Transcript What is a civilization

Civilization
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what defines “civilization” ?
whose definition counts ?
and what does “civilization” mean,
anyway?
Whose Definition?
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18th Century European
primitive vs. civilized
white vs. everyone else
beginnings of the concept of “race”
General characteristics
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urbanization: people living in cities
surplus agriculture: more than you can
eat now
metal technology: not rocks
writing: words in a row
A modern definition
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Urban: cities
Surplus agriculture: stored food
Political/military system: governments and
armies
Social stratification: differences in status
Economic specialization: different jobs
Religion: religious structures/persons
Communications: oral or written records
“Higher Culture”: art, literature, etc.
Earliest Civilizations
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in the Near (Middle) East
three primary centers of origin and
diffusion
Mesopotamia, Egypt, India
Primary Phase Civilizations
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ca. 3000-2500 B.C. to about 1800-1500
B.C.
either disappeared or changed by 1500
B.C.
enjoyed contact with one another
Mesopotamia
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centrally located: Tigris-Euphrates River
valley
oldest
chief beneficiary of interaction between
the three
Mesopotamia: “The Land between
the Rivers”
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“Between the
Rivers”
– Tigris and
Euphrates
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Contemporary
Iraq, and a bit of
Iran and Syria
Cultural
continuum of
“fertile crescent”
•Other Centers
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Egypt: around the Nile River
Indus civilization: around the Indus
River
China
The Nile River
The Indus
and its
tributaries
Yangtze and
The Yellow
Rivers
Common Characteristics ??
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water
water
water
water
water
Other Characteristics
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opportunity to adapt the environment
suitable for domesticated plants and
animals
relatively stable (a bit hot) climate
Other Characteristics, con’t.
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adjustments in the environment create
surplus grain
surplus food allows the expansion of
trade and commerce
deserts of the riverine cultures are short
on resources
Primary Phase Cultures
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have common characteristics
these define a “primary phase culture”
they are consistent, worldwide
No. 1: Agriculture
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cereal crops, especially barley
bread and beer
herd animals: cattle, sheep, goats
meat, milk, cheese
leather and natural wool for clothing
No. 2: Planned economies
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require organized, mass labor (corvee)
contruction and repair of canals and
irrigation ditches
community labor, by central authority
control of production and storage of
grain
dispersion of foodstuffs among the
population
Redistributive economy
No. 3: Theocracies
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mobilized and directed by a ruling class of
priests, who control the society by “blessings”
and by “threats”
“the god(s) talks to us...not you! If you don’t
do what we tell you to do, and if you don’t
give us all your stuff, horrible things will
happen to you!!”
theocracy: “a god-ruled state”
Theocracies, con’t
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priests function as an organized central
government, as earthly representatives
of the god
the king is regarded as a god or as a
god’s agent
– an earthly representative of the god
Theocracies, con’t
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palace and temple (“Church and State”)
are combined
power is derived from an
unchallengable, higher
reality...unquestionable authority
– the god’s will must be done for the
community to survive
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priestly class holds unlimited power
No. 4: Social Classes
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priestly class is part of the beginning of
social differentitation
– that is, class stucture
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class structure based on specialization
of labor
generated class differences
Class structure
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priests (“We talk to god, you don’t.)
aristocrats/warriors (“We have
weapons, you don’t.”)
common people- workers
slaves
No. 5: Industury
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pottery, textiles, beer, woodworking,
and so forth
production of luxuries (Things You Don’t
Really Need)
development and improvement of metal
technology
– at this stage: BRONZE
No. 6: Architecture
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monumental architecture
pyramids, ziggurats, big cities
hugh temples and associated structures
to fill the needs of a god-oriented state
under the control of the priestly class
No. 7: Writing
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perhaps the most important invention:
EVER
record keeping, literature
land tenure
religious documents
political and religious propaganda
No. 8: Organization of
Knowledge
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learning becomes cumulative, not startfrom-scratch
perpetuates the level of achivement
scribes and schools
medicine, astronomy, calendars,
mathematics, divination
The Information Age
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This is the beginning of the Information Age
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Whoever controls the information can make whoever produces:
– worship like they want, tell you which gods are real and which aren’t,
and make you suffer or die if you object
– work like they want, and tell you what system is best, and then make
you pay them your money and thank them for the privilege
– And make you go where they want, kill who they want for the stuff
those people have, and tell you “It’s all for you! I am nothing but your
servant!! And God’s servant, too, of course!!”
Books to read
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Robert J. Wenke. Patterns in Prehistory:
Humankind’s First Three Million Years
Charles Keith Maisels. The Emergence
of Civilization: From Hunting and
Gathering to Agriculture, Cities, and the
State in the Near East
The Cambridge Ancient History:
Prolegomena and Prehistory