1. Early Agricultural Civilizations

2. Feed the People!!!!
Food is one of the highest priorities for survival!!
Until that need is met – all thought and activity will be to get food!
Early Hunters and Gatherers were NOMADIC people.
They moved from place to place following food (animals and plants)
Because they moved so often – they didn’t have permanent shelters.
Developed agriculture (producing crops and raising animals).
Provided people with a stable supply of food.
Animals not only were food – but they also provided labor.
With stable food supply, people started to settle down in one place, build permanent homes, discussed ideas, and created art, and began to develop CIVILIZATION!!!

3. Specialization of Labor
Agriculture led to an increase of population.
Stable food source can feed more people than hunting and gathering.
As population grew ---
People created larger communities.
More could be accomplished with more people.
Workers began to specialize
Different individuals began to be responsible for different jobs
Farming, hunting, building, maintaining shelters, making tools, etc…
Not everyone in the community had to hunt and gather!!!

4. Specialization of Labor
Because of specialization ---
People became increasingly skilled at their specific task.
They did their jobs more efficiently and effectively.
They were able to do things they WANTED to do!!!!
Pottery was developed during this time
Jewelry, tapestries, painting, and sculpture all came about during this time.
These things weren’t needed to survive – but they improved people’s daily lives because people enjoyed the creation and the use of these items.

5. The Creation of Social Classes
With specialization – came a social hierarchy which contained, from top down…
Civil and religious leaders
Educated community members with valuable skills, such as physicians
Community members with skills, such as merchants and artisans
Unpaid laborers, such as farmers
There were fewer members at the top, more at the bottom
Those at the top had more PRESTIGE!!!

6. The Creation of Social Classes
At the beginning – a persons class ranking was determined by the role he or she filled and changed if that role changed
After a time – where you fell in the social class system became more rigid.
Individuals inherited class status from their families
Once they were born into a class, there was very little change.
As populations grew, it became necessary to divide the work.
This DIVISION OF LABOR allowed people to excel at their jobs and develop new technologies to make their work more efficient.

7. Cities and Government
As agriculture developed, fewer farmers and less land were needed to support large settlements.
Led to creation of cities
Cities developed SLOWLY!!!
Tend to have large populations
Have specialized labor – much of which was nonagricultural
Centers for technology, culture, religion, and government
Çatalhöyük, an ancient settlement in modern day Turkey, may have been worlds first city
Home to several thousand people

8. Cities and Government
With larger numbers of people living together, leadership became more important
Evidence from Mesopotamia and Egypt that rulers were responsible for organizing the labor needed to build temples and large-scale irrigation projects.
Other leaders made laws that detailed how to resolve problems between members of the society
As cities grew – some people left and started new settlements.
These also became cities
Some were in control of an empire, some became individual CITY-STATES

9. Cities and Government Cities under control of empire
Governed by local leaders
These were picked by the emperor
Enforced laws established by central government
Independent cities were called City-States
In addition to having own government, they also had distinct cultural characteristics and goals.
In BOTH types – the central government established an army for defense, negotiated with foreign governments, taxed citizens, conducted trade, and made laws.

10. Art and Architecture
Culture – the beliefs, behaviors, and knowledge passed on from one generation to another – is the glue that holds a civilization together
Some of the earliest examples of culture were the art and architecture of ancient civilizations.
Paintings and Sculpture
Researchers have found large paintings on the walls of homes in Çatalhöyük.
Archaeologists not certain if they had any specific purpose of just decorative
Also found several crude sculptures and simples pieces or pottery at Çatalhöyük
Many were religious in nature

11. Art and Architecture Architecture began simply
Geography, resources, and weather affected the design of buildings.
Hot desert areas – building would be designed from sun-dried brick and opening would be placed to catch passing breezes.
A buildings function would determine its final design
Granaries
Later buildings became more advanced
Houses began to reflect social status
Temples, such as ziggurats in Mesopotamia were built
Large irrigation systems were also built

12. Religion and Literature
People faced many hazards that their technology couldn’t overcome – bad weather, illnesses, and injuries
To help explain these, people believed they were at the mercy of gods.
They looked to stories and legends to understand how the gods affected the world they lived in
In ancient times, all people in the civilization followed same religious idea
Writing
Before writing – everything was passed down orally
As civilization advanced, people developed writing to record and preserve information
They used written records to keep track of flood and planting cycles, record trade transactions, and provide information about civil and religious laws.
Most well known civilizations have recorded information about themselves in writing --- we can know about them today because of this

13. The Importance of Geography
As agriculture grew, humans had to settle near a reliable source of water. Because of this, many early civilizations arose around natural sources of water
Rivers
Nile, Tigris, and Euphrates were the heart of many of the earliest civilizations
They flooded regularly, enriching soil for farming
Other benefits were freshwater for drinking, source of food, and methods of transportation
Obstacles to Civilization
Deserts, mountains, and oceans were often insurmountable.
Climate also limited expansion
People could not survive in areas with extreme climates and weather conditions

14. Exchanges Among Early Civilizations
Civilizations interacted through war and trade
While doing so – they shared aspects of their cultures
Trade
If they had an abundance of one natural resource (wood or minerals), they would trade the resource for something they didn’t have much of.
This led to cultural diffusion – or a spreading of culture
War
If trade were not possible, armies could be sent to gain control of other lands and their resources
This also led to the exchange of ideas and culture
Some areas had both trade and war – especially when several civilizations were located near each other

15. How about a quick review???