Introduction Flashcards
For thousands of years, after the emergence of human species, what did human beings live in?
Tiny communities that were mobile societies, consisting of a few dozen people
About 12 thousand years ago, what did human beings experiment with?
Agriculture
When experimenting with agriculture, what did humans find?
That it provided a larger and more reliable food source than foraging.
What happened to those communities that turned to agriculture?
They experienced a rapid population growth
Those that turned to agriculture could do what
settle in permanent communities
When did the worlds first cities appear
6 thousand years ago
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Since cities first appeared, what did they do?
Quickly came to dominate social and political affairs in their respective regions
Ever since the appearence of cities, what has happened?
Earth has progressively fallen under the influence of Complex socities around cities
What is a complex society?
Refers to the large scale social organization that emerged in several parts of the ancient world
What did complex societies depend on
Robust agricultural economies
In robust agricultural societies, what happened
Cultivators produced more supply than they neeeded, allowing individuals to congregate in urban settlements where they devoted their time and energy to specialized tasks
What were some jobs that people would have?
Political authorities, government officials, military experts, priests, artisians, craftsman, merchants that lived off of crop production
Where did complex societies arise?
Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, China, Mesoamerica, Central Andean Region
Where did complex societies aries mostly
near river valleys or near sources of water that could be taped to irrigate crops
WHat did political authorities do?
They built states with formal government institutions and collected surplus agriculture in the form of tribute or taxes
What was trade like
They often sought to extend their land, but traded for scarce resources
What was the relative amount of wealth that was there?
Complex socities generated much more wealth than hunting and gathering communities and small agricultural communities
When a great amount of wealth accumulated in a family, what did it become the basis of?
Social distinctions
What were some social distinctions that were recognized?
Ruling elites, common slaves, slaves, aristocrates, merchants, artisians, free peasants, semi free peasants
What were tax rules
Cultivators and individuals to pay taxes in from lower classes. They had to support upper class.
Lower class people often worked their own land, and other persons land, made up bulk of armies and labor for community projects.
What was writing like in complex societies?
Most either invented or borrowed a form of writing. It was first used for political, administrative, and business record keeping but it was soon expanded to construct traditions of literature, learning and reflection
Cultural traditions in complex societies
They took different forms. Some organized relitions that meditated between human communites and the god. Some left relitgion to the people. BUT ALL PAID ATTENTION TO THE SKY
Complex societies also organized systems of education that
introduced intellectual elites to skills such as writing, and astronomical obsevation deemed necessary for the societies survival.
