Chapter One: The Beginnings of Civilization Cultures and Values, 6th Ed. Cunningham and Reich

** Not a value judgment! ** Defining “Civilized” Urban life: permanent constructions System of regulatory government Class distinction (wealth and occupation) Tools/skills --> production/trade Written communication Shared system of religious belief ** Not a value judgment! **

Origins of Western Civilization Paleolithic World View (Old Stone Age) Art Religion Neolithic Civilizations (Late Stone Age) Domestication of animals Cultivation of vegetation Community War / Weaponry

The Bronze Age (3000-1000 B.C.E.) Mesopotamia Egypt Aegean Cultures Sumerian (3500-2350 B.C.E.) Semitic (2350-612 B.C.E.) Egypt Aegean Cultures

Sumerian Culture Agricultural/Urban settlements “Fertile Crescent” Writing/record-keeping: Cuneiform Shared system of religious belief Civil ruler / Religious rulers

Epic of Gilgamesh Gilgamesh ruled at Uruk c. 2700 B.C.E. Composed in Sumerian (2000 B.C.E.) on cuneiform tablets Pessimistic work Asserts universal questions about human existence

Semitic Culture Akkadian Period Babylonian Legacy Assyrians King Sargon and descendants (2350-2150 B.C.E.) Focus on HUMAN achievement Gutian invasion / return to tradition Babylonian Legacy King Hammurabi Assyrians Culmination of Mesopotamian culture

Fall of Mesopotamia Medes Persians Nomadic warriors Conquered Nineveh in 612 B.C.E. Conquered and absorbed by Persians Persians Conquered by Alexander the Great (330 B.C.E.)

Ancient Egypt Manetho’s History of Egyptian Greek 31 dynasties / 4 groups: Old Kingdom (2700 B.C.E.) Middle Kingdom (1990 B.C.E.) New Kingdom (1570 B.C.E.) Late Period (1185-500 B.C.E.)

Ancient Egyptian Culture Unified and consistent Resistant to change Worldview affected by external events

Political Structure Pharaoh Priests Head of the central government Regarded as a living god Exercised absolute power Ordered and controlled visible world Priests Preservation of religious beliefs Divine kingship of Pharaohs

Egyptian Religion Obsession with immortality / life after death Book of the Dead Osiris, Isis, Horus Deities, subdeities, nature spirits Responsible for all aspects of existence

Egyptian Art Principal function of artists: to produce images of deities Form of worship Standards set forth by Pharaoh Artists also provided temples and shrines for honoring deities

The Old Kingdom Imhotep Pyramids Mummification First architect known to history Pyramids Funerary monuments for pharaohs, upper class Mummification Preservation of the body was necessary for the survival of the soul

Great Age of the Pyramid Pyramids at Giza (Dynasty IV) Cheops Chefren Mycerinus Who built the pyramids? Farmers Slaves

Pyramids Constructed of limestone blocks Quarried, ferried, cut, dragged into place Center chamber contained mummified body of pharaoh surrounded by treasures Plundered by robbers

Chefren’s Sphinx Created as the guardian for Chefren’s tomb at Giza Adopted as a divine symbol of the mysterious and enigmatic (Greeks)

Art of the Old Kingdom Reflects confidence and certainty Idealized realism Conceptual, symbolic

Art of the Middle Kingdom Loss of trust in divine providence Artists attempted to recapture lofty serenity of Old Kingdom Troubled spirit captured in weight and somber expressions

The New Kingdom Artistic traditions continued Conceptual Pharaoh Amenhotep IV/ “Akhenaton” Massive religious/political reform Tel el-Amarna Art Tutankhamen Howard Carter (1922-1923)

The Late Period Artists revisited earlier period styles Recapture realism, volume Return to pyramid-shaped tombs Egypt invaded by Nubians (the Cush) 750-720 B.C.E. Nubians and Nobatae preserved ancient culture

Aegean Culture Crete Cyclades Islands King Minos / Knossos Bronze tools Imaginative/humorous pottery Marble statues/idols

The Bronze Age in Crete Arthur Evans, 1894-1900 Early Minoan Increasing growth Contacts with Egypt and Mesopotamia Scattered Towns

Middle Minoan Evolution of large urban centers Art = lively and colorful Little interest in monumental art Writing system of hieroglyphic signs

[Image 1.22] Palace of Minos at Knossos

[Image 1.25] Wasp Pendant

[Image 1.27] Snake Goddess

Late Minoan Period of rebuilding after earthquakes High point of Minoan culture Wall paintings Religion centered upon mother goddess connected with fertility

[Image 1.28] Funerary Mask

Mycenaean Culture Heinrich Schliemann, 1870-1873 The Trojan War (1250 B.C.E.) Strongly influenced by Minoan Culture Art = preoccupied with death and war Fall of the Mycenaean empire (1200 B.C.E.)

Chapter 1: Discussion Questions What can be determined about the roles of women in early civilizations based on their artistic depictions? Explain, citing examples from each culture. Based on the universal questions evoked in the Epic of Gilgamesh, what can we assume about the Sumerian people and their lifestyles? In what ways are their concerns shared by people of our culture and generation? Explain. What role did geography play in the development and preservation of Ancient Egyptian culture? In what fundamental ways was Egyptian culture different from the Mesopotamian and Aegean cultures? Discuss the role of the archeologist. What impact do the discoveries of ancient cultures have on us today? Explain.