6 - State Civilizations Flashcards
State Society
often stratified in social levels, usually by force/coercion; rules have power to levy and collect taxes, establish laws, etc
Chide + state society
urban revolution, first to make list of defining characteristics of society (?)
Characteritistics of Civilization
- Food surplus (helps fuel trade, religion, art, etc; at least one group of people are charged with food production, then others can be specialists in other fields)
- Large, dense populations (urban centres)
- Social stratification (most obvious signs in burials and monumental architecture)
- Formal government (monopoly on force, organizes labour force, oversees production)
- Labour specialization (exist in societies who have excess food production, people are freed from food production responsibilities)
- Record keeping
- Monumental works
Why did civilization emerge?
a) irrigation (lots of organization required to upkeep irrigation system)
b) Population growth and war (limited resources leads to conflict)
c) local and long-distance trade (organizational requirements for trade may have developed into state level civilization)
Mesopotamia
Between Tigris and Euphrates in current day Iraq and Turkey, Iran, used arches/domes, laws were established, counting system base 60
Sumer
earliest civilization (called Sumerian civiliation) clear evidence of agriculture, domestication, small villages had already been established by 10 000 ya, in Southern Mesopotamia which is harder to farm on
Ubaid period
5000-4000 BC
earliest well represented
appears pretty suddenly
When mesopotamian farmers moved south
Incresed social complexity
Irrigation canals led for more concentrated food production
Maisels –> need to concentrate people by, need to develop complex social structure for building of irrigation, need for irrifation to produce food surplus
Uruk period
4000 - 3200 BC, Uruk is the oldest known city/urban centre established, largest site in landscape densely settled with smaller towns/villages, grew around central temple precinct, fortified walls, signs of war/conflict, first writing developed, all tablets were found in association with Temple, shows that temple had siginificant role in organization
Early Dynastic period
3200-2350 BC, city states developed (large urgan population _ surrounding “rural” population, lots of conflict
Ziggurat
summerian mud brick temples, built on top of large stepped platforms, dedicated to city’s most important god, more clay tablets (meaning food production/distribution was controlled in ziggurat), excavations show that they started on small temples that were built on top of one another
Ur
Iraq, one of the most important sumerian cities, port city for Persion (?) gulf, wooley found burial ground
Wooley’s discovery
burial ground, most were very simple burials, but some were very elaborate, ramps leading down to stone tombs, one of the tombs was a queen named Pu’abi (id’d by cylinder seal), sacrificial burials with the queen (charioteers, oxen, soldiers, etc, may have been preserved to be burried with queen, high quantities of mercury in sacrificial bodies)
Writing
originated from counting, using tokens 16 000 years ago, 16 different shapes that represented different goods, found in temples, became more elaborate, up to 3000 different kinds, 5500 yrs ago kept in clay canisters called envelopes, quickly transitioned to just impressions of tokens in clay, then tokens weren’t used and impressions were made on tablet called cuneiform
cylinder seals
showed mark of ownership, used to sign documents as well
tells
mounds of accumulated rubble representign the site of an ancient city, a tell differs in both scale and content from middens
nile river
population concentrated in nile valley because it was way more lush than surrounding areas, not as much dependence on irrigation because nile river flooded reliably, important trade and communication route
Egypt was (< or >) rural than mesopotamia
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ancient egypt is divided into several broad periods in two different stages:
periods of integgration, egypt was unified under one ruler
periods of collapse, egypt saw competing powers emerge, lots of political instability and tomb raiding
Predynastic period
4500-3000 BC, people began living in bigger, less nomadic settlements, upper and lower egypt ruled by many rulers, most burials weren’t elaborate (bodies dried naturally, some grave goods, single burials)
Dynastic period
3000, unification of upper and lower egupt under narmer
Narmer palette
depicts the unification of upper and lwoer egypt under narmer, the first pharoah
heioglyphics
picture writing associated with ancient egypt
rosetta stone
heiroglyphics (priests) + demotic (daily use) + Greek (admin), 196 BC, found in 1798 by French soldier rebuilding fort in egypt
Pharaoh
title of king/ruler of ancient egypt, supreme power, considered a god (reincarnation of Horus, god of the sky decendent f Re the sun god), tax collection, irrigation projects, when pharaoh died, would be reincarnated as Osiris
Old Kingdom Period
2575 - 2134 BC, most pyramids built during this time
Djoser’s pyramid
Saqquer in 2650 BC, first pyramid, evloved from brick-lined graves with mastabas on top, had adjoiining chambers with grave goods, 60 m high, made of clay and stone, 5.6 km of galleries, shafts, etc underground, underground palace to be used by pharaoh in afterlife, burial sealed with 2.5 tonne granite rock, significant because it’s steeped
Pyramids of Sneferu
Dashur, 2600 BC, sneferu’s body hasn’t been found (maybe he wasn’t satisfied with pyramids or it was removed to protect it from tomb raiders), bent pyramid and red pyramid
Bent pyramid
Pyramid of Sneferu, covered in polished white limestone, most has been removed fro other construction projects, chambers in pyramid itself
Red Pyramid
also had internal passages in pyramid itself
Great Pyramid
2560 BC, 23 years of construction for Khufu (Sneferu’s son) who came to power 2551 BC, tallest building until eifel tower 1880 (except some church steeples were taller and built before), 132 m @ base, 449 ft tall today, granite from Aswan, travelled ~900 km, people who built the pyramid appear to be well looked after not a slave force, no artifacts have been found
Ivory statuette of Khufu
only confirmed statue of Khufu (had inscription), 7.5 cm tall, Petrie found in 1900s, found in another sacred city
Khafre’s Pyramid and sphinx
Steeper but smaller than great pyramid, may have been responsible for the great sphinx, 2532 BC, 72 m, 20 m sphinx, covered in limestone as well, sphinx is the largest and oldest
state of khafre
very large
valley of the kings
3500-3000 ya
cemetary of new kingdom pharaohs and elites
near (thieves?), well established world power, grave goods have been stole since, only tomb that wasn’t raided is KVG2
new kingdom
1532-1070 BC
KVG2
king tutankhamun, howard carter sponsered by lord carnoarvon, one of the most well known pharoahs, mostly because of his grave and not his power. entrance of tombg was covered maybe by flooding or to prevent tomb raidersl king tut was p uncool at his time which may explain why his tomb was so easily forgotton, was burried in smaller chamber and his grave goods were shoved in haphazardly, maybe he died quickly/unexpectedly
king tut’s mummy
mummification takes 70 days, tripled layered coffin (outside was wooden with gold leaf aka gilded), inside was pure gold, 2500 pounds of gold in tomb, 57 mill worth minus cultural value, funerary mask was 20lbs, grave goods included wooden throne (gilded inlay with stones/ivory), mummies of children (tut + ankhesenamun) probably stillborn poorly preserved might be result of inbreeding b/c tut and wife were half siblings, father also married sister; gilded wood bed with woven string base, games (senet), ushabti figures that represent the king, canopic jars with emalmbed organs
mummification
best literary account comes from Herodotus, travelled to Egypt 500 BC, body cut down left side and organs except heart would be removed, bags of natural salt called natron would be placed around bdoy for 40 days to dry out, body cleaned with aromatic oils, wrapped in bandages
Ramses II
built the most temples, military movements, body removed from Balley of Kings and moved, lived to about 90 years, ruled for ~(67 or 70) years, had about 100 kids, had infection in jaw
animal mummies
Were gods, each diety had a n animal associated with them, produced mummies of animals as offerings in temples, date to when romans were in the area, scans have revealed that some of these mummies were scams
Shang civilization
5500 ya settlements with large defensive walls, lots of people involved in labour force»_space; shang = 1st true civil in china, emerged 3600 ya flourished for about 600 yrs
bronzework
shang dynasty, scale/complexity of tech increased, not a lot fo everyday objects, suggests it was for elite
shang oracle bones
1st extensive written records in china, scapulemancy, process of divising the futre in which scapulas of animals were burned, the patterns of the cracks were interpretted. records written on bronze, probably on sil kstrips and bamboo as well.
terracotta army
221 bc ying zheng (Quin shihyang) unified china, 1st emperor, found in 1984 by farmers, thousands of life sized terracotta (baked clay) soldiers, other pits included musicians, acrobats, etc. at the time of their burial, were painted but once exposed to air, paint begins to flake off immediately. 259-210 BC, came to power when he was 12 years old. standardized wheights, measures, written language, laws, made roads, great wall (not The wall but early version), obsessed with immortality, took 36 yrs to make. written records by Jima Qian, first historian
indus valley
aka harapan civiization, pesent day pakistan, india floodplain, mudbricks have domesitcated seeds in them, mature harappan 4500 ya to 4000 ya, upper area of city = citadel, housed public buildings
mohenjo daro
early indus valley city in south-central pakistan, builders of railway used rubble from harappa, destroyed lots of architecture etc, this is best preserved harappan architecture
great bath
40x30x8 ft, water right seal with bricks and tar, drain in corner, may be used for washing before worship, bathing platforms in homes, 700(?) wells, complex and well planned sewer system… suggest admin but leaders cannot be identified, no signs of force/violent conflict
indus stamp seals
no way to translate indus river valley writing, no long texts found
cubical weights
standardized weighing system, carnellian stone beads, bronze beads, tiny beads less than 0.1 cm, among those in Er burial
the priest king
statue, man with highly decorated robe, armband, headdress, one of very few signs of elite, found in mohenjo daro
mesoamerica civilization
limited use of the wheel, few argricultural domesticates, not as much significance on metal-making tehc, 5000 yrs ago, villages established
olmec
1sst signs of social complexity, 3000-4000 yrs ago, san lorenzo la verta; monumental olmex head aka colossal head, olmec sculptures/altar, signs f skull alteration
maya
guatemala, belize, houndaras, eastern mexico, esp yucatan penisula, 2650 ya lcear signs of social complexity, reflected in monumental architecture; dominated region for 1500 yrs. 250 AD is when it really flourished. movement of people from rural areas to large urban centres/city states (~50 city states in mesoamerica and unlike other places they weren’t unfied), ~90% pop involved with agriculture (intensive tech, build up land, terrace hills, canals)
Tikal
important maya city, flourished in 200-900 AD; temple I = the temple of the great jaguar, burial place of Jasaw chan kawii, temple at the top, at the time, paster covered the rock was painted vibrantly
palenque
maya capital 431-800 AD, Pakal ruled for 68 yrs, came to power young, burried in the temple of inscriptions, took 4 trs to removed stone from hidden stairway, burried with jade bural mask, some debate regarding whether is body or not (teeth aren’t worn, etc)
temple of the feathered serpent
365 steps, on summer solctice sun hits in way that serprent can be seen slithering down side, twoards end of mayan age
temple of 1000 warriors
influenced by toltec
the observatory
very accurate astronomy
temple of magician
said to be built in 1 day by magician
ritual ball game
ball court in centre of city, spread across mesoptomia, depicted in art, teamms would try to get ball through hoop without touching the ball, rather explicit depictions of losers being sacrificed
mayan heiroglyphics
maya codicies = illustrated books, recorded religion, screen folded, made from plaster covered pounded tree bark, most were destroyed when Spainiards arrived, Deigo Landa did record some of the alphabet
writing was mostly used to record the events in lives of rulers (births, deaths, battles, etc)
maya calendar had 20 named days in 18 “months” + “short month” of 5 days = 365 day cycle
had nymber 0 by 350 BC
first glyphs interpreted were the numbers
teotihuacan
2200-1500 ya, earliest city state to dominate valley of mexico, one of largest (20km2), well planned (grid system, rivers rerouted to conform), 2000 apartment complexes, patrilocality, class/economic differences but no signs of poverty, pyramid of the sun built 2000 ya, temple at top has since been destroyed, cave under pyramid play role in mythology, pre-aztec, 600 AD society abruptly collapses for unknown reasons (dates coincide with drought, nutritional distress, infant mortality)
toltec
tula, pre-Aztec, evidence of long distance trade, turquoise
Aztec
tenochtitlan = capital city in valley of mexico, 675-480 ya, 10 mill people in empire, invested in wealth, lots of remains have been destroyed b/c it’s Mexico city now, island in lake connected by causeways, transportation was on foot by canoe, no beasts of burden
chinampas
raised agricultural beds built in lakes/swamps, basically artifically created islands, needed lots of care, often planted willows next to chinampas to stablize, posts driven into ground, woven sides to make enclosure, filled with mud/soil
templo mayor
largest, most important building, spiritual importanceexpanded ~11 times before it was abandoned, two temples on top for God of War and of Rain, pyramid was solide except for ~100 ceremonial caches buried within, place for human sacrifice, destroyed in 1521 by Spanish
Hernando Cortes
spanish conquistador, overpowered aztec, brought disease to New world (smallpox killed ~85% of Aztec, virigin soil epidemic), had new technologies likes cannons and horses, when they arrived aztec empire had been in turmoil anyway
Mentezuma II
very powerful, tyrannical, executed a lot of people so some people under his rule were supporters of the Spanish, 1520 died after being captured by Spanish, unknown cause of death
Chavin
Pre-Inca, set the staege for later development of South American civil, 3000 ya in Andian highlands, broad spectrum hunter/gatherers, costal agricultural development first with fishing etc, inland agriculture developed with irrigation
3000 ya distinctive art style developed in western South America, religious/artistic style united wide variety of eople brought people together
Chauvin de Huantar
civic ceremonial centre, flourished 2900-2500 ya, small permanent population, developed into first urban centre in South America, Old temple, stone etc covered with limestone
Nazca
1600 ya, Nazca lines (troughs 15-3 cm deep, probably pathways followed in ritual prossessions, offerings have been found), costal regions of south central peru, known for colourful pottery, Cahuachi (most well known Nazca site, sign of monumental architecture)
moche
began ~2000 ya, south western South America in Trujillo Valley, Peru. Huaca del Sol
Huaca del Sol
Pyramid of the Sun, 140 mill sun baked bricks, largest pre-columbian Adobe structure, rebuilt several times by several leaders, was 50 ft tall, ceramics out of molds, portrayed day-to-day life; sipan royal burial: grave goods, sacrifical victims
chimu
1000-500 ya, reached height around 600 ya, spread across more than 1300 km of west coast of Sa; craftsmen (copper silver weaving pottery) many taken to Aztec capital when Chimy was overthrown
Chan Chan
1000-40 AD, capital city; leader’s living enclosure was mosoleum after death, split inheritance (had power, prestige, command over army, key to success of civil - inca practiced this too), irrigation would build up minerals, force them to expand territory, no writing but symbols
Inca
1438-1533, came to power after Chimu, capital city at Cuzco, ethnic inca made up only ~1% of population, may have contributed to their downfall, talented stoneworkers, textiles valued greatly, had extensive road system with suspension bridges and storehouses
mit’a
use of land in exchange for labour, inca empire had ~2 mill workers because of this
machu picchu
wasn’t destroyed by spanish, possibly because of its remote location, eastern edge of empire, looks over the Urubamba river, hiram bingham was first scientist to document site in 1911 (thought he had discovered Vilcabamba), bult between 1450 and 1470 by Pachacuti, probably grand estate retreat, ~150 smaller living quarters responsible for upkeep/maintenance, 3 elite compounds (bigger, better view, direct water source), number of sacred sites and shrines
khipu
system of record keeping, knot system, for accounring, also historic acocunts say that history was also recorded. different knots, colours, fibres that record different kinds of information
fall of aztec
fransisco pizarro led small group of spaniards, when he arrived, the Inca empire was already in decline (political unrest, small pox from mexico which was fiven to them by Spainiards) Atahualpa was captured and held for ransom, it was delivered but he was killed anyway
