Unit One: Early Civilizations

Modern Humans (Homosapiens)

• Biological superiority 

  • Larger brain capacity

  • Bipedal; walk upright

  • Opposable thumbs, giving the ability to manipulate tools

• Complex Society

  • Complex tools (Automobiles, Technology, etc.)

  • Complex Culture (music, languages, foods, literature, etc.)

• Originated in East Africa

  • Migrated to the rest of the world

First Societies

• Hunter-gatherers (Hunting animals; gathering fruits, berries, nuts, etc)

  • Men generally hunted while women gathered.

  • Somewhat gender and economic equality

    • Everyone had to participate in diets, and there was no concept of wealth

  • Smaller group size (25-50; not isolated, just smaller)

  • Nomadic

• Technology (human-made materials—not necessarily digital)

  • Spears, bows/arrows for hunters

  • Baskets for gatherers

  • Fire (for food and warmth)

  • Cave Art

Agriculture (10,000 to 7000 BCE)

• Agriculture made civilization possible (transition from primitive societies to modern civilizations)

  • Multiple independent locations

  • Human benefit

  • (Primarily) for food production

    • Intentional cultivation of plants/crops

    • Domestication of  animals

      • Hides/clothing

      • Transportation

      • Companionship

      • Hunting/hearding—labor

• Effects/Consequences overtime

  • Stable food supply and variety in the diet

    • Population Growth

    • Permanent settlements

    • Accumulated Resources

      • A surplus in produce → wealth -> specialization in other than food production

        • Religious leaders

        • Political leaders

        • Scribes

        • Artisans (baker, basket making, tailor, etc)

        • Merchants 

        • Brewers (Whiskey, Sake, Wine, etc)

  • Diseases

    • Animals and their proximity

    • Cities with a concentrated population

  • Environmental Alterations of Nature

    • Fields, Pastures, Irrigation

    • Breeding/modification, plants and animals alike

    • Deforestation

    • Soil Depletion, less nutrients, and erosion

  • Technological innovations

    • Weaving of clothes and baskets

    • Farm tools: Plows and hoes

    • Fertilizer

    • Pottery

    • Animal products for a variety of things

      • Milk

      • Wool 

      • Silk

    • Wheels and Axel

  • Metallurgy

    • Copper bronze, and iron (stronger)

Inequality

• Gender

  • Patriarchy: a social system in which males dominate leadership positions

    • Positions were

      • Government

      • Social

      • Familial

      • Religious

      • Economically

    • Women were made subordinate: not equal in law.

    • Reasons:

      • Military positions (biologically, males were larger than women)

      • Agricultural development: physical labor

        • Women farmed too

          • not plowing, hoeing, etc (more physical labor)

          • spent energy on birth and childcare, therefore seen as a liability

      • Agriculture was defined as “control of the Earth”—Earth was seen as a female deity, therefore control of a woman

  • Egypt was the exception

    • Equality and law

    • Women could own land and had some economic independence

    • Women could initiate divorce

    • Leadership and pharoahs

States (government, institutions and rule)

• There was a need for order/stability due to growing population

  • Make and enforce laws—judge disputes

  • Security and defend in case of war

  • Walls, roads, irrigation, tombs etc

  • Taxes

  • Sense of Unity

• Sources of authority - supported states

  • Religion—the gods have chosen leaders

  • Military; through force

  • Writing, records, laws, and propaganda

  • The elite (to protect their wealth)

  • Monumental architecture as a way to prove how “great” they are

    • Temples, statues, etc

• How were they organized? 

  • City-states: control of the city and surrounding countryside (food supply)

    • Each is independent

    • Mesopotamia and Greece

  • Empires/nation-states

    • Larger territory–multiple cities/provinces

    • Uni  fied and centralized government

    • Persia, Egypt, China, and Rome

 Examples of early civilizations

• Mesopotamia and Egypt Comparison

  • River valleys

    • Similarity: both relied on agriculture

    • Difference: 

      • Mesopotamia: unpredictable flooding, destructive (Tigris and Euphrates)

      • Egypt: predictable flooding, stability of agriculture (The Nile)

  • Security (in relevance to terrain)

    • Mesopotamia: flat and open, hard to defend (vulnerable and susceptible to invasion)

    • Egypt: deserts, mountains, and seas (Mediterranean and Red Sea)

      • More easily defended

  • Outlook on Life

    • Mesopotamia: had a far more pessimistic view of life, due to the insecurity of terrain and the destructive nature of rivers; felt as if the gods were in conflict with both each other and with Mesopotamia

    • Egypt: positive/optimistic view, more security

      • Pharoah communicated with gods, keeping the pharaoh happy = keeping the gods happy

        • Honored in life and death; pyramids, mummification, burial, servants, wealth on tombstones, etc.

  • Political organization

    • Mesopotamia: City States

    • Egypt: Empire

• Persia (Empire—6th - 4th Century BCE)

  • Expansion

    • Conquest and diversity

  • How it was governed

    • King had central authority

      • Militarian control

      • Wealth (used to build monuments and palaces0

      • Was supported by rituals (acknowledged his majesty and magnificence)

      • Everyone Else: subservient (below and serving the King)

    • Satraps: governors, and ruled (divided) provinces

      • Appointed by the king, therefore loyal to him

    • Spies

      • Reported to the king—monitors and obscured 

    • Respected traditions of conquered peoples

      • We're able to continue practicing their religious beliefs

      • Still were under Persian control—required to honor the king, pay taxes, and [men had to] serve in the army

    • Common currency to facilitate tax payments and to be involved in commerce/trade

• Greeks (City States—independent and small)

  • Citizens were free adult males

    • Their city was a key part of their identity

  • Citizens had political participation—citizens made up of the military

  • Common Features

    • Language

    • Writing system

    • Religion

      • Gods

      • Literature

    • Trade

    • Olympics

  • Expansion

    • Established colonies, which then became city-states

  • Athens

    • Government

      • Democracy, the citizens were considered source of authority (only Adult men could participate, however)

      • Athens

        • Men

        • Women

          • Not citizens, werent consider practicable for children

          • Sons —> children

          • The elite; stayed at home

        • Slaves

          • Not Athenians

  • Spartas

    • Government

      • Two Kings (one militarian the other for the people

      • Council of elders were used to make decisions

        • 30 (60+ yr old) spartm men, including the kings

          • All army veterans (therfore respected, and made decisions for sparta

      • Slaves

        • Conquered people were named helotss

          • They aided in food production

        • Caused revolts; ongoing worry for the Spartans
          
          

• Wars

  • Greeks had wars with Persia; Persia was expanding, and attacked Greeks cities in Anatolia (intersection of three continents)

    • Help from Greeks

    • Persians decided to just attack Greece itself—problem because Greece wasn’t unified

      • Persia invaded in 490 and 480 BCE

      • Greeks ended up cooperating in order to not be conquered

        • Sparta had best Army, Athens had best navy

    • Greeks defeated Persia (didn’t create unity, just prevented the fall of Greece)

  • Peloponnesian war 431-404 BCE (Peloponnese is a region in Greece)

    • Greeks fighting Greeks—largely aligned with either Athens or Sparta

    • Sparta eventually “won”; significantly weakened Greece

      • Greek 

  • Macedonian War

    • Alexander; conqueror of Easttern Mediterranean (Southwest Asia)

      • Empire: Greece, Egypt, Persia, and Alatonia

    • At Death (age 33), the empire divided

    • Spread Greek culture; Hellenistic

      • Language

      • Learning

      • Philosophy

      • Art

      • Artitechture

      • Math

  • Rome and China

    • Governments

      • Rome

        • When it was a city-state, it was a monarchy (ruled by one person)

          • Overthrown by patricians (elites); 

        • Changed the government into a republic; citizens decided who was elected—annual elections in order to avoid corruption

          • Counsul: top office—there were 2 a year

          • Magistrates

        • Once someone served in office, they joined the senate (an advisory group to each year’s leaders)

        • Plebians: got two tribunes (vetoes) each year

        • After Expansion, there were political violence

          • Civil Wars

          • Assassinations

        • Republic ended, led to an empire—emperors were eventual seen as gods

      • China

        • Warring States 775 - 221 BCE

          • Time of instability and disurity; fighting amongst states, each ruler were racing to be the one to reunite China

        • Qin dynasty (multiple generations of a ruling family); 221 - 206 BCE

          • Reunited china by centralizing the authority

            • Legalism: Strict laws, harsh punishments

            • Standardized

              • Measures

              • Currency

              • Language

              • Thought

          • Revolt: it was overthrown

        • Han dynasty 206 BCE - 220 CE (model dynasty)

          • Had emperors, and ruled because they believed that they had the Mandate of Heaven (Divine Approval)

            • If Emperor had mandate of heaven: Stability, Prosperity, and Victory

            • If Emperor did not have mandate of heaven: Instability, Economic problems, and losses in war

              • Money went down, crime went up

              • Famine

              • Natural Disasters

            • Justified Revolts

  • Expansions

    • Rome

      • Empire, conquests, alliances etc

      • The army was proffessional and full time

        • Emphisis on trading, discipline, and organized into units

      • Rome —> Italy —> Mediterranean Sea (had to beat carthage)

        • Mediterranean included Egypt, South West Asia, Greece, Spain, and [what is now known as] France and Britain

      • How it was governed despite large, diverse population

        • Tolerated existing traditions

        • Regional governors from Rome

        • Elite had citizenship

        • Had to submit taxes

    • China (under Han)

      • Was already large—along with their culture,  and expanded north, west and south

      • Governed

        • Professional civil service

          • Wanted people (men) who were educated—mainly elite, however not exclusively elite

        • There was an exam system to become a government official

          • County

          • Province

          • Nation

  • Collapse

    • Rome and Han China

      • Factors

        • Both became too large and too expensive for effective administration

        • Political instability—competitions for who would lead 

          • Led to violence, civil wars, assassinations, etc

        • Dieseases—small pox, measles, and different forms of plague

        • Led to deaths

          • influx of deaths led to disruption of economy and lack of confidence (lost Mandate of Heaven)

        • Border invasions from north

          • Rome: Germanic groups

          • China: Northern nomads (Xiongnu)

  • Effects

    • Similarities

      • Decline in population

      • Decline in trade

      • Disunity 

        • Rome

          • Western europe became several different kingdoms

          • Eastern europe continued as the Byzantine empire

        • China

          • No new dynasty until 6th century CE

    • Differences

      • China recovered and became reunified

      • Rome never reunified—broken up into competing states