1. AGENDA – 8/22
Turn in your homework to the front desk Quick lecture: characteristics of civilization “What does it mean to be civilized?” investigation Homework: thesis statement

2. Paleolithic Era Neolithic Era Early Civilizations
Hunters and gatherers
Relatively egalitarian
Men and women are treated equally!
Nomadic, small populations
Neolithic Era
AGRICULTURE HAPPENED!
BCE
Slowly around the world at the same time
Population increase, job specialization
Along with the Neolithic revolution came societies – early society - how can we tell that this society was civilized?
Early Civilizations
What characterizes civilization?
Eurasia: Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, India
Americas: Olmec and Chavin

3. BUT WAIT! Not everyone settled down
Pastoral societies, or pastoralists, were nomadic people who herded domesticated animals
Move in search of food
More stable than hunter- gatherer societies – why?
Hugely responsible for trade and connections between societies, as they traveled across long regions
4/7/2019
ADD A FOOTER

4. Where would you settle?

5. Characteristics of Civilization
Civilized societies developed certain characteristics which prehistoric Stone Age cultures did not have:
a system of writing
trade routes
central cities and towns
roads and harbors (infrastructure)
states separated by definite boundary lines
temples, palaces, and monuments (monumental architecture)
organized governments
specialized workers — blacksmiths, carpenters, store owners, priests - furnished manufactured goods and a variety of services
organized religions
farmers, herdsmen, and fishermen who produced food for specialized workers
Social class distinctions – thanks to the differing levels of wealth
a variety of metal tools and weapons
a system of education (increased use of science and mathematics)
more leisure time
bookkeeping and recordkeeping
Notice – why not writing? INCA!>>!>!>!ij#i!j#ioj!
Individually FIRST. With one partner, choose FIVE of the above characteristics you think are REQUIREMENTS of a civilization and justify each answer
(some can be joined together under an overarching theme

6. Share with a partner, providing evidence that supports your claim
Quick discussion
Star/highlight/circle the THREE characteristics you think are most important in a civilization.
Think about now! What do you think is most important in the year 2018?
Share with a partner, providing evidence that supports your claim
“I think recordkeeping is one of the most important characteristics because …”
Egyptians had figured out how to make concrete but then lost the formula to make it for 200 years after the library at Alexandria burned down

7. What are the requirements of a civilization?
WHY?
SURPLUSES
You need enough food to support a larger civilization – and the surpluses can be used to trade or barter!
SPECIALIZED OCCUPATIONS
 food = fewer people needed for farming = people can start doing other things
Ex: artisans, merchants
CLEAR SOCIAL CLASS DISTINCTIONS
Some people are getting $$$$$ and others aren’t
GROWTH OF CITIES
City: a permanent settlement that is the center of trade for a larger area
COMPLEX GOVERNMENTS
Why? Because someone needed to keep record of economic activity as the cities continued to grow
LONG DISTANCE TRADE
Stimulates economic development, cultural diffusion , and accentuated social class distinctions
ORGANIZED RECORDKEEPING SYSTEMS
Taxes, trade, laws
Eventually, history (wars, reigns of kings)
Why social class distinctions? Because you can’t have a functioning government without social class divisions – plus, Europeans wrote this list, and, looking back, all of their civilizations did, so they thought it was commonality

8. THESIS STATEMENT practice!
Which of the seven requirements is the most essential for a high-functioning civilization ?
If you need help writing a thesis, you can try the following formula!
Although Y, X, because A.
Where
Y = strongest counterargument
X = your actual answer
A and B = evidence to support

9. But… is that true?
Historians across the world are rethinking what it means to be civilized. Let’s see what they have to say, and why!