Transcript File unit 1

Unit 1
Overview and Discussion
The Calendar: Time
• • B.C. – before Christ = B.C.E.–before the
common era
• • A.D. – anno domini = C.E-common era
Time Line
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2000 B.C.E.
1000 B.C.E.
500 B.C.E
0
500 C.E.
1000 C.E.
2000 C.E.
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If something occurred in
2000 BCE, it took place
4012 years ago.
Neolithic revolution
• Agricultural societies emerge
– Led to economic, social, and political
organization
– Rose independently throughout the
world
• What was the effect of the revolution?
• Permanent settlement was formed to
ensure dependable food supply
• Population boom
What is a civilization
• Society with high levels of culture and
social organization
– Formal states, writing, cities, trade,
etc
• Where did the first civilization emerge?
• Began in the Middle East 10,000 BCE
• Along river valleys (3500 BCE)
• What contributes to the development of
civilization?
• Specialization of labor (steady supply of
food allows other people to build, invent,
create tools, art, govt. etc
Birth of Civilization
Prehistoric People
http://www.becominghuman.org/
Evolution’s Theory…
Controversy…
Evolution Vs Creation
Charles Darwin’s Theory of
evolution creates
controversy! Why?
Challenged human origin
Many considered this to be
offensive, atheistic,
blasphemous
Ancient
Civilizations
The Fertile Crescent
MAPS
http://www.hyperhistory.com/online_n2/maptext_n2/start1.html
Fertile Crescent
• Fertile Crescent
- “Crossroads to
the world?”
• Also known as
Mesopotamia
• Trade brought
cultural diffusion
Mesopotamia
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Climate:
• Unpredictable
flooding
• No geographical
barriers
SOCIAL STRUCTURE
• There were three distinct classes:
– the large landholders, royalty, priests, and merchants
– dependent farmers (most people) and artisans and
workmen
– Slaves was not economically crucial
• not an inherited condition
• Men held authority over women and children
• Women had legal rights; some engaged in trade and
owned property.
Economy
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Barter Economy
- Example?
Ziggurat
Each had its own
ziggurat? Very
Important…
• - Its purpose?
• Resting place of the
gods
Religion
• Believed gods controlled every aspect of
life.
• Anthropomorphic - gods possess same
characteristics as man
• Man at the mercy of the gods
GOVERNMENT
• Made up of City-states with hereditary rulers.
• Supported by priesthood and military
• Ruler led army in war and enforced laws.
Writing
• Cuneiform
-Oldest in the World
-Most important
contribution
The Code of Hammurabi
– first major collection of
laws
– 282+ laws
– “Eye for an eye, life for
life”
Hammurabi
Babylonian Leader
1792-1750 B.C.E
Egypt: “The Gift of the Nile”
• 4,160 miles longest
river in the world
• Predictable
flooding
• carried rich
deposits of silt
along with it.
• primary means of
communication
and
transportation.
Menes:(C. 2925 BCE) The
First Pharaoh
• Pharaoh was god on
earth
• Menes reigned for 62 years
and was killed by a
hippopotamus
Religion in the Lives
of Ancient Egyptians
• Gods controlled
nature, especially the
weather and illness
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Egyptian Priest
Most Honored
Egyptian Gods
Major Gods:
-Amon-Re (ra) was the
sun god – Most Powerful
God!
-Osiris was the god of the
underworld and of the
Nile.
-Isis was the most
powerful mother goddess
worshiped all over Egypt
Mummification
– Mummify to
preserve a sound
body for the Ka to
return to
– 70 day process
– Improper
embalming leads to
second true death
Mummification
A Fateful Test…
• The heart of the dead was weighed against a
feather if the heart weighted less he was allowed to
go on
• Those who were viewed as sinners were fed to the
crocodile-shaped eater of the dead
• those who were viewed as worthy entered the
happy field of food.
3 Kingdoms of Egypt
• Old Kingdom (2700 BCE -2200 BCE)
– Pharaohs organized a strong central state
– Policy of isolation
– Pyramid Age
• Middle Kingdom (2050 BCE – 1800 BCE)
– Corruption and rebellion were common
– Hyksos invaded and occupied the delta region (1648 -1540 BCE)
• New Kingdom (1550 BCE – 1100 BCE)
– The empire will extend to its greatest size (Syria and Nubia
• Nubian Kingdom Meroe took control of Egypt as the
twenty-fifth dynasty (712-660 BCE)
– Driven out of Egypt by the Assyrians
• 332 BCE Alexander of Macedon conquered Egypt
– Ptolemaic Egypt
• Ended in 51 BCE when the Romans conquered them
Great Leaders
of the New Kingdom
• Ramses II: most effective
leader. (1279 BCE – 1213 BCE)
---What is he famous for?
Pharaoh of the Exodus?
• The most powerful pharaoh,
Ramses II expanded Egypt to
the height of its power
• Palestine to Syria
Ramses II
The Early History of the Jews
Also known as the Israelites and Hebrews
Their history effects relations in the
Middle East today!
Genealogy
Judaism Heritage Chart
Father Abraham
Married to Sarah
2 sons
Ishmael
Mother is Hagar
Abraham's maidservant
Isaac
Mother is Sarah
Cast out to desert
Jacob (Israel)
Son of Isaac
12 sons
12 Tribes of the Ishmaelite
Muslims
12 sons
12 Tribes of Israel
Jews
Judaism
•The Israelites were
monotheistic, believing in
one true God.
•The Israelites believed
that they were God’s
“chosen people.”
Teachings on Law and Morality
• The laws of the Torah address all
aspects of life, from cleanliness and
food preparation to criminal
matters.
Judaism
Abraham & Isaac
Moses & the 10
Commandments
Torah
Indus Valley Civilization
3300–1300 BCE
•The earliest Indian civilization flourished
for about 1,000 years, then vanished
without a trace.
Indus Valley Civilization
• Well-organized government
• Carefully planned cities
•Modern plumbing and sewer system

Public Bath at
Harappa
Indus Valley Writing
Whose
writing
does the
Indus
peoples
look the
most like?
How could
that be?
Decline and Disappearance:
Indus Valley Civilization
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No one knows for certain why the cities were
abandoned or forgotten.
Scholars have proposed a number of theories:
Natural disasters:
A devastating earthquake destroyed the region.
A volcanic eruption caused the Indus to flood the city.
Aryan invaders overran the region.
The Indus valley climate grew significantly cooler and
drier from about 1800 BCE. A crucial factor may have
been the disappearance of substantial portions of the
Ghaggar Hakra river system