1. Aim: To what extent were early river valley civilizations similar?
Vocabulary: Fertile Crescent, ziggurat, Cuneiform, irrigation, hieroglyphics,
Pyramids

2. The characteristics of a civilization
A) Social –
1) Religion –
2) Writing –
3) Status -
B) Economic –
1) Trade –
2) Jobs –
C) Political –
1) Government -
2) Law -

3. Identify the major Early River Valley Civilizations

4. River Valley Empires (Political) 3200 BC - AD 400
Mesopotamian Empires: 2340 BCE-1600 BCE (City-States dominate)
2340 BCE: Sargon Akkad takes Sumer, establishing the first empire.
c BCE: The Third Dynasty of Ur
BCE: The First Babylonian Empire
c BCE: Ammorites establish Babylon
BCE: Reign of Hammurabi
c BCE: Invasions by Hittites and Kassites destroys the empire
Egyptian Civilization: 3100 BCE BCE (Most unified River Civilization)
BCE: Archaic Period
BCE: Old Kingdom
BCE: Middle Kingdom
BCE: New Kingdom
BCE: Late Dynastic Period
332 BC: Alexander the Great conquers Egypt
Harappan Civilization: BC
BC: Harappan Civilization is at its height
BC: Harappan Civilization collapses
c BC: Aryans migrate into the Indus Valley through Khyber Pass
c BC: Aryan migrate into the Ganges Valley
The Early Chinese Civilization: 2205 BC- AD 220
Shang Dynasty 1600BCE-1026BCE
Zhou Dynasty 1026BCE-400BCE (weakened by 800BCE)
BC: Qin dynasty – In between Yellow and Yangtze Rivers unified by Qin Emperor
206 BC- AD 9: Former Han dynasty
AD : Later Han dynasty

5. Is writing an important aspect of a civilization?
Sumer- Cuneiform
-1500 BCE Phoenician Alphabet diffused
Egypt- Hieroglyphics
Indus River Valley- Cuneiform Diffused
China- Chinese Symbols

6.   In Sumer, the original writing was pictographic ("picture writing"); individual words were represented by crude pictorial symbols that resembled in some way the object being represented, as in the Sumerian word for king, lu-gal :
The Akkadians
The first symbol pictures "gal," or "great," and the second pictures "lu," or "man." Eventually, this pictorial writing developed into a more abstract series of wedges and hooks. These wedges and hooks are the original cuneiform.

7. Can you solve this ancient Sumerian riddle?
"A house... one enters it blind, one leaves it seeing."

8. Hieroglyphics
Pbs.org

9. Harappan Seals

10. Chinese Writing (Qin)
An imperial decree from Chinese Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi, this plaque orders the standardization of national units of measurement, currency, and writing. Until the Qin dynasty, Chinese writing varied from region to region, but the adoption of a universal standard enabled the Chinese people to communicate across regional boundaries, despite many differences in spoken language.
encarta

11. SUMER EGYPT SOCIAL STRUCTURE COMPARING SOCIAL STRUCTURES:
BASED ON THE FOLLOWING TWO DIAGRAMS, COMPARE THE SOCIAL STRUCTURE OF ANCIENT EGYPT AND SUMER.

12. Architecture
What can we learn about a civilization from its architecture?

13. Ziggurat Q: Why were ziggurats built in Sumer?
Google images

14. Pyramids
Q: What purpose did the pyramids serve?

15. Structures in the Indus River Valley Civilization
Mohenjo-Daro had planned city streets and buildings. The settlement was thought to house roughly 5,000 people, and had houses, a granary (stores grain), baths, assembly halls and towers. The city was divided into two parts, the Citadel included an elaborate tank or bath created with fine quality brickwork and drains; this was surrounded by a veranda. Also located here was a giant granary, a large residential structure, and at least two aisled assembly halls. To the east of the citadel was the lower city, laid out in a grid pattern. The streets were straight, and were drained to keep the area sanitary. The people of the city used very little stone in their construction. They used two types of bricks - mud bricks, and wood bricks, which were created by burning wood. They used timber to create the flat roofs of their buildings; there are brick stairways leading to the roofs of many houses. Some houses were small, and others were larger with interior courtyards. Most had small bathrooms. Potter’s kilns, dyer’s vats, as well as metalworking, bead making, and shell-working shops have all been discovered. The people were good at irrigation and flood control. However, when the Indus River changed its course around 3700 years ago, the civilization died.

17. Early Chinese Bronze Vessels
Shang Dynasty
Qin Dynasty

18. COMPARING CODES OF LAW: The Code of Hammurabi (1750 BC)
 If any one ensnare another, putting a ban upon him, but he can not prove it, then he that ensnared him shall be put to death.
 If any one is committing a robbery and is caught, then he shall be put to death.
 If a son strike his father, his hands shall be hewn off.
 If a man put out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out. [ An eye for an eye ]
Q: Do you believe that the Code of Hammurabi is fair?

19. If the woman die, his daughter shall be put to death.
If a man strike a free-born woman so that she lose her unborn child, he shall pay ten shekels for her loss.
If the woman die, his daughter shall be put to death.
If he strike the maid-servant of a man, and she lose her child, he shall pay two shekels in money.
If this maid-servant die, he shall pay one-third of a mina.
Q: How is the Code of Hammurabi applied to different classes?

21. Q: Compare the treatment of people in different classes under the
Code of Hammurabi and ancient Egyptian law.

22. Writing Assignment
Using your homework assignments and the material we have learned in class write two paragraphs on the following:
Compare two early river civilizations and explain how they were similar (use two examples).
Compare two early river civilizations and explain how they were different (use two examples).