ANCIENT

CIVILIZATION

Introduction
This project is about earliest civilizations. The word
civilizations comes from a Latin word which means
living in cities.
The coming of civilization led to the invention of
writing and wheeled transport, and advances in
mathematics and medicine .It also meant the creation
of large0scasle armies and growth of great empires by
conquering other peoples land. Although these early
civilizations ended long ago, what they did still affects
us today; and every year we discover more about what
they were like.
This project will give you the answers to some of the
most important questions everyone asks about the
past.

Contents
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Sumerian Civilization
Indus Valley Civilization
Ancient China
American Civilization
Ancient Egypt
Greeks
Roman Empire
Mayans
Persians

Sumer ian Civilization

Sumer, site of the earliest known civilization, located in the southernmost part of
Mesopotamia between the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers, in the area that later
became Babylonia and is now southern Iraq from around Baghdad to the Persian Gulf.
Sumer was first settled between 4500 and 4000 BC by a non-Semitic people who did not
speak the Sumerian language. These people now are called proto-Euphrateans
or Ubaidians, for the village Al-Ubaid, where their remains were first discovered. The
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Ubaidians were the first civilizing force in Sumer, draining the marshes for agriculture,
developing trade, and establishing industries, including weaving, leatherwork,
metalwork, masonry, and pottery. After the Ubaidian immigration to Mesopotamia, various
Semitic peoples infiltrated their territory, adding their cultures to the Ubaidian culture, and
creating a high pre-Sumerian civilization.

Map of Sumer

Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia means the land between the rivers. The area was
The rivers were Tigris and the Euphrates, and the first city dwellers
as Sumerians. By 3000 BC there were powerful
states, such as Ur and Uruk, which traded with
and fought against each other. The cities had
populations of up to 50,000 people and were
often built around mud brick temples called
Ziggurats.

in present day Iraq.

there were known
city-

Inventions of
Sumerians
The Sumerians knew how to weave cloth, make things out of metal and make pots on a
wheel. But the most important progress they made was in writing, mathematics and
astronomy. Their discoveries in these areas enabled them to keep record of taxes and
agreements, write down laws and work out a calendar.
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Tablets
The most
important archaeological
discoveries in Sumer are a large number of tablets written
in cuneiform. The first writing was pictographic. This means
that instead of using letters and words, the Sumerians drew
pictures. Later, these pictures came to represent sounds rather
than actual objects. Sumerian writing is called , which means
wedge-shaped, because they used sharp wedge to make
marks in the clay tablets on which they wrote.

Mathematics
The Sumerians developed a complex system of metrology c. 4000 BCE. This metrology
advanced resulting in the creation of arithmetic, geometry, and algebra. From c. 2600 BCE
onwards, the Sumerians wrote multiplication tables on clay tablets and dealt
with geometrical exercises and division problems. The earliest traces of the Babylonian
numerals also date back to this period. The period c. 2700 2300 BCE saw the first
appearance of the abacus, and a table of successive columns which delimited the successive
orders of magnitude of their sexagesimal number system. The Sumerians were the first to use
a place value numeral system. There is also anecdotal evidence the Sumerians may have
used a type of slide rule in astronomical calculations. They were the first to find the area of a
triangle and the volume of a cube

Sumerian Religion
Sumerian religion is the mythology, pantheon, rites, and cosmology of
the Sumerian civilization. The Sumerian religion influenced Mesopotamian as a whole,
surviving in the mythologies and religions of the Hurrians, Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians,
and other culture groups.
The Sumerians originally practiced a polytheistic religion,
with anthropomorphic deities representing cosmic and terrestrial forces in their world. During
the middle of the third millennium BCE, Sumerian deities became more anthropocentric and
were "...nature gods transformed into city gods ] Deities such as Enki and Inanna were viewed
as having been assigned their rank, power, and knowledge from An, the heaven deity, or Enlil,
head of the Sumerian pantheon.
According to Sumerian mythology, the gods originally created humans as servants for
themselves, but freed them when they became too much to handle.

Economy and Trade

The Sumerians used slaves, although they were not a major part of the economy.
Slave women worked as weavers, pressers, millers, and porters.

Sumerian potters decorated pots with cedar oil paints. The potters used a bow drill to produce
the fire needed for baking the pottery. Sumerian masons and jewelers knew and made use
of alabaster (calcite), ivory, iron, gold, silver, carnelian, and lapis lazuli.

Technology
Examples of Sumerian technology include:
the wheel, cuneiform, arithmetic and geometry, irrigation systems, Sumerian boats, lunisolar
calendar, bronze, leather, saws, chisels, hammers, braces, bits, nails, pins, rings, hoes, axes,
knives, lancepoints, arrowheads, swords,glue, daggers, waterskins,
bags, harnesses, armor, quivers, war chariots, scabbards, boots, sandals, harpoons and beer.

The Sumerians had three main types of boats

clinker-built sailboats stitched together with hair, featuring bitumen waterproofing

skin boats constructed from animal skins and reeds

wooden-oared ships, sometimes pulled upstream by people and animals walking along
the nearby banks

Military
The almost constant wars among the Sumerian city-states for 2000 years helped to develop
the military technology and techniques of Sumer to a high level. The first war recorded in any
detail was between Lagash and Umma in c. 2525 BCE on a stele called the Stele of the
Vultures. It shows the king of Lagash leading a Sumerian army consisting mostly of infantry.
The infantrymen carried spears, wore copper helmets and carried leather or wicker shields.
The spearmen are shown arranged in what resembles the phalanx formation, which requires
training and discipline; this implies that the Sumerians may have made use
of professional soldiers.
Battle formations on a fragment
of the Stele of the Vultures

The Sumerian military used carts harnessed

to onagers. These early chariots functioned less
effectively in combat than did later designs, and
some have suggested that these chariots served
primarily as transports, though the crew carried
battle-axes and lances. The Sumerian chariot
comprised a four or two-wheeled device manned by
a crew of two and harnessed to four onagers. The
cart was composed of a woven basket and the
wheels had a solid three-piece design.
Sumerian cities were surrounded by
defensive walls. The Sumerians engaged in siege
warfare between their cities, but the mud brick walls were able to deter some foes.

Downfall
Each Sumerian city state had its own defense in the way of armies and city walls but Sumer
did not have a central, unified defense arrangement. It was, therefore, easier for invaders to
break down the structure of Sumer. Sumer was invaded by many invaders. In around 1720
BC the last Sumerian King was defeated by Hammurabi and Sumer became part of the
Babylonian empire.

Indus Valley Civilization

The Indus Valley stretches from Tibet, through Pakistan, to the Indian Ocean. The River
Indus flows through these valley. Many ancient towns have been discovered there.
The Indus Valley Civilization (IVC) was a Bronze Age civilization (33001300 BCE; mature
period 26001900 BCE) extending from what today is northeast Afghanistan to Pakistan and
northwest India. The Indus Valley Civilization is also known as the Harappan Civilization.
Along with Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia it was one of three early civilizations of the Old
World, and of the three the most widespread, covering an area of 1.25 million sq km. It
flourished in the basins of the Indus River, one of the major rivers of Asia, and the GhaggarHakra River, which once coursed through northwest India and eastern Pakistan. The Indus
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cities are noted for their urban planning, baked brick houses, elaborate drainage systems,
water supply systems, and clusters of large non-residential buildings.
Two major cities, called Mohenjo Daro and Harappa, have been found in this area, along with
the sites of over 100 other towns. From these ruin scientists have been able to discover many
things about this ancient civilization. However, archaeologists have not been able to read the
type of writing used by the Indus people at this time.
People of Indus relied on the annual
flooding of rive to provide mineral-rich
silt that made the farmland fertile.
Owing to this, all the major towns and
cities were built close to the river.

Mohenjo Daro
Mohenjo-daro is an archeological site in the province of Sind, Pakistan. Built around 2600
BCE, it was one of the largest settlements of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization, and one of
the world's earliest major urban settlements. The city was laid out on a rigid street plan and
had the worlds first known sewer system with drains and man holes. There were wide streets
and large granaries for storing food in case the harvest failed. Houses were made out of
bricks that were the same size, rather than oddly-shaped pieces of stone. Each house also
had its own bathroom and toilet.

Harappa
Harappa is an archaeological site in Punjab, eastern Pakistan, about 24 km (15 mi) west
of Sahiwal. The city is believed to have had as many as 23,500 residents and occupied over
100 hectares (250 acres) at its greatest extent during the Mature Harappan phase (2600
1900 BC), which is considered large for its time.

Arts and crafts

Various sculptures, seals, pottery, gold jewelry, and anatomically detailed figurines
in terracotta, bronze, and steatite have been found at excavation sites. A number of gold,
terracotta and stone figurines of girls in dancing poses reveal the presence of
some dance form. Also, these terracotta figurines included cows, bears, monkeys, and dogs.
The animal depicted on a majority of seals at sites of the mature period has not been clearly
identified. Part bull, part zebra, with a majestic horn, it has been a source of speculation. As
yet, there is insufficient evidence to substantiate claims that the image had religious or cultic
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significance, but the prevalence of the image raises the question of whether or not the animals
in images of the IVC are religious symbols.
Many crafts "such as shell working, ceramics, and agate and glazed
steatite bead making" were used in the making of necklaces, bangles,
and other ornaments from all phases of Harappan sites and some of
these crafts are still practised in the subcontinent today. Some make-up
and toiletry items (a special kind of combs (kakai), the use
of collyrium and a special three-in-one toiletry gadget) that were found
in Harappan contexts still have similar counterparts in modern
India.

Authority and governance

Archaeological records provide no immediate answers for a center of power or for depictions
of people in power in Harappan society. But, there are indications of complex decisions being
taken and implemented. For instance, the extraordinary uniformity of Harappan artifacts as
evident in pottery, seals, weights and bricks. These are the major theories:

There was a single state, given the similarity in artifacts, the evidence for planned
settlements, the standardized ratio of brick size, and the establishment of settlements near
sources of raw material.

There was no single ruler but several: Mohenjo-daro had a separate ruler, Harappa
another, and so forth.

Harappan society had no rulers, and everybody enjoyed equal status.

Technology
The people of the Indus Civilization achieved great accuracy in measuring length, mass, and
time. They were among the first to develop a system of uniform weights and measures. A
comparison of available objects indicates large scale variation across the Indus territories.
Their smallest division, which is marked on an ivory scale found in Lothal, was approximately
1.704 mm, the smallest division ever recorded on a scale of the Bronze Age. Harappan
engineers followed the decimal division of measurement for all practical purposes, including
the measurement of mass as revealed by their hexahedron weights
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Indus Valley seals, British Museum

Trade and transportation

The Indus civilization's economy appears to have depended significantly on trade, which was
facilitated by major advances in transport technology. The IVC may have been the first
civilization to use wheeled transport. These
advances may have included bullock
carts that are identical to those seen
throughout South Asia today, as well as
boats. Most of these boats were probably
small, flat-bottomed craft, perhaps driven
by sail. However, there is secondary
evidence of sea-going craft. Archaeologists
have discovered a massive, dredged canal
and what they regard as a docking facility
at the coastal city of Lothal in western India
(Gujarat state). An extensive canal
network, used for irrigation, has however
also been discovered by H.-P. Francfort.

Writing system
Between 400 and as many as 600 distinct Indus symbols have been found on seals, small
tablets, ceramic pots and more than a dozen other materials, including a "signboard" that
apparently once hung over the gate of the inner citadel of the Indus city of Dholavira.
Typical Indus inscriptions are no more than four or five characters in length, most of which
(aside from the Dholavira "signboard") are tiny; the longest on a single surface, which is less
than 1 inch (2.54 cm) square, is 17 signs long; the longest on any object (found on three
different faces of a mass-produced object) has a length of 26 symbols.
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Religion
The religion and belief system of the Indus valley people have received considerable
attention, especially from the view of identifying precursors to deities and religious practices
of Indian religions that later developed in the area. However due to the sparsity of evidence,
which is open to varying interpretations, and the fact that the Indus script remains
undeciphered, the conclusions are partly speculative and largely based on a retrospective
view from a much later Hindu perspective.
In contrast to contemporary Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations, Indus valley lacks any
monumental temples or palaces.

DECLINE OF THE INDUS VALLEY

CIVILIZATION
By 1800 BCE, the Indus Valley Civilization saw the beginning of their decline: Writing started
to disappear, standardized weights and measures used for trade and taxation purposes fell
out of use, the connection with the Near East was interrupted, and some cities were gradually
abandoned. The reasons for this decline are not entirely clear, but it is believed that the drying
up of the Saraswati River, a process which had begun around 1900 BCE, was the main
cause. Other experts speak of a great flood in the area. Either event would have had
catastrophic effects on agricultural activity, making the economy no longer sustainable and
breaking the civic order of the cities.
Around 1500 BCE, a large group of nomadic cattle-herders, the Aryans, migrated into the
region from central Asia. The Aryans crossed the Hindu Kush mountains and came in contact
with the Indus Valley Civilization. This was a large migration and used to be seen as an
invasion, which was thought to be the reason for the collapse of the Indus Valley Civilization,
but this hypothesis is not unanimously accepted today.
Thus, the Indus Valley Civilization came to an end.

Ancient China
China has the oldest continuous civilization in the world. The country was ruled by
different royal families known as dynasties. Little is known about the earliest part of
Chinese history

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The Yellow River is said to be the cradle of Chinese civilization, although cultures originated at
various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze valleys millennia ago in
the Neolithic era.
Written records of the history of China can be found from as early as 1200 BC under
the Shang dynasty (c. 17001046 BC). . Much of Chinese literature and philosophy further
developed during the Zhou dynasty (1045256 BC). The Zhou dynasty began to bow to
external and internal pressures in the 8th century BC, and the kingdom eventually broke apart
into smaller states, beginning in the spring and autumn period and reaching full expression in
the Warring States period. Between eras of multiple kingdoms and warlordism, Chinese
dynasties have ruled parts or all of China; in some eras control stretched as far
as Xinjiang and Tibet, as at present. In 221 BC Qin Shi Huang united the various warring
kingdoms and created for himself the title of "emperor" (huangdi) of the Qin dynasty, marking
the beginning of imperial China. Successive dynasties developed bureaucratic systems that
enabled the emperor to control vast territories directly. China's last dynasty was
the Qing (16441912), which was replaced by the Republic of China in 1912 and in
the mainland by the People's Republic of China in 1949.

Dynasties in Ancient China

o

Xia dynasty (c. 2100 c. 1600 BC)

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Shang dynasty (c. 16001046 BC)

Zhou dynasty (1046256 BC)

Spring and Autumn period (722476 BC)

Warring States period (476221 BC)

Xia dynasty (c. 2100 c. 1600 BC)

The Xia dynasty of China (from c. 2100 to c. 1600 BC) is the first dynasty to be described in
ancient historical records such as Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian and Bamboo
Annals
Although there is disagreement as to whether the dynasty actually existed, there is some
archaeological evidence pointing to its possible existence. Sima Qian, writing in the late 2nd
century BC, dated the founding of the Xia dynasty to around 2200 BC, but this date has not
been corroborated. According to mythology, the dynasty ended around 1600 BC as a
consequence of the Battle of Mingtiao.

Shang dynasty (c. 16001046 BC)

Remnants of advanced, stratified societies dating back to the Shang found primarily in the Yellow River Valley

Archaeological findings providing evidence for the existence of the Shang dynasty, c. 1600
1046 BC, are divided into two sets. The first set from the earlier Shang period comes from
sources at Erligang, Zhengzhou, and Shangcheng. The second set from the later Shang or
Yin () period is at Anyang, in modern-day Henan, which has been confirmed as the last of
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the Shang's nine capitals (c. 13001046 BC) The findings at Anyang include the earliest
written record of Chinese past so far discovered: inscriptions of divination records in ancient
Chinese writing on the bones or shells of animals the so-called "oracle bones", dating from
around 1200 BC.
31 Kings reined over the Shang dynasty. During their rein, according to the Records of the
Grand Historian, the capital city was moved six times. The final (and most important) move
was to Yin in 1350 BC which led to the dynasty's golden age . The term Yin dynasty has been
synonymous with the Shang dynasty in history, although it has lately been used to specifically
refer to the latter half of the Shang dynasty.

Zhou dynasty (1046256 BC)

The Zhou dynasty was the longest-lasting dynasty in Chinese history, from 1066 BC to
approximately 256 BC. By the end of the 2nd millennium BC, the Zhou dynasty began to
emerge in the Yellow River valley, overrunning the territory of the Shang. The Zhou appeared
to have begun their rule under a semi-feudal system. The Zhou lived west of the Shang, and
the Zhou leader had been appointed "Western Protector" by the Shang. The ruler of the
Zhou, King Wu, with the assistance of his brother, the Duke of Zhou, as regent, managed to
defeat the Shang at the Battle of Muye.
The king of Zhou at this time invoked the concept of the Mandate of Heaven to legitimize his
rule, a concept that would be influential for almost every succeeding dynasty. Like Shangdi,
Heaven (tian) ruled over all the other gods, and it decided who would rule China. It was
believed that a ruler had lost the Mandate of Heaven when natural disasters occurred in great
number, and when, more realistically, the sovereign had apparently lost his concern for the
people. In response, the royal house would be overthrown, and a new house would rule,
having been granted the Mandate of Heaven.
The Zhou initially moved their capital west to an area near modern Xi'an, on the Wei River, a
tributary of the Yellow River, but they would preside over a series of expansions into
the Yangtze River valley. This would be the first of many population migrations from north to
south in Chinese history.

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Bronze ritual vessel (You), Western Zhou dynasty

Spring and Autumn period (722476 BC)

In the 8th century BC, power became decentralized during the Spring and Autumn period, named
after the influential Spring and Autumn Annals. In this period, local military leaders used by the
Zhou began to assert their power and vie for hegemony. The situation was aggravated by the
invasion of other peoples from the northwest, such as the Qin, forcing the Zhou to move their
capital east to Luoyang. This marks the second major phase of the Zhou dynasty: the Eastern
Zhou. The Spring and Autumn period is marked by a falling apart of the central Zhou power. In
each of the hundreds of states that eventually arose, local strongmen held most of the political
power and continued their subservience to the Zhou kings in name only. Some local leaders even
started using royal titles for themselves. China now consisted of hundreds of states, some of them
only as large as a village with a fort.
The Hundred Schools of Thought of Chinese philosophy blossomed during this period, and such
influential intellectual movements as Confucianism, Taoism, Legalism and Mohism were founded,
partly in response to the changing political world.

Chinese pu vessel with interlaced dragon design, Spring and Autumn period

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Warring States period (476221 BC)

After further political consolidation, seven prominent states remained by the end of 5th century
BC, and the years in which these few states battled each other are known as the Warring States
period. Though there remained a nominal Zhou king until 256 BC, he was largely a figurehead and
held little real power.
As neighboring territories of these warring states, including areas of
modern Sichuan and Liaoning, were annexed, they were governed under the new local
administrative system of commandery and prefecture. This system had been in use since the
Spring and Autumn period, and parts can still be seen in the modern system of Sheng & Xian.The
final expansion in this period began during the reign of Ying Zheng, the king of Qin. His unification
of the other six powers, and further annexations in the modern regions of Zhejiang,
Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi in 214 BC, enabled him to proclaim himself the First
Emperor (Qin Shi Huang).

RELIGION
China has long been a cradle and host to a variety of the most enduring religiophilosophical traditions of the world. Confucianism and Taoism, plus Buddhism, constitute
the "three teachings", philosophical frameworks which historically have had a significant role
in shaping Chinese culture. Elements of these three belief systems are often incorporated into
the traditional folk religions. Chinese religions are family-oriented and do not demand
exclusive adherence, allowing the practice or belief of several at the same time.

First Emperor of China

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In 221 BC the cruel and ruthless Qin Ruler,

Cheng, began to call himself Emperor of China.
The Qin had overthrown the Zhou in 225 BC and
rules the biggest empire seen in history up to
that time. Cheng also built the great wall of
China.

Great Wall of China

The Great wall is the longest wall in the world. It is 3460 km long, stretching from the coast to
the Gobi Desert. It was meant to k eep out invaders from the north, but didnt always do so.
The wall was built between 221 BC and 206 BC, and strengthened by later emperors. Most of
the present wall was rebuilt during Ming Period (1368-1644).

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Chinese
Inventions
Chinese discovered
many different things, including how to make paper and porcelain, kind of fine pottery. They
also discovered that the resin of lacquer tree could be used to coat wooden bowls so they
could hold hot foods and liquids, such as soup. Wheelbarrows were in use a thousand years
before they became common in Europe.

Contribution to
Science
Wang Chong, who lived in the first century AD, showed
eclipses and the movements of the stars and the moon
be predicted. Zhang Heng made the worlds first
seismograph, used to detect and record earthquakes.
Chinese also invented a kind of medicine, called acupuncture,
cures people by sticking needles in them

that
could
The
which

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American Civilization
People migrated from Asia to the American mainland about30, 000 years ago. Sea
levels were lower then, and North America was joined to Russia by land bridge. The
first advanced civilizations grew up in Central America.

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