0001 Ancient Civilizations (SMR 1.1) Flashcards
What methods of inquiry help us know about pre-history? (3)
- Archaeological excavations, as well as paleontological research
- Burial habits, stone tools, pottery and clothes
- Human tools & artifacts
What do archaeological excavations and paleontological research provide us with?
information on human life and environment in the Mesolithic period
What is among the most important evidence used by archaeologists for both recognizing the extent and spread of settlements and their level?
Stone tools and pottery
____ and _____ give us clues to how a culture has evolved
Human culture and religion
What do the Dolman Burial sites in Israel teach us?
that the Dolman did not just dump dead on side of road but their culture had a reverence for the dead and afterlife
What do the Altamira, Spain cave paintings depict?
things like bison that gives idea of how much artists revered that life force
Why is ecology important when it comes to studying early human life?
Much of the history of man has been a quest for finding and establishing secure sources of food and nourishment. The relationship between nature and man is thus most important to understanding the progress of history
What time period is considered “The Stone Age”?
2.5 mil to 3500 BCE
What are the three periods of the Stone Age?
- Paleolithic (Old Stone Age): 2.5 mill to 200,000 BCE
- Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age): 200,000 to 10,000 BCE
- Neolithic: 10,000 - 3500 BCE
What type of ecology exists in the Paleolithic era?
None, because there are not humans in this time period, only homo-sapiens
What type of ecology is present in the Mesolithic time period?
Humans appear and nature and man are co-existing but nature has upper hand, man is struggling
What type of ecology is present in the Neolithic time period?
Introduction of agriculture, man has figured out ways to manipulate nature, introduction of animal husbandry
What period comes after the Stone Age?
The Bronze Age (3500-1500 BCE)
What occurred in the Bronze Age?
men find ways to manipulate metals, particularly bronze, to create tools, first civilizations emerge as humans become more technologically advanced
What was the earliest style of society to exist in pre-history?
Pre-historic hunter gatherer society
Who were pre-historic hunter gatherers?
Bands of scavenging humans who hunted medium sized animals, collected roots and wild fruits, and used dead carcasses for survival
Pre-historic hunter gatherers are most associated with what time period?
Mesolithic, where nature had control over man
What were some of the characteristics of the pre-historic hunter-gatherer society? (4)
- Lived in forests for easy access to food & shelter
- Periodically moved to other places after exhausting the available food resources, nomadic society that moved with season and animals
- Did not build houses and lived in the open air or in caves (Hence the “Cave Man”)
- Developed stone tools
Most groups in pre-historic society where made up of what?
Family & Tribe, Various male or female dominated tribes and families existed in different regions. No exact pattern until the Neolithic Revolution
What is considered a family in pre-historic society?
closely related members of a nuclear and extended family who shared basic tasks and duties
What is considered tribe in pre-historic society?
close kin-group, consisting of several families, often sharing an ultimate ancestor, who lived, moved and worked together
What was potentially the earliest forms of religion and why do we believe this?
- Belief in protective spirits
- Ancestor worship
Evidence for this is in Burials and artifacts
(i.e. grave goods, burial positions, location and arrangement of graveyard)
What did burial positions show?
Burial positions (fetus position, side position, etc.), showed that people had some sense of anatomy for how they entered and exited the world
What was the earliest indication of a sanctuary / temple?
Location and arrangement of the grave yard
What were the two primary examples of prehistoric art?
- Painting (mostly cave paintings in Europe due to terrain)
- Sculpture (widespread throughout East Asia to Africa and Americas)
What did early cave paintings show?
Early cave paintings, mostly found in Europe, showed natural subjects like animals, hunt scenes and humans
What do cave paintings show us about art, society, social class and religion in early pre-historic times?
Art: understanding of beauty and creativity
Society: family and groups participating in hunts
Social class: artists were probably a separate and/or religious class who had time to paint
Religion: evidence of animal worship
What did early pre-historic sculptures feature?
Clay based, sometimes painted, with mostly zoomorphic or anthropomorphic subjects (taking animal parts and morphing with human parts, shows reverence of animals in early religion)
What might early sculptures communicate to us?
The sculptures with zoomorphic or anthropomorphic subjects show reverence of animals in early religion, some figurines might have been interpreted as gods / goddesses
What occurred in the Neolithic Revolution (Agricultural Revolution) ca. 10,000 BCE?
Humans begin to understand the growing seasons and water sources.
Development of animal domestication, cultivation, and specialization in food production and basic division of labor
(cultivation: women; animal husbandry: men)
What might have indicated the presence of a manner of religion in the Neolithic age?
Sophisticated stone tools, appearance of pottery and clay figurines
Where did the Neolithic Revolution take place?
Human settlement in the Near East, spreading to Europe. Different Chinese and Meso-American Neolithic ages
What agricultural technology takes place in early civilization? (4)
- Seed adoption
- Irrigation
- Animal domestication
- Animal husbandry
What is seed adoption and what is an example?
humans understood the difference between high yield and low yield seeds: deliberate selection of seeds used to cultivate: einkorn wheat is the first example
What role did irrigation play in early civilization?
various forms of irrigation (canals, aqueducts, weirs, dams) were slowly developed to allow farmers to use natural water sources such as rivers and rain water (most early human settlements were built by water sources)
What role did animal domestication play in early civilization?
Animals were domesticated both for their products (meat, wool, dairy) and for their value as pack animals (donkeys and horses mostly)
What role did animal husbandry play in early civilizations?
Settled societies participated in transhumance (season movement of animals)
I.e. the best mate producing cows would mate with the strongest bulls to improve dairy production
Nomadic societies followed their animals, mostly cattle, to where there was ample grazing grounds (goats, sheep)
What led to the first formal concept of trade?
Nomadic societies were much more likely to produce animal products so when they wanted or need agricultural products, they would then trade with settled societies who would want meat, dairy or fur,
What two farming methods were used in early civilizations?
Hand plowing and irrigation
Where was hand plowing the most common and why?
Hand plowing was the most common in the Near East: soft soil, limited animal labor
What was the most important matter in the maintenance of agricultural society?
Irrigation
How did early farming techniques impact Egypt?
“Gift of the Nile” - regular, pre-cultivation season flowing of the river resulted in well irrigated land, fertile top soil led to political stability and social stability for thousands of years, allowing them to last unbroken to frequent invasions
How did early farming techniques impact Mesopotamia (Iran & Iraq)?
irregular, destructive flows; more sophisticated dam system needed to be developed, destruction could be attributed to bad leadership in years of invasion, leads to overturning of political control and social instability as politics is reconstructed
How did early farming techniques impact Indus Valley (India & Pakistan)?
irregular flow also required a complicated canal and weir system
How did early farming techniques impact China?
Yellow River (Huang He) carried extremely fertile soil (loess) but flooded periodically, requiring system of dams and dike to hold back the flooding
The Fertile Crescent has the ______ sea on one side, the ______ desert on the other and the ______ mountains on the other side.
Mediterranean, Arabian, Taurus & Zagros
In initial settlement’s people lived in _______. What were the characteristics of these?
Villages, Villages were made up of units of farmers who often had a semi nomadic existence and took part in farming and animal husbandry
Were early societies settled or nomadic?
Early societies not necessarily fully settled: season nomadism (transhumance – grazing of animals)
How did societies change once they learned how to produce agriculture?
Once societies learned how to produce agriculture and do farm work for steady food supply, less hands were needed and the division of labor and introduction of social classes start to form with things like artisans/ craftsman to create vessels for surplus food and priestly class for religious matters, and military class for protection
What is an example of a village society that later turned to a city?
An example of a village society that later turned to a city is the city of Ur: as agriculture improved, the artisan / craftsman became their own class, priestly class gets involved in redistributing food to those not involved in agriculture, military class becomes more centered on protecting groups of people, as influence grows, a temple is built making the priestly class more central to society and more protection is necessary so a wall is built
What characteristics did early cities and city states have?
- “Glorified villages” farming units
- A temple
-Walled encolsures for security
-Priests as authorities in distribution of agricultural goods - Overpopulations
- Religious military elite
- Built along rivers
What was the purpose of a temple in early city-states?
center for distribution of agricultural products: contribution and sacrifice to the cultic god is then redistributed to the agriculturally non-productive segments
What was the purpose of walled enclosures in early city-states?
Walled enclosure provided security for the rural population: cities function as fortresses
What was the role of priests in early city states?
Priests become authorities in distribution of agricultural goods, as well as assigning people to perform tasks
Why did early city-states experience overpopulation?
Due to successful agriculture, creates limited resources
Competition over resources → violence, military conflict
Thus: increasing importance of cities as defensive structures
Who were considered the elite in early city states?
Religious-military elite
What was the most important factor to the continuation of city states?
Irrigation from river systems
What early city state were seafarers who navigated the mediterranean at night by following the stars?
Phoenicians
What group was the first to create canals, irrigations and dikes?
The Sumerians were the first to create canals, irrigation and dikes. Sumer is located in the middle of the Tigris and Euphrates therefore it needed to build these for survival.
What group was known for developing the decimal system, solar calendar, and contributing to geometry and astronomy?
The Egyptians
Pre-history is called pre-history because it is the period of human history before _____ was developed.
writing
Lower paleolithic societies used _______ tools.
crude
What is known of upper paleolithic pre-history?
Humans began to develop wider variety of tools, wear clothes, organize in groups with social structures, practiced art and lived in caves
What is known of the neolithic period of pre-history?
More complex social structures, family and ideas of religion and govt are present, humans domesticate animals and produce crops, build houses, start fire with friction tools and knit, spin and weave
What are the two methods of anthropology?
Cross cultural research and comparative research
What are the four major division of anthropology?
Biological
Cultural
Linguistic
Archaeology
Because of archaeological findings, it is believed that humans or near humans have existed for how long?
600,000 years
These humans eventually developed into co-magnon man to homosapiens or modern man
When and what is the iron age?
Beginning in 1,200 to 1,000 BCE, metal tools replace stone tools as humans develop knowledge of smelting
Civilizations are defined as having what four characteristics?
- Use of metal to make weapons and tools
- Written language
- Defined territorial state
- Calendar
What were the four earliest civilizations?
- Nile River Valley in Egypt
- Mesopotamia
- The Indus Valley
- Hwang Ho in China
The earliest civilizations developed in the _______ valley in ________, now part of ____, and in Egypt’s __________.
Tigris-Euphrates
Mesopotamia
Iraq
Nile Valley
These civilizations arose between 5,000 and 3,000 BCE and are known as the fertile crescent
Why are early civilizations sometimes called Fluvial Civilizations?
Because they were founded near rivers
What did rivers and waters offer early groupings? (3)
- Water for drinking, cultivating crops, and caring for domesticated animals
- A gathering place for wild animals to be hunted
- Rich soil deposits as a result of regular flooding
Who popularized the term “Fertile Crescent”?
James Breasted, an archaeologist from University of Chicago
How does the location of settlements influence politics? (2)
- the fact that societies settle down and become agriculturally based means there needs to be a ruling class to distribute and lead
- the geography of each society plays a role in how stable the political system is in each society
What was the essential role of early cities?
The essential role of the city was to serve as a distribution center for the surplus products of the countryside (marketplace)
What are hinterlands?
agricultural fields right outside of the city
These were also ruled by the priest-kings of the city
What were the earliest occurrences of city states?
in Sumer and Elam and probably Harappa in the Indus Valley. It could have also existed early in Egypt but it wasn’t documented
What did temples in early city states function as?
Temples functioned as both the religious and the administrative center
Priests displayed a marriage between _________ and _____.
Religion and law
What did religion look like in early city states?
Each city had an individual god, while recognizing gods of other cities (henotheism)
Following a city god was like following the laws of a country, while recognizing the laws of other countries
What was the difference between early priest kings and later priest kings in city states?
Early priest-kings were not hereditary but elected, over time it would become a hereditary role
How were the priests viewed in early city states?
Priests were representatives of the god, thus representatives of “the law”
Priests interpreted and administered the laws of the city based on the wishes of the god
They would work closely with military
What can be inferred based on the Great Ziggurat of Ur?
function of place of worship and defense mechanism, also a storage place for goods that were redistributed by priests. Took a lot of man power and man hours that shows great success of city state
What is the oldest civilization?
Mesopotamia
Where was Mesopotamia located?
Part of Fertile Crescent, located between Tigris and Euphrates River
What people groups were part of Mesopotamia?
Sumerians in the South (3000)
Babylonians in the North
Assyrians in the North (1160)
What were the social classes in Mesopotamia?
City-states ruled by powerful kings who shared power with temple priests
Other social classes included warriors and judges, free/independent commoners, dependent commoners (no property) and slaves
What was agriculture like in Mesopotamia?
Settled agriculture and constant, stable food supply
Parts of population freed to pursue governing, writing, reading, building, buying, and selling
What are Ziggurats?
Ziggurats: large, sloping step-pyramid temples, found in Mesopotamia
Who invented Cuneiform and what was it?
Sumerians in Mesopotamia
first written language, spread across Middle East, most extensive writing system in Mesopotamia
What is Babylon known for?
1792 - 1750 BCE: Babylonian emperor Hammurabi created Hammurabi’s Code
What is Hammurabi’s Code?
a code of laws based on retribution, social standing, government’s responsibility to its citizens
Babylon had a centralized government with a bureaucracy that consolidated the “divinely chosen” king’s power
What group had access to iron and iron ore and were considered the first “empire”?
1160-629 BCE: Assyrians
What were characteristics of the Assyrian people?
- Terrorized and intimidated conquered nations; used exile to dissipate revolt attempts (i.e. Hebrews)
- Iron smelters in the bronze age
- Assyrians would eventually take over Babylon
What civilization was around for nearly 3,000 years?
Egypt
What is Egyptian Civilization known for?
Hieroglyphic writing
Pyramids of Giza
Pharoahs
Nile River
What were the Pyramids of Giza and why were they constructed?
2500 BCE: Pyramids of Giza constructed over the course of decades, built monuments to honor kings and shows they have enough resources to take population away from food production to build
Enduring architectural works and tombs for pharoahs in the afterlife to glorify their kings
What kept the Egyptian Civilization around for so long?
Nile River is the lifeblood of Egyptian civilizations
Flooded regularly, providing regular irrigation
Natural geographic barriers that protected it from invaders: Sahara desert, cataracts (mountains, rivers and rapid), Mediterranean Sea and red sea
What was the social structure of the Egyptian Civilization?
Pharaoh at top (treated like God), followed by priests, commoners and slaves
Women generally did not assume higher political positions
In Egypt, women generally didn’t assume higher political positions. Who is an exception of this?
Queen Hatshepset: few exceptions of women taking rule, a very good ruler, when she died, her son made it a point to exacerbate her name from temples and defaced her statues
