Transcript Ancient River Valley Civilizations

Pre-history
 Pre-historic
= before
written records
 Two periods of pre-history
to know
Paleolithic
Neolithic
Pre-history

Paleolithic
(Old)
Stone age period
Stone
primary material for
tools
Hunter-gathers
Nomadic
lifestyle
Pre-history

Neolithic Age
(New)
stone age
Stone
still primary tool material
Agriculture
Domestication
of animals
Some
settlement
Some
nomadic groups
Paleolithic
Age
1st
Agricultural
Revolution
Neolithic
Age
Neolithic
Age
People
Start to
Settle
Develop
Civilization
Civilization
A
form of culture, characterized
by cities,specialized workers,
complex institutions, recordkeeping and advanced technology
Civilization
 To
be a civilization, society must have
a majority of these:
Cities
Specialized labor
Government
Science & tech
Religion
Art
Taxes
Social classes
Written language
Tigris & Euphrates
 Located
in modern Iraq
 Known as Mesopotamia (land
between 2 rivers)
 Known as Fertile Crescent
 Look for the only green in the
brownish Middle east on the map
 Rivers empty into Persian Gulf
Tigris & Euphrates
 The
geography does not help
Unpredictable flooding
No natural barriers to invasion
Plenty of fresh water for farming
and drinking
Access to trade/travel & cultural
diffusion
Silt deposited by rivers
Tigris & Euphrates
 Geography
does not help,
but problems solved
For defense, walls of mud
bricks were built
Trade of grain, cloth and
tools brought in natural
raw materials like stone,
wood and metal
Tigris & Euphrates
 Main
crops grown were barley &
wheat
 Surpluses produced led to
development of different
civilizations in the region
Tigris & Euphrates
 Cities
associated with
Mesopotamia
Sumer
Akkad
Babylon
Ur
Tigris & Euphrates
 Sumer
Polytheism
Run
by soldiers
Temples called Ziggurats
Invented sail, plow, wheel & 1st to
use bronze
Developed geometry & arithmetic
Tigris & Euphrates
 Sumer
Developed
arches, columns,
ramps
Developed cuneiform (wedge
writing in wet mud which was
allowed to dry)
Tigris & Euphrates
 Akkad
Sargon
of Akkad conquered
Sumer
Created world’s first empire
Dynasty lasted 200 years
Tigris & Euphrates
 Babylon
Based
on Euphrates river
Empire hit peak under
Hammurabi
Hammurabi’s Code
Tigris & Euphrates
 Hammurabi’s
Code
Needed single, unified code of law
to unify people
Written in stone
Placed throughout the empire
“eye for an eye”
Law applied to everyone, but
applied differently to men/women &
rich/poor
Written Law Codes
 10
Commandments
 Hammurabi’s Code
 Draco’s Code
 12 Tables
 Justinian’s Code
 Napoleonic Code
Nile River Valley
 Geographic
Issues
Floods predictably (develop
calendar)
River deposits silt on banks
Access to travel/trade
Grow papyrus (turn into paper)
River flows north into
Mediterranean Sea
Egyptians forced to live close to
river (little cultural diffusion)
Nile River Valley
 Egypt
= “gift of the Nile”
 Without the river there is no
Egyptian civilization
 Silt very fertile
 Desert very harsh
 Irrigation ditches to water crops
 Surpluses led to civilization
Nile River Valley
 Egypt
Polytheism
Kings
(pharaohs were god-
kings)
Egyptian government was
theocracy (based on religious
teaching/rules)
Nile River Valley
 Egypt
Pyramids
were actually
tombs for pharaohs
Pharaohs
Bodies
were mummified
dried and preserved
for use in the afterlife
Nile River Valley
 Egypt
Writing
developed called
hieroglyphics
Glyphs are symbols/pictures
First written on stone
Hieroglyphics written on early
paper made from papyrus
Nile River Valley
 Egypt
Developed
very accurate calendar
Developed
arithmetic & geometry
First
to use stone columns
Developed
early medical
procedures for broken bones,
wounds & fevers
Indus River Valley
 Indus
became India
 Indus River starts in
Himalaya mountains & flows
to Arabian Sea
 Himalayas natural boundary
 Unpredictable flooding
Indus River Valley
 Indus
sites not fully discovered yet
 No kings/queens known
 Few available records
 Was largest empire until Persia
develops 1000 years later
Indus River Valley
 Two
main cities of the Indus Valley
 Harappa
 Mohenjo-Daro
 Both carefully planned & laid out
in a grid pattern
 Structures built of oven-fired
bricks
 Homes had indoor plumbing
Indus River Valley
 Archaeologists
believe the 2 cities
had strong organized government
 Food seemed to be in good supply
 City planning indicates
development of mathematical
skills
 Indus first to cultivate cotton
 Polytheistic religious beliefs
Huang He River Valley
 China’s
geography has isolated it
 Chinese developed belief that
China was the center of the Earth
& source of all civilization
 China to south & southwest
hemmed in by Tien Shan &
Himalaya mountains
Huang He River Valley
 China’s
history began in Huang He
Valley
 People learned to farm during the
Neolithic Age
 The yellow soil particles in the
river give it its name “Yellow”
 Also known as “China’s Sorrow”
because of the unpredictable
flooding
Huang He River Valley
 The
flooding is due in part to the
loess in the water that raises the
level of the river
 Flooding has often been disastrous
 First Chinese in the valley to
develop were the Shang
 Zhou overthrew the Shang
 Developed Mandate of Heaven idea
Huang He River Valley
 Mandate
of Heaven says that the gods
allowed a dynasty to rule until that
dynasty got old & corrupt
 New
dynasty was given new Mandate
of Heaven to over throw old
 This
changing of dynasties is called
the Dynastic Cycle
Dynastic Cycle
New Dynasty
Problems
Old Dynasty
•Brings peace
•
Floods
•Builds roads
•Too many taxes
•
Quakes
•Land to peasants
•No protection
•
Revolts
•Protects people
•
Invaders
•Unfair
treatment
•No building
Huang He River Valley
 By
1000 BC Chinese had
develop silk production
 Chinese also produced first
books under the Zhou
 Also produced porcelain,
writing, coined money and
cast iron
Other Civilizations to Consider
 Indo-European
Aryans
Hittites
Civilizations
Aryans
 Developed
Caste System
Lighter skin, higher caste
Aryans blended cultures
Brought in Hinduism
Believed in reincarnation
Karma & dharma
Cows are sacred
Hittites
 Centered
in Anatolia
(modern Turkey, Asia Minor)
 Developed iron technology
 Developed the chariot
which changed warfare
dramatically
Other Civilizations to
Consider
 Fertile
Crescent
Phoenicians
Coast
of eastern Mediterranean Sea
“Pop-Eyes”
Carriers
Created
of the ancient world
of civilization
alphabet (“Hooked on
Phonics”)
Hebrews

Centered in the area of modern Israel/Palestine

Hebrews are first monotheistic people
Torah
is holy book (same as Old
Testament of Christian Bible)
Abraham
God
starts religion
is Yahweh
Hebrews
are God’s “chosen people”
Hebrews
have a covenant with God
Hebrews
 Enslaved
in Egypt
Led out of Egypt by Moses
Moses presents Hebrews
with God’s rules known as
10 Commandments
Settled in modern Israel
Hebrews

Romans show up in Middle East
Jews
forced out between 75 & 135
AD
Known
as period of Diaspora
(dispersal)
Jews
spread from Palestine to
eastern Europe