LECTURE 2
ORİGİNS OF CITIES 3000 BCE TO 1000 BCE
PROF. DR. NACIYE DORATLI
ARCH 354CULTURE OF CITIES
TODAY’S MENU
Origins: 3000 BCE to 1000 BCESanctuary, Village, StrongholdThe Crystallization of the CityAncestral Forms and PatternsThe Nature of the Ancient City
TO REMEMBER
The Stone Age Paleolithic Age Mesolithic Age Neolithic Age
The Copper Age The Bronze AgeThe Iron Age
Sanctuary, Village, Stronghold
To be able to lay a new foundation for the urban life:- Understanding the historic nature of the city;- its original functions;- functions that emerged from these functions;- earlier structures.
Sanctuary, Village, Stronghold
Easiest way would be looking for the physical remains, which have been found by the archeologist.
If we look only for the bones, tools and weapons and ignore inventions like language and rituals, it would be not present the full picture.
Sanctuary, Village, Stronghold
Social life shared with many other animals for existence
The camp, the cache, the cave
Hamlet, shrine, village
city
Sanctuary, Village, Stronghold
MOVEMENT SETTLEMENT
HUMAN LIFE
The two modes can be traced back to the evolution of living things.
Animal Kingdom Vegetable Kingdom
Sanctuary, Village, Stronghold
Stability & Continuity comes forward from our animal past.
The way of living of many animals, like fishes, birds etc, can be considered as prototypes of the most primitive kind of human settlements:
- The hamlet- the Village.
SIMILARITIES WITH ANIMAL LIFE
The Social functions of the beehive (BEES) or the ant-hill shows many similarities to the social functions of the cities that we shall put forward later. For example:
Division of labor;The differentiation of casts (SOCIAL DIVISION);The practice of war;The institution of royalty;Domestication of other species;Employment of slaves etc.
THE MOST PRIMITIVE URBAN BEGINNINGS
In addition to the similarities to animal’s way of living, CEREMONIOUS CONCERN for the DEAD has been one of the most important features for the mankind.
Early man had shown respect for the dead.
Mid Paleolithic Period (when early man was wandering around forfood gathering and hunting)
The dead were the first to have a permanent dwelling: A CAVE, A COLLECTIVE BARROW. These places were landmarks to which the living man had returned at certain times.
In a sense it can be claimed that the city of the dead is the forerunner of every living city.
THE MOST PRIMITIVE URBAN BEGINNINGS
There is another part of the environment to which the Paleolithic man periodically came: the CAVE.
Caves (covered with paintings) have been special ritual centers, which were used for Ceremonial Purposes.
In these ancient Paleolithic sanctuaries, the first hints of civic life before the permanent villages can be detected. These were ceremonial centers.
In addition to the caves, there has also been great stones, sacred groves, monumental trees, holy wells etc., which had been visited by Paleolithic man occasionally.
These fixed landmarks and holy meeting places call together, periodically or permanently, those who shared the same magical practice or religious beliefs.
Mecca, Rome, Jerusalem etc. still recall and carry on these original
purposes.
Stonehenge in England
ORIGINS OF CITIES & PRACTICAL NEEDS
Camp Sites: THE PURE SPRING WITH ITS YEAR ROUND
SUPPLY OF WATER;SOLID HILL TOPS (accessible but protected)
As the city takes form, much more will be added to practical need.
When they were gathered in/around a specific place, IT IS A BEGINNING OF a succession of CIVIC INSTITUTION (TEMPLE, ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATORY, THEATRE TO UNIVERSITY.
ORIGINS OF CITIES
Even before a city is a permanent settlement of man, it begins as a meeting place to which people periodically came and gone.
MAGNETS before the CONTAINER.
The first germ of the city: the ceremonial meeting place (serving the pilgrims).
Attraction with its ‘spiritual’ or supernatural powers.
DOMESTICATION AND THE VILLAGE
When people were hunting and food gathering, they need a large area for small number of people (10 people / square mile).
Until man learned to smoke and salt his meat, he must live from day to day, keeping to SMALL & MOBILE GROUPS, not tied to a fixed habitation.
The first condition for an sufficient, reliable food supply arose in the MESOLITHIC PERIOD (15.000 YEARS AGO)
Mesolithic hamlets are the first examples of settlements with
agricultural production (they grow fruit-bearing trees) and domestic animals: pigs, ducks, goose, dogs etc.
DOMESTICATION AND THE VILLAGE
The Second Stage (the process of settlement, domestication): 10-12.000 years ago
Systematic gathering and planting of the seeds of certain
grasses. Taming of the other seed plants Utilization of herd animals: the ox, the sheep, the horse.
Increase
FOOD PULLING POWER AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION COLLECTIVE MOBILITY
CHANGING GENDER ROLES
Due to these changes the role of women has changed. In other words, the dominant role of hunting and fighting man has shifted to women (growing their children, domestic animals, taking care about the plants etc.)
With the great enlargement of the food supply as a result of cumulative domestication of plants and animals, woman’s central role in the new economy was established.
IMPORTANCE OF WOMAN’S PRESENCE
Functions belonging to women: Security, receptivity, enclosure, taking care and raising of children
(domestic animals)
It was felt in the physical structures. Structural expression in every part of the village
. house and oven . bins . cistern (water reservoir) . storage pit (hole/well)
A generalization: A house and a village (later the town) has/REFLECTS strong influence of woman.
In Egyptian hieroglyphics ‘house’ or ‘town’ stand as symbols for ‘mother’.
DOMESTICATION
DOMESTICATION TWO IMPORTANT CHANGES:
1. PERMANENCE & CONTINUITY IN RESIDENCE;2. CONTROL & FORESIGHT OF PROCESSES GENERATED BY NATURAL FACTORS
AND FORCES.
I WOULD ADD TO THIS: CHANGING ROLES / INCREASING OF THE IMPORTANCE OF WOMAN
During this phase: As it was possible to take more care about the young, number of
people living together increased. Long period of agricultural and domestic development
SURPLUS OF FOOD & MANPOWER
MORE COMPLEX SOCIAL CO-OPERATION
URBAN LIFE POSSIBLE
CONTRIBUTION OF THE VILLAGE
Mesopotamia and the Valley of the Nile (9000 – 4000 B.C.) Mud huts (mud- and –reed construction; cramped in size) Around the villages garden plots (rectangular in shape)
A village can be considered as the embryonic structure of the city in physical and social terms:
Physical: houses, shrine, cistern, public way, a meeting place etc.
Social: Council of Elders (performing like laws and governments of later periods)
CONTRIBUTION OF THE VILLAGE
“Neolithic farmers could of course, and certainly did, live together in permanent villages, though, owing to the extravagant rural economy generally practiced, unless the crops were watered by irrigation, the villages had to be shifted at least every twenty years.” (Gordon Childe,
1950)
16-30 houses, with a few hundred inhabitants.
CONTRIBUTION OF THE VILLAGE
CONTRIBUTION OF THE VILLAGE
Once the main Neolithic inventions and institutions established, village life might continue for thousands of years.
Last departure came with PLOW CULTURE & SUBSTITITION OF METAL TOOLS FOR STONE.
CONTRIBUTION OF THE VILLAGE
About 5,000 years ago the discovery of irrigation and cultivation combined with stock-breeding and fishing in the valleys of the Nile, the Tigris-Euphrates and the Indus had begun to yield a social surplus, large enough to support a number of resident specialists who were themselves released from food-production.
Water-transport, supplemented in Mesopotamia and the Indus valley by wheeled vehicles and even in Egypt by pack animals, made it easy to gather food stuffs at a few centers.
CONTRIBUTION OF THE VILLAGE
The actual emergence of the city came as a result of accumulations of previous Paleolithic and Neolithic periods.
In the new proto-urban milieu (setting, environment), the male became again a leading figure; woman took the second place.
The tools that have been produced by woman had been replaced by more efficient plow.
It was possible to transform the whole landscape (opening of canals and irritation works).
This change has also influenced the human relations within the community.
In the city, new ways took the place of ancient customs. Struggle, domination, mastery and conquest were the new themes.
THE CRYSTALLIZATION OF THE CITY
The city came as a definite emergent in the paleo-neolithic community.
The old components of the village were carried along and incorporated into the new urban unit.
The human composition of the new unit became more complex. In addition to hunters, peasants and shepherds, other primitive types entered
into the scene: The miner, the woodman, the fisherman (each brought their tools, habits etc.)
(Invention of metal, bronze later iron) Later, the engineers, boatman and the sailor have arisen from these more
generalized primitive backgrounds. Other occupations developed: the soldiers, bankers, merchants and the priest.
Consequently: Mobilization of manpower; Command over long distance transportation Intensification of communication over long distances (in space & time).
THE CRYSTALLIZATION OF THE CITY
Invention of the written records, the library, the archive, the school and the university (during later periods) is the one of the earliest and most characteristic achievement of the city.
A city: techniques, politics and religion (among which religion played a very important role)
For protection the earliest cities were fortified and it was ruled by a king (having control over everything)
The king was a sort of mediator between heaven and earth (supernatural forces and factors were important). Most of the time the king was appointed by priesthood.
There was a fusion between secular and sacred power.
THE CRYSTALLIZATION OF THE CITY
The erection of a great temple, architecturally and symbolically reflected the union between secular and sacred powers.
Magnitude of the temple can be considered as a reflection of the power of both the god and the king. (religious and political power)
With the king’s command, the city would become a mobilized army (held in reserve). This made the city superior to the thinly populated villages scattered around.
As wars became important, weapon bearing minority took over the social leadership and political power.
ANCESTRAL FORMS AND PATTERNS
EgyptMesopotamiaPalestineIranIndus Valley Sharp contrasts can be seen. The cities came out in a few great river valleys:The NileThe Tigris-EuphratesIndusHwang Ho
ANCESTRAL FORMS AND PATTERNS
Villages possibility of farming and cattle-raising (irrigation);
transportation;In the regions like Negev in
Palestine, sufficient man power for building cistern and reservoirs: (possibility for settlements)
Villages could be easily swept away.
The city: could mobilize man power and exercise centralized control.
ANCESTRAL FORMS AND PATTERNS
From village to city:Not only a matter of change in size and scale; but A NEW TYPE OF ORGANIZATION
It is not only the number of people in a limited area
It is the number of people that can be brought under UNIFIED CONTROL to form a highly DIFFERENTIATED COMMUNITY.
5000 PEOPLE (as big as a neighborhood today)
ANCESTRAL FORMS AND PATTERNS
The walled citadel: Wall has been one of the essential
definitions of the city (until 18th century).
Natural barrier (England, Egypt, Japan)
Walking Distance
Early cities did not grow beyond walking distance or hearing distance.
URBANISM AND MONUMENTALITY
The palace and the great temple stand close within the citadel: part of the dual system of government.
The wall served as both military device and an agent of effective command over the urban population.
Aesthetically it made a clean break between the city and the country side.
Socially emphasized the difference between insider and outsider.
Safety & security.
URBANISM AND MONUMENTALITY
Market: economic life of the city (2000 B.C.)
At the beginning it was an open space as part of the temple precinct.
It was a monopoly of the god and the priests, but not a money making corporation.
Exchange was not like today at the beginning. Before the money was founded, there was BARTER SYSTEM.
TECHNICAL INNOVATIONS AND DEFICIENCES
Against the modest size of the city, the scale of the citadel and its chief buildings might be very big in size, reflecting the prestige and power/ to ensure its permanence.
The regular street system, row houses, the pottery
pipes, the brick lined drainage channels in the streets have been found in the ruins in early cities (Ur).
There was a broad street long before the invention of wheeled vehicles (for sacred procession or for marching soldiers).
In the earliest cities (Ur), the narrow street was well-shaded for protection from hot sun.
The general appearance of the Mesopotamian cities looked very much like the walled North African City today:
Narrow streets/ alleysOne\ two or three storey housesUsable roof topsInner courtyardsDominant temple (Ziggurat), similar to
the dominating Mosque in African city
Contemporary Glimpses of the city
Nippur near Babylon (1500 B.C.)
Citadel cannot be seen. Central park may be the
place of the palace. The canal divides the city
into two: South east the principal temple.
The map does not only show the main elements of the city, but also indicates the presence of the kind of learning and ability in terms of thinking in abstraction.
Contemporary Glimpses of the city
Contemporary Glimpses of the city
BABYLONStand on a broad plain
(an exact square: 24x24 km)
Surrounded by walls and a moat with full of water.
Many gatesCity divided into two by
Euphrates Houses three-four storeyStreets running in
straight lines (grid iron)
EGYPT AND THE OPEN CITY
Different than the earliest cities in Mesopotamia.
Centralized absolutismVery strong influence of religious cultPharaoh: sharing the gift of immortality with the godsStronger concentration of power than in Mesopotamia.Second life – the most valuable
The pyramids, great temples at Luxor and Karnak shows (reflect) all these features but not the traces of cities. During later periods some traces have been detected.
ARCHETYPES OR GENES?
By 2500 B.C all the essential features of the city had taken form and had found a place for themselves in the citadel.
The walled enclosure The street The house – block The market The temple precinct with its inner courts The administrative precinct The workshop precinct
Exist in its simplest form.
ARCHETYPES OR GENES?
The city itself was a complex and powerful aesthetic symbol.
In different parts of the world, better to say in different geographies they showed considerable differences.
Although natural factors are important, different cultures have been far more influential on the formation of cities.
THE NATURE OF THE ANCIENT CITY
The city was a control center
Religion: Role of ruling and guiding. The form of the city has reflected this strong influence.
King/ruling eliteThe citadel was the place of the rulers, who had the
monopoly of knowledge and power.This monopoly covers many functions. (Most of
these functions were later taken over and collectively distributed by the municipality only after many thousands of years.
The royal monopoly held for many technological innovations, which later has been spread to the rest of the city.
THE NATURE OF THE ANCIENT CITY
Division of Labor
In the city there were casts, classes, professions, trades, crafts. Priests, soldiers, physicians etc. Occupational and caste stratification produced an URBAN
PYRAMID:
At the peak: THE KING Merchants, craftsmen, peasants, sailors, house servants, freed
men, slaves.
These divisions were distinguished and sharpened by ownership or lack of property.
Segregated economic functions and segregated social roles created equivalent precincts within the city.
Characteristic activities of the ancient city have a special quality.
For example: Art and DramaThey take the roots from ancient
seasonal rituals of the village.Battle of witsCompetitive exhibition of body & skills These competitions have been
accompanied by religious ceremonies.
COMMON FEATURES OF EARLIEST CITIES
Childe’s 10 criteria to distinguish earliest cities from any older or contemporary village;
1. Permanent Settlement in dense aggregations
2. Nonagricultural Specialists (craftspeople, merchants, priests and state functionaries)
COMMON FEATURES OF EARLIEST CITIES
3. Taxation and Wealth Accumulation (control of food production in the hinterland and the storage of the surplus)
4. Monumental Public Buildings (symbolized the concentration of the social surplus)
COMMON FEATURES OF EARLIEST CITIES
5. Ruling Class, that possessed absolute control over the society
6. Writing Techniques (numerical and alphabetical notational systems for information processing)
COMMON FEATURES OF EARLIEST CITIES
7. Predictive Science8. Artistic Expression (cultural forms of
expression that were progressively refined, such as art and music)
9. Trade for Vital materials10. Decline in importance of Kinship- family
relations
“In short, the large ancient city was the cradle of civilization” (Gottdiener & Hutchison, 2000)
Earliest Cities
The great urban landmarks :CatalhoyukUrNippurUrukThebesHeliopolisAssurNinevehBabylonNegev
CATALHOYUK
In this Neolithic village of about 7500 BC, we find individual houses, mainly rectangular in shape, abutting each other to form what is close to a rectilinear pattern.
No streets here, just houses next to each other.
CATALHOYUK
Ur
Inhabited from about 5500 BCE
Ur was a politically and economically powerful center on the Euphrates, with easy access to the Persian Gulf and long distance see trade.
UR
BabylonBABYLON
Location of this city:
Nowadays, its ruins covers about 302 km lying on the east bank of Euphrates 90 km south of Baghdad and about 10 km north of Hilla.
Babylon, the legendary city, is indeed, the most famous ancient city in the whole World. It was the capital of ten Mesopotamian.
Babylon was renowned for its high, well-fortified walls and for the magnificence of its temples and palaces, and Its famous Hanging Gardens.
Hanging gardens
High and thick walls
THE AMPHITHEATER
The temple of Babylon:What we know about the Tower of Babylon today comes only from the little archaeological evidence found and a few ancient writings. The most important was the Street of m, which passed through Ishtar's Gate and ended in the Stepped Tower.
THEBES
THEBES
Inhabited from around 3200 BC.
Pyramids
Luxor_ temple
Hatshepsut's_ temple
Entrance to the Thebes
NEGEV
Location of this city:Ruins of Avadat, in the Negev desert of
southern Israel.
NEGEV
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