2. Ancient Civilizations

3.  Earliest part of history is referred to as the Stone Age ◦ Stones used as tools and weapons ◦ Paleolithic – earliest part of this period  People were nomads – people who move from place to place ◦ Why?  To adapt, ◦ moved to find food and drinking water

4. Early Farming 7000 – 2000 B.C.  Soon, humans were growing food (Farming) and taming animals (herding/ranching) ◦ Domestication ◦ Farming Revolution – considered most important event in human history  Led to an increased need for water  People settled on good land near water

6.  First civilizations developed in river valleys ◦ good farming conditions ◦ provided travel and trade  Farmers and Artisans: ◦ Artisan – skilled workers  Metal  Pottery  Cloth (textiles)  Earliest known civilization called Mesopotamia ◦ Oldest cities: Jericho (between Israel and Jordan) and Catal Huyuk (In Turkey)

7. Fertile Crescent Region  Flat plain region surrounded by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers  Part of the Fertile Crescent – ◦ a region running from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea  Why is it called “Fertile Crescent?”

8.  Many cities formed in Sumer, a region in southern Mesopotamia ◦ city-states - independent state made up of a city and its surrounding land ◦ Separate governments ◦ Had to protect against enemies (built walls around the city)  Could not be a big city due to desert and mudflats ◦ Often fought each other for glory and land

9.  Not all people grew enough food for themselves  Most civilizations had Barter Economies ◦ Barter: to trade equal value of goods or services as a method of payment

10.  Sumerians believed in many gods  Polytheism – belief in more than one, or many gods  City-states built ziggurats – grand temple built to honor the gods ◦ “Mtn of god” “Hill of Heaven”

11.  Cuneiform – ◦ system of writing using wedge-shaped markings  Code of Hammurabi – ◦ collection of laws developed by Hammurabi, the Babylonian king  Page 24 ◦ Other ideas include the wagon wheel, plow, and sailboat

12.  Mesopotamia Review Mesopotamia Review