2 pages
katherinabe
MalesHIST410Week2Lecture2.pptx
Week 2 Lecture
HIST410
Dr. Males
Spring 2022
SSU
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA
Chapter 3: The Great River Valleys: Accelerating Change and Developing States
Learning Objectives
Why did intensified agriculture lead to cultural differences?
Where did the first great river valley civilizations develop?
How can we account for the differences and similarities in political institutions, social structure, and ways of life in the four great river valleys?
Is writing a defining characteristic of civilizations?
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC
Growing Communities, Divergent Cultures
When communities initially formed, they were created around extended family businesses
Everyone in the community felt tied by kinship
However, as cross-cultural contact continued communities would begin to transform based on economic obligations
Chiefs or Economic elites would monopolize and control the distribution of food
There was no much distinction of small towns or small towns
Areas of the world at this time would continue as small villages such as in:
New World
Mesoamerica
Central America
There were exceptions to these small villages as seen in large city-states developed in parts of Mesoamerica and Central America
Growing Communities, Divergent Cultures cont.
In North America or the New World agriculture barely appeared contrasting the evidence found at the base of the Andes in South America where more complex cities were developing
One such settlement was that of Aspero found on the alluvial plains of Peru covering 32 acres
Populations are estimated to be between 2,000 to 3,000 people
Large complex dwelling and storehouses were found
Evidence of society were found in the remains of a infant's grave in this location
Comparable settlements were found across Eurasia such as:
Europe’s oldest copper mine – Rudna Glava
Tisza (modern Hungary) was known for their smelters that would work copper into beads and small tools
Other others such as Bulgaria had created a settlement with trenches and palisades surrounded it with gateways aligned to the compass
First domesticator of horses around 5000 B.C.E at Sredny Stog (modern Ukraine)
The Ecology of Civilization
Four river valleys stand out with regards to size
Middle and Lower Nile in Egypt
The Indus and now dry Saraswathi in Pakistan
The Tigris and Euphrates in Iraq
The Yellow River in China
Between 5000 and 2000 B.C.E., people in these lands exploited the land resulting in faster changes than other regions
Buildings such as pyramids, sphinxes and ziggurats were created
Mummies emerged during this period
The use of bronze, jade and clays were utilized along with writing tablets
The Great Floodplains
All these locations shared an environmental feature
Warming of the climate
Dry soils
Reliance of seasonally flooding rivers
This seasonal flooding came to be relied on to support the agricultures in the areas that would in turn support the civilizations that were growing in these locations
Most locations would provide enough crops to support the population, however, even at this time we will see social structures emerge on who controls the food sources along with who and how much each group of people would receive
Configurations of Society
Settlement and Labor
Throughout these river valley civilizations evidence would emerge of social structures of this time
As population grew it would allow for specialization such as in particular crafts and trades
As specialization occurred the role of genders within these civilizations would also emerge allowing for more opportunities for women such as that of textile workers found in Mesopotamia
Politics
All four river valley civilizations would lend to an environment well suited for tyranny and or strong states that would have control over every life
All had rigid hierarchies
All labor was at the disposal of the state
All would practice sacred kinship
Configurations of Society cont.
Literate Culture
These civilizations would also develop expressive writing systems
However, not all people within the civilizations had the ability to read or write
Most reading and writing was reserved or taught to the higher social classes
Chapter 4: A Succession of Civilizations: Ambition and Instability
Learning Objectives
Why were the Hittite, Cretan, and Mycenaean states for fragile than the great river valley civilizations?
What fundamental problems to their survival did all large ancient civilizations face?
Why did the Harappan civilization disappear?
What were the continuities between the Shange and the Zhou in China?
Where did the first states arise in the New World?
The Case of the Hittite Kingdom
Located in Anatolia in the central part of this region
Around 1800 to 1500 B.C.E., people that would become known as Hittites “children of Hatti” would draw millions of people into a single network of production and distribution
All with an allegiance and would go on to build an empire
This empire was comparable to the river valley civilizations
Hatti become would become a regional power through trade, but for unknown reasons the economic center in Mesopotamia over time would shift upriver
Changes in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers left important cities stranded
Accumulation of silt kept merchants offshore
Wars at the end of the Persian gulf causes and the disappearance of great cities disrupted commerce
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA
Hittite Society and Politics
The Hittite Kingdom would bring herders and farmers together
Creating a single state and economic system
Hatti’s king was the sun god’s earthly deputy
He was responsible for war, justice and relations with the gods
However, there was a bureaucratic court, where the clerks would perpetuate the king’s commands
The Hittite state was strong in war because they had to be because of a fragile economy and poor key resources in the homeland
Therefore, they need to grow to access more resources
Limits to expansion were due to the frontiers of Egypt and Mesopotamia
In the last decades of the 1300s B.C.E., the Hittite state was in decline
Instability and Collapse in the Aegean
The Hittite civilizations rise, and fall would be something that is seen in other civilizations
Two civilizations that demonstrate parallels to the Hittites would be the Minoans or Cretan civilization along with the Mycenean civilization
Cretan civilization
Located on the island of Crete
The island is big enough to be self sustaining, however, mountains cover two-thirds of the island
This resulted in very little land to cultivate
Wall paintings would depict the first palaces and storehouses that arose around 2000 B.C.E.
It also showed fields of grain, vines and orchards with many crops
There were also forest of honey and venison and seas with dolphins and octopus
Instability and Collapse in the Aegean cont.
Cretan civilization cont.
The great palace complex was at Knossos covering more than 40,000 square feet
Lesser dwellings grouped into towns were tiny imitations of the palace
Within society very few people lived beyond their forties
Skeletal evidence noted that the common people lived near the margin of malnutrition
The environment was also rocked by a volcanic eruptions and possibly earthquakes indicating the palaces were rebuilt twice
Around 1400 B.C.E., a major change in culture occurred
The writings were done in an early form of Greek from this time on
Instability and Collapse in the Aegean cont..
Mycenean Civilization
Fortified cities and gold-rich tombs of this civilization appear around 1500 B.C.E.
Pylos had one of the largest palaces
Clay tablets show the roles of many palace officials
Also impacted by earthquakes and wars the Mycenean cities were abandoned around 1100 B.C.E
A General Crisis in the Eastern Mediterranean World?
Many of the early civilizations would be challenged by many issues that plagued this time such as:
Ecological disasters
Egypt – So much of the land out of the Nile Delta was uninhabitable which made survival difficult
Indus Valley (Harappan civilization) – Loss of the Saraswathi River and the ever advancing Thar Desert
Invaders from other civilizations
Egypt – Invaded by the “sea people” and the Hyksos
Indus Valley – The Rig Veda tales of people coming that wanted a world of fat and opulence, however, it is believed some of the cities were already in ruins
Yellow River Valley – Invaders from outside the valley as well as internal conflicts between the ruling class led to the eventual collapse
Disease and famine
Egypt – Many stories indicate that this civilization was plagued by disease and famine as noted in The Old Testament
Indus Valley – Impacted and fled a plague that was more deadly than malaria
Reference the chart on page 99 for more information
State-Building in the Americas
On a smaller scale and over a longer period of time state building and civilizations would emerge out of the Old World
Andean Examples (Olmecs) – Began 3500 years ago on the Peruvian coast
Agricultural mounds would become the ceremonial platforms and then two large centers would follow
Large reservoirs and drainage systems and causeways were also built
Assessing the Damage
By 1000 B.C.E., failed states and civilizations were everywhere
Causes for these failures include:
Mysterious catastrophes
Food distribution centers shut down
Settlements and monuments abandoned
Civilizations such as Harappan, Crete and the Mycene all vanished
The one civilization that survived through all this – Egypt
But even Egypt was reigned in from all these events
Chapter 5: Rebuilding the World: Recoveries, New Initiatives and Their Limits
Learning Objectives
What were the political, economic foundations of the Assyrian Empire?
Why were colonization and trade so important for the Greeks and the Phoenicians?
Why did the Zhou state decline in China? How was civilization built anew in India and Sri Lanka?
How did geography influence the transmission of culture in the Americas and Africa?
Trade and Recovery in the Middle East
The Phoenician Experience
With limited land for farming, but access to harbors and forests of cedar of cedar and fir
Would turn to shipbuilding and timber exports
Colonized many locations in order to open trade in these areas
Provided cultural exchange in these colonies
These colonies would remain even after the fall of Phoenicia
The Assyrian Empire
With the Hatti’s extinction was the Assur’s opportunity
Kings of Assur would create a state along the Upper Tigris, in the hills were enough precipitation allowed for agriculture
Governors were appointed by the kings to run smaller provinces which would make rebellions difficult due to the provinces size
This empire would also see the rise of two women rulers such as Sammuramat and Naqia
Trade and Recovery in the Middle East cont.
The Babylonian Revival
Ruled over by the Assyrians, Babylonians never forgot their previous independence and tried often to reclaim it
Assyrians such as Sennacherib would massacre or disperse the population to attempt to prevent these rebellions
Nabopolassar would defeat the Assyrians and masterminded a Babylonian revival
Another leader Nebuchadnezzar II would also bring Babylon to his famed peak
Greece and Beyond
The Greek Environment
Early Greeks lived by goat farming and in thatched huts
By the 10th century B.C.E. some of the city states such as Athens, Corinth and a few others would begin to export
This would lead to improved agriculture and increase food production, growing the Greek population
Greek colonies would be founded such as Delphi which would become a religious center for the Oracles
Most colonist were outcasts, exiles and criminals attempting to forage a new society
However, becoming Greek colonies met recreating Greek life
Early Greek Society
Formed two kinds of communities
Ethne – Tribes Poleis – Cities
Utilized Demokrateia which meant a state where supreme power belonged to an assembly of citizens
Women were excluded from this process
Families were the basis for Greek society
Greece and Beyond cont.
The Spread of State-Building and City-Building
The Thracians
Lands lay along the Aegean Sea, north and east of Greece
Chiefs made an early start growing wealth and state-building
The Illyrians and Garmantes
Illyrians - West of the Thracians, along the coast of the Adriatic Sea
Evidence of an abundance of goad and silver in their artifacts
Garamantes – Located in the dry region of Libya called the Fezzan
Dug 1,000 miles of irrigation tunnels under the Sahara and grew wheat and barley
The Etruscans
North shore of the Mediterranean
Much of the region lay under malarial marshes that had to be drained so they focused on iron mines and smelting technology
Focused on culture through the arts such as theater
Empires and Recover in China and South Asia
The Zhou Decline
After conquering the Shang, the Zhou believed it was a mandate from heaven
As Zhou supremacy reigned, the empire became increasingly decentralized
Rituals got bigger trying to appease the gods
Many kings would rise but the constant external threat was the western barbarians, while also trying to confront natural disasters with magic
South Asia
The Ganges Valley
There was no evidence that later Indian culture would exhibit Harappan culture within the Ganges Valley
Little is known about it’s political and social life during this time
However, the Upanishads which are a collection of oral traditions that were passed from one generation to another
Frustrations of Isolation
Developments in North America
There were developments in the New World such as
Dorset culture in the American Far North
Building of semisubterranean longhouses and stone alleys for driving caribou
Creation of blubber-fueled soapstone lamps allowed for colonization of deserts of ice
Poverty Point on the lower Mississippi River and the coast of the Gulf of Mexico
Worked in copper and manufactured fine tools and jewelry
Had more than 100 hundred sites, grouped around 10 major centers
New Initiatives in Africa
As Egypt weakened a Nubian state reemerged on the Upper Nile using an indigenous Nubian tongue
Developed hard-iron technology
The Bantu languages continued to spread south into Central Africa
Growth of trade would lead to future consequences for the future of Africa
Questions?
Reference: Fernandez-Armesto, F. (2011). The World: A History. Prentice Hall.
