Transcript Chapter 1

The First Civilizations and Empires
I. Before History
A.Historians are people who study and write
about the human past. Historians usually
read and study written documents to get
an idea of what went on in the past.
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B. But, for that period of time before written
records (called prehistory) scientists study
artifacts and fossils to make theories
about early human beings.
C. Archaeologists hunt for evidence buried
in the ground where settlements might
once have been.
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They dig up and study artifacts weapons,
tools, and other things made by
humans.
They also look for fossils – traces of
plants or animals that have been
preserved in rock.
II. Hunters – Gatherers
Paleolithic Age (2,500,000 – 8,000 B.C.)
Known as “old stone age”
- humans used simple tools, discovered
fire.
- Paleolithic people were primarily
nomads who hunted animals and
gathered plants.
Nomads – people who moved from place to
place in search for food. (cave paintings)
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III. The Neolithic Revolution
(8000-3000 B.C)
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A. Neolithic (New Stone Age) was a period of
time when humans began to shift from
hunters/gatherers to systematic agriculture.
- Systematic Agriculture means growing food
on a regular basis.
- Humans also began domestication
(raising animals for food and clothing.)
B. People began to settle around rivers
growing and raising their own food.
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By 3000 B.C., large numbers of people
were concentrated in the river valleys of
Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, and China.
IV. Mesopotamia
A. Mesopotamia “cradle of civilization”
where civilization began.
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Mesopotamia was located between the
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. This area
is known as Iraq, today.
Jericho is often considered to be the
world’s 1st city.
The Ancient Middle East:Mesopotamia
V. Creativity of the Sumerians
A. The people who established
Mesopotamia were called the Sumerians.
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The Sumerians invented the oldest
writing system called cuneiform.
Scribes (record-keepers) carved
symbols onto wet clay tablets which
were later dried.
B.
The Epic of Gilgamesh is the world’s
oldest story, written about the life of a
Sumerian king.
CUNEIFORM
Sumerian writing developed
around 3100 BC
Cuneiform – the use of
wedge-like shapes.
C. Hammurabi was the king of Babylon.
He controlled the Babylonian empire by
publishing a set of laws known as the
Code of Hammurabi, history’s first
known written laws.
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Babylon was patriarchal, meaning a
society dominated by men.
VI. Egypt
A. Egypt is a country in northern Africa
on the Mediterranean Sea.
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B.
Geographic features – Sahara desert and
the Nile river.
The Nile river is over 4,000 mile long. It
is the longest river in the world.
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C.
The Sahara desert is found in western
Egypt. It is the largest desert in the
world.
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The Red Sea is located in eastern Egypt
with the Mediterranean Sea located north
of Egypt. Both of these bodies of water
gave Egyptians a way to trade with
people outside Egypt.
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VII. Hieroglyphics
A. This was an ancient Egyptian system of
writing that used pictures to represent
words.
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Papyrus, a reed plant that grew along the
shores of the Nile, was used to form a
roll of paper.
B.
Modern people did not understand
hieroglyphics until the Rosetta Stone
was discovered in Egypt.
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Carved into the
Rosetta Stone was
a message written
in hieroglyphics
along with a
translation in Greek.
VIII.Pharaoh
A. Egypt was ruled by a dynasty. A
dynasty is a family of rulers whose right
to rule is passed on within the family
(from father to son to grandson).
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Egypt’s Old Kingdom
Section 2
A.
The period known as the Old Kingdom
occurred in Egypt from 2600 – 2300
B.C.
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The Egyptian kings, or pharaohs, were
thought to be the son of Re (Egyptian
sun god). The pharaoh had many
servants because it was believed that he
was a god on earth.
B.
The Egyptians worshiped many deities,
(another word for gods and goddesses).
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Polytheism – means worship of many
gods.
To preserve the pharaoh’s body for the
afterlife, the Egyptians developed a
process called embalming.
As much of the brain as it is possible is extracted
through the nostrils with an iron hook, and what
the hook cannot reach is dissolved with drugs.
Next, the abdomen is slit open . . . and the entire
contents are removed. The cavity is then
thoroughly cleansed and washed out . . . Then it is
filled with pure spices and perfumes. The body is
sewn up, and then the body is placed in salt for 70
days, never longer. When this period . . . is ended,
the body is washed and then wrapped from the
head to the feet in linen which has been cut into
strips and smeared on the underside with gum
which is commonly used by the Egyptians in the
place of glue.
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Brain hooks, Oil jar,
Funnel, Embalmer's
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knife
Canopic Jars
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Mummified Animals
 Some have been found in large quantities, while
others are rare. Many species were raised in the
temples to be sacrificed to the gods. Autopsies on
cats show that most had had their necks broken
when they were about two years old. Cats were
highly valued members of the ancient Egyptian
household.
Cat
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Cat
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Dog
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C.
Pyramids were tombs for the mummified
bodies of pharaohs and their families.
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The largest of all the pyramids
(called the Great Pyramid) was built for
King Khufu.
Standing guard over the pyramids is the
Great Sphinx, a rock sculpture with the
head of a pharaoh and the body of a lion.
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D.
Egyptian Accomplishments
Medicine – treated illnesses, broken
bones, wrote the world’s first medical
books on scrolls of papyrus.
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invented 365-day calendar
number system based on 10
system of mathematical fractions
E.
The Egyptians were very successful
farmers. Egyptian farmers dug basins, or
bowl-shaped holes, in the earth to trap
floodwaters from the Nile.
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The farmers then dug canals to carry
water from the basins to fields away
from the Nile.
F.
Besides Re (sun god) the Egyptians had
other important gods and goddesses.
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Hapi – ruled over the Nile river
Isis – was the most important goddess
who ruled over the dead with her
husband Osiris.