2. INTRODUCTION
For 100s of 1000s of years humans lived by…
o Hunting
o Fishing
Collecting wild plants
Approximately 10,000 years ago, humans learned to do some
REVOLUTIONARY things
o Cultivating plants
o Herding animals
o Making air-tight pottery
o Some humans could begin living a settled life
Approximately 5,000 years ago, humans learned how to control the
waters of great river valleys
o Results: richer harvests, increases in population
People in these river valley societies created the earliest civilizations
o Invented writing
o Produced metal for tools & weapons
o Built towns & cities
o Developed complex religions
o Created social divisions (kings, priests, soldiers)
The Sumerians
Emerged around 3500 B.C.E.
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3. Lived in Mesopotamia
Developed first among river valley civilizations
Later ruled by Assyrians & Babylonians
The Egyptians
Emerged around 3100 B.C.E.
Lived in the Nile River valley
Protected from invasions by the Sahara Desert
Influenced by neighboring cultures (i.e. Nubia, Syria-Palestine, Aegean)
Birth of Civilization
Empires rose & fell in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Asia Minor between
2000-500 B.C.E.
o Hittites
o Assyrians
o Babylonians
o Persians
Defining Culture
Religion helps define human culture
Humans are cultural beings
Group Discussion:
3
4. o Define: CULTURE
What does it include?
What does it not include?
Culture – ways of living built up by a group & passed on from one
generation to another; language plays a key role in this transmission;
culture is learned
Paleolithic Age
Early human cultures are defined by the kinds of tools that were in use
Paleolithic – Greek for “old stone” tools
Date range: 1 Million years ago – 10,000 B.C.E.
Key elements:
o Making & controlling fire
o Acquiring language
o Developing religious & magical beliefs (“There is more to the
world than meets the eye”)
o Learning how to plant & care for seeds
Neolithic Age
Neolithic – Greek for “new stone” tools
Date range: 10,000 B.C.E. – 3100 B.C.E.
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5. Neolithic Age
Key elements:
o Domestication of animals & plants (i.e. sheep, goats, wheat,
barley) – no longer necessary to go out into the wild for food
o Invention of pottery – storing, transporting, & cooking food
o Emergence of permanent dwellings
Most homes & settlement were small
Exceptions were Catal Hoyuk (Turkey) & Jericho (Syria-
Palestine)
Bronze Age
Date range: 3100 B.C.E. – 1200 B.C.E. (in the Near East & Eastern
Mediterranean
Began with the growth of Neolithic towns in river valleys
o Tigris-Euphrates
o Nile
o Indus
Growth of towns resulted in a hierarchy of larger & smaller settlements in
the same region
Some towns became very large cities featuring:
o Monumental buildings like temples & fortifications
o Metal tools & weapons became common
o Social stratification increased
o Writing emerged
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6. o At about this time humans learned how to combine tin & copper to
make BRONZE
o By 3000 B.C.E. urban life & centralized states were well
established in the Tigris-Euphrates & Nile valleys
o Intelligent management of water resources was critical to
agricultural success in both these areas
o Provided protection from floods
o Provided a means for storing water
Mesopotamian Civilization
Two Ecological Zones:
o Babylonia – South of modern Baghdad
o Assyria – North of modern Baghdad
o Oldest Mesopotamian cities founded by the Sumerians in
Babylonia
By 3000 B.C.E. “Uruk” was the world’s largest city (see
map p. 10)
1st Kings in history – Northern Babylonia – City of “Kish”
1st Empire in history – Eastern Babylonia
o The “Akkadians” (2370 B.C.E.)
Conquered all the Sumerian city-states
Invaded Iran & Syria
A heartland, provinces, & an absolute ruler (good basic
definition of an empire)
“Sargon” – first & most legendary king of the
Akkadians
6
7. The Sumerian city of “Ur” rose to dominate portions of the Akkadian
empire (2125 – 2027 B.C.E.)
Babylonia endured an invasion from the NW – The Amorites ruled in
Babylon from 2000 – 1800 B.C.E.
The Sumerian city of “Ur” rose to dominate portions of the Akkadian
empire (2125 – 2027 B.C.E.)
Babylonia endured an invasion from the NW – The Amorites ruled in
Babylon from 2000 – 1800 B.C.E.
A new & powerful king rose in Babylon (1792 – 1750 B.C.E.)
o “Hammurabi”
Famous for his codification of laws
Society divided by class (i.e. nobles, commoners,
slaves)
Laws treated classes differently
Punishments were generally harsh (i.e. “an eye for an
eye”)
About 1600 B.C.E., the Babylonian kingdom fell to invaders from the
North (non-Mesopotamians)
Government in Mesopotamia
Sumerians were ruled by monarchs (depicted in art as a military leader,
sometimes as a priest)
The government & temples owned & cultivated large tracts of land
o Manual work done by low class laborers
o Exported wool & textiles for metals
Writing & mathematics
Sumerians invented a writing system called CUNEIFORM (for ex. see p.
16)
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8. o Used several thousand characters
o Geometry & accounting were important types of math in
Mesopotamia.
Religion in Mesopotamia
Polytheistic – worshipping many gods & goddesses
Visualized in human form
Identified with natural phenomena (i.e. sky, storms, water)
One important deity assigned to each city
Tolerant; accepted the idea that different people might have different
gods
Inspired the construction of temples called ZIGGURATS
o A tower built in stages
o Exact purpose unknown
o The “Tower of Babel” in the Bible was probably one of these
What kind of rights did women enjoy in Mesopotamia?
o Owned property
o Operated businesses (i.e. taverns, money lending, etc.)
o Could recover their dowry if seeking divorce.
Egyptian Civilization
Centered on a 750 mile stretch of the Nile River
Two geographic divisions (p. 19):
o Upper Egypt
8
9. o Lower Egypt
o Thanks to geography & climate Egypt was more isolated & secure
than Mesopotamia
As a result, Egyptians in general had a more optimistic
outlook
Ancient Egyptian history spans about 3000 years
o King Menes (united Upper & Lower Egypt)
o Conquest of Alexander the Great (332 B.C.E.)
Old Kingdom (2700 – 2200 B.C.E.)
o “Pharaoh” – rules as a king & a god
o Pharaoh’s rule was based on the ideal of “maat” – a combination of
order, justice, & truth
Old Kingdom Building Programs:
o Old Kingdom pharaohs demonstrated their greatness & proved
their devotion through their building programs
The Pyramids – served as pharonic tombs
The “Sphinx” – served as a monument dedicated to the
worship of the sun
Politics during the Old Kingdom
o Water management was local, not national
o Territory was divided into local districts called NOMES
1st Intermediate Period (2200 – 2052 B.C.E.)
o The Pharaoh’s power waned; local leaders asserted their power
Middle Kingdom (2052 - 1630 B.C.E.)
o Three important changes to royal government
9
10. The Pharaoh’s residence moved from Thebes to a new town
just south of Memphis (see map p. 19)
Nome structure was clarified
Establishment of a “co-regent”; designed to make the
progression of rulers move more smoothly
o Foreign policy became more aggressive
Building fortresses in the south to control Nubia
Building fortresses in the north to stop settlers from Syria &
Palestine
2nd Intermediate Period (1630 – 1550 B.C.E.)
o More internal division (East vs. West)
Politics
New Kingdom (1550 – 1075 B.C.E.)
o Foreign expansion in all directions
o *Peak of Egyptian economic & political power
o Rulers dug tombs deep into cliffs – “Valley of the Kings” (ex. King
Tut)
Language & Literature
Writing first appeared in Egypt (ca. 3000 B.C.E.)
o HIEROGLYPHS – Greek for “sacred carvings”
Consisted of 100s of picture signs
RELIGION
Three different explanations for creation; each based on the philosophy of
a leading city
Solar cults & mythologies were highly developed (ex. Re [pronounced
“Ra”] – the primary Sun god)
10
11. o Why were solar cults so popular?
In art gods & goddesses had human bodies with human or sometimes
animal heads (ex. Anubis had a jackal’s head p. 24)
Most Egyptians worshipped at small local shrines
o Many believed a wide variety of amulets could ward off evil (ex.
scarab or beetle
Egyptians did believe in the possibility of life after death
o At first only for the pharaoh, gradually became a hope for everyone
o Osiris was an important deity in the Egyptian concept of the
afterlife
o Egyptians believed that the body must be preserved to secure
immortality
Led to the invention & development of mummification
techniques.
Women’s Role & Rights
Could own & control property
Could sue for divorce
Expected to manage the household
Royal women naturally had more influence
Ancient Judaism
From 722 B.C.E. forward, Israelites came to be known as “Jews”
The major contribution by the Jews to the development of western
civilization is MONOTHEISM – the belief in one universal God, creator
& ruler of the universe
11
12. The Jewish God did not look like a human or any other creature
The Jewish religion featured strong ethical components
o God was a severe, but just judge
o Therefore humans must act righteously in accordance to God’s
laws
o God himself was also expected to act righteously
THE END
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