Ancient Civilizations

1. Ancient Civilizations

2. Paleolithic Era • PaleolithicEra (Old Stone Age) • When - 2 million BCE to 10,000 BCE • First people lived in East Africa • Hunters and Gatherers • Nomads–moved to find food • Men would hunt game animals and fish • Women would collect fruits, berries and other edibles • Tools • Simple tools - spears and axes made of stone, bone or wood. • Clothing - skins of animals • Shelter – caves • Fire – used for warmth and cooking.

3. Paleolithic Era

4. Paleolithic Era • Paleolithic Societies • Small groups - 20-30 people • Spoken languages to communicate • Early belief systems • Polytheistic – animism • Buryingthe dead • Afterlife– Showing care for the dead • Buried with their tools and weapons

5. Paleolithic Era • Out of Africa Theory • Peoplemigrated from Africa to the rest of the world • Scarce resources • Hunting and gatheringsustained lifeBUT people barely survived. • People were nomadic because foodwasscarce

6. Paleolithic Era

7. Neolithic Revolution • Neolithic Revolution (New Stone Age) • When - 10,000 BCE • Important discoveries • Farming • People learned to plant seeds to grow food • Domesticate animals • Tamed animals they had been hunting • Herded and penned the animals • Sources of food, clothing, labor and transportation

8. Neolithic Revolution

9. Neolithic Revolution • Impactof Neolithic Revolution • Reliable source of food • As food supply increases, so did the population • Villages of hundredsandcities of thousands emerge • Permanent communities formed • Sedentary Agriculture – farming in one place • New Technologies – to meet their new needs • Calendars – know when to plant and harvest crops • Metal tools – bronze and then iron (plows, sickles) • Irrigation systems – brought water to farms • Metal weapons – defend their resources and villages

10. Neolithic Revolution

11. River Valley Civilizations • Rise of Civilizations • Rivers valleys - home to the first civilizations • Fertile Land – the yearly floods provided arable land • Fresh Water – gave people water source • Transportation – Used the river as a means of transportation • Trade–civilizations exchanged goods and ideas when people came into contact with one another

12. River Valley Civilizations

13. Rise of Civilizations • Characteristics of a Civilization • Cities – populations of thousands • Governments – provide order, organization and protection • Traditional economy – based on farming and other skilled crafts such as pottery, clothing and other goods • Organized religion – priests would perform ceremonies to ensure plentiful crops and protection from the Gods (Polytheistic)

14. Rise of Civilizations

15. Rise of Civilizations • Specialization of labor • people to perform different jobs/functions in society • Social classes emerge – based on one’s occupation • Ruler - Leader of the army • Priests – led religious rituals • Warriors - protected resources and cities • Merchants and artisan • Peasant Farmer • Women’s - status declinedas men took lead roles as warriors • Systems of writing – Used for record keeping. Early writing used pictures and then developed into symbols • Art and architecture – Built temples and palaces to honor religious and political leaders. • Public works – built infrastructuresuch as roads, bridges and walls for protection

16. Nile Valley Civilizations • River Valley Civilizations (4000 BCE–1650 BCE) • Nile River Valley – Egypt (North Africa) • Geographic Setting • Region – North Africa, Middle East • Topography - Mostly Desert – land with little rainfall and sparse vegetation • Natural barrier – provided protection from invasion • Nile River - River flows from South to North • Fertile Soil – Silt from floods leaves a rich deposit of soil • Transportation - highway for travel and trade • Cities - Villages merge to form cities • Nile Delta - where the Nile emptied into the Mediterranean Sea

17. Nile River Valley

18. Nile River Valley • Government • Pharaohs – ruler of Egypt • Divine Right -worshipped as a living God • Absolute power Centralized Government Bureaucracy – government agencies (collecting taxes) • Dynasty – Ruling family of Egypt; When the pharaoh died, power was passed onto the another family member • Menes – Pharaoh (3100 BCE) - United Upper and Lower Egypt to create the first dynasty • Used the Nile to link Upper and Lower Egypt

19. Nile River Valley • Religion • Polytheistic – Worshipped many gods • Amon-Re – The Sun God and the Chief God • Osirus– God of the Nile, controlled the Nile’s annual flood • Afterlife – prepared the dead for life after death • Pyramids – Tombs and monuments used to store the remains of dead pharaohs as they await the afterlife

20. Nile River Valley

21. Nile River Valley • Society • Social Classes • UpperClass– Pharaoh, Priests, Nobles • Middle Class – Merchants and artisans • Lower Class – Peasants(Farmers) • Slaves • Role of Women: • Legallyown property • Run business • Divorce

22. Nile River Valley • Contributions • Papyrus – Egyptian Paper • Hieroglyphics – Writing system that used pictures to represent words and ideas • Rosetta Stone - translated Hieroglyphics • Literature - poetry, songs, hymns and fiction • Surgery and Medicine • Mummification helped them diagnose illnesses and perform surgery • Calendar – 365 days (solar) • Math - Number systembased on 10 (10, 100, 1000, etc.)

23. Nile river Valley

24. Mesopotamia • Tigris & Euphrates Rivers – Mesopotamia • Geographic Setting • Region – Middle East • Mesopotamia – The land between the rivers • The Fertile Crescent – Fertile land that stretches from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea • Few natural barriers • Cultural diffusion – exchange of goods and ideas • Invasion – allowed for several invasions

25. Mesopotamia

26. Mesopotamia - Sumer • Sumerian Civilization – (3000 BCE) • Government • City- States – independent areas but shared a common culture • Rulers – seen as the chief servant to the gods • Role of Government – Enforced laws, collected taxes, led armies, kept records, maintained city walls and irrigation systems • Religion • Polytheistic – Gods had human qualities and were tied to the forces of nature • Each city-state had their own God or Goddess • Ziggurats - Stone temples made out of sun-dried bricks • Used to show the power of the government and religion

27. Mesopotamia - Sumer

28. Mesopotamia - Sumer • Social Classes • Upper Class – Ruling family, Gov’t officials and high priests • Middle Class –Merchants and artisans • Lower Class – Peasants (Farmers)

29. Mesopotamia - Sumer

30. Mesopotamia - Sumer • Contributions • Inventions • Sailboat • Wheel • Plow • Walled cities • Irrigation Systems – brought water to farms; expand farming • Architecture • Ziggurats • Writing • Cuneiform – Writing systems to keep records • Literature • The Epic of Gilgamesh • Math • Basic algebra • Geometry • Number system based on 6 (60 minute in an hour, 360 degrees in a circle)

31. Mesopotamia - Sumer

32. Mesopotamia - Babylon • Babylonian Civilization • Government • Centralized government – strong central government • Hammurabi – (1792-1750 BCE) God-like king • Code of Hammurabi – 300 codified laws carved in stone • Criminal Law – robbery, assault, murder • Civil law – business contracts, property, taxes, marriage and divorce • Specificpunishmentsfor specific laws • Harsh punishments – “Eye for an Eye” • Social inequality – laws were harsher for lower classes, women and children

33. Mesopotamia - Babylon

34. Mesopotamia - Babylon • Contributions • Contract- written agreement • Astronomy – Study of universe • Lunar calendar (12 months, 7 day week, 24 hr day) • Map makers – cartographer

35. Indus River Valley • Indus River Valley – Indian Subcontinent • Geographic Setting • Region - South Asia • Mountain ranges • Hindu Kush • Himalayan • Monsoons – seasonal winds that brought rainfall to the Indian Subcontinent • Unpredictable – Drought or Floods • Indus River – Rich, fertile soil

36. Indus River Valley

37. Indus River Valley • Mystery • Little is known about the Indus river valley because historians and archaeologists have not been able to decipher the writing system. • All that is known comes from archaeological finds • Centralized Government • Well-Planned Cities – Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro • Streets – set up in a grid pattern • Standardized - weights and measures • Religious Temples • Granaries – buildings used to store grain • Contributions • Plumbing systems – baths, drains, sewers • Irrigation ditches and flood barriers • Wheel

38. Indus River Valley

39. Yellow River Valley • Yellow River Valley (3000-2500 BCE) • Geographic Setting • Region – East Asia • Natural barriers – mountains, deserts, rainforest, ocean • Isolation - cut off from others (early history) • River Valleys • Huang He – Yellow River • Loess- yellow matter in riverthat brings nutrients to soil • Floods – given the nickname, “River of Sorrows” • Yangzi River

40. Yellow River Valley

41. Yellow River Valley • Government • Shang Dynasty – 1650 BCE – 1027 BCE • Dynasty – Ruling family of China; when the emperor died, another family member took over • Decentralized government – land and power was delegated to noble families (military leaders) to govern • Kings led nobles into battle • Owned small areas of land

42. Yellow River Valley • Religion • Polytheistic – worshipped many gods and nature spirits • Early Daoism • Yin and yang – opposing forces that held nature in balance • Ancestor Worship – honored ancestors with sacrifices and shrines

43. Yellow River Valley • Society • Social Classes • Upper Class - Royals family and nobles • Middle Class - Merchants and artisans • Lower Class - Peasants farmers • “Middle Kingdom” - Due to isolation, early Chinese were cut off from other cultures andthought of themselves as the center of the universe

44. Yellow River Valley • Contributions • Writing system • Thousands of characters made it hard to learn • Pictographs – Drawings of objects • Ideographs – Drawings of thoughts and ideas

45. Yellow River Valley

46. Classical Civilizations - China • Zhou Dynasty – China (1027 BCE-221 BCE) • Government • Overthrow – the Shang Dynasty • Mandate of heaven – Right to rule comes from heaven; used to explain the dynastic cycle • Dynastic Cycle – cycle that explained the rise and fall of dynasties, based on the mandate of heaven • Feudal government – Zhou emperors granted control of large areas of land to local lords, but owed military service to the emperor

47. Zhou Dynasty

48. Zhou Dynasty • Economy • Trade – increased as a result of new roads and canals (infrastructure) • Money – Chinese copper coins as a form of currency • Agricultureexpands – development of iron tools

49. Zhou Dynasty

50. Zhou Dynasty • Contributions • Confucianism – Belief system that provided order and stability in China by creating rules of behaviors for individuals based on filial piety • Daoism – Belief system that stressed harmony in nature, based on the Dao and concepts of the yin and yang