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Ancient River Valley Civilizations. Dating History. B.C.—before Christ B.C.E.—before the Common Era A.D.— anno domini Latin for “in the year of our Lord” C.E.—Common Era. Terms. prehistory—period of time before written records archaeology—the study of how early peoples lived
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Dating History • B.C.—before Christ • B.C.E.—before the Common Era • A.D.—anno dominiLatin for “in the year of our Lord” • C.E.—Common Era
Terms prehistory—period of time before written records archaeology—the study of how early peoples lived artifact—things that early peoples left behind
Stone Age Old Stone Age New Stone Age People established farming communities Neolithic Revolution—the change from hunting & food gathering to farming • People first began to make & use stone tools. • Nomads
Before we continue!!!!! • Political: Government, leaders, anything to do with laws or war • Economic: Type of economy, what people do to make a living, trade/commerce • Religion : Beliefs/teachings, Holy books • Social: Family, social classes, life styles • Intellectual: Education, writing, literature • Arts: Music, art/architecture • Near: Geography, location, physical, region, movement, human/environment
Ancient River Valley Civilizations One of the key features of early civilizations was the establishment of cities.
Other Key Features of Civilizations • writing • boundaries • government • specialization of labor • roads and harbors • temples, palaces, monuments • religion • metal tools & weapons • leisure time
ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA • Oldest known civilization • also called Sumeria • Cradle of Human Civilization • Old Testament • Nebuchadnezzar • Ziggurat (right) • Hanging gardens
Geography • This civ rose in the valleys between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. • Some say this Fertile Crescent was the real Garden of Eden.
Fertile Crescent—arc of land that curves from the PersianGulfto the eastern Mediterranean coastWhat modern-day country lies in the Fertile Crescent?
Ur, the capital city of Mesopotamia Sumer was made up of independent city-states.
Political:What was the earliest kingdom in Mesopotamia? The second?
Many groups invaded & conquered the civilizations of the Fertile Crescent. • Persia controlled a large empire area that stretched from Asia Minor to India • The Hittites brought iron making to Mesopotamia.
Social • The Sumerians invented writing • This is cuneiform. • Babylonians wrote using this “wedge-shaped” writing on clay tablets.
Epic of Gilgamesh • Sumerian poem • Flood story • Correlations to Noah in the Bible • Biblical account in Genesis 6
More ziggurats Sumerians were polytheistic. A pyramid-temple for a god/goddess.
The ancient city of Babylon, under King Nebuchadnezzar II, must have been a wonder to the traveler's eyes. "In addition to its size," wrote Herodotus, a historian in 450 BC, "Babylon surpasses in splendor any city in the known world." Herodotus claimed the outer walls were 56 miles in length, 80 feet thick and 320 feet high. Wide enough, he said, to allow a four-horse chariot to turn. The inner walls were "not so thick as the first, but hardly less strong." Inside the walls were fortresses and temples containing immense statues of solid gold. Rising above the city was the famous Tower of Babel, a temple to the god Marduk, that seemed to reach to the heavens
Another painting of the hanging gardens with Tower of Babel in back
Economic: trade and farming • Sumerians (Mesopotamians) were known to have traded with the Egyptians and the Indus Valley civilizations. • Trade aided cultural diffusion among ancient peoples. • In later years, these trade routes became Silk Road.
Sumerians invented the wheel! • The wheel was invented by 6000 BC! • It helped military, farming and trade. • At right, this is made of wood.
Political:Mesopotamian Law • Code of Hammurabi—the first major collection of laws in history • “eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth”
The Roots of Judaism • The Hebrews (Israelites) were one of the groups who lived in the Fertile Crescent. • The Israelites believed that God had made a covenant (binding agreement) with Abraham; Moses later renewed this covenant. • They believed that God had chosen them as His people, & promised them this land. • The Jewish religion was unique in the ancient world because it was monotheistic.
Judaism—the religion of the Hebrews • Judaism is around 3500 years old and is the oldest of the world's three great monotheistic religions (religions with only one God). It's also the smallest of the 3, with only about 12 million followers around the world • The most holy Jewish book is the Torah, the first five books of the Christian Bible
Diaspora—the “dispersion” or “scattering” • Jews have been persecuted since the beginnings of their religion • 597 B.C.—Babylon, Judea, Egypt • 70 A.D.—Romans actively drove Jews from the empire (Masada, 73 A.D.) • 73 A.D.—Jewish history is the Diaspora; Jews spread throughout Africa, Asia, & Europe
ANCIENT EGYPT • Nile River • Mummies • Pharaohs • Rameses • King Tutankhamen • Hieroglyphics
Egyptian civilization • Egyptian civilization arose a bit after Mesopotamia. • Geography—Nile River. • Annual flooding produced a rich layer of soil called silt
Pyramids • Giza pyramids are the most famous. • These were built in 3500 B.C. • Pyramids—tombs for the pharaohs • Filled with objects they would need in afterlife
Political:Egyptian Pharaohs • Egyptians were led by Pharaohs. • They were priest-kings & viewed as gods • King Tut is the most famous • Using computers, this image was reconstructed using his remains
Mummies • Egyptians who could afford to do so would have themselves mummified. • They believed in a better afterlife if their body was preserved.
The Egyptians took out all of the internal organs, except the heart. When they removed them theorgans were put in canopic jars, that were put in the tomb with the mummy. They did not take out the heart because it was believed to be the intelligence and emotion of the person. The Egyptiansthought the brain had no significant value, so they took it out through the nose. The body was packed and covered with natron (a salty drying agent). After this the body was leftfor 40-50 days.
What did Egyptians write on? • Ancient Egyptians wrote on papyrus, substance derived from the plant of the same name
The Great Sphinx is located on the Giza plateau, about six miles west of Cairo.
Nubia • People around the world have learnt about the glorious past of the Egyptian empire, but most have failed to learn of the Nubia, which was sometimes even stronger than the Egyptian empire. Nubia (Kush) rivaled Egypt in wealth and power, and they mutually influenced each other.
The Egyptians called it Kush. Kush was comparable with Egypt, and both states communicated with each other constantly. Today we do not hear of Nubia nor Kush. In its place is northern Sudan. With the construction of the Aswan high dam in the 1960s, Nubian land was flooded and that forced some 100,000 Nubians to seek new homes in Egyptian and Sudanese cities. Nubia's glorious past is now under water.
