1. First Civilizations: Cities, States, and Unequal Societies
AP World History
Mr. Colden
Fall 2013

2. Question of Origins Developed from earlier competing chiefdoms
Why some Chiefdoms?
Argument 1:
Argument 2:
Argument 3:
All first civilizations relied on highly productive agriculture

3. The Erosion of Equality
Hierarchies of Class
First civilizations had vast inequalities in wealth, status, and power
New levels of inequality represent one of the major turning points in the social history of human kind
Upper Classes:
Free population = vast majority of population
Slaves at the bottom level

4. The Erosion of Equality
Hierarchies of Gender
Civilizations everywhere undermined earlier more equal relationships between men and women
Emergence of Patriarchy
AGR based on plow and large dairy herd favored men
Declining position of women was a product of growing social complexity
David Christian
Association of women with nature at a time when mankind was conquering nature
Warfare contributed to Patriarchy
Assure inheritance by Father’s offspring

5. The Erosion of Equality
Patriarchy in Practice
Gerda Lerner: emergence of Patriarchy in Mesopotamia
Women divided into 2 categories
Written law codes codified Patriarchal family life
Powerful goddess of Mesopotamia gradually replaced by male deities
Egyptian Patriarchy
Greater opportunities than in most 1st Civilizations
Royal women occasionally held political power
Egyptian statues and love poetry suggest affection between sexes

6. Rise of the State Coercion and Consent
The state fulfilled a variety of roles in coordinating and regulating 1st civilizations
State served the needs of the upper classes by:
State frequently used force to secure its will
BUT force wasn’t always necessary because it claimed its authority was normal, natural, and ordained by gods
Remember Why We Study History? by Stearns

7. Rise of the State Writing and Accounting
Writing sustained 1st cultures
Writing also served functions beyond state
Grandeur of Kings