mod 5-6

COMMUNAL OWNERSHIP AND URBAN REVOLUTION

  • Early form of resource management in pre-state societies
      - Land and goods are held collectively, not individually
  • V. Gordon Childe, an archaeologist, introduced the concept of the "Urban Revolution"
      - Identified ten key traits of early cities:
        1. Cities
        2. Full-time specialists
        3. Surplus production
        4. Monumental architecture
        5. Social stratification
        6. Writing
        7. Mathematics and astronomy
        8. Art
        9. Trade
        10. State organization

FUNCTIONS OF STATES

  • Maintain order
  • Collect taxes
  • Manage resources
  • Defend territories
  • Enforce laws
  • Support religion and ideology

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY STATES

  • Primary states: Developed independently (e.g., Mesopotamia, Egypt)
  • Secondary states: Influenced by existing states (e.g., Greece, Rome)
  • Factors influencing state formation:
      - Conflict
      - Integration
      - Environmental circumscription
      - Population pressure
      - Ideology

APPROACHES TO STATE

  • Examine:
      - Settlement patterns
      - Architecture
      - Burials
      - Artifacts
      - Environmental data
      - Texts

MESOPOTAMIA

PERIODS OF DEVELOPMENT

  • Ubaid Period (6500-3800 BCE)
      - Pre-urban phase featuring temples, irrigation, and social hierarchy

  • Uruk Period (4000-3100 BCE)
      - First true city (Uruk) with emergence of writing and state institutions
      - ANU ZIGGURAT: Massive stepped temple platform in Uruk; associated with sky god Anu

  • Recording Systems
      - Early writing (cuneiform) used for tracking goods, labor, and taxes, critical for administration

  • Stela of Hammurabi
      - Stone monument inscribed with Babylonian legal code, exemplifying centralized authority

EGYPTIAN DEVELOPMENT

  • Upper and Lower Egypt
      - Two regions united under early pharaohs (~3100 BCE); symbolized in crown

  • Early Dynastic Period (3100-2686 BCE)
      - Formation of a centralized state with the pharaoh as a divine ruler

  • Old Kingdom Period (2686-2181 BCE)
      - Known as the Age of pyramid-building; characterized by strong centralized rule

AGRICULTURAL AND ARCHITECTURAL SYSTEMS

  • House Mounds
      - Layered buildup of domestic structures over time

  • Patio Groups
      - Mesoamerican residential complexes with shared courtyards, reflecting kin-based living

  • Tikal
      - Major Maya city-state located in Guatemala; served as a political, religious, and economic center

SUSTAINABILITY AND ITS SCALES

  • Sustainability
      - The ability of systems to persist over time; scales include local, regional, and global

  • Carrying Capacity
      - Maximum population an environment can sustain

  • Anthropogenic
      - Human-made or human-altered landscapes, soils, and environments

  • Terra Preta
      - Amazonian dark earth created by indigenous peoples, indicating sustainable agriculture

EGYPT'S ECONOMIC SYSTEM

  • Middle Kingdom Period (2055-1650 BCE)
      - Reunification of Egypt after the First Intermediate Period; marked by economic and cultural revival

  • New Kingdom Period (1550-1070 BCE)
      - Time of major military expansion and enhanced wealth

  • State without Market Economy
      - Egypt maintained a state without traditional markets/money economy using redistribution and labor tax (corvée) methods
      - Preferred command economy, featuring state-controlled production and distribution systems

INDUS VALLEY

  • Location
      - Modern Pakistan and northwest India, centered along the Indus River

  • Mohenjo-Daro
      - Major Indus city known for its grid layout, drains, and granaries

  • Plumbing and Sanitation
      - Unique for advanced drainage systems, toilets, and baths

GREAT ZIMBABWE

  • Overview
      - A large African state spanning from the 11th to 15th century CE, famed for its stone structures and role as a trade hub

  • Low-Density Tropical Cities
      - Cities characterized by interspaced gardens and fields, commonly found in tropical environments

  • The Great Enclosure
      - A large stone wall structure, potentially an elite residence or ritual site

  • Evidence for Trade
      - Older sections of Great Zimbabwe possibly served as royal or religious centers; includes imports like glass beads and Chinese porcelain, linked to Indian Ocean trade

INKA EMPIRE

  • Overview
      - The largest pre-Columbian empire in South America, noted for its centralized bureaucracy

  • Ethnohistory
      - Analysis using historical accounts from both Spanish and indigenous sources to understand Inka society

  • Verticality in Supply Management
      - The Inka managed resources across ecological tiers by moving goods vertically

  • Inka Foods
      - Staples included potatoes, maize, quinoa, and llama meat, often stored in state-controlled facilities

  • Market vs. Command Economies
      - Decentralized trade (market) vs. state-controlled production and distribution (command)

  • Inka Highway Systems and Bridges
      - Command system based on labor tax (mit'a); extensive road network (~25,000 miles) with rope bridges connecting various regions

SPANISH CONQUEST OF THE INKA

  • Timeline
      - 1532-1572; led by Pizarro
      - Factors enabling conquest included civil war, disease proliferation, and technological advantages.