Key Concept 1.3

Key Concept 1. 3: The appearance of the first urban societies 5,000 years ago laid the foundations for the development of complex civilizations shared several significant social, political, and economic characteristics.

Key Concept 1.3 (I):  Core and foundational civilizations developed in a variety of geographical and environmental settings where agriculture flourished.

The main civilizations you need to know for this period are: Mesopotamia, Egypt, Indus River Civilizations, Shang, Olmecs,  and Chavin.  Keep in mind that the earliest civilizations developed near rivers due to the water providing irrigation for farming soil and the fact that land near rivers is generally fertile.

  • Mesopotamia was located in what is now Iraq, on the Fertile Crescent between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.
  • Ancient Egypt was located in the Nile River Valley in what is Egypt today too, along the Nile River.
    • EVIDENCE: The Nile River would flood yearly, depositing the mineral rich soil from the water banks onto neighboring lands. This resulted in fertile soil in the vicinity of the Nile River, vital for agriculture, which is vital for forming civilization.
  • The Indus Valley Civilization was an ancient civilization located in what is Pakistan and northwest India today, on the fertile flood plain of the Indus and Ganges rivers and their vicinity. You will need to know that two cities in this civilization were Mohenjo Daro and Harappa, and Mohenjo Daro was the larger and more advanced one.
  • The Shang Dynasty was the first dynasty in China and was located in the Yellow River Valley of northern China.
    • EVIDENCE: The Yellow River Valley of China had mineral rich silt that would travel from Mongolia to the Pacific Ocean. Moreover, this river merged with the Yangtze river to create rich, fertile land beneficial for agriculture.
  • The Olmec Civilization was a pre-columbian civilization in mesoamerica in what is today Veracuz and Tabasco. The Olmecs were located near the Coatzacoalcos river.
  •  The Chavín civilization developed in the northern Andean highlands of Peru. It was located in the Mosna River Valley, where the Mosna and Huachecsa rivers merge.

*This key concept part only asks you to memorize these civilizations and their locations. It  is not all you need to know about these civilizations, and know that these civilizations will be discussed more thoroughly as the unit goes on.

If you would like a spatial representation of these locations, take a look at the map below:

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Visual Evidence:  In this picture you can see the main areas in which major civilizations were. These civilizations include: Mesopotamia, Mesoamerica, the Andean Region, the Nile Valley, the Indus River Valley, and the Huang Ho River Region. These civilizations depended on agriculture and its yield of crops.

Key Concept 1.3 (II): The first states emerged within core civilizations in Mesopotamia and the Nile River Valley.

 The first several states and political units that were formed originated from the main civilizations in Mesopotamia and the Nile River Valley.

Textual Evidence:The textbook, The Earth’s and It’s People, “states how many historians have long ago discovered that “the earliest cities and complex societies arose in Southern Mesopotamia in the fourth millennium B.C.E.” Historians believe this since Sumerians needed help with maintaining irrigation and other concepts for a more successful product in from their land.

Textual Evidence: The textbook, The Earth’s and It’s People, state how historians believe that these villages “appeared in Egypt as early as 5550 B.C.E.”. The Nile River Valley had very fertile land and successful agriculture due to the great Nile River. The Egyptians settled and started farming on the west of the Nile River. The self-sufficiency in the Nile River Valley shows how the villages/states would be very stable, while based wholly on agriculture.

Image result for nile river valley

Visual Evidence: The picture above depicts how significant the Nile River is to the Nile River Valley Civilization. The Nile River flooded over the lands of Egypt during some specific seasons. These floods helped create very fertile soil for the human population that depended on fertile land for agriculture and crops.

States usually developed slowly. At first, A small group of people would gather and make a village in order to help each other improve their agriculture. When the village became highly successful, other small villages would from in the perimeters. These satellite villages would eventually combine with the larger village to create an urban center. These urban centers were defined as the first states,0 or more specifically, city-states. Most city states consisted of a urban center with surrounding agricultural land. Mesopotamia contained many of these city states throughout the territory.

Historians state that these villages “appeared in Egypt as early as 5550 B.C.E.”(textbook). The Nile River Valley had very fertile land and successful agriculture due to the great Nile River. The Egyptians settled and started farming on the west of the Nile River. The self-sufficiency in the Nile River Valley shows how the villages/states would be very stable, while based wholly on agriculture.  Compared to the Mesopotamian villages, these groups emerged about one and a half millennium earlier. These villages depended on domestication of the crops and animals that originated from Western Asia. As population increases, the complexity of the villages increased and became states.

A. States were powerful new systems of rule that mobilized surplus labor and resources over large areas. Rulers of early states often claimed divine connections to power. Rulers also relied on the support of the military, religious, or aristocratic elites.

In the first civilizations, the specific places where groups of people gathered to converse and develop an organized society were small states. States are defined as a “single political system or government presiding over a group of people or societies”. (history haven). There are a multitude of political systems, including: democracy, republic, monarchy, communism, and dictatorship. The political system from the 5500 to 4000 B.C.E. usually had a ruler who controlled the states. Commonly, the rulers needed help organizing large societies and groups of people. Rulers either used the military, priest(religious people), or appointed aristocrats to support his rule and help him organized the state and political system. The military would have kept a threatening, strict, and overpowering tone to the ruler, since the military focused on violence and expansion of territory. A ruler who had priests to support his government, would have the government closely include and make rules regarding the religious beliefs of the religion the society practiced. Lastly, a state that had appointed aristocrats, would have a better division of power between the ruler and the society. The ruler would use other However, the various governments all have one purpose: to rule a group of people. In a state, the society has to developed to a certain level. The society should have an access to resources in large territories. These resources would include fertile land, water, metal tools, etc. These resources are the foundation to a successful society and state. The society would also need surplus labor. Surplus labor was work that was done by people who weren’t paid for the tasks they did. In a social society, the surplus labor would slaves who had the burden of doing the important and strenuous jobs of the society. This is usually what the society of a state would comprise of.

B. As states grew and competed for land and resources, the more favorably situated had greater access to resources, produced more surplus food, and experienced growing populations, enabling them to undertake territorial expansion and conquer surrounding states. 

Every state’s success is partially based on the natural resources the people have access to. The geography of the Earth shows how, natural resources are not spread out evenly through the land. The states who are located close to the natural resources will be more successful in the future, due to the fact that they have access to the requirements for life. Also, by having access to natural resources, states will be able to produce more agricultural surplus for the society. The increase in food will cause an a drastic increase on the population. As the population increased through time, the military of a state could possibly expand. Furthermore, as there was an increase in a surplus of food, people had time to invent and improve the ways of living. The society would have more technological advancements that gave the state and advantage over other states who lacked resources and time. As states grew in complexity, ideas, and numbers, expanding their territory and conquering other states became relatively easier. Overall, the expansion of states indirectly is caused by the abundance of resources in a certain location.

C. Pastoalists were often the developers and disseminators of new weapons and modes of transportation that transformed warfare in agrarian civilizations.

Pastoralists spread the technology of new weapons and transportation of one state to many other states. These technological advancements of the state remarkably changed the warfare of civilizations that depended on agriculture. Pastoralists are defined as people who tend and raise livestock. This required pastoralists to travel constantly with their livestock. As pastoralists travels through various states, they discussed the new advancements with people from different states. Some of the warfare advancements that were discuss were composite bows, iron weapons, chariots, and horseback riding.

  • Composite Bows: Composite bows were first developed before 1200 B.C.E in Mesopotamia. These bows were “comprised of wood, bone, and animal horns, sinews for the drawstring, and glue made from the swimming bladders of fish”. The materials used to create this bow, explain the complexity and amount of time that went into creating this weapon. The composite bow was flexible but also rigid. The bow decreased the recoil shock on the user and also made the arrow’s more precise to its target.
  • Iron Weapons: Iron weapons were first created by the Hittites in West Asia. Iron was very difficult to create, so the development of iron came after 1500 B.C.E.. Iron weapons always remained sharply pointed, and broke other weapons made from other metals. Swords, knives, and armor was now being made with iron. Iron weapons gave a large advantage over the other states and aided the Hittites when fighting and conquering other states. The Hittites managed to hide to skills of iron-making from others. However, after 400 years, the skills for making iron weapons was disclosed.
  • Chariots: The chariot was developed in 1800 B.C.E by Syrians. Chariots had two wheels and was drawn by several horses. The chariot was the first prototype that used horses for transportation. This must have created a start of taking animals such as horses, camels, and donkeys, to their advantage. Chariots would be used during war, since it carried two men that used a bow and arrow of javelins to fight the other warriors. Chariots were highly successful during the small wars between states.
  • Horseback Riding: Horseback riding originated around 4500 B.C.E.. The origin of horseback riding is mostly seen in ancient China. Horses were used either for warfare or transportation for people in the society and good. For transportation purposes, horses were tamed in the early 3000 B.C.E.. Using horses shortened the time to spread information from states and transport goods. The military rode on horses while fighting in war. Horseback riding made conquering land more feasible and less time-consuming.

Map of Indo-European Migrations:
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Map of Bantu Migration:

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Key Concept 1. 3 (III):  Culture played a significant role in unifying states through laws, language, literature, religion, myths and monumental art.

Summary:  The development of agriculture laid the foundations for the first urban societies, about 5000 years ago.  The development of agriculture, caused a surplus of food, due to an increased efficiency of techniques, and allowed for the specialization of labor.  This caused several cultural advances, in different fields of life.  The architecture of cities became more complex and served a variety of purposes.  Systems of writing, communication and record keeping arose, and several states implemented their own law codes.  New social systems and hierarchies were created and stratified, sometimes even isolated,  different groups of people.  New religious beliefs developed and new ideas were spread across extensive trade networks

Image result for ziggurat4

Visual evidence: Here is a picture of the ziggurats, which were religious centers in Mesopotamia.  This building form was common to the Sumerians, Babylonians, and Assyrians.  They were not places of religious worship or ceremonies, but said to be the dwelling place of gods.

A.  Early civilizations developed monumental architecture and urban planning

  •    The states used architecture to cleverly compensate for their weaknesses, and to symbolize power and wealth. (Evidence): For example the pyramids in Egypt were primarily built as tombs for the Pharaohs and the elites, to showcase their position in society. After death, the Pharaoh  was buried in the pyramid with some servants that were ritually  sacrificed in order for the Pharaoh to enjoy a peaceful afterlife.  In addition to the human sacrifices, several jewels, food, books, and other equipment the Pharaoh may need to lead a comfortable afterlife were buried there. It was a symbol that showcased their power and position in society. The pyramids are the only lasting evidence of the influential Egyptian civilization.  An example of architecture compensating for weaknesses of a state is Mesopotamia. Since Mesopotamia was an extremely dry geographical are, with little to no natural resources, the needed the innovate a way to get access to water in order to sustain   their cities.  Qanats are sloping underground channels that transport water from an aquifer or mountain to the cities.  This was architectural wonder was the main source of water for many Mesopotamian states

B. Systems of record keeping arose independently in all early civilizations and writing and recording keeping subsequently spread

  •      In the beginning these systems were used to record inventory and trade and were used for primarily commercial purposes.  Later it was used for literature and academic purposes. For example, in Mesopotamia ( Sumer ),  cuneiform was the most common written communication method.  In the beginning they used cuneiform the record the inventory of grain and used stone tablets to inscribe the information.  As time went on people started using cuneiform for expressing ideas, thoughts and literature.  (Evidence): The Epic of Gilgamesh was one of the first stories written and was extremely influential.  The two characters in the story, Gilgamesh and Enkidu are faced with the conflict of searching for immortality.  Another popular written communication system emerged in Egypt and was called the hieroglyphic system.  This system contained thousand of symbols that  represented unique ideas or objects. The hieroglyphic system was used to record commercial activities in the beginning, but eventually became common and widespread.

C. States developed legal codes that reflected existing hierarchies and facilitated the rule of governments over people

The legal codes helped to control the behavior of the people and keep the people in check using harsh penalties.  One such system was Hammurabi’s code. Hammurabi was a ruler of Babylonia.  His code was so harsh that it literally coined the  term ” eye for an eye”.  His code was based on lex talionis or the ” law of  retribution”. (Evidence): An example of his laws is that if you poked out  someone’s eye, your eye would be poked out too. Another example of a law code is the Code of Ur-Nammu. The code of Ur-Nammu was basically a more basic, more flexible and older version of the Code of Hammurabi.

D. New religious that developed in this period-including the Vedic religion, Hebrew monotheism, and Zoraostrianism-continued to have strong influences in later periods.

Several new religions were created and spread through the means of conquests and trade networks

  • Vedic Religion: There are 4 Vedas but the main one is the Rig Veda.  The Vedic religion was the religion of the Aryans who entered the Indus River Valley and is believed to be the precursor of  Hinduism.  The Vedas are holy scriptures that strictly dictated the way of life for followers
  • Hebrew monotheism: Before Moses, the Jewish religion was originally polytheistic.  However, after the spread of Moses’s message,  the Jewish religion converted into a monotheistic religion.  Before Moses, deities were primarily natural spirits. Moses spread the message that Yahweh was the one and only god and that the Jews must meet strict ethical and moral standards in order to lead a good life.  In addition to high moral and ethical codes, Yahweh was also described as being a highly personal god.
  • Zaraostrianism: The founder of Zaraostrianism is Zarathustra, and is estimated to live around 3500 – 2500 years ago.  Zarathustra founded the religion after what he believed was a divine vision from god.  He believed there was one god, Ahura Mazda and one adversary/ devil like figure, called Angra Mainyu.  Zaraostrianism is based on the beliefs that life is a struggle between good and evil, and that all people are equal.  Followers of the religion also believed that the four elements, air, water, Earth, and fire, were holy, and should be treated with respect.  There followers did not perform cremation or burial after death, but had a Tower of silence.
  • Hinduism: Hinduism is a blend of both the Aryans and the Dravidian’s religion.  Here are some key ideas from Hinduism;
    • Holy texts: Vedas ( Rig Veda ), Upanishads, Ramayana, Mahabaratha
    • Samsara: System of reincarnation based on Dharma and Karma
    • Karma: The consequences of actions from a previous life
    • Dharma: Your duties, and responsibilities based on your position in the caste system
    • Moksha: release from the cycle of reincarnation ( samsara ).  Attained through life of ascetism or meditation.
    • Caste system: strict social hierarchy system based on occupation.  It was strictly reinforced by religion
      •  Brahmin: priests
      • Kshatriya: warriors
      • Vaishyas: merchants
      • Shudras: laborers
  • Buddhism: Founded by a hindu ksathriya prince, known as Siddartha Gautama.  Based on the principles of the Four Noble Truths and the Eight Fold Path. The Four Noble Truths are a plan for dealing with and eliminating suffering in life.  The First Truth focuses on identifying suffering.  The Second Noble Truth deals with finding the cause of suffering.  Buddhism is based on the idea that desire and ignorance are the cause of all suffering.  Therefore, by leading a life of ascetism and denying oneself of simple pleasures, one could attain Nirvana.  Through achieving Nirvana, one ended any suffering in his/her life, on earth, or in the spiritual life.  The Third Noble Truth is the truth of the end of suffering.  The Fourth Noble truth explains the ways to attain the end of suffering, known to Buddhists as the Noble Eightfold Path. The steps of the Noble Eightfold Path are Right Understanding, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort.

E.  Interregional cultural and technological exchanges grew as a result of expanding trade networks and large-scale population movements such as the Indo-European and Bantu migrations

  • Trade and migrations between different empires/ states helped to facilitate the spread of different religions and ideas.  For example, the Aryans migrated over the mountains and settled into the Indus River Valley.  They brought the Vedic religion with them, and eventually over time the Vedic religion and the religion of the Dravidians merged with each other and created Hinduism.  Another example of this concept is Zaraostrianism.  The main means of the diffusion of Zaraostrianism was the trade routes between empires.

F.  Social hierarchies, including patriarchy, intensified as states expanded and cities multiplied

  • The development of agriculture allowed for the specialization of labor, which in turn allowed for the accumulation of wealth.  As wealth was accumulated, the gap between the rich and the poor increased.  This increasing gap resulted in the social stratification of societies.  (Evidence): One example of a social hierarchy is the caste system in India.  The levels of the caste system from highest to lowest are Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, and Shudra.  The caste system is based on the occupation of an individual, and is extremely rigid. It was near impossible to move from on social class to another ( unless in a reincarnation ).  The Brahmins were priests, Kshatriyas were warriors, Vaishyas were merchants and Shudras were the laborers.  Each caste level represents a part of the Brahmin or the higher being.  The Brahmin caste represents the mouth, and the Kshatriyas represented the arms.  The Vaishyas represented the thighs and the Shudras represented the feet.

Citation:

1.2 The Neolithic Revolution and Early Agricultural Societies. (2016, August 23). Retrieved October 07, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAfcSUWl5L8

Key terms 

Neolithic Revolution:  Widespread transition of hunting and gathering lifestyle to an agricultural lifestyle. Allowed for groups of people to settle, larger populations, and specialization of labor.

Cuneiform:  Writing system that was developed by Sumerians. 3500 – 3000 BCE

Hieroglyphics: system of writing in which symbols represented sounds, syllables, or concepts. It was used for official and monumental inscriptions in ancient Egypt.

Nomadic:  lifestyle type in which groups of people don’t settle in one place and keep moving, in order to provide for their cattle.

Patriarchy: system of society or government in which males were more active, dominant and had more rights.

Ziggurats: Ancient temples built in Mesopotamia during the the civilizations of Sumer, Babylon and Assyria.

Quipu: method used by the Incas and other ancient Andean cultures to keep records and communicate information.

Vedic Religion: Religion of the Aryans thought to be the precursor of Hinduism Jewish

Diaspora: The global dispersion of the Jewish people from their ancestral homeland (in modern-day Israel).

Social Stratification: system of society in which people are grouped into different social classes based on wealth.

Urban planning: plan of an urbanized area that is concerned with the distribution and use of land and resources.

Oracle bones: shoulder blades of oxen or plastrons of turtles which were used in the Shang Dynasty of China (c. 1600-1046 BCE) for divination.

Iron metallurgy: cheap metallurgy ( widely available resources ) that became the primary metal for tools and weapons.

Mandate of Heaven: The philosophical idea that is the basis of the authority of the Son of Heaven.IMG_1360

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Primary Sources for Key Concept 1.3

The Code of Hammurabi:

The Code of Hammurabi Analysis:

This code of Hammurabi was created by the Hammurabi, the king of Babylonia. This king maintained rule in Babylonia from 1792 B.C.E. to 1750 B.C.E. This document includes 282 legal laws, regarding significant and insignificant offenses with their punishments.  The king also used the laws to maintain his authority and rule in the state. These laws were also created to develop a stable state, keep justice, and let  people from lower status be protected from people in the top of the social hierarchy. However, the code had very strict punishments and the different social classes and genders were treated drastically differently through the punishments they received. This caused the state’s social society to be very divided, since the differences between the social hierarchy is more visible. The king also used the laws to maintain his authority and rule in the state.

Code of Ur-Nammu:

Code of Ur-Nammu Analysis:

This legal code was written from 2100B.C.E. to 2050 B.C.E., during the rule of Ur-Nammu in Sumer. The Code of Ur- Nammu is distinguished as a precursor for the Code of Hammurabi, since it was written three hundred years before the Code of Hammurabi. This source is one of the oldest documents that historian posses. Compared to the Code of Hammurabi, this code is very lenient to those who followed it. The Code of Ur-Nammu comprises of tax codes, punishments for offenses, ceremonial laws and procedures. However, the pdf attached does not cover all of these sections. In this civilization, strict punishments for offenses was not needed for most of the crimes that occurred. This legal document shaped the civilizations of the Sumerians and the other empires that followed this time period, including Babylonia.

Sources used on this page: