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Ancient river civilizations. Mesopotamia, Indus, Nile, and Chinese. Characteristics of a civilization. 1. Advanced technical skills Approximately 3000BC ppl began making and using bronze tools and weapons ppl began building permanent homes No longer nomads . 2. Formation of government
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Ancient river civilizations Mesopotamia, Indus, Nile, and Chinese
Characteristics of a civilization • 1. Advanced technical skills • Approximately 3000BC ppl began making and using bronze tools and weapons • ppl began building permanent homes • No longer nomads • 2. Formation of government • Flooding was helpful and destructive • In order to develop & maintain irrigation systems there must be organization and cooperation • This could be where first gvts began: to meet the needs of the people. • There had to be laws about land and water rights
Characteristics of a civilization • 3. Division of labor • As agricultural productivity increased (more food being produced) less ppl were needed to work in the fields • Some became artisans, merchants, or traders • Improvement in standard of living • 4. Calendar • Were created to predict when flooding would occur • Most based on the cycle of the moon
Characteristics of a civilization • 5. Form of writing (communication) • Writing began as a way to • Keep records • Record rules • Pass on information (irrigation planning…) Cuneiform Sumeria Hieroglyphics Egypt
Ancient Mesopotamia • Location: between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
Timeline of civilization About 3,000 BC city states begin forming in Mesopotamia Geography of civilization • Tigris and Euphrates rivers form from water coming from Turkey, thorough Syria and then through Iraq. • Most of land in SW Asia is desert except for the area between the Tigris and Euphrates • Area’s shape led to name, “The Fertile Crescent”
Geography of civilization • Annual flooding provided fertile soil & stable food supply • Flooding was unpredictable • Sumerians thought their gods were angry with them when there were floods • Fertile Crescent easily invaded
The Fertile Crescent, 2500 BC T E Sumer
Accomplishments of civilization Sumer is the area of our focus Ppl called Sumerians • Developed system of writing called cuneiform • Writing symbols on clay tablets and letting it dry • Built ziggurats
Ziggurats were not places for public worship or ceremonies. • They were believed to be dwelling places for the gods. • Each city had its own patron god. • Only priests were permitted inside the ziggurat • was their responsibility to care for the gods and attend to their needs. • Priests were very powerful members of Sumerian society.
Interesting facts about Mesopotamian cultures? • Practiced polytheism (the belief in many gods) • Had no concept of heaven or salvation for the deceased
Code of Hammurabi • By 2000 BC the cities of Sumer had grown so large that some like Ur, the capital city, had populations more than 200,000 persons. • Hammurabi (ca. 1792 - 1750 BC) united all of Mesopotamia under his forty-three year reign of Babylon. • Hammurabi's Code is not the first code of laws (the first records date four centuries earlier), it is the best preserved legal document reflecting the social structure of Babylon during Hammurabi's rule.
Code of Hammurabi http://www.phillipmartin.info/hammurabi/homepage.htm
Geography of Egypt • Nile river provided predictable floods and a stable food source • River flows northward and empties into the Mediterranean • Winds blow south along the Nile • Early ppl could use current or winds to travel along the Nile • Deserts surround the valley and offered some protection from invasion
Quick history • Egypt was divided into Upper Egypt, the area of the delta and Lower Egypt, the area from the delta south • Approx 2660 – 2180 BC what we think of Egypt began to develop • Pharaoh, who ruled over the land • Was the King, but also viewed as a god • A Theocracy developed, a government in which the ruler is seen as a divine figure Pharaoh=God=Religion is the law he was the only one who had direct contact with the gods • Because pharaohs believed that they would rule even after their deaths, huge tombs, or pyramids, were built for them.
Religion in ancient Egypt • Religious beliefs were the basis of Egyptian art, medicine, astronomy, literature, and government. • Astronomy began as a way to determine the correct time • for religious rites and sacrifices. • Earliest literature deals with religious themes. • Ancient Egyptians were willing to accept many gods & goddesses • If new lands were added to the empire, its gods & goddesses were added to the ones who were already worshipped.
Taught the Egyptians farming • Judged the dead • Connected with the • Fertilizing pwr of Nile river • Osiris’ wife • Connected with the fertile earth of Egypt • One type of god of the sky
The Egyptian temple was used strictly for religious purposes Believed that after death they would appear before Osiris & have to tell all the evil they had done in their lives. *They might say, “I have not done evil to men. I have not ill-treated animals…” *Osiris would have their heart weighed to tell if the confession was true or not. Believed in ka, part of the human spirit that leaves @ death, but would return later. * mummified bodies so they would be ready when ka returned
Accomplishments of civilizationtechnology and government • Hieroglyphics • Written on sheets of dried papyrus plant • Pictures stood for sounds or ideas • Pictures could be put together to make words & sentences
Accomplishments continued • Used geometry to survey fields for irrigation & planning of pyramids as tombs for the pharaoh. • Studied astronomy (the stars) • Created a calendar with 12 months & each month had 30 days • Polytheistic religion • Believed in life after death • Bodies were preserved through mummification to keep it from decaying so the person could live in the afterlife
1799 discovery on the bank of Nile Rvr. Hieroglyphics • 3 levels of inscriptions • Took 14 years to • translate from Greek • to demotic to • Hieroglyphics demotic Common script Of Egypt Greek http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_image.aspx?image=an16456b.jpg&retpage=15633
Society • Rigid class structure • Pharaoh • Priests, wealthy landowners, members of gvt, & the army • Artisans & merchants (middle class) • Farmers (peasants) • Eventually slaves • People could move from one social rank to another • If you could read & write you held a powerful position in society
