Ancient Civilizations

1
Ancient Civilizations

• Intro
• Mesopotamia (3000-1000 BC)
• In General
• Society/Religion
• Government
• Egypt (3100 BC-500 BC)
• Nile
• Unification Prosperity
• Conc.

• Key Terms
• Cuneiform
• Code of Hammurabi
• Papyrus
• Nile River
• Menes
• Great Pyramid

2
Announcements

• Requirement/Extra Credit Opportunities
• Chris Carters Student Body Language, Friday
  9/14 730 PM at WSCC theater
• Peter Yarrow Saturday 9/29, 730 at Ramsdell
  Theater in Manistee
• For free tickets call WSCC box office 843-5507
• To do Attend the event write a summary (one
  page, single-spaced, typed, 250 words) due one
  week after the event
• More than one five points can be added to your
  discussion grade

3
Two Important Civilizations
Mesopotamia Egypt
Why here?
Access to water!
4
Mesopotamia

• Mesopotamia a Greek word meaning between the
  rivers.
• Rivers Tigris Euphrates
• The Rivers flooded periodically flood control
  was important.

5
Their Influence On Us Today
Mathematics

• Number system with a base of 60 (combinations of
  6 10)

• 60 seconds in one minute
• 60 minutes in one hour
• 360 degrees in a circle
• 360 days in year (extra month added every six
  years)
• 24 hours in one day

6
Their Influence On Us Today
Writing
Sumerians invented Cuneiform which was the
first efficient system of writing.

• It was partly pictographic and partly an alphabet.

7
Sumerian Cuneiform Tablet (ca. 2121 BC)
8
Society Religion

• Religion dominated daily life people constantly
  tried to placate the gods.
• This was reflected in their architecture.

9
Ziggurat(At the top was a temple for a god)
10
Religion

• They were polytheists.
• A major role/function was to explain natural
  events.
• Gloomy vague afterlife no reward for
  virtuous living.
• Enlil-An important god who influenced success or
  failure of crops by controlling weather.

Enlil
11
Mesopotamian Society

• Slavery was practiced one could be enslaved due
  to debt or prisoner of war.
• About 80-90 of the population farmed.

• Marriages were typically arranged by parents.

12
Government in Mesopotamia

1. There were 10-12 separate city-states in 3000 BC
   each was led by a king.

1. Leadership was very unstable rulers rose fell
   based upon their popularity (usually based on
   success of crops).
2. Kings acted as representatives of the gods no
   separation of church state.

13
Hammurabi (Babylonian King)(1792-1750 BC)
Hammurabi was able to unify all of Mesopotamia
under his rule
Hammurabi and the law code
14
Code of Hammurabi(ca.1750 BC)

• If a man commits robbery and is captured, he
  shall be put to death.
• If the robber is not captured, the man who has
  been robbed shall, in the presence of the god,
  make a list of what he has lost, and the city and
  the governor of the province where the robbery
  was committed shall compensate him for his loss.
• Insight Protection of Private Property

15
Code of Hammurabi(ca.1750 BC)

• If a man accuses another man of murder but cannot
  prove it, the accuser shall be put to death.
• If a man bears false witness in a case, or cannot
  prove his testimony, if that case involves life
  or death, he shall be put to death.
• Insight Honesty

16
Code of Hammurabi(ca.1750 BC)

• If a son strikes his father, they shall cut off
  his hand.
• A widower cannot seize his dead wifes dowry, but
  must save it for her sons.
• Insight Family Values
• If a noble has broken another nobles bone, they
  shall break his bone. If he has destroyed the
  eye of a commoner or has broken the bone of a
  commoner, he shall pay one mina of silver.
• Insight Rich poor are treated differently

17
Code of Hammurabi(ca.1750 BC)

• A wife can divorce her husband for adultery, but
  only if she has been chaste if not she is to be
  thrown into the river along with her lover.
• When she deserves it, a man may pull out the hair
  of his wife, mutilate or twist her ears, with no
  liability attaching to him.
• Insight Women are NOT equal to men

18
The Codes Significance?

1. No equality under the law (for women and/or
   commoners)
2. Laws provide a code of ethical behavior no
   reward for ethical behavior

19
Role/Function Of Laws/Religion
Region Religion Laws Misc.
Mesopotamia Religion explained natural events Laws were written provided ethics but Church/State were one Religion explained natural events Laws were written provided ethics but Church/State were one Polytheistic uncertainty instability


20
Egypts Influence On Us Today
Papyrus

1. A new, less clumsy writing tablet

1. Toothpaste!

1. Ingredients lead, powdered flint, incense, and
   honey (ca. 1500 BC)

21
Rosetta Stone

• Discovered in 1799 deciphered 1822
• Included writing in hieroglyphics, demotic
  script, and Greek

22
The Gift Of The Nile
Most of Egypt is a desert, but the Nile...

1. flooded every year which added nutrients to soil.

1. made the land livable 5-15 miles on either
   side of the River.

1. created a dependable and efficient transportation
   system.

In contrast to Mesopotamias instability, the
Nile provided stability and prosperity to Egypt.
23
Unification Brings Prosperity
Egypt was believed to be first unified between
3100-2850 BC by
Menes
He was also known as Narmer
24
Statistics the Great Pyramid

• Built about 2600 BC
• 480 feet high and 750 feet long
• Built with 2.3 million limestone blocks
• Each block weighed about 2.5 tons
• Each block was hand-chiseled to fit in place
  perfectly
• Built with a labor force of about 100,000 men
  working for 20 years

25
Ancient Civilizations

• Intro
• Mesopotamia (3000-1000 BC)
• Society/Religion
• Government
• Egypt (3100 BC-500 BC)
• Nile
• Unification Prosperity
• Conc.

• Key Terms
• Cuneiform
• Code of Hammurabi
• Papyrus
• Nile River
• Menes
• Great Pyramid