals prestige and status, as well as administrative
qualifications.
– Scribes held an elevated social position in both societies