BUILDING COMMUNITIES

Essential Question  How did early cities begin?

Activity 1  Define the words on page 66 of your textbook:  Division of labor  Merchant  Social Class  Government  Urban  Taxation  Civilization

Activity 2  Use pages to complete the Building Communities fact-finder.

Early Towns  Success at farming or trading allowed many early villages to grow into towns.  They could support up to a few thousand people.

Jericho  7000BC, Jericho grew into one of the earliest known towns.  Jericho became an important trading town, by about 6500 B.C.  It supported about 2,000 to 3,000 people.

Jericho Ruins

Jericho  It also assisted nomadic herders and traders who were crossing the Syrian Desert.  Provided water and a place to rest.

Syrian Desert

Jericho  Defensive measures were taken to protect the town from enemies and wild animals.  People built a large stone wall around the town  They dug a large ditch around the outside of the wall.  They also built watchtowers, so the guards could see approaching danger.

Defense Walls

Jericho  In about 6,000 B.C., Jericho was abandoned.

Çatal Hüyük  This town was very similar to Jericho.  It was located near a good supply of water and had good soil for crops.  It was near important trade routes.

Çatal Hüyük

 By 6500 B.C., the town controlled the obsidian trade, which made the town very successful.

Houses of Çatal Hüyük  The people lived in smaller houses (as opposed to the beehive shaped huts of Jericho).  The houses had separate rooms for cooking, sleeping, and other activities.

Houses of Çatal Hüyük  Defense of the town was the walls of the houses.

Houses of Çatal Hüyük  Houses could only be entered from the roof.  In times of danger, they would pull up their ladders.

Labor, Leaders, and Laws  Social and political changes took place as a result of growing population.  Societies were more complex.  New kinds of leadership developed.

Labor, Leaders, and Laws  New jobs (other than farmers) were needed.

Labor, Leaders, and Laws  Division of labor developed, which divided people into jobs according to their abilities.

Labor, Leaders, and Laws  Some grew crops, while others made tools or clothing.

Labor, Leaders, and Laws  Others were merchants, which were people who sold goods they had bought from traders.

Labor, Leaders, and Laws  Society was divided into social classes.  The highest class was made up of rulers, priests, and other important leaders and their families.  Important families ruled in towns and passed on their positions to chosen family members.

Labor, Leaders, and Laws  Leaders of towns had increased responsibilities and power.  They had to control more people, food surpluses, and wider trade.  They also created unwritten laws that townspeople lived by.

Labor, Leaders, and Laws  This was the start of government (an organized system of leaders and laws).

Cities and Civilizations  Around 3500 B.C., towns in southwestern Asia developed into cities.  Early cities had 5,000 or more people.

Cities and Civilizations  Governments needed to be better organized.  City leaders needed to organize the building of longer walls for defense.  They had to maintain water supplies and nearby irrigation systems.  Leaders also supervised the construction of temples, palaces, and other buildings.

Early City

Cities and Civilizations  More specialized jobs developed in cities.  Some still worked as merchants, craftworkers, and traders.  Others worked for the city government as officials who helped manage the city.

Cities and Civilizations  Taxation (a system in which people supported the city) developed.  Taxes were paid by working on government projects or with crops.  This was used to pay city officials and to trade for other goods and materials.

Cities and Civilizations  Mesopotamia is where the first cities developed; out of farming villages in southwestern Asia.

Cities and Civilizations  In 3100 B.C., cities (Eridu, Kish, Ur, and Uruk) gave rise to the world’s first civilizations.

Eridu

Kish

Royal Tombs of Ur

Uruk

Cities and Civilizations  They share common features and covered large areas, had better organized societies and economies, and constructed larger buildings and temples.  People living in civilizations made advances in science, mathematics, and transportation.  Most developed some form of writing, to keep records of events, trade, and taxes.  People also began to follow religions that were supported and controlled by their governments.