The Emergence of Cities and States

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Chapter 11

• The Emergence of Cities and States

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Chapter Summary

• Defining Civilization
• Cities and Culture Change
• The Making of States
• Civilization and Its Discontents
• Tikal A Case Study

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Transition to Cities

• Four culture changes mark the transition to life
  in civilized urban centers
• agricultural innovation
• diversification of labor
• emergence of centralized government
• social stratification

Irrigation canal
Diversification of labor
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Civilization

• In anthropology, a type of society marked by the
  presence of cities, social classes, and the
  state.

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Early Civilizations
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Agricultural Innovation

• Agricultural innovation involved the development
  of new farming methods, such as irrigation, that
  increased crop yields.
• Agricultural innovations also brought about other
  changes such as increased population size.

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Diversification of Labor

• Occurred as a result of population growth in
  cities.
• Some people could provide sufficient food for
  others who devoted themselves to specialization
  as artisans and craftspeople.

Artisans and craftpeople work on their art and
not on acquiring food.
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Diversification of Labor

• With specialization came development of new
  technologies, leading to the beginnings of
  extensive trade systems.
• Knowledge was an outgrowth of technological
  innovation and increased contact with foreign
  people through trade.

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Bronze Age

• In the Old World, the period marked by the
  production of tools and ornaments of bronze.
• It began about 5,000 years ago in China and
  Southwest Asia and about 500 years earlier in
  Southeast Asia.

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Emergence of Centralized Government

• Central government provided an authority to deal
  with the complex problems associated with cities.
  
• Evidence of a central governing authority comes
  from law codes, temple records, and royal
  chronicles.
• Further evidence comes from public structures and
  signs of centralized planning.
• Typically, the first cities were headed by a king
  and his special advisors.

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Social Stratification

• The emergence of social classes is a culture
  change characteristic of cities and states.
• Symbols of status and privilege appeared, and
  individuals were ranked according to the work
  they did or the position of their families.
• Archaeologists have been able to verify the
  existence of social classes in ancient
  civilizations by studying burial customs.

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Grave Goods

• Items such as utensils, figurines, and personal
  possessions, symbolically placed in the grave for
  the deceased persons use in the afterlife.

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The Making of States Ecological Theories

• Ecological theories emphasize the interrelation
  of the actions of ancient people and their
  environment.
• According to these theories, civilizations
  developed as centralized governments began to
  control irrigation systems, trade networks, or
  scarce resources.

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Three Ecological Theories

• Hydraulic theory explains civilizations
  emergence as the result of the construction of
  elaborate irrigation systems.
• Another theory suggests that in regions of
  ecological diversity, trade is necessary to
  procure scarce resources.
• States develop where populations are limited by
  barriers such as mountains, deserts, seas, or
  other human populations.

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Action Theory

• Acknowledges the relationship of society to the
  environment in shaping social and cultural
  behavior.
• Recognizes that forceful leaders strive to
  advance their positions through self-serving
  actions and as a result, may create change.

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Problems in Early Cities

• Poor sanitation combined with large numbers of
  people living close together made infectious
  disease rampant.
• Dense population, class systems, and a strong
  centralized government created internal stress.
• Warfare was common cities were fortified, and
  armies served to protect the state.

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Tikal A Case Study of the Emergence of a City
State
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Tikal to Scale
Tikal was built on a limestone terrace as early
as 3,000 years ago. At its height, it had at
least 45,000 people. It had 6-700 people per km2.
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At first, archaeologists were only interested in
the main plazas and monumental architecture
Excavation of ceremonial centers showed evidence
of social organization, technology, and
diversity. There was evidence of trade (marine
materials were found there) as well as luxury
goods.
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There was evidence of bureauracracy in the
enormity of the palaces and temples as well as in
carvings that wrote of the deeds of great rulers.
The fact that the architecture is impressive and
many goods were found within it shows that there
was labor diversification and skilled artisans
and scribes.
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Evidence of the elite is not the whole story
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Finding normal people helps archaeologists
determine what life was like for EVERYONE
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