Flashcards WHAP 1
Characteristics of Hominids
• Any of a family of erect bipedal primate mammals that includes recent humans together with extinct ancestral and related forms and in some recent classifications the gorilla, chimpanzee, and orangutan • The earliest hominids and their descendants were more advanced than earlier primates because of their bipedalism, large brain, and larynx • Bipedal means using two legs for walking or walking upright • A large brain allowed hominids to make tools and adapt to diverse environments and a larynx allows for speech • So, hominids were more advanced but they did NOT use agriculture - it would take thousands of years before the Neolithic Revolution occurred
Hominid Development
• Australopithecines, Homo habilis, Cro-Magnon, and Homo sapiens sapiens - that correctly outlines the order of hominid development • Of course, it does not outline every hominid but Australopithecines existed before Homo habilis and Homo habilis lived before Cro-Magnon and Cro-Magnon lived before Homo sapiens sapiens • Australopithecus afarensis is the well-known "Lucy" excavated in Ethiopia and dated to ca. 3.2 million years ago - she was small in stature and lightweight as well • Australopithecus afarensis is important because it has been found in East and South Africa about 2.6 million years ago - it was bipedal (walking upright on two legs) most of the time although it is possible that it spent some time in trees if for no other reason than to escape predators • The species that you and all other living human beings on this planet belong to is Homo sapiens - during a time of dramatic climate change 200,000 years ago, Homo sapiens evolved in Africa and like other early humans that were living at this time, they gathered and hunted food, and developed behaviors that helped them respond to the challenges of survival in diverse environments
Ancient Egypt and Ancient Mesopotamia - Comparisons
• Both had polytheistic (many gods) religions • Both had written languages - cuneiform in Mesopotamia and hieroglyphics in Ancient Egypt • Both were river valley civilizations - Ancient Mesopotamia had the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers and Ancient Egypt had the Nile River • There were differences too - Ancient Egypt was politically unified and Ancient Mesopotamia had city-states • The Nile flooded regularly and predictably and the Tigris and Euphrates flooded violently and unpredictably
Definition of prehistory
• By scholarly convention, prehistory refers to the period before the invention of writing • Prehistory is the period of time in the past before people could write : the time before history was written down • The uncounted millenniums which lie back of the time when man began to keep written records of what he thought and did and of what befell him are called the Prehistoric Age • The comparatively few centuries of human life which are made known to us through written records comprise the Historic Age • Much of the past was not recorded - it is only through the excavation of artifacts that these stories can be told
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
• Cities first emerged from agricultural villages and towns in the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers • The first cities developed in Mesopotamia - the land between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers • The origins of Sumerian civilization in Mesopotamia are still debated today, but archaeological evidence indicates that they established roughly a dozen city-states by the fourth millennium B.C.E. • These cities usually consisted of a walled metropolis dominated by a ziggurat - the tiered, pyramid-like temples associated with the Sumerian religion • Major Sumerian city-states included Eridu, Ur, Nippur, Lagash and Kish, but one of the oldest and most sprawling was Uruk
The Neolithic Revolution and an Unusual Aspect of the Revolution
• Compared to other revolutions in world history, the feature of the Neolithic Revolution that is most unusual is that it attenuated unfolding over thousands of years in diverse locales • Yes, the Neolithic Revolution took thousands of years to occur in different locations - most revolutions occur within a few decades or even a few years or even months • Like many revolutions, the Neolithic Revolution altered gender roles and relations - so that is NOT unusual • Like many revolutions, the Neolithic Revolution had an impact on population growth and the transformations of class relations - so these are NOT unusual • And like many revolutions, the Neolithic Revolution had an impact on the abandonment of previously held patterns of religious worship
Culture
• Culture is a way of life of a group of people; it includes language, religion, clothing styles, and food preferences • Combinations of the ideas, objects, and patterns of behavior that result from human social interaction are referred to as culture • Culture is a "blueprint for living" in that it dictates a lot of what people do and what people believe and what people like • Culture refers to the cumulative deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spatial relations, concepts of the universe, and material objects and possessions acquired by a group of people in the course of generations through individual and group striving • Culture can also be defined as the shared patterns of behaviors and interactions, cognitive constructs, and affective understanding that are learned through a process of socialization
Changes brought about by the Neolithic Revolution
• During the Neolithic Revolution, some people learned to farm and domesticate animals - this radical change in food production occurred in several different locations around the world circa 8000 B.C.E. • The Neolithic Revolution allowed individuals to settle and establish permanent settlements - farmers were NOT nomadic - and class divisions developed as some individuals were more successful at food production than others and now settled, individuals could store more wealth and goods • All of the following changes to human societies were brought about by the Neolithic Revolution: reliable food supplies increased, job specialization occurred, and the distinction between nomads and settled people became important • However, women and men did NOT grow to have more equal status - in fact, patriarchy or male dominance developed as a result of the Neolithic Revolution as men were typically farmers and male work was seen as more valuable
Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro
• Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro were two important cities of the Indus River Valley civilization (sometimes called Harappan civilization) - one of the early river valley civilizations • This mysterious culture emerged nearly 4,500 years ago and thrived for a thousand years, profiting from the highly fertile lands of the Indus River floodplain and trade with the civilizations of nearby Mesopotamia • A well-planned street grid and an elaborate drainage system hint that the occupants of these ancient Indus civilization cities were skilled urban planners with a reverence for the control of water • The city's wealth and stature is evident in artifacts such as ivory, lapis, carnelian, and gold beads, as well as the baked-brick city structures themselves • Writing was developed in the Indus River Valley civilization but it cannot be deciphered by archaeologists today - in other words, archaeologists cannot read the writing • In the sites of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro, archeologists have found a high degree of standardization of weights, measures, architectural styles, and even brick sizes - such standardization may suggest that there might have been a central authority powerful enough to reach all corners of society but we don't know for certain
Status of Women in Ancient Greece
• In Greek society, women were treated as inferior to men in both social and political affairs • Patriarchy or male dominance was very strong in ancient Greece • In Athens, women were usually secluded and did not participate in public life • Even in Sparta where women had substantially more power, they were still viewed as inferior to men • Yes, the ancient Greeks - in particular the Athenians - invented democracy but only free men born in Athens could vote - Women, slaves, and foreigners could not vote
Origins of agriculture
• Most experts believe that agriculture first originated in the Middle East but also began later as independent invention in many other areas around the world • Yes, the Neolithic Revolution occurred independently in a number of sites around the world but the first region to experience a Neolithic Revolution was most likely found in the Middle East or Southwest Asia • The Neolithic Revolution occurred first in the so-called "Fertile Crescent" or Mesopotamia in what is now modern Iraq but it also occurred independently at later dates in China, the Americas and possibly in parts of Africa and New Guinea • Agriculture then diffused from these locations to other lands • Yet its earliest expression was more than likely in the Middle East
Nomadism
• Nomadism refers to people who have no fixed residence but move from place to place usually seasonally and within a well-defined territory • Pastoralists are nomads • Pastoralists domesticate animals but not plants - pastoralists are herders • Pastoralism affected early social development in that herding societies tended to migrate frequently, and thus civilization took longer to emerge • Yes, herders are nomadic
Dates of early civilizations
• 3500 B.C.E. is the date that the first full civilization emerged in the Middle East • At around 3500 B.C.E., in Mesopotamia, there arose several important cities and civilizations • The Sumerians lived in southern Mesopotamia, an area known as Sumer, around 100 miles upriver from the Persian Gulf in what is now Iraq • The Sumerians invented writing around 3100 B.C.E. • Schools were first begun in Mesopotamia to teach upper class male students to write using the cuneiform alphabet
Characteristics of Civilization
• A civilization is a complex society • A common trait of early civilizations is urban life - the word "civilization" comes from the Latin word for city: "civis" - thanks to food surpluses, cities developed • Another trait of early civilization was monument building - whether pyramids or ziggurats - in civilization, monuments were built • Formal state structures - this too was a common trait of early civilizations - government departments or bureaucracy • Writing is a common trait of early civilizations - think hieroglyphics or ziggurats • But nomadism was NOT a common trait of early civilizations - nomads do not build cities because nomads move and to invest time and energy into the building of a structure that will be abandoned makes no sense
Zhou Dynasty
• According to Zhou political theory, the Zhou king overthrew the Shang dynasty because the Shang lost the mandate of heaven • The Shang is the first known Chinese dynasty (with artifacts to prove its existence) and was overthrown by the Zhou dynasty • When the Zhou overthrew the Shang, they claimed the right to overthrow the Shang based on a belief in the Mandate of Heaven • The Mandate of Heaven is the right to rule • In other words, the gods select the emperor and dynasty to rule and they thereby received the mandate but if they rule poorly or bad things happen during their rule, it is evidence that they have lost the mandate • Thus, the mandate of heaven justifies rebellion because it states that the dynasty can lose the mandate and then the people have the right to rebel and overthrow the dynasty
Ancient Egyptian writing
• Ancient Egyptian writing included hieroglyphic, hieratic, demotic, and Coptic scripts • The ancient Egyptians believed that it was important to record and communicate information about religion and government and they thus invented written scripts that could be used to record this information • The most famous of all ancient Egyptian scripts is hieroglyphic • However, throughout three thousand years of ancient Egyptian civilization, at least three other scripts were used too • Using these scripts, scribes were able to preserve the beliefs, history and ideas of ancient Egypt in temple and tomb walls and on papyrus scrolls • A scribe was a person who copied out documents, especially one employed to do this before printing was invented
New Stone Age
• Another term for the Neolithic Age is the New Stone Age • The Neolithic Age or New Stone Age was characterized by stone tools shaped by polishing or grinding and dependence on domesticated plants or animals • It was also characterized by settlement in permanent villages and the appearance of such crafts as pottery and weaving • The Neolithic Age is followed the Paleolithic Period or age of chipped-stone tools and preceded the Bronze Age or early period of metal tools • The Neolithic Age was a revolutionary period in human and societal development
Mandate of Heaven Yet Again
• As developed in China, the Mandate of Heaven established the ruler's legitimacy • Legitimacy is the lawfulness or authenticity of something - in this case, the emperor is the legitimate or rightful or lawful ruler • The Mandate of Heaven was a concept established by the Zhou dynasty, the dynasty that overthrew the Shang dynasty • It stated that the gods picked the emperor to rule and thus the emperor received the Mandate of Heaven or the right to rule but the emperor could lose the right to rule if he ruled poorly or was ineffective • Floods, famines, and too many wars - these were signs that an emperor had lost the right to rule • The Mandate of Heaven therefore justified rebellion • The Chinese could rebel if their ruler failed to rule wisely, competently, or well
Australia and Neolithic Revolution
• Australia was region of the world that had yet to experience the Neolithic transition by 600 CE • Australia's Aboriginal people were thought to have arrived by boat from South East Asia during the last Ice Age, at least 50,000 years ago • At the time of European discovery and settlement, up to one million Aboriginal people lived across the continent as hunters and gatherers • The most immediate consequence of British settlement was the introduction of European diseases such as smallpox - diseases for which the Aborigines had no immunities due to a lack of domesticated animals and many Aborigines died • The Europeans also introduced large-scale farming
Diffusion
• Diffusion is the spread of foods, trade goods, concepts, norms, practices, and inventions among different peoples • Diffusion is cultural diffusion • In cultural diffusion, ideas or crops or goods that originated in one culture are moved to another culture - usually through trade but sometimes through conquest • Buddhism developed in India but it spread to China - thus, Buddhism in China is an example of cultural diffusion and Buddhism spread on the Silk Roads • The potato originated in the Americas but through the Columbian Exchange (the cultural diffusion that began with Columbus' arrival in the Americas) was grown in Ireland
Characteristics of Hunting and Gathering Societies
• Hunters and gatherers are nomads - they are mobile - moving from place to place in search of food • Hunters and gatherers have a little specialization of labor - specialization means performing different jobs and yes, men hunt and women gather and thus, there is a little specialization of labor • Hunters and gatherers do NOT have widespread specialization of labor - widespread would mean a lot of different jobs • Hunters and gatherers have limited trade • Hunters and gatherers have a subsistence lifestyle - meaning that they have the resources necessary to survive but do not accumulate extra or surplus resources
King Menes of Ancient Egypt
• In 3100 B.C.E., the history of Egypt is said to have begun when King Menes united Upper and Lower Egypt • For almost 30 centuries - from its unification around 3100 B.C. to its conquest by Alexander the Great in 332 B.C.E. - ancient Egypt was the preeminent civilization in the Mediterranean world • Around 3400 B.C.E., two separate kingdoms were established: the Red Land to the north, based in the Nile River and the White Land in the south - a southern king, Scorpion, made the first attempts to conquer the northern kingdom around 3200 B.C.E. but a century later, King Menes would subdue the north and unify the country, becoming the first king of the first dynasty • King Menes founded the capital of ancient Egypt at White Walls (later known as Memphis), in the north, near the apex of the Nile River delta. • Most ancient Egyptians were farmers living in small villages, and agriculture (largely wheat and barley) formed the economic base of the Egyptian state - the annual flooding of the great Nile River provided the necessary irrigation and fertilization each year
Origins of Early Humans
• Most scholars would agree with this statement about early humans that humans originated in Africa and then migrated to other continents • As to its human history, Africa is the place where some seven million years ago the evolutionary lines of apes and proto-humans diverged • Human life began in Africa and thus, the story of humanity is an African story • It remained the only continent our ancestors inhabited until around two million years ago, when Homo erectus expanded out of Africa into Europe and Asia. • Sometime between 100,000 and 50,000 years ago our African ancestors underwent some further profound change • Whether it was the development of complex speech or something else, such as a change in brain wiring, scientists aren't exactly sure • Whatever it was, it transformed those early Homo sapiens into what paleoanthropologists call "behaviorally modern" Homo sapiens • "Behaviorally modern" Homo sapiens, probably with brains similar to our own, expanded again into Europe and Asia • Once there, they exterminated or replaced or interbred with Neanderthals and Asia's hominins and became the dominant human species throughout the world • In effect, Africans enjoyed not just one but three huge head starts over humans on other continents
Role of Oceans in History
• Oceans can separate nations or bring nations together • Oceans have, at times, kept societies apart - the Mongols tried to conquer Japan twice but the seas made it difficult and the Mongols failed twice - waters surrounding a land can make conquest or contact difficult thereby separating lands • Yet oceans have served as an effective means of transport - the Indian Ocean was a region of great trading - sailors used monsoon winds that predictably blew in one direction half of the year and the other direction the other half of the year to trade - the Indian Ocean trading network connected East Africa, Arabia, India, and Southeast Asia • Yes, oceans have stimulated the emergence of networks of trade, technology transfer, and cultural exchange • And by using oceans, humans could travel completely around the world by the sixteenth century C.E. - in the 1500s, Ferdinand Magellan's crew successfully circumnavigated the world
Status of women with rise of agriculture
• One common effect of the process of agricultural settlements developing into civilizations was that the status of women fell • Before agriculture, men were hunters and women were gatherers but they both contributed to the survival of the community and both were valued even though men may have had more power • With the rise of agriculture, many changes occurred - including the role of men - men now became farmers and their labor was seen as more valuable • In addition, women could now have more children - hunters and gatherers move and thus, have few babies - babies must be carried and each adult can only carry one child at a time in a nomadic migration - but settled mothers can have many babies • Women became associated with the home and child-rearing and the very important work they did was viewed as inferior - thus, patriarchy or male dominance developed
Hammurabi's Law Code
• One of the earliest and most complete ancient legal codes or law code was proclaimed by the Babylonian king Hammurabi, who reigned from 1792 to 1750 B.C.E. - Hammurabi expanded the city-state of Babylon along the Euphrates River to unite all of southern Mesopotamia • His code, a collection of 282 laws and standards, stipulated rules for commercial interactions and set fines and punishments to meet the requirements of justice • One of the main innovative ideas in Hammurabi's law code was that was a consistent set of regulations should govern society • Hammurabi's Code also had class division - in that rich and poor people were punished differently • This early written law code clearly stated the rules and punishments and could be harsh at times
Domestication of Animals
• Pastoral nomads are similar to settled farmers in that they both domesticate animals • Pastoralism is the raising of animals - pastoralists are herders • Pastoralism is also known as animal husbandry • Farmers domesticate animals but also plants • Pastoralists only domesticate animals
Characteristics of Pastoralism
• Pastoralists are herders; they raise livestock • Pastoral societies are based on herding but NOT farming • Pastoralism affected early social development in that herding societies tended to migrate frequently, and thus civilization took longer to emerge • Yes, pastoralists are nomadic because animals must graze and grazing requires mobility and movement • In pastoral societies, women generally had more rights than in agricultural societies because when women must move, their status is generally a bit higher - women cannot be secluded and out of public view
Pastoralists and Mobility
• Pastoralists rarely accumulated large amounts of material possessions because they were frequently mobile • It is hard to accumulate things when you are moving regularly • You must be able to carry (at least if you are a hunter or a gatherer) what you own when you move • Thus, pastoralists - nomadic herders - generally did not accumulate many material possessions because they could not easily move a lot of stuff • However, they did want to accumulate livestock (domesticated animals) because wealth in a pastoral society was based on the number of animals the herder possessed
Domestication of perennial plants
• Perennial plants are for plants that live for more than two years • Many perennials grow and bloom over spring and summer, die back during fall and winter, and grow again the following year from their roots • Domestication of perennial plants in each region was true for ALL of the early agricultural systems • With the domestication of the key food plants and animals in the Middle East (about 10,000 years ago), people were able to live in large settled communities with a reliable, predictable, and abundant food supply that was able to support the development of cities, craft specialization, social stratification, temple priesthoods, and kingship - the complex of connected institutions that we call "civilization" • In short, the consequences of the Neolithic revolution were enormous - affecting nearly every major aspect of human environment, economy, and culture
Polytheism
• Polytheism is the belief in many gods • Yes, it the belief in or worship of more than one god • All of the early river valley civilizations were polytheistic • The first religious expressions on planet Earth were all expressions of polytheism • Monotheism developed later • The world's first lasting monotheistic religion was developed by the Hebrews and is known as Judaism
Increased Population Density and Agriculture
• Population density increased as a result of the development of agriculture in societies that previously relied on hunting and gathering • Population density refers to the number of people living per unit of an area • Population increases in societies that experience agriculture • Agriculture provides a reliable food source and therefore, people settle and women can give birth to more babies • In hunting and gathering societies, the birth rate is limited as hunters and gatherers move regularly and cannot easily move lots of babies and toddlers
Social Changes Brought About By Agriculture
• Population growth was a change brought about by agriculture - in that agriculture societies had a more reliable food supply and could feed and support more people • The emergence of villages and towns - another change brought about by agriculture - in that farmers settle; farmers create permanent settlements • The specialization of labor was another change brought about by agriculture - in that as farmers become more productive and grow more food - some individuals are freed from farming and can perform other jobs (specialization - to perform different jobs) • The emergence of social classes was also a change brought about by agriculture - in hunting and gathering societies, people cannot accumulate many possessions and therefore people are equal - there are no social classes but in farming societies, social classes emerge as some people acquire more possessions and land than others - thus, the rich and the poor divide occurs in society • But the invention of writing was NOT a social change brought about by agriculture - a social change is a change in the composition of a society - all of the others are social changes - in addition, writing did not always occur in societies that experienced agriculture - many societies in the Americas, societies where agriculture developed, did not develop writing systems (yes, there were exceptions like the Mayans but in general, agriculture can develop without writing developing)
River Valley Civilizations
• River Valley Civilizations such as the Egyptians or Sumerians developed craft specialization - some individuals performed different jobs than farming - they became skilled craftsmen or artisans • River Valley Civilizations had social stratification - or class systems with some people ranked higher than others - priests had more prestige and status than peasant farmers • River Valley Civilizations often engaged in long-distance trade - the Sumerians of Mesopotamia traded with the peoples of the Indus River Valley civilization • River Valley Civilizations had complex religious rituals - priests performed elaborate ceremonies to please the gods • But constitutional monarchy was NOT a development in river valley civilizations - river valley civilizations developed in the B.C.E. era but constitutional monarchy or a government where a king's power is limited by a constitution did not exist until the modern era, thousands of years later
Sedentary Agriculture
• Sedentary agriculture is the economic activity that is most likely to produce a surplus • In sedentary agriculture, there are permanent settlements and village life revolves around farming • Settled farmers often grow more crops than they can eat and thus, surplus (extra crops) occur • As a result of surplus crops, not all individuals are needed for food production • This allows some individuals to perform other jobs - thus specialization (performing different jobs) occurs
Definition - Shifting Cultivation
• Shifting cultivation is a form of slash and burn farming • Shifting cultivation is a form of agriculture, used especially in tropical Africa, in which an area of ground is cleared of vegetation and cultivated for a few years and then abandoned for a new area until its fertility has been naturally restored • Shifting cultivation was generally practiced in rain forests and their peripheries • In a rain forest, the trees must be cut and the underbrush cleared - then farming can occur but only for a few years because the soil is rendered infertile quickly • The community moves to a new area and repeats the process of cutting trees and clearing the underbrush, farming, and then moving on
Social stratification
• Social stratification refers to a system by which a society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy • A hierarchy is a ranking system • In the United States, there are some groups that have greater status, power, and wealth than other groups • The Hindu caste system is socially stratified with its Brahmins or priests, warriors, merchants, and farmers • Brahmins are ranked higher than merchants
Gilgamesh
• The "Epic of Gilgamesh" is a poem that follows the adventures of a Sumerian king as he battles a forest monster and quests after the secret of eternal life. • Gilgamesh, king of Uruk, was two-thirds god and one-third man and he built magnificent ziggurats, or temple towers, surrounded his city with high walls, and laid out its orchards and fields - he was physically beautiful, immensely strong, and very wise but he was very cruel • The gods heard his subjects' pleas and decided to keep Gilgamesh in check by creating a wild man named Enkidu, who was as magnificent as Gilgamesh - Enkidu became Gilgamesh's great friend, and Gilgamesh's heart was shattered when Enkidu died of an illness inflicted by the gods • Gilgamesh then goes in search of immortality • But Gilgamesh learns that he can't live forever but that humankind will - now he sees that the city he had repudiated in his grief and terror is a magnificent, enduring achievement - the closest thing to immortality to which a mortal can aspire • Thus, Gilgamesh was a king of the city-state of Uruk, a hero in a popular Mesopotamian epic, a warrior in conflict with the city of Kish and a legendary loyal friend of Enkidu
"Son of Heaven" in Chinese history
• The Chinese king was called the "son of heaven" and served as a link between heaven and earth • The Chinese emperor was understood to be the "Son of Heaven" responsible for maintaining harmony between the human sphere and heaven - he ruled society with the "Mandate of Heaven" • The emperor as the Son of Heaven had received the Mandate of Heaven to rule society • The emperor, therefore, played a key role in linking the human social order to other domains of the cosmic order • Therefore, the emperor could be held fully responsible for disturbances in that order
Identify significant rivers in rise of early civilizations
• The Egyptians were to the Nile as the Chinese were to the Yellow or Huang He River • Yes, rivers were significant in early civilizations because rivers provided water for farming and for irrigation • The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers were important to the peoples of Mesopotamia and made agriculture and civilization possible in the region • The Indus River was significant for the peoples of the Indus River Valley and made agriculture and Harappan civilization possible • And the Yellow River was important to China - it was called the Huang He River and it is the location where the Chinese people first learned to farm and it was also, in the past, known as "China's Sorrow" because it was shallow and flooded easily thereby killing many people • Of course, the Nile River was important for Ancient Egyptian civilization and was known Egyptian civilization was known as the "Gift of the Nile"
Huang He River Valley Civilization
• The Huang He River Valley Civilization was an early river valley civilization that developed in the greatest state of isolation from the others • The Tigris-Euphrates River Valley Civilization, the Nile River Valley Civilization and the Indus River Valley Civilization had contact with other civilizations • Since their homeland was largely devoid of timber, stone and minerals, the Sumerians in the Tigris-Euphrates river valley were forced to create one of history's earliest trade networks over both land and sea • Sumerian merchants undertook months-long journeys to Anatolia and Lebanon to gather cedar wood and to Oman and the Indus Valley for gold and gemstones • The Sumerians were particularly fond of lapis lazuli -a blue-colored precious stone used in art and jewelry - and there is evidence that they may have roamed as far as Afghanistan to get it
Mandate of Heaven
• The Mandate of Heaven was the Chinese belief that the gods gave the emperor and his family (dynasty: a ruling family) the right to rule or the mandate to rule but the gods could remove the mandate if the ruler ruled poorly • It was clear that an emperor had lost the Mandate of Heaven when too many devastating floods, famines, or wars occurred • A corrupt or incompetent ruler - a ruler who could not provide for his people in difficult times - had lost the Mandate of Heaven and the people could rebel • The Mandate of Heaven justified rebellion • One of the most important political legacies of the Zhou Dynasty in Ancient China is the Mandate of Heaven - the idea of the Mandate of Heaven was established by the Zhou • When the Zhou overthrew the Shang Dynasty (China's first known or archaeologically proven dynasty), the Zhou claimed the Mandate of Heaven - they argued that it was their right to overthrow the dynasty and proclaim a new dynasty because the Shang had lost the Mandate and the gods had given the Mandate to the Zhou
The Near East
• The Near East is a rather ethnocentric term because it suggest that it is east of Europe but near to Europe • The Near East refers to the Middle East or Southwest Asia • The Middle East is another ethnocentric term for this region because it is from a European perspective; therefore it is more accurate to refer to the region as Southwest Asia • The countries of Southwest Asia are nations like Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Israel • The Near East was one of the earliest sites of agriculture • Wheat and barley were the grains associated with the development of sedentary agriculture in the Near East
Locations of earliest river valley civilizations
• The Neolithic Revolution led to the development of civilizations - civilizations are complex societies with class divisions or class systems, organized government, generally writing systems, and of course, cities • Most of the earliest civilizations developed in river valleys in warm, dry climates • This is not surprising as rivers provide water for farming and irrigation - and thus, it is generally easier to farm near a river than away from a river • The four river valley civilizations were located in Mesopotamia - the land between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in present-day Iraq - the Nile River Valley in Egypt, the Indus River Valley in the Indian subcontinent, and the Huang He River in China • Civilizations have distinctly different settlement patterns from ordinary societies -the word civilization is sometimes defined as "a word that simply means 'living in cities'" - compared with other societies, civilizations have a more complex political structure, namely the state and state societies are more stratified in that there is a greater difference among social classes
"The Gift of the Nile"
• The Nile River is a critical source of water in Egypt as Egypt is mostly desert • Indeed, the Greek historian Herodotus proclaimed Egypt "the gift of the Nile" • Without the Nile, agriculture could never have developed in Egypt and without agriculture, civilization could not have developed • The Egyptians depended on the Nile for drinking water and water for farming • The reliable rhythm of the Nile created fertile land which supported a remarkably productive agricultural economy • Even an Egyptian myth had their people emerging out of the river • The process of desiccation forced Paleolithic human groups to migrate from the Sahara to the valley of the Nile • The Nile River was incredibly important for the development of Egyptian civilization
Sumerians
• The Sumerians are generally credited with founding Mesopotamian civilizations in the Tigris-Euphrates river valley • Sometime around 4000 B.C.E., ancient Sumerian culture emerged on a sun-scorched floodplain along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is now southern Iraq • These enigmatic Mesopotamians are best known for inventing cuneiform script - the world's oldest extant writing system • The Sumerians lived in city-states; each city had its own government and surrounding farmland but all cities shared the Sumerian culture - however, Sumerian city-states were frequently at war with one another • Major Sumerian city-states included Eridu, Ur, Nippur, Lagash and Kish, but one of the oldest and most sprawling was Uruk, a thriving trading hub that boasted six miles of defensive walls and a population of between 40,000 and 80,000 • One of the crowning achievements of Mesopotamian literature is the "Epic of Gilgamesh," a 3,000-line poem that follows the adventures of a Sumerian king as he battles a forest monster and quests after the secret of eternal life
Importance of Writing in Ancient China
• The continuing importance of written language in Chinese culture may be traced to its earliest use for divination; communication with the ancestors • Divination is the practice of seeking knowledge of the future or the unknown by supernatural means • The earliest form of Chinese writing is called the oracle bone script, used from 1500 to 1000 B.C.E. (during the Shang Dynasty) • This script was etched onto turtle shells and animals bones, which were then heated until cracks would appear • By interpreting the pattern of the cracks, Shang court officials would make divinations of future events, hence giving the name "oracle bones" to these animal bones • An oracle is a person through whom a deity (a god) is believed to speak
Paleolithic Era
• The most significant defining characteristic of the Paleolithic era was that peoples relied on hunting and gathering for subsistence • The Old Stone Age or Paleolithic Era) occurred from the beginning of human existence until around 12,000 years ago • During this time, humans used stone to make tools and stone was used many times as part of the actual tools - tools are objects that make our lives easier • Paleolithic is a word that comes from the two Greek words palaios, meaning old, and lithos, meaning stone • Humans were hunters and gatherers during the Paleolithic era - humans were highly mobile as they moved from place to place in search of animals and plants for survival
Contributions of Women to development of agriculture
• Women were important contributors to the agricultural revolution because they were likely the gender who gathered edible plants and knew where grains grew • Yes, women were the gatherers in hunting and gathering communities • Women gathered plants - they observed plants and understood plants • Therefore, it is logical that their experiences with plants led to understanding of how plants grow • Women more than likely planting the first seeds ever even though once farming was established men took over farming in many societies due to the introduction of the plow and its dependence on lots of upper body strength
Role of Women in Hunting and Gathering Societies
• Women were very important in hunting and gathering societies as they provided many of the community's calories - gathering was a bit more reliable than hunting in that sometimes the hunter is not successful • In fact, some historians think the more accurate term is gathering and hunting societies because women were vital for the survival of hunting and gathering societies • As in hunter-gatherer societies of the recent past, men likely hunted large animals while women gathered small game and plants, enabling a more efficient use of available food sources and when small game and plant foods were scarce, women and older children were often involved in other vital activities, such as producing clothing and shelter • Yes, women in hunting and gathering societies probably contributed more toward the subsistence of the group than did males • Women were vital for the survival of the group even though men tended to hold more power - these communities were more egalitarian when it came to gender • The social and economic status of women was highest in hunting and gathering communities