Chapter2

1. Chapter2 Section 2 Cities and Civilizations

2. Section 2Cities and Civilization Important Vocabulary Economy: the system that a community uses to produce and distribute goods and services Civilization: a complex society that has cities, a well organized government and workers with specialized job skills Resource: a supply of something that can be used as needed

3. Section 1Early Agriculture Important Vocabulary Religion: people’s beliefs and practices about the existence, nature, and worship of a god or gods Social Classes: groups of people that occupy different ranks or levels in society

4. Important InformationCities and Civilizations • Historians believe that the ancient city of Uruk was the first city. • It was founded about 6,000-7,000 years ago. • Uruk was home to about 40,000 and covered an area of about 1,000 acres and had houses, gardens and large public buildings. • Uruk was too large to have a village council therefore they had a government

5. Important InformationCities and Civilizations • Uruk had a strong, well-organized government • The first rulers were probably temple priests • Later, powerful military leaders ruled as its kings • Uruk also had a more complex economy. • The economy of a society is defined by how it answers 3 questions • What goods and services should be produced? • How should goods and services be produced? • Who should get and use goods and services

6. Important InformationCities and Civilizations • Uruk’s economy was based on both farming and trading • The wealth of Uruk attracted many newcomers. People began to move from the countryside to the cities. • The early cities grew in size and power and some became centers of civilizations • The word civilization comes from the Latin word civis which means resident of a city

7. Important InformationCities and Civilizations • The rise of civilizations depended on the surplus of food. This forced people to manage their resources. • The most important resources that people needed were fertile soil, fresh water, and seeds • The management of these resources required planning and organization which marked a new stage in human society.

8. Important InformationCities and Civilizations • Early civilizations appeared in southwestern Asia, in the city-states of Sumer • Four of the early civilizations appeared near fertile valleys surrounding major rivers: • The Nile River, the Tigris and Euphrates, the Indus River, and the Huang river • River valleys were good areas for permanent settlements

9. Important InformationCities and Civilizations • Early civilizations all shared 8 basic features: • cities, • Organizedgovernments • Established religion • Job specialization • Social classes • Public works • Arts and architecture • System of writing

10. Important InformationCities and Civilizations • Social Classes: • The highest social class in most early societies was made up of priests and rulers • These people had the most power and wealth • The middle class included farmers, merchants, and skilled workers • These varied in wealth and status from one society to another • The lowest society was made up of mostly slaves

11. Important InformationCities and Civilizations • Public Works • Governments organized workers to build large-scale projects • Roads, water systems, city walls, and granaries for food storage • Building these were costly, time-consuming, and dangerous • Workers were often injured or killed

12. Important InformationCities and Civilizations • System of Writing: • Forms of writing were not always the same • In early societies, writing was first developed mainly to record numbers • Eventually people used writing to preserve all types of information • Recorded laws, wrote down prayers to the gods, and described deeds of rulers • With the development of writing, we pass from prehistory to history