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ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS. Civilization, Cities, and Bronze. most people today live in cities or small urban centers called towns which bring people together to live and work c ities provide people with goods and services which they may not be able to get in rural areas
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ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS Civilization, Cities, and Bronze
most people today live in cities or small urban centers called towns which bring people together to live and work • cities provide people with goods and services which they may not be able to get in rural areas • cities are the centers of trade, entertainment, education, government, and mass transportation systems, such as buses and subways • cities can sometimes provide people with a sense of identity • they symbolize how much humans can achieve by working together
in the ancient world, the development of cities was important in defining a people as “civilized” • however, just putting lots of people in a crowded living space, as cities often are, does not make them part of a civilization. Historians look for other signs • among these important indicators is the use of written language for recording events, keeping track of trade goods and government records, and communicating in general • another indicator of civilization is a highly organized and structured government • such a government is able to create law systems called codes
systematic agriculture is another sign of civilization • organized farming and herding allows special classes of workers (farmers and pastoralists) to produce the city’s food, allowing many people to work at something other than agriculture • this gives rise to specialists such as weavers, potters, boatmen, traders, metal smiths, jewellers, priests, and government officials • the first people to live in an urban society and culture where all these things took place lived in southwest Asia and Egypt, beginning around 4000 B.C.
with the development of civilization in those regions and others, the Neolithic Age developed into an era of human advancement known as the Bronze Age • skilled craft workers began combining two metals, copper and tin, into bronze—a metal valued in the making of tools, weapons, household utensils, and ornamental items • this new use of metals brought an end to the Neolithic Age in most regions, ending a long dependence on stone for the above list of artifacts
Think About It... • What are some signs that Historians look for to identify a city as a civilization? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
