Transcript PART 1 EARLY CIVILIZATION

PART 1
EARLY CIVILIZATION
Toward Civilization
O How did the first civilizations evolve?
O Wanderers who hunted & gathered
O Learn to make simple tools
O Settle into tiny villages (Neolithic Period)
O Developed agriculture
O Tiny villages become city-based civilizations
Beginnings of Civilization
O Eight basic features for early civilization
O Cities
O Well-organized central gov’t
O Complex religion
O Job specialization
O Social classes
O Arts & architecture
O Public works
O Writing
Organized Govt’s
O Farming in river valley contributed to
development of city govt’s
O Why? People had to work together to build
dikes, canals & irrigation ditches
O Leadership is needed
O Bureaucracy
Social Classes
O Based on jobs
O Priests & nobles at top (Writing develops)
O Artisans or skilled craftworkers
O Peasant farmers
O Slaves
O Empire
Section 2 – Africa & Asia
O Egypt 5,000 years ago
O River valley (Nile) of North Africa
O Rich farming civilization
O Pharoahs – Egyptian rulers organized strong
central states
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Pyramids serve as tombs
Polytheistic
Believed in an afterlife
Had a class system
O Cultural Diffusion – new ideas, customs &
technologies spread from one people to another
City-states of Ancient Sumer
O 5,000 years ago
O Fertile Crescent – an arc of soil-rich land
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between the Tigris & Euphrates Rivers
Region is known as Mesopotamia
City-state – political unit made up of a city &
surrounding lands
Ziggurats were popular
Social hierarchy developed (priests highest)
City-states of Ancient Sumer
Continued
O Mesopotamia – geographical crossroads
O Invaders (Sargon the Great)
O Hammurabi – king of Babylon
O Published code of laws – 1st major collection of
laws in history
O Warfare & trade in Mesopotamia spread ideas &
technology in the Mediterranean world
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Ironworking became common
Assyrian king founded the 1st library
Phoenicians created an alphabet
Persians improved trade by using coins
Roots of Judaism
O Hebrews lived in Fertile Crescent region
O Monotheistic religion
O Recorded events & laws (Ten Commandments, in the
Torah)
O Prophets – spiritual leaders who urged Hebrews to
obey God’s law
O Code of Ethics – moral standards of behavior
O 1,000 B.C. Kingdom of Israel established
O King Solomon built a temple dedicated to God
O Many invasions of Hebrew kingdoms
O Diaspora – scattering of people, sending Jews to
different parts of the world
Roots of Judaism Con’t
O Today considered one of the major religions
O Influenced Christianity & Islam
O In the West known as Judeo-Christian
tradition
Early Civilization in India
O India’s 1st civilization emerges in Indus Valley
2600 B.C.
O Two main cities: Mohenjo-Daro & Harrapa
O Planned cities
O Plumbing systems to include baths, drains &
water chutes
O Severe floods will lead to decline & cities
abandoned
O People will migrate from central Asia in NW India
(Indo-European people called Aryans)
Early Civilization in India
O Vedas – collection of prayers, hymns & other religious
teachings tell us info about the Aryans (Polytheistic)
O Brahman – single spiritual power beyond many gods of the
Vedas & in all living things
O Mystics – devote their lives to seeking spiritual truth
O Social classes (leads to a Caste system)
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Priests
Warriors
Herders, farmers, artisans & merchants
Farmworkers, servants & other laborers
Dalits (Untouchables)
Early Civilization in China
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Isolated due to distance & physical barriers
Believed they were center of the Earth
History began in Yellow River (Huang He) valley
1650 B.C. Shang came to power in N. China
1027 B.C. Zhou overthrew the Shang
O Established a dynasty
O Promoted the idea of Mandate of Heaven (divine
right to rule)
O Religion – complex set of beliefs (polytheistic)
O Believed universe reflected a balance between two
forces, yin (linked to Earth) & yang (Heaven & male
forces)
Early Civilization in China
Con’t
O Science & Technology
O Study movement of planets
O Recorded eclipses
O Created an accurate calendar
O Developed bronzemaking & silkmaking
O Made books