The First Civilizations: The People of Western Asia and Egypt 1

©2004 Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning ™ is a trademark used herein under license. The Spread of Homo sapiens

The First Humans  Prehistory- no written record; story of early humanity depends on archaeological and biological information -“theories on prehistory and early man constantly change as new evidence comes to light” Louis Leakey  Earliest human like creatures (hominids) lived in Africa 3- 4 million years ago. Australopithecines, (bipedal)c. 2-4 million years ago  Homo Habilis (handy human), c. 1-4 million years ago  Homo erectus (upright human) c. 100, million years ago; first to move out of Africa  Homo sapiens (Wise Human)- divided into two groups  Neanderthal, c. 100,000-30,000 B.C.E.- first to bury dead  Homo sapiens sapiens, c. 200,000 B.C.E. (Map 1.1 of text)

The Hunter-Gatherers of the Paleolithic Age  Paleolithic Age, c. 2,500,000-10,000 B.C.E. (Old Stone Age)  Nomadic people- lived in small bands of twenty to thirty persons; moved b/c of animal migration  Division of labor (hunters and gatherers)  Fire, 500,000 years ago  Cave paintings (Chauvet cave in southern France)

©2004 Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning ™ is a trademark used herein under license. The Development of Agriculture

The Neolithic Agriculture Revolution -New Stone Age (c. 10, B.C.E.)  Characteristics: growing plants and domesticating animals  Mesolithic Age- Middle Stone Age (c. 10,000 – 7000 B.C.E.) gradual shift from hunting/gathering to producing food, and taming animals  Independent development  Middle East, 8000 B.C.E.  Balkans, 6500 B.C.E.  France, Central Europe, and Coastal Mediterranean, 4000 B.C.E.  Western Asia and Nile Valley of Egypt, 6000 B.C.E.  Northwestern and Central India, B.C.E.  Southeast Asia and South China, 5000 B.C.E.  North China, 6000 B.C.E.  Mesoamerica, B.C.E.

Consequences of the Neolithic Revolution  Neolithic (New Stone Age) farms and villages  Oldest in the Middle East  Shift to systematic agriculture  Consequences  Settled in villages and towns  Çatal Hüyük, (located in Turkey) B.C.E. Walled city 12 cultivated products Religious shrines

Discussion Questions  Did the early humans have gender equality? Why/why not?  How did the advent of settled agriculture change human society?  What defines a civilization?

The Emergence of Civilization

Early Civilizations Around the World  Mesopotamia of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers  Valleys of the Indus River  Yellow River in northern China  Central Asia  Supe River valley of Peru  Why civilization developed?  Challenge and response  Material forces created specialization of labor  Management of water resources  Religion provided unity and purpose

©2004 Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning ™ is a trademark used herein under license. The Ancient Near East

Civilization in Mesopotamia  City-States of Ancient Mesopotamia  Sumerian city-states, c B.C.E. Walls Temple atop a ziggurat Gods ruled the cities Kingship divine in origin Economy was agricultural Social groups Nobles Commoners Slaves

Empires in Ancient Mesopotamia  Akkadian Empire, c B.C.E.  Semitic people (Table 1.1 of text)  Sargon around 2340 B.C.E. overran the Sumerian cities and established an empire over most of Mesopotamia  Empire falls about 2100 B.C.E.  Amorites (Old Babylonians)  Hammurabi in 1792 B.C.E. creates a new empire  Established a new capital at Babylon  Code of Hammurabi (282 laws)  Strict justice  Penalties according to class  Performance of work  Marriage and the family

The Culture of Mesopotamia  Importance of Religion  Polytheists – had many gods/goddesses  Human relationships with the gods  Cultivation of Writing and Sciences  Writing in the form of cuneiform (“wedge shaped”) Primarily for record keeping which means retention of knowledge Communicate important ideas Literature - Epic of Gilgamesh- story of flood  Achievements in Math Based on 60 using combinations of 6 and 10 Geometry to measure fields and erect buildings Calendar of 12 lunar months (extra month time to time)

The Development Of Cuneiform Writing. This chart shows the evolution of writing from pictographic signs around 3100 B.C.E. to cuneiform signs by about 700 B.C.E. Note that the sign for star came to mean “god” or “sky.” Pictographic signs for head and bowl came eventually to mean “to eat” in their simplified cuneiform version.

Egyptian Civilization: The Importance of Geography  Nile River flows North, ends at Delta  Flooding unpredictable  Food surpluses  Natural barriers create isolation ©2004 Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning ™ is a trademark used herein under license.

The Old and Middle Kingdoms  The Old Kingdom- Age of Pyramids  King Menes unites Upper and Lower Egypt, 3100 B.C.E.  Old Kingdom, c B.C.E. Divine kingship: the pharaoh- was divine; many pyramids constructed Pharaoh assisted by the vizier (advisor) and the nomarchs (governors of nomes or provinces)  Middle Kingdom, c B.C.E.- Golden Age  Stability  Pharaoh viewed more as a Shepard to his people; rather than God- king- responsible for public works and provide for public welfare  Nomarchs rule was now hereditary and nomes were more organized

©2004 Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning ™ is a trademark used herein under license. The Pyramid at Gizeh

Egyptian Society 1. Pharaoh and upper class nobles and priests had large estates 2. Merchants traded along the Nile and with Crete, Syria, Nubia, and Red Sea 3. Most were peasants and serfs who worked the lands in theory owned by the pharaoh

The Culture of Egypt  Spiritual life in Egyptian society  Provided a sense of security and timelessness  Polytheistic -with sun gods and land gods particularly  Egyptian rulers were the “Son of Re”  Resurrection myth of Osiris and Isis connected to rebirth of the Nile through flooding and the hope for an afterlife  The Pyramids  Tombs for pharaohs  Art and Writing a. Art was functional and stylized and was ritualized to preserve the cosmic order b. Hieroglyphics, or “sacred writings” c. Writing on stone and papyrus

Who is this?

Chaos and a New Order: The New Kingdom  Middle Kingdom ends with invasion of Hyksos; Hyksos (from western Asia)  Used horse-drawn chariots  Egyptians learned to use bronze from the Hyksos- made new farming tools, and weapons  Eighteenth dynasty overthrew Hyksos began New Kingdom ( )-built many temples  Queen Hatshepsut (c B.C.E.) –first female pharaoh, built the great temple at Deir el Bahri  Amenhotep IV (Akhenaton, c B.C.E.), introduced religious change- the sun disk deity Aten, moved the capital, closed temples of other gods; was succeeded by Tutankhamen, “King Tut”  Eventually taken over by foreigners- Nubians, Persians, Greeks

©2004 Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning ™ is a trademark used herein under license. The Temple of Queen Hatshepsut in the Valley of King

Daily Life in Ancient Egypt: Family and Marriage  Monogamy and early marriage the norm  Women’s property and inheritance remained in her hands  Marriages arranged by parents  Could divorce

New Centers of Civilization  Megalithic (large stone) structures were built by 4000 B.C.E.  Ex. Stonehenge in England- construction and purpose of these structures remain a mystery  The Role of Nomadic Peoples  The Impact of the Indo-Europeans (used a language derived from a single parent tongue) these languages include Greek, Persian, Latin, Sanskrit, Germanic and Slavic From somewhere in the steppe region north of the Black Sea or in southwestern Asia (modern day Iran or Afghanistan); by 2000 BCE migrated to Europe, India, and western Asia One group moved to Asia Minor (Turkey) united with natives and formed the Hittite Kingdom ( ) First to use iron- made iron weapons, created their own empire, even threatened the Egyptian Empire Were eventually destroyed by other of Indo-Europeans

Discussion Questions  What are some specific similarities and differences between the civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt?  What is so unique about the Code of Hammurabi?  What was life like in the Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, and New Kingdom for the average Egyptian?

Table 1-2, p. 25

Table 1-1, p. 12

The Phoenicians & Children of Israel  The Phoenicians- lived in Palestine (along the Mediterranean coast)  Traders and colonizers  Produced glass, wine, lumber, the purple dye, and had the first Alphabet- which was later adopted by the Greeks  The Hebrews: the “Children of Israel”  Were Semitic-speaking people  Religiously important  Emerge as distinctive people c – 1000 B.C.E.  United Kingdom Saul (c – 1000 B.C.E.)-first King David (c – 970 B.C.E.)-second King; defeated Philistines, captured Jerusalem and made it his capital Solomon (c B.C.E.)-) third king; built Temple which housed the Ark of the Covenant

©2004 Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning ™ is a trademark used herein under license. Ancient Palestine and the Jewish Kingdoms

The Divided Kingdom  After Solomon’s death- tensions grew and Israel was divided into the kingdom of Israel with its capital at Samaria and Judah with its capital at Jerusalem  Assyrians destroyed Samaria in 722 B.C.E. and overran the kingdom of Israel  Ten tribes of the Kingdom of Israel were dispersed and disappeared  Two tribes of Judah survived only to face new enemies  Chaldeans defeated the Assyrians and destroyed Jerusalem in 586 B.C.E.  Many upper class people of Judah deported to Babylon  Persians destroyed the Chaldean kingdom  People of Judah allowed to return to Jerusalem

The Spiritual Dimensions of Israel  Monotheistic- God  Yahweh: Omnipotent, just, and good  Expected goodness from His people or they would be punished  Was not removed from the life He created  Three aspects of Jewish religion: Covenant, law, the prophets  Influenced both Christianity and Islam

The Rise of New Empires  The Assyrian Empire  Use of iron weapons, created an empire by 700 B.C.E.  Ruled by kings with absolute power  Well organized army -- infantrymen and war chariots  Use of terror

©2004 Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning ™ is a trademark used herein under license. The Assyrian and Persian Empires

Persian Empire  The Chaldeans, under the king Nebuchadnezzar II made Babylon the center of their empire, after the fall of the Assyrian Empire.  Babylon fell to the Persians in 539 B.C.E.  Persians were Indo-European people who lived in southwestern Iran  Cyrus The Great (Achaemenid Dynasty) ( B.C.E.) Empire stretched from Asia Minor in the west to western India in the east Demonstrated considerable wisdom and compassion; made Babylonia a Persian province under a Persian satrap, or governor Allowed Jews to go back to Jerusalem and to rebuild their Temple  Cambyses ( B.C.E.) son of Cyrus, successfully invaded Egypt  Darius ( B.C.E.) added a Persian province in western India, took over Macedonia. Persia had created the largest Empire in the world. Empire was connected by well maintained roads, especially the Royal Road

Civil Administration and the Military of the Mighty Persian Empire  Divided into 20 provinces  Satraps collected tribute, responsible for justice and security  Royal Road- one of many well maintained roads that connected the Empire  All subjects were the king’s servants  Professional army of international contingents  Cavalry and infantry (ten thousand members each)

Persian Religion  Zoroaster (born 660 BCE), was revered as a prophet of the “true religion” Zoroastrianism  Monotheistic Ahurmazda- “Wise Lord” the creator and only god; Opposed by an evil spirit: Ahriman All humans were given free will and the power to choose between right and wrong Each soul faced final evaluation to determine paradise or an abyss in afterlife

Discussion Questions  What two monotheistic religions existed in the ancient world? How were they similar and different?  Why were city-states at the center of the early stages of civilization?  Compare and contrast the Assyrian and Persian approaches to governing an empire. Give specific examples.