History Essay

John.Quality

spielvogel_wc_9e_lecture_ch01--.pptx

Home >History homework help >World history homework help >History Essay

Chapter 1

The Ancient Near East: The First Civilizations

Learning Objectives (Slide 1 of 3)

Identify the differences between the Paleolithic and Neolithic Ages

Describe the ways in which the Neolithic Revolution affected the lives of men and women

Explain the transformations brought by the agricultural revolution

Learning Objectives (Slide 2 of 3)

Discuss the characteristics of civilization and the various explanations given for why early civilizations emerged

Outline the characteristics of civilization in ancient Mesopotamia

Compare the similarities and differences between the three major periods of Egyptian history

Learning Objectives (Slide 3 of 3)

Analyze the changing roles of men and women from the agricultural revolution through the Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations

Hominids

Australopithecines (3-4 million years ago; simple stone tools; limited to Africa)

Homo Erectus (1.5 million years ago; larger, more varied tools; moves into Europe and Asia)

The First Humans (Slide 1 of 2)

The First Humans (Slide 2 of 2)

The emergence of Homo sapiens (“wise human being”)

Neanderthals, (ca. 100,000–30,000 years ago)

More advanced stone tools; burial of the dead

Homo sapiens sapiens, (ca. 200,000 B.C.E.–Present): replaced Neanderthals

The spread of humans: out of Africa or multiregional?

The Neolithic Revolution (c. 10,000 – 4000 B.C.E.)

Consequences of the Neolithic Revolution

Trade; specialized division of labor

Improved tools

Domestication of animals

Development of writing

Use of metals

Copper + tin = bronze

The Bronze Age (ca. 3000 B.C. – ca. 1200 B.C.E.)

Chronology: The First Humans

Human	Years
Australopithecines	Flourished ca. 3–4 million years ago
Homo erectus	Flourished ca. 100,000–1.5 million years ago
Neanderthals	Flourished ca. 200,000–30,000 B.C.E.
Homo sapiens sapiens	Emerged ca. 200,000 B.C.E.

Table Description: The type of humans and the time period during which they lived.

The Emergence of Civilization

Six characteristics of civilization

Urban focus (cities as important centers of development)

Distinct religious structure (gods; priests)

Political and military structures (bureaucracy; armies)

Social structure based on economic power

Writing (record keeping)

Artistic and intellectual activity

Civilization in Mesopotamia (Slide 1 of 2)

The city-states of ancient Mesopotamia

Sumerian cities: temple built on a ziggurat

Kingship: divine in origin

Economy and society: agricultural, trade

Empires in ancient Mesopotamia

The Code of Hammurabi

Civilization in Mesopotamia (Slide 2 of 2)

The culture of Mesopotamia

The importance of religion

Polytheistic

Arts of divination

Theocracy

The cultivation of new arts and sciences

Cuneiform

Semitic Languages

Akkadian

Arabic

Aramaic

Assyrian

Babylonian

Canaanitic

Hebrew

Phoenician

Syriac

Note: Languages in italic type are no longer spoken.

Table Description: Semitic Languages, whether still spoken or no longer spoken, are listed.

Egyptian Civilization: “The Gift of the Nile”

The impact of geography

The “miracle” of the Nile: annual, predictable flooding

The food surplus of the fertile valley

Transportation

Security

Changelessness

The Old and Middle Kingdoms (Slide 1 of 2)

Upper and Lower Egypt United (ca. 3100 B.C.E.)

The Old Kingdom (ca. 2575 – 2125 B.C.E.)

Prosperity and stability

Pharaohs (divine kings, absolute rulers)

Ma’at

Bureaucracy and the office of vizier

Nomes (provinces)

The Old and Middle Kingdoms (Slide 2 of 2)

The First Intermediate Period (ca. 2125 – 2010 B.C.E.)

The Middle Kingdom (ca. 2010 – 1630 B.C.E.)

Society and Economy in Ancient Egypt

Organized hierarchically

Pharaoh at the top

Upper class (nobles and priests)

Merchants and artisans

Lower classes: serfs

Majority of population

Bound to land

Taxpayers

Military and labor service

The Culture of Egypt (Slide 1 of 2)

Religion

Sun cult (Atum; Re)

Osiris, Isis, and Seth

Book of the Dead

The Pyramids

Designed as a city of the dead

Physical body and spiritual body (ka)

Mummification

Great Pyramid at Giza (ca. 2540 B.C.E.)

The Culture of Egypt (Slide 2 of 2)

Art and writing

Functional and integral in ritual

Writing (hieroglyphs: “priest-carvings”)

Daily Life in Ancient Egypt

Marriage

Husband as master of the house

Wife as in charge of the household and the education of children

Women

Labor, property, and inheritance

Hatshepsut, female pharaoh

Arranged marriages

Divorce allowed; adultery strictly prohibited

Chronology: The Egyptians

Period	Years
Early Dynastic Period (Dynasties 1–3)	ca. 3100–2575 B.C.E.
Old Kingdom (Dynasties 4–8)	ca. 2575–2125 B.C.E.
First Intermediate Period (Dynasties 9–11)	ca. 2125–2010 B.C.E.
Middle Kingdom (Dynasties 12–13)	ca. 2010–1630 B.C.E.
Second Intermediate Period (Dynasties 14–17)	ca. 1630–1539 B.C.E.
New Kingdom (Dynasties 18–20)	ca. 1539–1069 B.C.E.
Postempire Egypt (Dynasties 21–31)	1069–30 B.C.E.

Table Description: Thirty-one Dynasties of the Egyptians and the years during which they were active.

Discussion Questions

What were some of the key characteristics that separated homo sapiens sapiens from other early hominids?

Why is Mesopotamia called the Cradle of Civilization?

Why was Egyptian civilization so interested in death and dying?