Prehistory:

Human history began with the Paleolithic Era:

• Human societies sustained themselves through gathering, hunting, and fishing without the practice of agriculture.

• Paleolithic societies were small and nomadic, and highly egalitarian (lacked gender inequality)

Agricultural Revolution 

• Rise of archaic innovations like crop cultivation and animal domestication.

• The rise of agriculture was revolutionary because it meant that humans were no longer nomadic and now had the basis to create organized societies. 

• Provided the foundation for almost everything that followed in human history

  • Growing populations, animal-borne diseases, cities, states, literature, and the taming and breeding of animals and plants.

Pastoral societies: 

• Nomadic herders started using animals to increase productivity, leading to the rise of pastoral societies in Central Asia and the Arabian Peninsula.  

  • Emerged in the Afro-Eurasian world where settled agriculture was difficult or impossible.

• Conflict often arose as pastoral peoples sought access to the agricultural products, grazing lands, and manufactured goods of agrarian societies. (as in the Mongol Empire)

  • AP Causation: What impact did animal husbandry have on agricultural societies?

    • Animals increased labor productivity: they plowed fields and increased soil fertility.

Agricultural Village Societies

• Settled agricultural villages emerged from the Agricultural Revolution.

• These societies were highly egalitarian as they lacked kings, chiefs, bureaucrats, or aristocracies.

• Organized around kinship groups/lineages

• Interaction with neighboring societies enriched their development and cultural exchange.

Chiefdoms:

In some cases, agricultural village societies came to be organized as Chiefdoms:

• Chiefs held authority based on lineage, ritual status, or charisma, rather than coercive force, much unlike monarchs.

• Chiefdoms emerged worldwide, including in the Pacific islands and North America's eastern woodlands.

  • Chiefs had both religious and secular roles, leading rituals, organizing warfare, directing economic activities, and resolving conflicts.

  • They collected tribute from commoners, which was redistributed to various members of the community, maintaining the chief's prestigious position and lifestyle.

  • North America's eastern woodlands, particularly Cahokia in modern St. Louis, featured impressive chiefdoms with earth mounds.

Civilizations:

The Agricultural Revolution led to the emergence of civilizations.

• The earliest civilizations appeared in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the central coast of Peru around 3500 to 3000 B.C.E.

• AP Causation: Why might the Eastern Hemisphere have a larger number of the First Civilizations than the Western Hemisphere?

  • Better suited animals-to-be-domesticated for civilization growth in the East.

  • Better geographic conditions not only facilitated plant cultivation, but also long-distance trade.

Defining civilizations:

• They emerged during the agricultural era due to the need for highly productive agricultural economies to support non-food-producing populations.

• Signified a significant departure from the small, nomadic bands of Paleolithic peoples or the villages of early agricultural communities.

Role of cities:

• Central feature of early civilizations, serving various functions:

  • Political and administrative capitals.

  • Cultural hubs for art, architecture, literature, and rituals.

  • Marketplaces for local and long-distance trade.

  • Centers for major manufacturing enterprises.

States & Governance:

• Civilizations gave rise to organized states, typically headed by kings.

• States had structured governing systems, employing officials and using force to maintain control.

Occupational Specialization:

• Introduction of a new degree of occupational specialization:

  • Scholars, merchants, priests, officials, scribes, soldiers, artisans, etc.

• Peasant farmers constituted the majority of the population, supporting the specialized workforce.

Inequalities:

• Former egalitarianism of earlier cultures had disintegrated as hierarchies arose over wealth, status, and power.

• Patriarchy took hold as ideas of male superiority became ingrained in global civilization.

Innovations:

• The organization of civilization contributed to significant technological & scientific progress.

  • Examples include bureaucracy and silk production in Chinese civilization, and advances in mathematics and medicine in Islamic civilization.

AP prompts:

• AP Causation: What developments led to the rise of the First Civilizations?

  • The rise of the First Civilizations was propelled by the transition to settled agricultural communities, the emergence of surplus food production, and the establishment of organized states.

    • These factors created the conditions necessary for the formation of urban centers, the specialization of labor, and the growth of complex societies.

• AP Contextualization: What was the role of cities in the early civilizations?

  • Cities were organized political capitals that were also economic, cultural, and social hubs. They facilitated governance, commerce, cultural exchange, and technological innovation.

    • They served as market places and had manufacturing activities in the center.

    • The prominence of cities contributed to the emergence of larger states with structured governing systems (often with monarchs).

Civilizations and the Environment:

Early civilizations often developed in environments that facilitated agricultural output, such as river valleys in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indus Valley.

• The mountainous terrain in Greece promoted the clash of city-states rather than a fully centralized government.

• The dense mountains in the Andes and rainforests in Panama made it difficult for Mesoamericans and Andeans to come in contact

• The Pacific and Atlantic oceans made it impossible for the Eastern and Western hemispheres to interact.

Population growth and agriculture:

• Civilizations with larger populations and intensive agriculture to feed such populations had significant impacts on the landscape.

  • Rigorous irrigation in Mesopotamia led to soil salinization, affecting their crop choices.

  • Extensive deforestation and soil erosion accompanied the growth of larger civilizations in Europe and China.

Terraforming:

• Farmers in agricultural civilizations altered the environment extensively through deforestation, land leveling, and terracing.

• Mayans engineered landscapes extensively, leading to rapid population growth but also ecological strain.

Comparing Civilizations:

Geographical reach:

• Early civilizations were geographically limited, while later ones like Chinese, Persian, Roman, and Arab empires extended over larger regions.

  • Some civilizations, like Greek, Maya, and Swahili, organized as competitive city-states rather than expansive empires.

• Social Structure and Stratification: Comparing India and China

  • China's elite bureaucracy dominated by selected officials from the landlord class contrasted with India's caste system prioritizing inherited social status, with elitism among the Brahmins.

    • China gave its elite status to the bureaucracy, and they were supported by farmers

      • Chinese peasants were commonly exploited and oppressed, which provoked numerous peasant rebellions in the nation’s history.

    • India’s caste system facilitated a lack of social mobility, which contrasts with China’s promotion of social mobility through the civil service examination system.

• Slavery and Patriarchy

  • Slavery existed in various civilizations but was central in Greek and Roman societies.

  • Patriarchy was common to all civilizations but varied; it was less restrictive during upheavals, and elite women faced more restrictions but also enjoyed privileges (as in China).

• Influence and Range:

  • Roman civilization dominated the Mediterranean, while Chinese civilization profoundly influenced eastern Asia and Eurasia.

  • Islamic civilization was expansive and influential across the Afro-Eurasian world.

  • Other civilizations like Axum, Swahili, and Maya were more geographically limited.

AP Comparison: In what respects did the various civilizations of the pre-1200 world differ from one another? What common features did they share?

• Differences among Civilizations:

  • Civilizations differed in their geographical spread and political organization, ranging from expansive empires to competitive city-states.

  • Social structures varied, with China emphasizing bureaucracy and India emphasizing religious status through the caste system.

  • The extent and centrality of slavery and patriarchy also varied across civilizations.

  • Influence and reach varied, with some civilizations like Rome and China exerting significant influence over large regions, while others like Axum and Swahili were more regionally limited.

• Common Features among Civilizations:

  • All civilizations exhibited social hierarchy, patriarchy, and varying degrees of slavery.

  • They shared characteristics such as urbanization, cultural development, and political organization, albeit with differences in scale and complexity.