Early Civilizations

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Early Civilizations

• Major Features
• Sumer, China, Egypt
• Indus Valley, Hebrews, Persia

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Early Civilizations
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Geography

• Rivers provide for the civilization
• Water irrigation food production surplus
• Silt fertile soil
• Some violent floods (China), Nile slow, gradual
  rise and flood
• Transportation, trade, food as in wildlife, fish
  etc

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MonsoonSeasonal winds

• Heavy rain summer
• Irrigation
• Flooding in Bangladesh
• Dry winds winter
• Preserve water

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Indus River
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Yellow River Loess yellow silt
Yellow Sea
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China River of Sorrows, Yellow River, Huang
River, Violent Floods
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India and China Isolated due to mountains
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Egypt Isolation deserts and cataracts
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No mountains to protect it lots of invasions
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Governments

• Stability each day similar to yesterday,
• Defense soldiers and leadership
• Direction of economy - records
• Public works construction projects

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Political Egyptian Government

• Dynasty line of succession one family
• Monarchy blood eldest male
• Believed to be Gods Pharaohs (title)

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City- state urban area that controls the
surrounding land war and expansion
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Helps explain why a new dynasty has taken over
China
Good Times To Bad Times To Worse Times
Need A Change In Leaders
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India rajasWarrior chiefs leaders of
districts or states
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China feudal War lords fight over territory no
emperor or stability
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Egyptian Society viziers rulers and advisors
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Persia Satraps Governors, rulers of regions,
states
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Israel and Judea 1000 BCE

• David establishes kingdom
• Solomon builds the great Temple
• Assyrians Babylonians conquer enslave

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Empire Conquer many different people, ethnic
groups, kingdoms
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Hebrews Patriarchs, heads of tribes - before
kings
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Religious Experiences Keep the God(s) on our side

• Spirits, the Divine inherit all living things and
  in mysterious places
• Emerging class of priests as mediators between us
  and the Divine
• Written language important as collection of
  stories, guides for proper living

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Polytheism Most common in the Early
Civilizations many Gods
Karnak
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Mummification Preserve the body life after
death
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About 400 ft tall 2500BC 300,000 workers X 30
yrs Lincoln 334ft Summit 400ft
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Oracle Bones
20,000 found at Anyang Forecast future
heat Bamboo paper, government records Tribal or
Feudal? Administative titles King not
divine Predict the future
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Civilization of the Fertile Crescent Judaism
The Hebrews

• A study in the blending of political and
  religious aspects of culture.
• Political leadership Abraham Ur 1900BCE
  (Sumer) led a group to Canaan and through Jacob
  12 tribes of Israel

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Zoroaster Persia Religious Leader

• 600s BC
• Struggle of Good v Evil
• Final Judgment Day

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Animism

• Spirits inherit all things
• Sacrifice food items, grown or raised
• Special metal works built for the fire

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Animism We are spirits in the material world

• Spirits in nature myths, forces of nature
  quakes, volcanoes, storms, floods, fog (dragons
  breathe)
• Ancestor veneration spirits
• intercede for you oldest male

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Civilization of the Fertile Crescent Judaism
The Hebrews

• Political/Religious Torah sacred texts
  carriers first 5 books of Bibles Old Testament
  eye for an eye. (Mosaic Law) death sentence
  for severe crimes only all deserve respect
  dignity 900 BCE written down -
• Political free will (choice) ethical
  monotheism single deity proper conduct
  towards self and others Contribution to Western
  Civilization

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Social Divisions

• Based on wealth and herditary by birth
• Based on job or occupation
• Education or skill
• Two primary divisions few wealthy, many poor
• Adds natural stability know your status,
  position, duty, your role in the society

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Artisans Skilled workers
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Noble Class Birth, wealth, status, ruler class,
land owners
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Caste System India

• Rigid no movement
• Stable society
• Live within your class
• Marry with in class

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Peasants and farmers Working class, duties to
nobles
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Written language

• Records information Census, production,
• Bureaucracy Government record keepers
• Literacy scribes, information for future and
  past
• Religious Texts morals, values, stories, chants,
  prayers

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Vedas collection of stories, religious prayers,
written in sanskrit, religious literature
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Sumerian Writing Cuneiform

• Sumerians wrote on clay tablets
• Wedge shaped tool called a stylus
• Pictographic 600 signs

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Cuneiform Sumer, used for nearly 3,000 years
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Cultural Advancements

• Bronze age
• Glazed pottery
• Hieroglyphics
• 3,000 BCE
• Paper/papyrus
• Rosetta Stone

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Civilization of the Fertile Crescent Judaism
The Hebrews

• Political/Religious Torah sacred texts
  carriers first 5 books of Bibles Old Testament
  eye for an eye. (Mosaic Law) death sentence
  for severe crimes only all deserve respect
  dignity
• 900 BC written down -

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Epic of Gilgamesh
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Upanishads essays epics

• Mystics wanderers told the stories
• Traditional religious practices
• Great epics Bhagavad Gita marriage and role
  models for Hindu society

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Calligraphy beautiful writing, script, language
of the Gods
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Civilization of the Fertile Crescent Judaism
The Hebrews

• Political/Religious Torah sacred texts
  carriers first 5 books of Bibles Old Testament
  eye for an eye. (Mosaic Law) death sentence
  for severe crimes only all deserve respect
  dignity 900 BCE written down -
• Political free will (choice) ethical
  monotheism single deity proper conduct
  towards self and others Contribution to Western
  Civilization

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Carried from place to place. Set in the great
Temple. What happened to the arc?
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Babylon Empire of the Fertile Crescent

• Political achievement Code of Hammurabi, 1750BCE
  organized laws into categories harsh eye
  for an eye
• Classes not treated the same some punishments
  harsher for lower classes

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Achievements, Architecture and Public Works

• Major projects shows organized and complex
  governments
• Future planning and strategies
• Enormous human labor, brute strength with few
  tools

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Shang Irrigation and flood control
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Simple dirt canals
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Sumer Zuggurat - temple
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Silk worms Mulberry Trees
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Egyptian Calendar 12 months 365 plus
days Becomes the base For our modern
calendar Predicted the Annual Floods of the
Nile
Egyp
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