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Background
Western Civilization

o Started around 3000 BCE

o Started in Ancient Near East/Mesopotamia/Egypt

Geography = important

! Rich soil, water, rivers

Sumerians

o Civilization in Mesopotamia between Tigris & Euphrates rivers

No natural Barriers

! Invaded and absorbed by Semetic & Indo-Europeans at different points of history

Egypt

o Civilization in isolation

Surrounded by desert

In the Nile River Valley

Before History, 2,000,000 - 3,000 BCE: Earliest Humans
Old Stone Age

Longest period of human existence

No written records

o Material Culture: Physical remains left by past human societies

Remains of Old Stone Age People

! Stone tools, slaughtered animal bones

o Archeology: Scientific study of the remains of past human societies

o Antrhopology: Scientific study of modern human cultures & societies

o Homo-Habilis: "Skillful Human" --> Earliest Human Population

Central/South Africa

Smaller than us, crude hunting tools, grouped together for protection

o Homo-Erectus: "Upright Human" --> 1 Million Years ago

Same size as us

Fire! Flint rock!

o Homo-Sapiens: "Thinking Human" --> 400,000BCE

First in Africa

o Neanderthals: Subspecies of Homo Sapiens --> 150,000 - 40,000 BCE

More advanced tools

Cave shelter/Cavemen

Hunting/Gathering

! Some migration

o Homo-Sapiens-Sapiens: "Wise Thinking Human" --> About 100,000 Years ago

Like modern humans

Other types of humans disappeared by this time

o Religion in Old Stone Age

Supernatural powers could bring food, fertility, and death

o Matriarchal Society: "Rule by mothers"

Society where women have the primary authority

Neolithic age / Neolithic Revolution

o Neolithic Age: "New Stone" --> 8,000 to 4,000 BCE

People gained greater control over their food supply

Originated in the Near East (modern middle east)

! Last period of stone tool domination

Highly advanced tools/use of resources

Long distance resource trade!!!

o Food Revolutions:

Domestication: Practice of adapting wild animals to live with humans or wild plants for cultivation
! Food & Raw materials were DEPENDABLE!
! Pastoralism: mobile lifestyle based on keeping flocks and herds
Result of domestication
Agriculture: Sedentary style of life based on cultivation
! 10,000 BCE origination
! Farming, rice wheat, barley, etc
! Led to cultural assimilation
Cultural Assimilation: Acquisition by one group of people of the cultural traits of another people.

Consequences of settled lifestyles (good & bad)

! Require people to stay in one place
! Food surplus --> Wealth
! Larger populations can be supported
! Specialized occupations
! Social classes/differentiation
! Possibility of unbalanced diets/disease
! Environmental impact (deforestation/overgrazing)
! Continued religious practice
Fertile crescent: Arc of fertile land running through Egypt, the Levant, & Meopotamia

! Early agricultural areas

o Mesopotamia: "Between the rivers"

Lands surrounding the Tigris & Euphrates Rivers

Site of a Bronze age civilization

Modern day Iraq

o Civilization: Form of human culture that includes the following

Criteria for civilization

! Agriculture
! Urbanization
! Social classes
! Metal technology
! Writing
The Bronze Age (3000 - 12000 BCE):

o Characteristics of the Bronze Age:

Near East

First phase of civilization

Bronze was used for weapon making

Most characteristic civilizations were in river Valleys

Extensive Agriculture

Large Populations

o Mesopotamian Civilization: 3000-1200 BCE

Influenced by Geography

! Mountains to the north

! Syrian/Arabian deserts to South and West

! Rain came from Anatolia (modern turkey) down the river & mountains to Mesopotamia

Started in Sumeria

Cuneiform: Mesopotamian/Sumerian Writing system that put wedge shape indents into clay

! Led to writing of:

Myths: stories explaining things people dont understand

Legends: Accounts of past people/events; passed on orally

Due to Geography of area, there was a constant fear of unpredictable floods, and of attacks

! Led to organization and organization to achieve safety in society

Religion: Pessimistic and distrusting of Gods

! Believed that the Gods needed to be influenced to work in their favor

! Polytheism: Believing in many gods

! Anthropomophic: Gods resemble/behave like humans

! Divination: Religious practice in which people look for signs to determine future events and the will of the
gods

Sumerians looked for these signs in dreams

Government Structure/Society

! City-States: Each city was also an independent nation/state

States were rarely united with each other politically

They did have similar traits though:

Culture

Type of government

Belief in a god for the city

Ziggurat: Huge step shaped pyramid temple for the main god in Mesopotamian culture

Hierarchical structure: Social structure organized according to rank, status, and privilege

Class system rankings

Economy:

! Controlled by government

! Barter system: Form of exchange using goods and services rather than coined money

! Taxes were collected on produce/labor; used to pay government employees

Gender Roles

! Patriarchial: Society where men have the primary authority

! Women did also have some rights:

Her Dowry: Financial contribution provided to a bride by her family

Equal say with her husband regarding their children

Semitic/Indo-European People:

! Semitic People: Pastoral peoples living in semiarid regions of syria and northern Arabia who spoke versions
of the same language

Lived near Sumerians; similar language, pastorial

! Akkadians: Semitic people who established the FIRST near eastern empire (see below), the Akkadian Empire
in 2350BCE under their King Sargan

Empire: Political unit incorporating different people & nations under one government

Akkadian Empire crumbled after King Sargon's death due in part to raids by people of neighboring
regions.

! Amorites: 2000 BCE: Western Semitic peoples, including Assyrians and Babylonians, who moved into
Mesopotamia

Collective group

! Assyrians: 2000 BCE: Semitic people who settled in the upper Tigris River valley

! Babylonians: 2000 BCE Semitic people who settled in central Mesopotamia

Established the Old Babylonian Empire (c. 1760 BCE)

! Hammurabi (r. 1790-1750): Mesopotamian ruler who created the Old Babylonian Empire and issued a
famous law code

Brought all of Mesopotamia together; united under his power

Hammurabi's Code: Standard Legal Code placing everyone under the same legal system

Existing laws + customs relating to civil and criminal procedures

Three classes: nobles, free persons, and slaves

Gender Relations:

49 laws regarding gender

Many today would seem unfair to women

Crime/Punishment:

Death sentence & Impalement frequent

Physical mutilation/cutting off of limbs for theft

Punishment based on class

Fairness:

Unfair judges removed

Victims of crime compensated by community

Model for future law making/systems

o Egyptian Civilization, 3000 - 1200 BCE

Background:

! Geographically Isolated Civilization

! Unified country; rarely invaded

! Driven by afterlife

! Nile River: Predictable flooding --> Creation of a 30 day/month calendar

Upper Egypt: South River Valley to Nubia

Lower Egypt: Northern Rivery Valley in the Delta going into the Mediterranean Sea

! Narmer: Ruler who united Upper and Lower Egypt, first Pharaoh (see below)

! Pharaoh: Ruler of Ancient Egypt

! Dynasty: Group of rulers belonging to the same family

! Hieroglyphics: Earliest form of Egyptian writing

Hundreds of symbols, sounds, and thoughts

Highly educated scribes could write

! Nomes: Smaller geographical and administrative regions of ancient egypt

Ruled by Nomarchs

Religion: Optimistic view (as opposed to the Mesopotamians' pessimistic views)

! Believed their gods would protect them

! Pharaohs are among the gods

! Ma'at: Egyptian goddess who represents order, justic, and stability

Government/Society: Less harsh than mesopotamia

! Crime/Punishment: All free people were equal under law.

Without a confession, you could not be guilty

! Society: No professional soldiers, no fear of invasion

Heiarchical Society

Pharaoh = highest

Pharaoh's family = second

Nobles = third/held high offices

Working population/Laborers = fourth

Slaves = lowest

Old Kingdom: Age of the Pyramids (2700-2200 BCE)

! First period of significant written records

! Pyramids built as burial tombs for pharaohs + everything needed in afterlife

15 year building process

Required significant materials and workers

! Nobles role: As resources became scarcer to build pyramids, pyramids got smaller

Noble's rose stronger by the time Pharaoh Nitocris dies

Egypt loses unity and stability

First Intermediate Period (2200-2050 BCE)

! Breakdown in irrigation

Famine

Middle Kingdom: Age of Osiris (2050-1786 BCE)

! Nomarch of Thebes reunifies Egypt

! Despite reunification, Pharaoh's had less power than the Old Kingdom's Pharaohs

Nobles and priests controlled a lot of land and produce

! The Afterlife

Becomes available to everyone after death

God Osiris determined the quality of the afterlife through a series of questions and tests after
death

Mummification: Drying process by which bodies are preserved after death

Book of the Dead: Catalogue of magical spells that was buried with mummies to ensure that
Egyptians received a good afterlife

Answers to Osiris' questions written on mummy bandages to help the deceased pass the
test

! Hyksos: 1730BCE: Semetic people who invaded/conquered Egypt

Assimilated to Egyptian beliefs

Used Vassals to rule: Subordinate rulers who declare loyalty to a higher-ranking ruler

Egyptians didnt want to be ruled by others, and expelled the Hyksos

New Kingdom: Age of Warrior Pharaohs

! Egyptian Empire: Egyptian conquests in Palestine and Syria that served to protect Egypt from invasion

Created by Pharaoh Thutmose III

Army consisted of native Egyptians and Mercenary fighters

Mercenaries: Hired soldiers who are foreigners

! Role of Pharaoh: Protect Egypt & Ensure Security

Hatshepsut (r. 1498-1483 BCE): Female pharaoh who fortified Egypt

Thutmose I's daughter

Total badass maybe?

Fortified Egypt's borders

Thutmose III (r. 1483-1450 BCE): Hatshepsut's son

Followed Hyksos' model with the use of vassals ruling over defeated lands

Strong Army

Amenhotep IV (r. 1350-1334 BCE): Controversial, to say the least

Called himself Akhenaton

Departed from tradition

Declared Aton to be the only God to be worshipped

Aton: Minor Sun god whom the pharaoh attempted to make the supreme god of Egypt

Pissed off Egyptian people

Led to unrest and eventual occupation of some areas of Egypt by the Hittites

Akhenaton/Amenhotep IV disappeared from Egyptian history

Tut-ankh-amon (r. 1334-1325 BCE): King Tut, the only Egyptian Pharaoh whose tomb was not robbed
in antiquity.

Boy Pharaoh

Burred in Secret

After his dealth, the army took over

19th-20th dynasties of army general Pharaohs

Eventually led to Ramses Dynasty

Ramses II (r. 1279-1212 BCE): Egyptian pharaoh who made peace with the Hittites and constructed
many temples

Made fixed boundaries

End of the Bronze Age

o Lost Civilizations of the Bronze Age

Elba (c 2500 BCE): Syrian City that established a civilization with a trading economy

! Trading Economy

! Multiple Languages

! Oversaw trade in the region (from Egypt/Anatolia/Mediterranean/Mesopotamia)

Engaged in commercial trade

! Tablet writing referenced Jerusalem, David, and Abraham

! Exposure to neighboring cultures religions

! Baal: Name given to several western Semitic Gods

! Burned by Akkadians in 2250 BCE

Canaan (c. 1500 BCE): Area of the Levant bordering the Mediterranean coast (modern Lebanon and Palestine)

! Trading cities like Byblos, Sidon, Tyre, Ugarit rose on the coast

! Changed between independent rule and imperialist rule

! Imperialist: Having to do with building empires

! Writing: Created a consonant based writing system, precursor to modern alphabet concept

Alphabet: System of writing in which symbols represent individual consonants or vowels

Minoan Civilization (after 3000 BCE): Bronze Age civilization that developed on the island of Crete

! Palace Complexes: Urban centers near Cretean Coast, around central plaza

! Trade:

No fertile rivers

Trade by sea

Exported olive oil and manufactured goods

! Religion: No high profile Gods

Private matter in small shrines

Cult Objects: Used objects for religious rituals

! Demise: c. 1400 BCE

Linear B writing appears

Likely mainland Greeks took over

Mycenaeans of Greece (c. 1600 BCE): Indo-European people who settled in Greece and established first Greek
civilizations

! Similar culture to Minoans (due to proximity and trade)

! Society: existed on hills, not the coast

Cities: Mycenae, Pylos, Athens

Fortified Cities with walls

City Government:

Each had a bureaucratic administration with a King

Citizens' possessions catalogued annually, tax assessments

Manufacturing and crafts all controlled by palace

! Trade: Used for economic expansion

Competed with Minoans

Used warfare

Took over Minoans

Established colonies in Crete, Syria, Anatolia, and Cyprus

Trade = Wealth

Sea People & End of the Bronze Age:

! Sea People (c 1200) : Large group of Indo-European peoples who attacked eastern Mediterranean lands

Invasion of the Sea People

Mycenaean attack on the city of Troy

Troy: City of northwestern Anatolia destroyed by the Mycenaeans

Homer: Blind Greek Poet, 800 BCE, who wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey.

Tells the tales of the Trojan Wars and its aftermath

Egyptians also have accounts of the Sea People

Threat to entire region; destroyed Hittite Kingdom and burned many cities

Defeat of the Sea People:

1180 BCE, defeated by Ramses III in Egypt

Ramses III (r. 1182-1151 BCE): Egyptian pharaoh who defeated the sea people

Defeated in the Niles Delta

! End of the Bronze Age:

Greece: Disorder continued as the Mycenaean trading economy declined/was devestated

Dorians (1150 BCE): Indo-Europeans who began to settle in southern Greece

Took advantage of Mycenaean weakness

Burned down cities, terrorized

Ionia: Western coastal region of Anatolia; site of Greek colonies founded by Mycenaeans

Town that Mycenaeans fled to in order to get away from the terror caused by Dorians