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The Beginnings of Civilization, 10,000-2000 B.C.E.

The Beginnings of Civilization, 10,000-2000 B.C.E. The West CHAPTER 1. The Emergence of Hunter-Gatherer Societies. Ca. 150,000 years ago - Homo sapiens appear Adapted tools to new environments and practical needs End of the Ice Age promoted the spread of cereal grasses

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The Beginnings of Civilization, 10,000-2000 B.C.E.

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  1. The Beginnings of Civilization, 10,000-2000 B.C.E. The West CHAPTER 1

  2. The Emergence of Hunter-Gatherer Societies • Ca. 150,000 years ago - Homo sapiens appear • Adapted tools to new environments and practical needs • End of the Ice Age promoted the spread of cereal grasses • Humans began to settle in semi-permanent camps to exploit seasonal food sources

  3. The Food-Producing Revolution • Ca. 8,000 B.C.E. • Warming environment • Dwindling of game due to over-hunting • Population growth and ecological change • Cultivation of crops and domestication of animals to provide dependable food supply

  4. The First Food-Producing Communities • The Levantine Corridor (Fertile Crescent) - Abu Hureya, Jericho • Foothills of the Zagros mountains, north of Mesopotamia - Sawi Chemi Shanidar, Ganj Dareh • Anatolia - Çatal Hüyük

  5. The Origins of Sumerian Cities • Control of waters of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers • Irrigation led to increased food supply • Rich crop yields fed a growing population • Villages blossomed into cities

  6. Sumerian Economic Life • Cities served as economic centers • Craft specialization • Centralized marketplaces in cities • Long-distance trade with the Levant, Iran, Anatolia and Afghanistan

  7. Sumerian Political Life • Power based on control of labor and water resources • Economic resources dedicated to maintaining the king and temple (ziggurat) • Vast inequality of wealth between rulers and ruled • Frequent warfare and rivalry between kings prevented political unification

  8. Sumerian Cultural Achievements • Invention of potter’s wheel, wagon and chariot • Development of writing (cuneiform) • Mathematical innovation • Architectural advances • Hydraulic engineering • Astrological knowledge

  9. Sargon’s Empire and the Kings of Ur • Akkadian Empire, ca. 2340-2100, founded by Sargon, formed the first multiethnic empire • Ca. 2100-2000 Kingdom of Ur reformed the administration and economy of the Akkadian Empire • First known codification of laws during kingdom of Ur

  10. Assyria: A Kingdom of Commerce • International commerce formed basis of economy and political power • Assembly of merchants, “the City”, controlled economic and foreign policy • King was responsible for religious duties, and for the maintenance of justice and public works

  11. Babylon: A Kingdom of Law and Order • Ca. 1762 B.C.E. the Assyrian empire fell to Hammurabi, king of Babylon • Law Code of Hammurabi: 282 civil, criminal and commercial laws; introduced the concept that the punishment should suit the crime

  12. The Development of Settled Life in Egypt • Hunter-gatherer settlements slowly turned to agriculture and domestication of animals • Technological advances led to craft specialization, as towns developed • Ecological change shifted cultivation to the banks of the Nile • Trade along the Nile led to cultural, social and, eventually, political unification

  13. The Old Kingdom, ca. 3000-2200 B.C.E. • Semi-divine kingship • Centralized, literate bureaucracy - hieroglyphic writing • Economic centralization • Long-distance trade of central importance • Centrality of beliefs about afterlife in religion

  14. The Middle Kingdom, ca. 2040-1785 B.C.E. • Greater social mobility and economic equality than the Old Kingdom • Economic resources directed more to social welfare and public works than to aggrandizement of the king • Religious practices emphasized moral conduct over ceremony

  15. Neolithic Cultures in Europe • Colder climate and greater forestation slowed transition from hunter-gather societies to food production • Linear Pottery Culture - building of megalithic monuments, development of metallurgy • Battle Axe Culture - warrior culture, domestication of the horse, development of the Indo-European parent language

  16. Technological and Social Change in Europe • Technological innovation led to expansion of land under cultivation, providing greater opportunity for individual economic gain • Accumulation of wealth by some farmers led to increasing social stratification • Emergence of élite, male-dominated groups - foundation of European aristocracy

  17. Civilization and the West • Development of literacy and numeracy • Codification of laws based on abstract principles • Emergence of gender- and socially-based divisions of labor and power

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