Transcript Chapter 1: Early Civilization

Third Edition
Chapter 1: Early Civilization: 10,000—1,150 BCE
I. The
Defining
Civilization,of
Defining
Western
Beginnings
Civilization,
Civilization
10,000-1150
B.C.E.
II. Mesopotamia: Kingdoms, Empires, and
Conquests
III. Egypt: The Empire of the Nile
A. The
Food-Producing
Revolution
Defining
Civilization,
Defining
1) Paleolithic Age, 200,000-100,000 years ago
Western Civilization
a) Homo sapiens
b) Cave art
2) Hunter-gatherers
a) Domestication
Defining Civilization, Defining
Western Civilization
B. First food-Producing Communities
1) Levantine Corridor (Fertile Crescent)
a) Abu Hureya
2) Zagros Mountains
3) Anatolia
a) Çatal Hüyük
-
Obsidian trade
C. Transformations
in Europe
Defining Civilization,
Defining
Agricultural communities – 6000 B.C.E.
Western
Civilization
Farming communities – 2500 B.C.E.
1)
2)
3) Technological shifts
a) Metallurgy and Plow
-
Megaliths
A. Sumerian Kingdoms
Mesopotamia:
Kingdoms, Empires,
1) 13-35 major cities by 2500 B.C.E.
and Conquests
a) Uruk
-
50,000 people/redistributive economies
2) Religion and political life intertwined
3) End of Sumerian city-states 2340 B.C.E.
B. Akkadian EmpireKingdoms,
of Sargon the Great
Mesopotamia:
Empires,
1) Sargon, 2340-2305 B.C.E.
and Conquests
a) Standing army
-
Composite bow
b) Anarchy – 2250 B.C.E.
C. Ur III Dynasty and
Rise of Assyria
Mesopotamia:
Kingdoms,
Empires,
1) Ur-Nammu, 2112-2095 B.C.E.
and Conquests
a) Administrative bureaucracy
D. Assyria and Babylonia
Mesopotamia:
Kingdoms, Empires,
1) Assyria
and Conquests
a) Ashur
b) Trading network
2) Babylon
a) Hammurabi, 1792-1750 B.C.E.
E. Cultural Continuities:
Transmission
of
Mesopotamia:
Kingdoms,
Empires,
Mesopotamian Cultures
and
Conquests
1) Mesopotamian World View
a) Religion - Polytheistic/Ziggurat
2) Science - Divination/Deduction
3) Development of Writing - Cuneiform
-
“Epic of Gilgamesh”
“Law Code of Hammurabi”
A. Egypt
Egypt’s Rise
to Empire
– The
Empire
1) The Old Kingdom
a) Unification, 3500-3000 B.C.E.
2) Kings
3) Pyramids
a) Hieroglyphics
of the Nile
B. Egypt
The Middle
Kingdom,
2040-1720
B.C.E.
– The
Empire
of the
Nile
1) Mentuhotep II, r. 2060-2010 B.C.E.
C.Egypt
Encounters
with Other
Civilizations
– The
Empire
of the
1) Nubia (Sudan)
a) Gold and ivory
2) Canaan
3) Hyksos dynasty, 1650-1540 B.C.E.
Nile
D.Egypt
The New–Kingdom:
The Egyptian
Empire
The Empire
of the
Nilein
the Bronze Age
1) King Ahmose I, r. 1550-1525 B.C.E.
a) Pharaoh
2) Thutmose I, r. 1504-1492 B.C.E.
3) Thutmose II, r. 1491-1479 B.C.E.
a) “God’s Wife of Amun”
b) Hatshepsut
A.
Gilgamesh (Mesopotamia) & Isis & Osiris: As Leaders/Exemplars
1)
2)
3)
4)
Mesopotamian & Egyptian Epic/Myths
Role of Gods, humans, semi-divine beings (see introduction, pp. xxxvii
and after)
Gilgamesh--1/3rd man, 2/3rds god--father Lugalbanda, mother--Ninsun,
goddess
Gender roles: men and women, divine/mortal beings
Humans and nature:
a)
b)
c)
5)
6)
Relationship of gods to nature: nature functions to feed/sustain the gods
Relationship of humans to nature: humans work, produce food and goods to
sustain gods
Role of magic, supernatural: to interpret dreams, omens, through which the
gods speak
Humans and gods: gods control forces which determine human fate
Central role of immortality in stories
B. Role in History and Literature:
1)
Gilgamesh -cuneiform tablets, found in ruins of royal library of Ninevah
(near Mosul, Iraq), from Assyrian Empire ruled by King Ashurbanipal
-
2)
Written in Akkadian—Babylonian
Gradual transformation of story: “Surpassing All Kings…” to “He Who Saw the Deep”
Isis and Osiris: earliest versions dates from 2500 BCE,
a)
b)
c)
inscriptions on Palermo Stone, Pyramid texts (also inscribed on sarcophagi &
pyramids for use of pharaoh only)
Central importance of Isis/Osiris festivals in Egypt, rituals
Connection to Greek & Roman mythology, cults
D.Egypt
The New–Kingdom:
The Egyptian
Empire
The Empire
of the
Nilein
the Bronze Age
4) Amarna Period
a) Monotheism
5) 1150 B.C.E. collapse