Human Life in the Era of Hunters and Gatherers Homo sapiens sapiens by 10,000 B.C.E. Larger brain, tools, weapons Paleolithic Hunter Gatherers Family groups nomadic Gender division of labor Men: hunting, fishing, defense Women: gathering, making medicine Spread from Africa

The Spread of Human Populations, c. 10,000 B.C.E.

The Neolithic Revolution – 8000 to 3500 B.C.E. Plants and animals domesticated Towns/cities Social Differentiation Specialized jobs Regional trade Women lose political/economic roles Causes? Maybe climatic shifts Alternatives Hunting-and-gathering persists Pastoralism – nomadic herding people

The Spread of Agriculture

Create your own Civilization Get into a group of 4 2 people: work on creating a map of their tribe set in the Paleolithic era Pick one area of the world What physical features are around? Show your migration path, correspond with the seasons 2 people: work on a page paper describing the tribe Name the tribe What kinds of social structure? What is the division of labor? What kinds of tools do you use? How are you meeting survival needs? How many people?

The First Towns: Seedbeds of Civilization Jericho Jordan River Cultivation of wheat, barley Brick houses Çatal Hüyük Southern Turkey Large complex Shrines

Mesopotamia All civilizations Cities, food surplus, social structure, religion, government, writing* First civilization develops in Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia Sumerians c 4000 B.C.E. Political and Social Organization Between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers Irrigation for farming Political and Social Organization City-States – state religion & god Kings Priests Slaves

Mesopotamia Culture and Religion Writing Gilgamesh – first epic story Cuneiform: stylus on clay tablets Gilgamesh – first epic story Astronomy Numeric system Ziggurats – central monumental buildings Wheel, plow

Mesopotamia The Akkadian Empire (1st empire) The Babylonian Empire Sargon I The Babylonian Empire Hammurabi Law Code – “eye for an eye”

Egypt Civilization emerges by 3200 B.C.E. Government No city‑states! Egypt is centralized Government Pharaoh – theocracy (religious government) Bureaucracy – nonelected government officials Hieroglyphic alphabet Pictograms Papyrus Religion polytheistic Belief in afterlife

Egypt and Mesopotamia Compared Differences City-states v. centralized Greater trade/contact in Mesopotamia Greater technology Mesopotamia Women had higher status in Egypt Similarities Stratified society Astronomy and mathematics Patriarchal societies - Men dominate

India Indus River valley - modern-day Pakistan Two major cities Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro Indoor plumbing Grid system Writing (still a mystery) Collapsed under invasion and natural disasters

China Huanghe (Yellow) River valley Most isolated river valley civilization Pottery, iron, writing Shang dynasty Oracle bones Mythic history

The Eastern Mediterranean, c. 1100 B.C.E.

The Mediterranean Region Hebrews Modern Israel area Semitic Yahweh - monotheistic Torah – holy book The first Abrahamic faith

The Mediterranean Region Phoenicians Middle Eastern coast City-states Alphabet Colonization along the Mediterranean To Atlantic, Iberia, Britain