Module 3 (11.1): Southwest Asia

Question 1

what is a state?

Answer 1

-> a centralized political institution where ruling elites govern a population, providing support in exchange for taxation

Question 2

what is a city?

Answer 2

-> localized area within a state, with 10k + people, with structures for various functions, governed by the state

Question 3

what is a city-state?

Answer 3

TBD

Question 4

what are some features of early states?

Answer 4

-> large scale
-> elaborate architecture
-> elite tombs/statues
-> wealth and power inequities

Question 5

what is the urban revolution hypothesis of why states emerged?

Answer 5

-> they emerged to manage the food surplus distribution

Question 6

what is the hydraulic management hypothesis of why states emerged?

Answer 6

-> emerged to manage large-scale irrigation, needed a centralized administration to manage the irrigation

Question 7

what is the circumscription hypothesis of why states emerged?

Answer 7

-> geographic limits restricted movement of people, leading to pressure on resources
-> competition of resources drove state formation

Question 8

what / when are the three time periods of Mesopotamia?

Answer 8

Halaf (6000 - 5400 BCE)
Ubaid (5400 - 4200 BCE)
Uruk (4200 - 3000 BCE)

Question 9

what is significant about Halaf? what time period? what main culture?

Answer 9

(6000 - 5400 BCE) Mesopotamia
-> 1st administrative technology (stamp seals marking ownership)
-> small villages, dry farming, minimal social stratification

Question 10

what is significant about Ubaid? what time period? what main culture?

Answer 10

(5400 - 4200 BCE) Mesopotamia
-> 1st irrigation agriculture
-> temples are in control
-> temples, social stratification

Question 11

what is Eridu? what time period is it associated with?

Answer 11

-> its the earliest Ubaid city, with a central temple dedicated to the war god Enki

Question 12

what is significant about Uruk? what time period? what main culture?

Answer 12

(4200 - 3000 BCE) Mesopotamia
-> the first true city (urbanization)
-> production surplus, long distance trading, elite ruled dynasties, writing systems

Question 13

what is the main temple in Aruk?

Answer 13

-> the Anu Ziggurat (meaning white temple)
-> centralized political-religious institution

Question 14

what was the writing system that emerged in Mesopotamia?

Answer 14

proto-cuneiform script
-> the earliest writing system on clay
-> was used to write various unrelated languages

Question 15

what were cylinder seals used for in Mesopotamian culture?

Answer 15

-> used for centralized / administrative control
-> used to regulate access , note participation in tasks

Question 16

what was a significant trade material in Mesopotamian culture?

Answer 16

bitumen: non-perishable commodity used for waterproofing boats and buildings