1. © 2009 Tara Balakrishnan & Maya Balakrishnan
1­1: Human Origins in Africa
• 1970’s: archeologist Mary Leakey found prehistoric footprints like that of modern humans in Tanzania (East Africa)
o made by australopithecines (type of hominid­ walks upright)
• In Ethiopia, complete skeleton of adult female hominid “Lucy” from 3.5 million yrs ago
• Early hominids had opposable thumbs and walking upright helped travel distances and carry things
• Invention of tools, mastery over fire, development of languages all occurred during the Stone Age
• Earlier and longer part of Stone Age called Paleolithic Age (2,500,000­8000BCE)
o Oldest stone chopping tools date back to this era; during the Ice Age
o Religious beliefs centered around nature; believed in afterlive
• Neolithic Age (8000­3000BCE/ dates vary in places)
o People learned to polish stone tools, make pottery, grow crops, raise animals
• Before australopithecines vanished, new hominids (Homo habilis) appeared in East Africa
o Used lava rock tools to cut meat and crack open bones = made survival easier
• 1.6 million yrs ago, before Homo habilis left, Homo erectus appeared
o more intelligent and adaptable than Homo habilis; used intelligence to develop technology; skillful hunters with
sophisticated tools; first hominids to migrate to India, China, SE Asia, EU
o developed beginning of spoken language; first to use fire
• Homo erectus evolved to Homo sapiens
o Had larger brains
• Neanderthals in SW Asia and Europe survived for 170,000 yrs and vanished 30,000 yrs ago
o Religious beliefs; shelters
• Cro­Magnons emerge 40,000­8,000 BCE: identical to modern humans
o N. Africa ­> Europe, Asia; made tools with specialized uses; planned hunts; spoken language = cooperation
• Cave paintings by primitive people: European and Asian show hunting and daily activities; American and Australian
more symbolic = sympathetic magic
1­2: Humans Try to Control Nature
• 40,000 yrs ago, Cro­Magnons same as modern man
• Paleolithic era, mostly nomads= hunter­gatherers; crafted crude tools i.e. sharpened sticks to aid hunting/gathering
• Made artistic creations: jewelry, sculptures, cave paintings
• Neolithic Revolution: 10,000 yrs ago, = agricultural revolution (climate change was key reason)
• Early farming methods: slash­and­burn, domestication of animals
• Took place in Fertile Crescent (NE Iraq/Mesopotamia)

2. © 2009 Tara Balakrishnan & Maya Balakrishnan
• Farming develops independently in Africa, China, Central America…
o Catal Huyuk and Jarmo important agri. sites for studying Neolithic Age
 Permanent settlements created, benefits= surplus food, specialized workers
 Disadvantages= floods/fire/drought/disease destroy village; invasion by neighbors
1­3: Civilization
• Villages become cities:
o Economic changes: more cultivation­>elaborate irrigation systems built; food surplus=specialization; wheel and sail
improved trade
o Social: social classes formed; religion more organized­>worshipped gods with power over nature
• Civilization characteristics: 1. Advanced cities 2. Specialized workers 3. Complex institutions 4. Record keeping 5.
Advanced technology 6. Art and Architecture
Sumer (Ur in bold):
• Advanced cities: center of trade for larger area; large population
o Defined social classes: rulers/ priests on top; trade w. bartering
• Spec. workers: artisans; merchants; scribes; soldiers; teachers; metalworkers; priests; gov. officials; peasants
• Complex inst.: formal gov. with laws; priests with religious/political power; education system (for scribes)
• Record keeping: cuneiform tablets with business transactions, hist. events, customs, traditions; calendar
• Adv. Tech: ox­drawn plows; irrigation systems; pottery eating supplies; bronze weapons; body armor
o Roads, pottery
• Art and Architecture: ziggurat(massive pyramid temple), temples, temple gates, storage for grain
2­1: Mesopotamia
• Mesopotamia = “land between the rivers”­ Tigris and Euphrates
o Environmental challenge; unpredictable flooding; no natural barriers; limited natural resources
o Solutions: irrigation ditches; city walls; traded worked materials for raw materials
• Sumerians had city­states each with own gov. (Uruk, Kish, Lagaash, Umma, Ur)
o Each had own ziggurat
o Rulers (military leaders) and priests share control: priests mostly (demanded crop taxes)
 Military leaders had dynasties; shift from priests to military rulers
• Cultural diffusion: new ideas spread to other cities
• Sumerians = polytheistic (see English)
o No joy after death­ afterworld is bad place
o Women priests, women had many rights: landholding, read, write, scribes
• Technology: invented wheel, sail, plow, first to use bronze, arithmetic, geometry, base 60 number system, modern time
units come from it
• Architectural innovations: arches, columns, ramps, pyramid ziggurat
• First to develop system of writing (cuneiform) on tablets: written with pointy triangular tipped reeds

3. © 2009 Tara Balakrishnan & Maya Balakrishnan
• 3000­2000 BCE, Sumer city­states constantly at war with each other and could no longer ward of attacks of people of
surrounding hills/deserts
• Sumer never recovered from attacks and succeeding rulers adopted Sumerian culture to their own needs
• c. 2350 BCE, conqueror Sargon with army from Akkad (city­state N. of Sumer) defeated Sumer
o Akkadians already had adopted most of Sumerian culture; Sargon’s conquests spread the culture further beyond
Tigris­Euphrates Valley
• By taking control of N. and S. Mesopotamia, Sargon created 1st empire
o At peak, Akkadian Empire controlled Mediterranean Coast in the west to Iran (today) in the east
o Lasted only 200 yrs before decline
• c. 2000 BCE, nomadic warriors (Amorites) invaded Mesopotamia and overwhelmed Sumerians
• established capital at Babylon along Euphrates River
• Babylonian Empire reached peak during reign of Hammurabi (1792­1750 BCE)
o Hammurabi’s Code of laws: first single, uniform code of laws written down in stone all over empire
o 282 specific laws many related to property issues; protected women and children from unfair treatment
o diff. punishment for diff. social classes; principle of retaliation (eye for an eye…)
o gov. responsible for society’s actions
• 2 centuries after Hammurabi’s reign, Babylonian empire fell to Kassites
2­3: Pyramids on the Nile
• Egypt united into single kingdom early on
• Nile flows N.: civilization arose along fertile Nile banks
• Nile flooded regularly: necessary for life; deserts as natural barriers
• River travel common­ ended at 1st cataract (rapids)
•
• winds blow upstream (N to S) so you can travel by sailboat upriver and down
• 5000 BCE farming villages with own rituals, god, ruler
• 3200 BCE­ 2 separate kingdoms: lower and upper Egypt
• eventually united (most likely) by King Narmer
•
• Old Kingdom: in Mesopotamia, kings represent gods; in Egypt, kings=gods=pharaohs
o Theocracy: pharaoh @ center of religion and gov.
o Pharaoh had eternal life force (ka): pyramids to protect pharaoh in afterlife
• Didn’t use wheel
• Early Egyptians polytheistic: Re (sun god), Osiris (dead), Isis (mother/wife goddess)
• Believed in an afterlife where you would be judged
• Mummification of elites led to advanced medical techniques
• King, queen, royals at top of soc. Pyramid
o Priests, wealthy landowners, gov. officials, army commanders
 Peasants and laborers­ slavery came later
 Egyptians not locked into social class­ couple move up esp. if know to read/write
o Women had many of the same rights as men
• Innovations:
o Scribes developed flexible writing system = hieroglyphics (pics changed from representing ideas to letters)
 Wrote on papyrus reeds

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o Developed calendar for planting w/ 365 days in a year
o Arithmetic for taxes
o Geometry for pyramid building
o Medicine for healing bones, surgery, check heart rate…
• Decline of Old Kingdom
o Strong pharaohs regained control during Middle Kingdom (2040­1640 BCE)
o Hyksos from Palestine invaded and ruled Egypt (1630­1523 BCE)
o New Kingdom – Egypt rose again
3.1 The Indo­Europeans
o Group of Nomadic ppl from Steppes dry grass lands
o Primarily pastoral (herded)
o Tamed horses and rose light 2 wheeled chariots
o Lived in tribes that spoke forms of indo­european languages­
o ancestor of many modern languages
o Nomads migrated in all directions (1700­1200 BCE)
o By 2000 BCE the Hittites occupied Anatolia (Turkey)
o High rocky plateau rich in minerals timber agriculture
o Separate Hittite city states formed empire in 1650
o Capital Hattusas
o Adopted Akkadian (to speak w/ foreigners) after conquering Akkadian Babylon
o Hittites dominated SW Asia­ 450 yrs (occupied Babylon and fought w/ Assyria)
o Signed treaty w/ Assyrians to help each other
o Excelled in war technology­ chariots, iron weapons, armor
o Fell in 1190 BC as part of a great wave of invasions from N. (capital burned)
3­3 Seafaring Traders
o Minoans: powerful sea traders in the eastern Mediterranean
o Exported goods, art and culture (incl. architecture, burial customs, religious rituals): major influence on Greece
o Minoans seem to be peaceful
o Named after King Minos who owned a minotaur which he kept in a labyrinth
o Women held a higher rank than in most neighboring lands
o Great Mother Earth Goddess ruler of gods of Crete (Minoan island); many priestesses
o Sacrificed mostly animals but also a couple humans
o Mysterious end: giant quakes in 1500’s BCEs­ rebuilt palace twice, then volcano; never quite recovered
Phoenicians
o After Minoan decline, most powerful traders
o Never united into country; only city­states(e.x. Sidon and Tyre); cities were great trading centers
o Remarkable shipbuilders and sea­farers: went around Africa and Asia
o Produced famous and expensive red­purple dye, papyrus, built colonies along N. African coast and S. Europe coast
o Greatest Phoenician colony=Carthage in N. Africa
o Developed phonetic writing system with letters (word alphabet from 1st 2 Phoenician letters)
o Introduced writing system to trading partners
o Eastern cities were captured by the Assyrians then Phoenicians came under control of the Babylonians and Persians
3­4 The Origins of Judaism
o Phoenicians lived in a region later called Palestine along with Philistines
o Canaan­ ancient home of the Hebrews (Jews) in this area. Land promised by God to the Hebrew ppl
o Ancient Palestine’s location = cultural crossroads of ancient world.
o God choose Abraham to be father of Jews, he was a shepherd in Ur, Mesopotamia and was ordered by god to move w/
ppl to Canaan in 1800 BCE
o Descendants of Abe move to Egypt in 1600 BCE b/c of drought and famine. Given places of honor at first in Egyptian

5. © 2009 Tara Balakrishnan & Maya Balakrishnan
kingdom but later forced into slavery. Flee Egypt btw 1300­1200 BCE during the EXODUS remembered each yr. during
Passover.
o Torah says that Moses (all Jew male babies were supposed to be killed @ this time but his mom hid him and he was
adopted by an Egyptian princess) led Hebrews out of slavery
o Jews traveled across of Sinai Peninsula and Moses went to top of Mt. Sinai to pray. Yahweh (God) spoke to him and
gave him the 10 commandments­ they formed a new covenant = god protected Hebrews who protected his
commandments.
o Hebrews return to Canaan after death of Moses + changed from Nomads to settled ppl.
o Loosely organized into 12 self­governing tribes, they would unite in times of emergency and god would send
them a judge (1 was a woman)
o Women only raised children
o 10 commanded resembled Hammurabi’s code but punishments softened by god’s mercy.
o Ethical Monotheism: emphasis on right conduct and worship of 1 god.
o Hebrews after settlement in Canaan/Palestine expanded north and south.
o Tribe of Judah (last tribe left of original 12)­ Hebrews came to be Jews and the religion Judaism
o 1000 BCE Hebrews united under Kings (Kingdom of Israel)
o Saul: chosen for driving out a Philistine invasion, but became greedy/jealous
o David: son­in­law of Saul, very popular, united tribes, Jerusalem = capital, established dynasty
o Solomon: son of David, most powerful Hebrew King, built trading empire w/ Hiram­ King of Tyre (Phoenician
city), beautified Jerusalem w/ great temple
 After death­ revolt in N. part of kingdom
 Israel becomes Israel in N. and Judah in S. (sometimes friends sometimes enemies)
• Both began paying tribute to Assyria to ensure peace w/ them
• 725 BCE Assyrians seize Samaria­ capital of Israel, and Israel falls to Assyrians
• Assyrians lose power to Neo­Babylonians
• Nebuchadnezzar­ gets Syria and Palestine and Israel and seizes Judah (destroys Solomon’s
temple­ many survivors exiled to Babylon)
• Persian King Cyrus conquers Babylon and lets exiles return to Judah/ rebuild temple
4.1 Egyptian and Nubian Empires
o After prosperity of Middle Kingdom Egypt loses control­ Hyksos take over and Hebrews settle there during this time
o Egyptians resent Jews but Hyksos want them
o 1600 BCE Pharaohs kick out Hyksos and restore power. Hebrews enslaved until Exodus
o Nubian Kingdom of Kush emerges as a power
o Pharaohs of New Kingdom 1500­1000 BCE built the biggest/powerfulest/wealthiest empire than before
o Hatshepsut­ queen Pharaoh encouraged trade rather than war
o Stepson, Thutmose very warlike: invaded Palestine, Syria, and part of Nubia
o Egyptians and Hittites fight over Palestine but Pharaoh Ramses II made peace treaty w/ Hittites for 1 century
o Build many royal tombs temples and palaces in the valley of kings.
o Ramses II carved giant statues in red sandstone cliffs.
o Decline: attacked by “sea­ppls” tribes of Palestine rebel against Egyptian overlords, Libyan raids in west
o Egypt never regains previous power­ break apart and fell
o 950­730 BCE Libyan Pharaohs rule Egypt­ adopted Egyptian culture
o Kingdom of Kush esp. capital Napata becomes center of cultural spread
o w/ Egypt decline Kush regains independence/power and sought to capture Libyan Egypt
o Kush King Piyanki overthrew Libyan dynasty and united entire Nile Valley.
o Then Assyrians conquer Egypt and Kushites retreat south to Meroë which became active in Trade b/c of large amt of
natural resources then after 4 centuries begins to decline after Aksum kindom in N. takes over trade.
4.2 Assyrian Empire
o 850 BCE Assyria acquires large empire w/ advanced military supplies­ greatest military power in S.W. asia for a time

6. © 2009 Tara Balakrishnan & Maya Balakrishnan
o glorified military everything (strengths, weapons, technology, strategy)
o by 650 BCE Assyria defeats Syria, Palestine, and Babylonia (not yet neo), had local governors report to a central
authority= model of gov.
o governors brought in tribute and taxes
o King Sennacherib (who burnt Babylon) also established capital at Nineveh along Tigris River. Nineveh had 1 of ancient
world’s largest libraries (King Ashurbanipal’s) incl. Epic of Gilgamesh.
o After Ashurbanipal’s death Nineveh fell to Medes and Chaldeans and others who burned the city but many tablets
survived
o Assyrians fall
o Then Chaldeans make Babylon their capital and King Nebuchadnezzar restores city with hanging gardens of Babylon, 7
tiered ziggurat, and astronomers, and wall around city.
3­3 Persian Empire
• Cyrus, Persian king began to conquer (but showed mercy and honored local customs)
o grandson Darius brought stability to empire and conquered into Afghanistan and India and to Egypt and Anatolia in the
West
o Darius divided empire into 20 provinces to govern it
 Brilliant administrator but didn’t show same respect for local culture
o Installed governor called satrap to rule locally and appointed military leaders, tax collectors, and spies to check on stuff
o Royal Road ran across empire
o Borrowed coins from the Lydians
o Conquered by Alexander the Great
o After Alexander’s death (Early) split into 3 empires:
 Seleucid (largest), Parthian, and Sassanid
o Religion of Zoroastrianism founded by Zoroaster
 Teaches that the earth is a battleground with a great struggle between spirit of good and evil
 Each person takes part in this struggle and is judged in death by how well they do
 Monotheistic: Ahura Mazda
o After Muslim conquest of Persia, Zoroastrianism declined­ some took it to India