Ancient Civilizations

1. Interaction between humans and the environment • Development and interaction of cultures • State-building expansion and conflict • Creation, expansion and interaction of economic systems • Development and transformation of social structures Ancient Civilizations % Themes of WHAP

2. Location of Ancient Culture Hearths What environmental conditions were needed to develop the first civilizations?

3. Tomorrow will be based on thematic comparisons (S.P.I.C.E) 3 components asking to Identify and explain ( 3 sentences for each) At least 9 sentences in total You have 4000 B.C.E-600 B.C.E to choose from

4. A. Identify and explain ONE way ancient societies were patriarchalB. Identify and explain ONE way ancient societies utilized law as a form of governanceC. Identify and explain ONE way societies interacted with nomads • A. One way in which ancient societies were patriarchal was the requiring that brides were virgins. According to laws like the Vedas or the Code of Hammurabi, brides were to be chaste until their marital night. The importance of virginity was to determine the grooms inherited property would o to his heirs and not that of another. • B. One way in which societies utilized law as a form of governance was to determine property, marital and social rights. The Code of Hammurabi sought to punish severely anyone who took another persons property based on social distinctions. Slaves killed were replaced while the law of Lex talonis would see people of similar status punished with death so that the general and specific deterrence would prevent future crimes • C. One way in which societies interacted with nomads was through the process of attacking and conquering and spreading syncretic culture. The Aryan conquered the Indo-Gangetic plains blending their culture of warfare with the sedentary cultures of the Indus creating the Vedas. The Vedic Age would see the underpinnings of ancient Hinduism reinforcing social hierarchy through caste and the principles of Karma, Dharma and reincarnation as sets of rewards and punishments in the next life.

5. Ancient Mesopotamia

6. Government • Initially, priest-kings rule city-states • Sumerians (c. 3500 BCE) • City-states evolve into empires • Akkadians (c. 2334-2218 BCE) • Land owning aristocracy dominated • Develop a formal legal codes • Hammurabi’s Code (c. 1800 BCE)

7. Religion • Believed in 3,000 gods • Goal: Appease gods to control nature • Art and literature focus on gods and religion • Epic of Gilgamesh • Contains a story of an epic flood • Built ziggurats

8. Society • Social stratification • Slavery was common • One could become a slave through war, crime, or debt • Slaves were used in temples, public buildings, or private homes • Patriarchal • Women could hold most occupations Nobles Freemen Slaves

9. Economy

10. Science & Technology • Inventions: wheel, sail, and plow • Bronze metallurgy • 1st system of writing • Cuneiform • 1st number system • Based on units of10, 60, & 360 • Astronomy

11. Ancient Egypt • Relatively isolated • Nile flooded regularly, predictably • Provided rich soil, easy soil to farm • Civilization regulated flooding, surveying • Control the Nile; control society

12. Government • Formed by 3000 BCE • Unified for most of history • Early Kingdom • Middle Kingdom • Late Kingdom • Theocracy • Pharaoh was a god-king • Women could be pharaohs • Hatshepsut (1473-1458 BCE) Ramses II

13. Religion • Thousands of gods • Gods have animal and human qualities • Gods & goddesses • Relatively egalitarian • Believe in afterlife • Heaven & Hell • Mummification • Pyramids & Temples

14. Society • Social Stratification • Limited opportunity for social mobility • Slavery common • Women have more rights • Could own property, propose marriage, and demand a divorce

15. Culture • Hieroglyphic writing on papyrus • Mathematics • Geometry • Calendar system • 365 days (off by 6 hours) • Medicine • Architecture

16. Ancient India & China

17. Indus River Valley • Cities emerge around 2500 BCE • Culturally unified city-states • Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro • Mysterious ending • Environmental degradation vs. Aryan invasion

18. Indus River Valley • Polytheistic religion • Influenced Hinduism • Planned cities( urban planning) with large temples • Grid system • Undecipherable writing system • Advanced technology • Plumbing systems

19. Connections • Sophisticated trade with Egypt and Mesopotamia • Clay seals (like stamps) found in Middle East and Africa • Season monsoon winds (also heavy rains) help facilitate maritime trade ( winter-southerly summer Northerly)

20. Ancient China • Developed in isolation along the Huang He (Yellow) River • Shang dynasty emerged c. 1500 BCE • Warlike kings & landed aristocracy dominate • Cities surrounded by massive earthen walls

21. Ancient China • Chinese Society • Family at center of society • Extended-family structure • Women were subordinate • Chinese Culture • Believed spirits of family ancestors could bring good fortune or disaster • Oracle bones (right) • Bronze & silk

22. Yellow River • Known as “china’s Sorrow” • Provided irrigation for Millet, soy and eventually rice • Shang Dynasty • 3,000 states – Fragmented (isolated by Gobi, Himalaya and Pacific) called themselves “Middle Kingdom” • King - head shaman • Dynasty based on divine rule • Bureaucracy increasingly sophisticated • Technologically advanced • Use of bronze • Chariot warfare (imported from West?) • Lacquer

23. Dynastic Cycle Mandate of Heaven—Rulers are chose to rule by heaven and will continue to rule as long as heaven is pleased; if heaven is not pleased, heaven will pass the mandate to another family

24. Thesis: Comparing India and China’s Earliest River Valley Civilizations • The Indus river valley and Yellow river valley both utilized the rich soil along the river beds to advance agriculture, both had to contend with the destructive flooding of the rivers , however, China’s Zhou Dynasty would use the Mandate of Heaven to justify overthrow of the Shang Dynasty while it is not perfectly clear as to whether the cities of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa fell to Aryan invaders or environmental destruction. • The Yellow and Indus River Valley civilizations differed in the China’s isolation led to its innovation while the Indus civilization had been connected through trading ties with Egypt and Mesopotamia. The China’s pictographic script on Oracle bones provides scholars an greater understanding of their political and religious decision-making whilst the inability to decipher the Indus script has left a guessing game for many archaeologists. The role of religion , however, would identify similar polytheistic traits to help explain the various forces of nature/

25. The Olmec • Olmec emerge in Mesoamerica c.1400-400 BCE • Olmec zone is dense tropical forest • High rainfall - over 300 cm/year

26. Olmec Government & Society • Several city-states with common culture • Social Hierarchy • Highest rank is that of the chief • Dominated by landed aristocracy • Laborers forced to build temples, palaces, and drainage canals

27. Olmec Religion • Polytheistic • Deities blended male & female, animal & human characteristics • Feathered-serpent god (right) • Shamans organized religious life • Religion led to development of writing system and calendar

28. Olmec Art • Building of clay pyramids and temple mounds • Particular sculptural style • Jaguars • Fine jade carving • Colossal heads

29. Norte Chico • 3000-1800 BCE in Peru • Polytheistic • Famous for monumental architecture and weaving • No evidence of any art or ceramics • Used quipu for record keeping

31. Peripheral societies • Hebrews- ethical monotheism, lived amongst river valley civilizations, established a thriving trading kingdom • Phoenicians- developed thriving trading network along the Mediterranean, established colonies. Considered “carriers of civilization” based on alphabet (lingua franca- language of trade) • Minoans- precursors to the ancient Greeks. Established a Mediterranean trading network • Assyrians- first empire, brutal conquerors,Code of Assur, use of iron metallurgy, Mesopotamian • Persians- tolerant rulers, superior military forces, Zoroastrianism state sponsored religion.

32. Annotated Timeline: Polycentric regions • Developments in each region ran a similar trajectory: Paleolithic-Neolithic-ancient civilization • More people remained nomadic throughout the foundations periodization. • There were, however, key developments which punctuated this time frame. The purpose of the annotated timeline is to illustrate these notable turning points as the pertain the each region. Please illustrate key dates, events, Developments, people and places. Utilize all members of your group to Create a separate illustration Groups: Middle East South Asia East Asia Latin America Nomadic Groups

33. Legacy of Ancient Civilizations • Writing systems, religions, and technology was influenced the development of new civilizations and cultures • Ancient civilizations decline by 1000 BCE • Subject to nomadic invasions • Political and cultural centers shift to new geographical areas (except China) • Classical cultures become more complex, interregionally connected and advanced