Ancient River Valley Civilizations. Pre-history Pre-historic = before written records Two periods of...
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Transcript of Ancient River Valley Civilizations. Pre-history Pre-historic = before written records Two periods of...
Ancient River Valley Civilizations
Pre-history
• Pre-historic = before written records
• Two periods of pre-history to know
– Paleolithic
– Neolithic
Pre-history
• Paleolithic
– (Old) Stone age period
• Stone primary material for tools
– Hunter-gathers
– Nomadic lifestyle
Pre-history
• Neolithic Age
– (New) stone age
• Stone still primary tool material
• Agriculture
• Domestication of animals
• Some settlement
• Some nomadic groups
Paleolithic
Age
Neolithic
Age
1st Agricultural Revolution
Neolithic
Age
DevelopCivilization
PeopleStart toSettle
Civilization
• A form of culture, characterized by cities,specialized workers, complex institutions, record-keeping and advanced technology
Civilization
• To be a civilization, society must have a majority of these:
– Cities Specialized labor
– Government Science & tech
– Religion Art
– Taxes Social classes
– Written language
River valley Civilizations
• Helpful Hint:
– Know one of these like the back of your hand
– Be very familiar with a second
– Keep the others in minds
Tigris & Euphrates
• Located in modern Iraq
• Known as Mesopotamia (land between 2 rivers)
• Known as Fertile Crescent
• Look for the only green in the brownish Middle east on the map
• Rivers empty into Persian Gulf
Tigris & Euphrates
• The geography does not help
– Unpredictable flooding
– No natural barriers to invasion
– Plenty of fresh water for farming and drinking
– Access to trade/travel & cultural diffusion
– Silt deposited by rivers
Tigris & Euphrates
• Geography does not help, but problems solved– For defense, walls of mud bricks
were built– Trade of grain, cloth and tools
brought in natural raw materials like stone, wood and metal
Tigris & Euphrates
• Main crops grown were barley & wheat
• Surpluses produced led to development of different civilizations in the region
Tigris & Euphrates
• Cities associated with Mesopotamia– Sumer
– Akkad
– Babylon
– Ur
Tigris & Euphrates• Sumer
– Polytheism
– Run by soldiers
– Temples called Ziggurats
– Invented sail, plow, wheel & 1st to use bronze
– Developed geometry & arithmetic
Tigris & Euphrates
• Sumer
– Developed arches, columns, ramps
– Developed cuneiform (wedge writing in wet mud which was allowed to dry)
Tigris & Euphrates
• Akkad
– Sargon of Akkad conquered Sumer
– Created world’s first empire
– Dynasty lasted 200 years
Tigris & Euphrates
• Babylon
– Based on Euphrates river
– Empire hit peak under Hammurabi
– Hammurabi’s Code
Tigris & Euphrates
• Hammurabi’s Code– Needed single, unified code of law to
unify people– Written in stone – Placed throughout the empire–“eye for an eye”– Law applied to everyone, but applied
differently to men/women & rich/poor
Page 33
Written Law Codes
• Hammurabi’s Code– Arguably the first important one in history
• 10 Commandments
• Draco’s Code
• 12 Tables
• Justinian’s Code
• Napoleonic Code
Nile River Valley• Geographic Issues
– Floods predictably (develop calendar)– River deposits silt on banks– Access to travel/trade– Grow papyrus (turn into paper)– River flows north into Mediterranean
Sea– Egyptians forced to live close to river
(little cultural diffusion)
Nile River Valley
• Egypt = “gift of the Nile”• Without the river there is no Egyptian
civilization
• Silt very fertile
• Desert very harsh
• Irrigation ditches to water crops
• Surpluses led to civilization
Nile River Valley
• Egypt
– Polytheism
• Kings (pharaohs were god-kings)
• Egyptian government was a monarchy and theocracy (based on religious teaching/rules)
Nile River Valley
• Egypt
– Pyramids were actually tombs for pharaohs
– Pharaohs were mummified
– Bodies dried and preserved for use in the afterlife
Nile River Valley
• Egypt
– Writing developed called hieroglyphics
• Glyphs are symbols/pictures
• First written on stone
• Hieroglyphics written on early paper made from papyrus
Nile River Valley
• Egypt
– Developed very accurate calendar
– Developed arithmetic & geometry
– First to use stone columns
– Developed early medical procedures for broken bones, wounds & fevers
Indus River Valley
• Indus = India (you cannot forget this!!)
• Indus River starts in Himalaya mountains & flows to Arabian Sea
• Himalayas natural boundary
• Unpredictable flooding
Indus River Valley
• Indus sites not fully discovered yet
• No kings/queens known
• Few available records
• Was largest empire until Persia develops 1000 years later
Indus River Valley
• Two main cities of the Indus Valley
• Harappa
• Mohenjo-Daro
• Both carefully planned & laid out in a grid pattern
• Structures built of oven-fired bricks
• Homes had indoor plumbing
Indus River Valley
• Archaeologists believe the 2 cities had strong organized government
• Food seemed to be in good supply
• City planning indicates development of mathematical skills
• Indus first to cultivate cotton
• Polytheistic religious beliefs
Huang He River Valley• China’s history began in Huang He Valley• People learned to farm during the Neolithic Age• The yellow soil particles in the river give it its name “Yellow”
• Also known as “China’s Sorrow” because of the unpredictable flooding
Huang He River Valley• The flooding is due in part to the loess in the water that
raises the level of the river
• Flooding has often been disastrous
• First major dynasty in the valley to develop were the Shang (1750 to 1045 BCE)
• Zhou Dynast overthrew the Shang (1045 to 250 BCE)
• Developed Mandate of Heaven idea– Idea that ajust ruler’s power is bestowed upon them by the
gods.
– Zhou rulers used this to justify their overthrow of the Shang
Huang He River Valley
• Mandate of Heaven says that the gods allowed a dynasty to rule until that dynasty got old & corrupt
• New dynasty was given new Mandate of Heaven to over throw old
• This changing of dynasties is called the Dynastic Cycle
Huang He River Valley
• During Shang Dynasty: – Polytheistic religion– Ancestor Veneration: spirits of past ancestors could
communicate with the gods. Need to worship ancestors– Oracle Bones: a way to communicate with gods.
• Write questions on a turtle shell or other animal bone. Then poke the bone with a hot point. The different cracks that formed were interpreted to be the gods’ answer to the questions.
Dynastic Cycle
New Dynasty
•Brings peace
•Builds roads
•Land to peasants
•Protects people
•Too many taxes
•No protection
•Unfair treatment
•No building
Old Dynasty
• Floods
• Quakes
• Revolts
• Invaders
Problems
Huang He River Valley
• By 1000 BC Chinese had develop silk production
• Chinese also produced first books under the Zhou
• Also produced porcelain, writing, coined money and cast iron
Other Civilizations to Consider
• Indo-European Civilizations
– Aryans
– Hittites
Aryans
• Developed Caste System
– Lighter skin, higher caste
– Aryans blended cultures
– Brought in Hinduism
• Believed in reincarnation
• Karma & dharma
• Cows are sacred
Hittites
• Centered in Anatolia (modern Turkey, Asia Minor)
• Developed iron technology
• Developed the chariot which changed warfare dramatically
Other Civilizations to Consider
• Fertile Crescent
– Phoenicians
– Coast of eastern Mediterranean Sea
– Carriers of civilization
– Created alphabet
Hebrews
• Centered in the area of modern Israel/Palestine
• Hebrews are first monotheistic people
– Torah is holy book (same as Old Testament of Christian Bible)
– Abraham starts a religion
– Yahweh (god)
– Hebrews are God’s “chosen people”– Hebrews have a covenant with God
Hebrews
• Enslaved in Egypt
– Led out of Egypt by Moses
– Moses presents Hebrews with God’s rules known as 10 Commandments
– Settled in modern Israel
Hebrews
• Romans show up in Middle East
– Jews forced out between 75 & 135 AD
– Known as period of Diaspora (dispersal)
– Jews spread from Palestine to eastern Europe