Test

Middle Kingdom Egypt

1975 Upper and Lower Egypt reunited under Mentuhotep marking the beginning of the Middle Kingdom The rulers pacified southern Egypt and overthrew the dynasty in power to the north The capital was brought back to Memphis Pyramid building resumes but on a small scale During the firs half of the second m central authority weakened again

The Epipaleolithic

23,000-9600 Shift to the manufacturing of microliths: minature flint tools used in composite tools Invention and use of the bow and arrow Shift in hunting patters from large herd animals to smaller game Increased frequency and elaboration of ground stone technologies Tools used for pounding and grinding in the processing of hard and dry seeds During this period people in the Levant were increasingly sedentary

Mesolithic

26,000-1800 Four broadly similar regional traditions Western India, Ganga Plain, Central India, Sri Lanka Simlarites include The presence of large numbers of grinding stones for processing plants Broad spectrum foraging economies

Longshan Culture

3000-1900 BCE Late Neolithic culture developed from earlier Yangshao and Dawenkou cultures Spread from the central plains to Shandong Province

The Natufian Culture

A Mesolithic culture from the lands that are now Israel, Lebanon, and western Syria, between about 10,200 and 12,500 years ago. First peoples to live in permanent settlements, but before the appearance of agriculture Cave sites el Wad in Israel suggest Natufians occupied the same areas as earlier Upper Paleolithic peoples But in greater numbers expansion outside of the cave entrance and construction of stone houses Open air residential Natufian sites Stone built D shaped houses Built and rebuilt over 3000 years Burial rights involved burial of selected individuals in cemeteries A variety of burial traditions including cremation across the Core Area Some show elaborate head wear and clothing decorated with animal teeth, bird bones and Dentalium shells A small percentage of Natufian burials show evidence of having been reopened to remove the cranium In Hilazon Tachtit They have a cemetary site with no evidence of residence Capping the burials are accumulations of animal bones that can represent feasting They used microliths were used to produce sickles used to harvest cultivated wild cereals Gradual increase in frequency of ground stone artifacts for processing seeds and nuts Dramatic increase of this during the Natufian Sites are occupied for increasingly longer periods of time Natufian sites suggest a commitment to sedentism Gradual increase in the exploitation of wild cereals and pulses Cultivation of wild plants is occuring by Natufian times Increasing evidence of personal property/wealth, specialist ranks, and social inequalities

City

A city can be defined as a large multi-ethnic collection of people greater than 10,000 in a well defined place with structures and areas devoted to communal social functions and with specialized areas devoted to specific tasks

Warfare

A general increase in the frequency and scale of warfare Likely related to increased community sizes, access to high-quality farmland, ability to obtain values/wealth objects, and access to stored food

Younger Dryas

A period of global climatic stress that had a significant impact on Natufian society Following the recovery from the Last Glacial Maximum, there was a relatively short but quite sharp return to colder conditions, known as the Younger Dryas phase, between about 10,800 and 9600 bce

The Middle Bronze Age

A period of shifting alliances among cities, states, and people Intrusion of several new ethnic groups into Mesopotamia The Amorites and the Hurrians are among the most influential for later times Influential kings had a hierarchy of minor kings, who pledged their support Hammurabi of Babylon Traced his ancestry to a series of previous Amorite kings Conquered the major cities of Sumer and launched a campaign into northern Mesopotamia Most famous for his Code of Laws Derivative of much earlier Sumerain Laws Forms the basis for modern Western law tradition His rule saw a unification of lower and upper Mesopotamia born through military conquest As well as a boom in private sector commerce and wealth

Predynastic Egypt

Abundant natural agricultural resources cereal and grains Gradual development of stratified societies and larger rural communities Trade networks with S West Asia Copper GOld Silver Wheat and domesticated animals By 3500 several large settlements in upper Egypt

Materail Culture

Adoption or invention of pottery Wearable/portable art and objects of wealth Development of more complex technologies

How died Cities emerge

Agricultural surplus and craft specialization Hydraulic hypothesis Trade Warfare Single cause theories were common until the 1970s Today archaeologists favor complex and nuanced explanations for the rise of cities and states Each state was the product of its own unique set of circumstances Common features of states include... Reliance on agriculture Complex social organization Writing

State level Societies

Anthropologists define this as those that exhibit a high degree of social complexity Complexity is measured by a variety of factors, measured on a spectrum Large populations wherein many people coexist and interact frequently Social inequality among segments of the population, with social stratification Customs and laws that govern behavior, interactions, and exchange Hierarchical ruling structure for administration and maintenance of order Agricultural intensification to provide surplus Trade and exchange that extend beyond the local community Institutionalized ideology rituals and art representing the community Prominent monuments representing the community and those in power

In contrast to agricultural societies, foragers

Are less likely to stress obedience and responsibility in child training Are more likely to stress achievement in children when their subsistence is based on hunting Show more warmth and affection toward their children Have songs that are less wordy and characterized by more nonwords, repetition and relaxed enunciation Are less prone to resource unpredictability, famines, and food shortages

Isostatic Rebound

As continental glaciers melted, the removal of weight allowed the continental crust to bounce back upward

Napatan

As the New Kingdom fell apart in Egypt, the Kushite Kingdom re-emerged Kashta and his sone Piye led military campaigns into Egypt, eventually reunifying Egypt from Nubia to the Nile delta Beginning the "age of the Nubian pharaohs" (Egypt's 25th Dynasty) Centered on the city of Napata

The Late Aceramic Neolithic

At the beginning of the later aceramic Neolithic, the earlier centuries and millennia of pre-domestic cultivation begin to produce what botanists can recognize as the changes in shape, size, and structure that mark the domesticated forms of wheat and barley. Over the following 1,000 or 1,500 years, communities continue to intensify their agricultural efforts. In line with the increasing efficiency of farming, population levels increased steeply over the later aceramic Neolithic. Within those settlements, houses were generally larger than in the preceding period, rectilinear in plan, and often with internal subdivisions into rooms with different uses.

End of the Aceramic Neolithic

Beginning at 6500 these large sedentary towns begin to be abandoned Numerous smaller sites begin to appear, with the disappearance of earlier traditions and behaviors A variety of adaptations emerge, including nomadic pastoralism semi-sedentary pastoralism, and full blown agriculture Why Outstripping of natural resources, climatic and environmental change disenfranchisement with communal living

The Late Bronze Age

By 1650 numerous states kingdoms and empires Major kingdoms and empires expanded and contracted through warfare and diplomacy Key players include the Hitties and the Assyrians The earliest written account of the Mesopotamian Flood Myth dates to 1600 The Hittites originated from the Kingdom of Hatti in central Anatolia The earliest securely located Indo-European language speakers Thousands of written documents from Hattusa, the capital attest to the multi-lingual cosmopolitan nature of the empire Beginning in 1345 the Hittite king Shuppiluliuma conquered the neighboring kingdoms of Mittani and neighboring cities and kingdoms signed peace treaties The Hittes engaged in a 2 century long conflict with Egypt The conflict culminated with the battle and eventual treaty of Qadesh The oldest written treaty for which both sides are available The Hittes empire collapsed 1200 All Hittite sites in Anatolia show destruction and abandonment Commensurate with widespread urban decline across the region at the end of the Bronze Age The Assyrian city state of Ashur became independent only after the HIttites had destroyed the city state of Mittani After this the begin to conquer neighboring areas unifying much of Northern Mesopotamia

Meroitic

By 300 BCE , the city of Meroë became the capital of the Meroitic state in Nubia Industrial-scale iron working Extensive trading with Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt Supplied gold, gems, ivory, slaves, incense, and iron Meroitic script can be read, but the language is not fully understood Continued reverence for Egyptian gods as well as Nubian gods

Nok people

Centered around the Jos Platea of Nigeria Early Iron Age Farmers who practiced shifting agriculture Nok terracotta statues Nearly all representations of humans Of uncertain significance Usually found broken likely intentionally Highly prized on the antiquities market

Civilization

Civilization is often defined as a society that exhibits a high degree of complexity that is urban, and that is literate Civilization was not possible without the earlier developments of agriculture and increased productivity Stable surpluses Human invention and innovation

Chalcolithic

Copper Age

Halaf Culture

Distributed across the rolling hilly edges of the Fertile Crescent Relatively small sites (20-150) people Characterized by circular residences, located in areas without previous occupations Trade and exchange between and among communities With some sites exerting control or specialization over resources Little evidence for stratification within communities

The Early Aceramic Neolithic

Dramatic and suddent appearance of permanent villages In places where previous Epipaleolithic peoples had not lived Settlements show planning and organization, and communal work to produce shared architecture Frequently with large subterranean communal buildings The earliest towns, with populations exceeding 1000 residents, begin to appear throughout the Hilly Flanks Characterized by permanent architecture densely packed houses and communal architecture Reliance on cultivated but not fully domesticated plants Composite microlith tools are replaced with single piece arrowheads

Kerma

During the Old and Middle Kingdoms of Egypt, Nubia was home to the earliest identifiable state outside of Egypt Several major urban centers, including Kerma and Kawa Source of many of the raw materials used by Egypt, including gold and other precious metals

Summary

Earliest evidence for sedentism occurs in the Hilly Flanks of the Fertile Crescent Increased effort on the harvesting of wild cereals and pulses, and hunting/interaction with wild sheep, goat, pig Importance of hunting of large boivds( aurochs) Gradual shift towards investment in delayed returns Food storage, allows planning for good/bad years Increased population densities and a shift towards sedentism Shift in focus from large extended family groups of foragers to small family households Concept of property and ownership of buildings/land by family lineages Veneration of ancestors and lineages Increasingly large and complex communal structures, including temples and public architecture Following 6500 these early towns begin to fall apart Some people continue to live in them but others disperse outwards and form new settlements A variety of adaptations follow; including a full time commitment to agriculture within major river valleys to the south Here we see the emergence of the world's first true cities, entirely committed to an agricultural way of life Development of community focused settlements required increasingly unrelated individuals to cooperate as a whole Rapid degradation of the immediate environment (soil fertility) New conflicts and concerns in human interaction

Early views on domestication

Early views on domestication looked to the Fertile Crescent as the location in which domestication first took hold Archaeologist Robert Braidwood proposed that the Hilly Flanks of the Fertile Crescent- not the river valleys-was where plants and animals were domesticated Native habitat of the founder species of later domesticates: Einkorn and emmer wheat Barley Sheep and goats Cattle Pigs The Hilly Flanks of the Fertile Crescent can be though of as a Core Area of domestication

Dynastic Egypt

Egyptian populations were less urban than those of Southwest Asia Apart from a few large cities most Egyptians lived in self sufficient villages Massive hereditary bureaucracy developed devoting energy to tax collection harvest yields and the administration of irrigation Trade links were established to other parts of Africa Between the 3rd dynasty in 2686 and the Persian conquest Egypt was ruled by at least 23 dynasties

South Asian Neolithic

Emergent farming (wheat and barley) Animal herding (sheep, goat, cattle) Relatively small sites/villages Trade and interaction with other areas of south Asia

How did Agriculture Arise

Environmental change, demographic pressure, access to water, and familiarity with native species all likely played roles No single theory about the introduction of agriculture adequately explains its appearance in all places and at all times

Agricultural Surplus

Farming allows surplus Surplus can be used to feed and fund specialists Craftspeople, soldiers, priests, bureaucrats Where agriculture is very productive, more specialists could be supported These communities eventually grow and coalesce into the first cities and states

Hilly Flanks Hypothesis

Farming arose in the foothills surrounding major rivers, not in the floodplains or major rivers (esp. Mesopotamia These are the natural environments of species of plants and animals that became domesticated People living in these areas gradually became familiar with these species, and began domesticating them to lessen their work and ensure surplus But This assumes that agriculture is/was a fundamentally desirable goal Principal obstacles to achieving this goal are human knowledge and skill

Hydraulic Hypothesis

Farming is dependent on access to water Irrigation canals were the only method for distributing water to fields Control of irrigation systems was used to exert power over people

Uruk Culture

First appears in the Late Chalcolithic During the Uruk period agriculture, innovation, and surplus increasingly become enmeshed in social hierarchy and control by social elites This control allowed population to become urban to establish cities The site of Uruk is widely viewed as the world's first true city The form of social organization that emerged at Uruk at roughly 3300 remains a template for social, political, and cultural organization into modern times At its high, Uruk encompassed over 988 acres and had a population well in excess of 50,000 individuals The city was organized around a massive temple complex, dedicated to the two primary Gods Inanna and Anu Middle of the 4th millennium economic specialization was evident Pottery was largely unpainted Widespread use of the potter's wheel Undecorated utilitarian vessels were made in great volume using the wheel or molds The worlds earliest known written documents come from the site of Uruk Made on clay the tables date to 3400 The principal function appears to be economic Tables record lists of commodities and business transactions The culture collapses by 3100 At which time Sumerian cities become indepdngent City-States Large urban settlements that are economically independent but who share a far reaching culture Each city state is ruled by kings and queens comprising dynasties They share a single language and pantheon of Gods Though they compete and battle with each other for dominion over land and resources This is roughly the time at which King Gilgamesh lived

The Rise of Empires

Following the fall of Uruk, independent city-states competed against each other The ruler of Akkad, Sargon, launches a campaign to bring under this rule the city states of Sumer Pushes for Semitic ethnic primacy, and launches a campaign to conquer other . city states Conquers and unifies a large swath of territory from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea Rule of this empire passes to his son Naram-Sin Sargons Akkadian Empire collapses 2200 Inability to coerce many different ethnic groups to abandon their way of life, their culture, and their Gods to accept rule A period of decentralization follows with city states re emerging The city of Ur grows in economic power The third dynasty of Ur begins to launch a campaign of unification By 2004 this campaign ends and the Ur dynasty ends

Feasting Hypothesis

Food and feasting are important cultural and social factors Some foraging groups use feasting as a way of competing for social rank and status Providing food and other goods to others creates interpersonal dependencies Especially when others are not able to reciprocate Foraging tends to provide less surplus of food, but cultivation does But Agriculture arises in some areas without ritual feasting Assumes that people value social status over costs of labor

Yangzi River Valley

Foragers present by at least the Last Glacial Maximum (ca. 26,000 BCE ) Subsistence was broad-spectrum, with harvesting of wild grasses and plants The site of Yuchanyang (16,000-12,000 BCE ) Overlooking swampy terrain Remains of wild pig, deer, tortoise, birds, 40 species of seeds, husks of wild rice Sites located in caves, including Diaotonghuan and Xianrendong, have deeply stratified deposits evidencing the rare use of rice during the Pleistocene... an increase in the use of wild rice at the end of the Pleistocene... a decrease in wild rice during the Younger Dryas... an increase in wild—and then cultivated—rice in the early Holocene By ca. 6000 BCE permanent sedentary villages were present in the upper and middle Yangzi As in the Yellow River Valley, these Neolithic cultures developed ceramic technologies relied on a broad spectrum of wild resources and emerging domesticated ones coalesced into increasingly larger villages Waterlogged sites such as Tianluoshan and Hemudu Contain remarkable assemblages of preserved wooden fishing spears, boats, and oars Suggesting that aquatic resources remained a significant aspect of early Neolithic subsistence Settlements of the Daxi culture (ca. 4500-3300 BCE ) Often situated in swampy terrain Sometimes walled and surrounded by moats Rectangular houses around a central courtyard Associated with domesticated cattle and pig But hunting/fishing remained important Social ranking evidence in burial customs and in size/ complexity of houses The Qujialing culture (ca. 3300-2500 BCE ) Generally warmer and wetter period led to increases in rice yields Increase in populations and in village sizes The largest sites may have had several tens of thousands of people Commensurate decrease in sanitation and hygiene (dung beetles, whip/round worms, etc.) Dramatic increase in the disparity of access to wealth items Most graves contain a few ceramic vessels Very few contain elaborate carved jade, many ceramic vessels, and other items ca. 3000 BCE , sedentary rice and millet agriculturalists begin to expand into previously uninhabited territories Earliest archaeological evidence in the Sichuan Basin dates to ca. 2700 BCE No evidence of a gradual transition to agriculture; rather, A sudden appearance of walled agricultural (rice) villages similar to those of the lower Yangzi In the both the Yellow and Yangzi River Valleys Broad-spectrum foragers of the Pleistocene gradually increase their use of a selected few plants Yellow River:Millet Yangzi River:Rice Both areas show how sedentary agriculture can lead to: rapid population growth and expansion emerging social inequality and craft specialization—especially ceramic and ornamental arts

Proto-Urbanization in the Indus valley

Formally planned settlements of mud-brick build Widespread ceramic style known as Kot-Dijan Shared iconography includes fish, water fowl and the horned deity By 4000 and some evidence for proto-urbanization: early increasingly dense large centers of populations Often strategically situated to take advantage of resources and transportation

The Gift of the Nile

Gradual predictable flooding Communication and transportation Nubia-Egypt Current drains northward Winds blows southward No need for large scale state sponsored irrigation networks

Demographic Hypothesis

Human groups at the end of the Pleistocene were highly mobile foragers focused on highly seasonal resources Some areas of the world were very resource rich, meaning humans did not have to move less with the seasons This increased sedentism led to increased population sizes Increased population led to expansion into resource- marginal areas, where cultivation was needed to grow plants But Why did sedentism emerge? Sedentism arises, then disappears, and reemerges in some areas

Eridu

In Sumer was established before the 5500 and most early structures were houses Irrigation agriculture allowed the site to produce enough food to support a large population That surplus was used to support craft producers and decision makers Eridu may have covered 25 aces by this time Likely had a population of several 1000 people A small building may have been an early temple with a possible altar facing the entrance Organizational capacity for public architecture Similar structures have been found at other locations in Mesopotamia Origins and antecedents of the temple institution have implications for understanding the development of cultural elements throughout Mesopotamia

Domesticated in Africa

In the Sahara and northern Africa Domesticated barley and wheat from Southwest Asia Wild sorghum is native to Sudan Although it is seen in India It must have been domesticated in northern/eastern Africa In West Africa Oil palm and yams were domesticated Cattle domestication and herding Domesticated cattle seem to have been introduced from S west Asia Admixture of humpless long horned cattle The spread of pastoralism into southern Africa was limited by the presence of the tsetse fly Vector of trypanosomes which cause sleeping sickness Fatal to most domesticated vertebrates About 2000 years ago decrease in woodland areas allowed movement of pastoralists southward

Harappan Civilization

Indus Valley Civilization First sites appeared between 4000 and 3000 Early settlements consisted of small mud-brick houses Settlement size varied from farmsteads to small villages Few included monumental construction Plow based agriculture Large scale urbanization and regional integration between 2600 and 1900 Broad uniformity of culture Urban planning of large city centers Extensive specialized craft technologies Shared iconography and script Sites of the Indus Civilization are identified on the basis Cities and urban planning A four tier settlement hierarchy The Indus script Craft and settlement specialization

Ziggurat

Is a large pyramid like structure consisting of many stepped levels, with ascending staircases and temples on the platforms

Agriculture

Is the creation of an artificial ecosystem in which species are cultivated and raised Isolation of the domesticated species from wild relatives Changes in their morphology and behavior The intentional propagation of food A commitment to domestication, cultivation, and herding that involves changes in human use of the earth and in the structure of human societies

Mehrgarh, Pakistan

Is the earliest agricultural village yet known in western south Asia Occupied by at least 6500 Domesticated wheat, semi domesticated barley Permanent rectangular strucutures Presently the earliest evidence for in vivo dentistry Tooth decay and increased wear associated with an increased consumption of stone ground grains

Transhumance

Is the seasonal movement of human groups from one ecological zone to another, usually in concert with the movement of animals

Fertile Crescent

Is the stretch of land arcing from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea, and the southward to the Nile Delta and Valley

Taosi

Linfen Basin north of the Yellow R. Social hierarchy from the earliest occupation Rapid elaboration of this hierarchy and an expansion over 4 centuries 56 ha ➟ 290 ha Enclosed royal palace Astronomical observatory Workshop district Warfare and competition

Ubaid Culture

Located in Sumer Southern Meso Reliant on irrigation agriculture, drawing water out of the Tigris and Euphrates As well as fishing, domesticated animals, and hunting Quickly beings to influence and replace Halaf culture in the Hilly Flanks of the Fertile Crescent by 5400 Unlike Halaf culture Ubaid culture was stratified with a distinct Temple Institution

Dawenkou Culture

Lower Yellow River Valley of Central Chinese Plain Increasing division of labor and social ranking Millet rice and pigs were the primary domesticates Rice appears to have been the preferred food of higher ranking indiviuals Invnetion of the potters wheel 3500 Co-occurs with increase in social differentiation Differences in mortuary offerings and housing Specialization in ceramic manufacturing and jade ornament production

Shang Dynasty

Major urban centers with ceremonial cores Beginning of written Chinese history Rigidly hierarchical society Kings were at the top and were considered divine Received grain and other forms of tribute Lower class consisted of farmers and craftworkers Highly elaborate burials with extreme amounts of burial goods At the bottom of the social hierarchy were captives of war; they were kept as slaves or served as sacrificial victims for rituals and temple dedications ca. 1250 BCE the Shang capital was moved north to Anyang Large ceremonial and administrative center Monumental architecture Surrounded by craft areas Residential areas surrounded the center of the site Subsistence Millet Rice and wheat introduced from southern China Stone hoes, harvesting knives, and wooden digging sticks remained the primary cultivation implements Irrigation may have been present, but not clearly state controlled More people engaged in agricultural production per unit of land Importance of agricultural labor may have encouraged rural families to grow Leading to large-scale population growth Late Shang rulers controlled a large portion of northern China Influence varied with distance from the capital Shang rulers traveled widely Assisted by complex hierarchy of nobles Armies as large as 30,000 soldiers were assembled Shang dominion was challenged by numerous other states to the south and west Shang dynasty was overthrown by people living on its western periphery in the vicinity of Xianyang

Microlith

Many forager groups in Africa made use of microlith stone tool technologies Small flakes/blades In some cases, these were set in to mastic to tip arrows In use by 70 kya Acheulean technologies continued in some areas W Africa leading to axe and hoe form s

Foragers (hunter-gatherers)

Members of small-scale mobile or semi-sedentary societies, with subsistence mainly focused on hunting game and gathering of wild plants and fruits Low population densities No specialized political officials Little disparity in wealth Labor/economic specialization by age and gender

Where is the earliest evidence for the domestication of plants

Mesopotamia

East and Southeast Asia

Millet and Rice Native plants that were domesticated Domestication made possible by changes in climate Different trajectories in northern and southern China Similar hallmarks and themes Spread of agriculturalists into SE Asia, Korea, and Japan Replacement or integration with foragers in those areas Foragers present by at least the Last Glacial Maximum Subsistence was broad spectrum with harvesting of wild grasses and plants The area of Shizitan provides a long record of human occupation in the Yellow River Valley Analysis of starch grains extracted from milling stones suggests that millet was gradually domesticated between 9500 and 7500 Pottery shreds are fragments of pottery Archaeologists rarely find complete pots Earliest pottery in the Yellow River Valley dates to 8300 Pottery tends to suggest a more sedentary lifestyle Certainly by 6000 evidence for a transition to full time agriculture and a fully sedentary lifestyle Villages- sites with multipole permanent structures storage pits for agricultural surplus Evidence of long distance trade of stone for tools Marrying in of non local women Though wild resources continued to make up a portion of the subsistence base Similar patterns at other sites in the Yellow River Valley Little to no status indicators in burials But gender based distinctions involving domestic activities with perhaps an emphasis on nuclear family units Stable subsistence base that includes domestic and wild resources Domesticated chicken pig and dog Fish shellfish trutles Monkey civet Innovations in ceramic technology Pottery fired at 1000 C Specialized forms for cooking serving eating and storing Growth and expansion of villages Movement into previously unoccupied regions following the Yellow River Valley Loess is very fine grained windblown silt

Agricultural Intensification

Modification of the environment to suit human needs, to increase crop yields, and to promote surplus Creation and introduction of plants and animals into new environments

Settlement

Most agricultural communities are sedentary; most foragers are mobile Agricultural communities tend to be larger Structures: more durable materials Greater emphasis on individual households and private spaces Communities are fixed points on a landscape, and become a focus for identity, ethnicity, and ancestry

Iron working

Most cultures in Africa never developed or adopted copper and bronze technologies The first metallurgical evidence is of iron working

Bantu Expansion

Most languages spoken throughout southern Africa belong to the Bantu Language family A series of migrations eastward and southward Associated with the brining of farming and ironworking south of the Equator

First Dynasty

Narmer- Egypts first pharaoh unified Upper and Lower Egypt into one kingdom Began the First Dynasty 3100 and created a political structure that lasted for nearly 3000 years The unification of Upper and Lower Egypt is depicted on a carved stone palette found at Hierakonpolis The Egyptian state was far larger and more complex than any city state in Mesopotamia The royal court centralized wealth and power The unification of Egypt was closely timed with the earliest hieroglyphic writing Very different Southwest Asian cuneiform Perhaps dates slightly earlier Widespread adoption of irrigation occurred, which allowed for large agricultural surpluses Namer moved the capital from Hierakonpolis to Memphis Memphis was the political center for 1500 years The symbol of the pharaoh was the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt

Northern Eastern and Western Africa

North Africa and the Sahara During the Pleistocene a gradual intensification of resource harvesting Early evidence of sedentism Territoriality Emphasis on the Nile Valley Wadi Kubbaniya Southern Egypt 18-17 Before the Holocene Environmentally favorable with plentiful wild resources Grasses seeds tubers and fish Aspects of sedentism Decreased or minimal seasonal movement Rock art depictions of people herding large groups of humpless cattle in east and northeast Africa provide evidence of pastoralism and the significance of cattle East Africa Emphasis on aquatic resources Clusters of sites surrounding Lake Turkana Long distance exchange of obsidian Persistance of foragers into the present allows archaeologists to gain insights into how past foragers may have lived Western Africa Between the end of the Pleistocene and the Holocene Hunting and gathering intensification Increased sedentism Microlith tool industries Ground stone axes and pottery appear between 3000 and 2000 Eventual domestication is seen at numerous sites

Kharaneh IV

Northern Jordan Shows stratified deposits accumulated over many years of long seasonal use 1 meter high over 5.4 acres Aggregation of small groups from across a broad area Long distance trade/interaction: shells from the Mediterranean and Red Sea

Southern and Central Africa

Oakhurst Complex 10,000-6000 Large scrapers and bone tools but few/no microliths Wilton Industry 6000 Speakers of the Khoisan language Rich record of organic remains frkom numerous dry cave sites Bow and arrow digging sticks bark trays lather bags and clothing

New Kingdom Egypt

Pharaoh Ahmose comes to power in Thebes Expels foreign kings of northern Egypt and reunites the Egyptian state Pharaohs of the New Kingdom established far reaching domains of control briefly expanding Egypt into an empire Centralized government depended on large amounts of eternal tribute for its maintenance and support New burial customs Pharaohs and royal families were buried in rock cut tombs in the Valley of the Kings

Amenhotep IV

Pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty of the New Kingdom Attempted to replace polytheistic traditional beliefs with monotheistic worship of the Aten or sun disc Constructed a new city at Amarna At which a massive archive of official governmental correspondence the Amarna Letters have been found Cureiform tablets containing correspondence to Amenhotep his ancestors and their administrations from neighboring states and peoples His son Tut is given the throne at age 8 Last Pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty In his second year as Pharaoh he returned the capital to Thebes from Amarna Returning traditional polytheistic religion and lifting the ban on the Cult of Amun instituted by his father He died at 17 likely from a fall His tomb in the Valley of Kings is unusually small for a Pharaoh and was eventraully built over by worker housing for later tomb constructions Forgotten and hidden until Howard Carter opened it in 1922 Administrative centralization and stability that characterized the New Kingdom ended around 1000 BCE Strong provincial leaders and local army commanders increased their regional power A period of foreign intervention followed The Nile Valley was ruled by a series of foreign powers during this Third Intermediate Period (1075-715 BCE ) Includes the 21st - 25th Dynasties Reunification occurred during the 25th Dynasty, under the Nubian Pharaoh Piye (the "Age of the Black Pharaohs") Between 715 and 332 BCE , Egypt was ruled over by a series of foreign and local rulers, including Nubians and Persians In 332, it came under the rule of Greek (Macedonian and Ptolemaic) dynasties After 30 BCE , it became a vassal state and colony of the Roman empire

Regional Mesolithic

Regional Mesolithic traditions may represent related groups moving between regions with the seasons not just different groups of people

Early Dynastic Egypt

Ruled by a series of three competing hereditary dynasties Increased use of writing to record mythology, prayers, dynasties, and mathematics Increase in the complexity and size of royal tombs and cemetery complexes

Southern African domesticates

Savannas and higher elevations Pearl and finger millet, sorghum and cowpeas Rainforests and margins Yams, oil palm, fruit/nut trees Introductions from the Indian Ocean Plantains and bananas, Asian rice, sugarcane, coconut Chicken and Zebu cattle

Scapulimancy

Scapulimancy is the practice of divination through the use of an ox scapula or turtle carapace Cracks induced by heat to divine answers to questions

What are the Consequences of Agriculture

Settlement Social complexity Materail culture Warfare Agricultural intensification

Oasis Theory

Shift in the rainfall patterns at the end of the Pleistocene, leading to widespread drying out of Southwest Asia and the Sahara Animals clustered around oases Herbivores were allowed to graze in fields large and medium herbivores gradually became accustomed to living with humans But Overly focused on animal domestication How did plant domestication and field cultivation arise? Outdated environmental and climatic data Rainfall actually increased in Southwest Asia and the Sahara at the end of the Pleistocene

Chengtoushan

Significant Daxi site Roughly 8 ha (20 acres) Surrounded by walls and a moat, amid irrigated rice paddies Over 700 burials associated with domestic units Little social inequalities, with a handful of richly endowed graves

Shahr-i Sokhta (southeastern Iran)

Situated at delta of the Helmud River Strategic location to control trade between south Asian and western Asia Founded 4000 by 2800 it was a large regional urban center

Social Complexity

Social complexity: the number of levels or statuses and their connectivity Foragers tend to have flexible membership Disputes can resolved by "voting with your feet" Agricultural societies have more ranks/statuses Leadership and authority become problematic Social distinction/rank becomes institutionalized Transition from achieved status to ascribed status

Wadi Feynan

Southern Jordan Large communal site Single large semi-subterranean circular building with dedicated rooms for large scale processing and storing of cereals and seeds Surrounded by numerous closely spaced semi-subterranean buildings for the storage of processed foods

Chifumbaze Complex

Suite of archaeological traits associated with East Bantu speakers Farming, iron working, pottery making, keeping of cattle Rapid expansion in to South Africa

The Three Dynasties

The Three Dynasties (San Dai) period arises out of the highly competitive cultures of the Neolithic Xia Dynasty (2070-1500 BCE ) Shang Dynasty (1500-1045 BCE ) Zhou Dynasty (1045-771 BCE )

Old Kingdom Egypt

The 4th through the 6th dynasties compromise the Old Kingdom The period of grandiose pyramid construction Developed directly out of the architectural knowledge used in the Step Pyramid at Saqarra Step pyramid was followed by pyramids with smooth faces Like all royal tombs the pyramids were constructed in the desert on the west side of the river The Pharaoh embodied sacred powers Manifestation of Horus An the sone of Ra And Osiris Mediated between the worlds of the Gods and of the living Control and resolve disorder Guarantee the changes of the seasons Ensure the annual Nile flood Guarantee safety from disaster and from enemies The Pharaoh embodied secular powers Economic exchange Head of the state bureaucracy Head of the state relgion In order to maintain the massive bureaucracy of the Egyptian state the Pharaoh often appointed family members and political allies to administrative positions Giza is a major site of the Old Kingdom The Pyramid of Khufu there stands 500 ft high This pyramid was constructed from over two million stone blocks weighting an average of over 1 ton each It is 13 acres Construction involved 13 million days of labor Two other large pyramids were constructed by Khufus successors Pyramids built after Kufus reign were relatively small Towardss the end of the Old Kingdom royal power declined and the Old Kingdom collapsed A period of decentralization followed Provinces became competitive and fought with each other Power generally centered on the city of Thebes Pyramid building effectively ceases Tombs of Old Kingdom rulers are looted

Anu Ziggurat

The Anu Ziggurat was the earliest monumental architecture at Uruk Composed of a series of building levels the earliest going back to Ubaid times Named for the primary god Anu in the Sumerian pantheon The White Temple was built on top of the Anu Ziggurat Estimated to have taken 7500 man years to build The presence of political power to control a large organized labor force As temples became more elaborate individuals associated with them were separated from the general population

Yangshao Culture

The Loess Plateau and Central Chinese Plain Regional variation but common traits include Semi subterranean houses, large millet storage pits, kiln fired pottery, extensive cemeteries Early Organized villages with central plaas Community architecture Often encricled by a ditch Cemetary placed outside the village Relatively egalitarian Middle Xipo Expansion in settlement size Appearance of ceremonial structures Likely associated with feasting Emergence of social inequalities Treatment of the dead Allotment of living spaces Diet

The Three Age System

The Three Age System developed for western Eurasian prehistory is not applicable to cultural developments in Africa

Domestication

The biological process of changing genotypes and phenotypes of plants and animals as they become dependent on humans for reproductive success

Cultivation

The cultural phenomenon of preparing fields, sowing seeds, harvesting crops, and storing seeds. Required significant changes in technology, subsistence, and perspective

Holocene

The geological era since the end of the Great Ice Age about 11,000 years ago. "Recent epoch" began around 11,600 years ago 9600 Temperatures increased rapidly Vegetation slowly recolonized to northern latitudes Sea levels rose in stages to their present height

Herding

The keeping and selective breeding of species of animals for the sole purpose of use by humans. Like cultivation, herding required signifiant changes in technology, subsistence, and perspective

Trade

The need to obtain valued resources resulted in the formation of cities People working together to establish and maintain long-distance trade networks for the betterment of the community as a whole

Hilly Flanks

The northern foothills of the fertile crescent

Chopani Mando and Mahagara

They are early agricultural sites in the Ganga Basin Processing of local wild plants including rice Greater emphasis on hunting of wild game animals Domesticated rice and cattle are present in later occupations Debate concerning the origins of rice domestication local or introduced from southeast Asia

Kingdom of Kush

Unification of Egypt involved driving Nubian rulers out of Upper Egypt Kingdom of Kush, ca. 2500 BCE Trade and cultural influences continue despite military conflict As in Egypt, the Kingdom of Kush consisted of a long line of competing dynasties Kerma (2000-1500 BCE ) Napatan (ca. 750-270 BCE ) Meroitic (270 BCE -350 CE )

North and West Africa

Urbanization and state formation in northern Africa was stimulated by Greek (Cyrene) and Phoenician (Carthage) colonies between 1000 and 500 BCE By 145 BCE , much of North Africa was under Roman rule By 710 CE , North Africa was part of the Islamic Arab world Old view: Urban centers of West Africa began because of economic exchange with Arab traders from North Africa ca. 600/700 CE Current view : Urbanization in West Africa pre-dated the arrival of Islam in Africa by 1000+ years Arrival of Arab traders led to an intensification of trans Sahara trade networks with West Africa But these networks already existed by the first M Early states in West Africa emerged on the savanna, and include Ancient Ghana Mali Songhai Kanem Born Sites located on the margins of the desert played key roles in the development of trade networks Camel caravans from the north brought Salt, shell, horses, dates, copper... These were exchanged for Gold, ivory, spices, pepper, alum, slaves, and leather Islam and Arabic writing were also brought in to West Africa via trans-Sahara trade On the margins of the rainforests of West Africa... Early urban centers emerged at sites such as Begho in Ghana, and Ife and Benin City in Nigeria Some of the earliest state-level societies include the Akan, Yoruba, and Edo states (Ghana and Nigeria, resp.) By 500 BCE , urban centers were present in Yorubaland Early states were centered on the site of Ile-Ife Between 700 and 900 CE , Ile-Ife developed into a major center Between 1200 and 1500 ce, the Ife Kingdom expanded, becoming a state-level society The Ife Kingdom is perhaps best known today for its life-like copper, brass, and terracotta representations of kings and queens Begin to be made in the first millennium CE , and continued until ca. 1600 CE Metal casting was done through the lost-wax method Lines on the faces are likely from ritual scarification Using a knife to cut the skin deeply enough to form permanent scar tissue, marking the individual for life

Hierakonpolis

Was the center of a massive pottery industry At least 15 industrial kiln complexes have been identified the largest of which covers .25 acres Two types of pottery were made: one for everyday use the other for grave offerings The large kilns must have produced a surplus beyond local needs Craft activities were carried out on an even larger scale during the subsequent Gerzan period These included pottery production metallurgy stone bowls and ornately made stone blades Trade with Southwest Asia intensified in volume Differences in ceramic styles and burial customs distinguish Upper and Lower Egypt Artistic representations depicted individuals wearing different crowns suggesting that several different polities may have developed along the Nile

Xia Dynasty

Xia Dynasty (2070-1500 BCE ) First hereditary dynasty in recorded Chinese history; known largely through legend and historic records Site of Erlitou provides some archaeological evidence Clearly a hierarchical society Numerous palaces within a large walled compound Ceramic, bronze, and turquoise artisan workshops Burials containing extravagant goods Massive surpluses of millet and rice Warfare, competition, and ritual seem to be significant aspects Xia culture The Xia Dynasty was not the only large state-level society in China during the early Bronze Age... Decline of the Xia Dynasty corresponds to the rise of the Shang Dynasty Centered on the capital of Zhengzhou

Ohalo II

a site in Israel dating to the Epipaleolithic, c. 20,000 years ago, where there is evidence of settlement and intentional harvesting of wild foods, a preliminary stage to agriculture. Over 100 species of wild nuts, seeds, cereals, and legumes Hunting of deer and gazelle and fishing in the sea Evidence of at least six grass huts, with interal activity areas and exterior hearths

Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro

major urban complexes of Harappan civilization; laid out on planned grid pattern. They consist of several large sectors built on elevated mounds A high rectangular mound on the west and other large mounds throughout Large public buildings are Other sectors were divided into blocks by streets Hundreds of houses made of baked mud bricks lined streets some with two or more stories Larger dwellings laid out around central courtyards Living and working quarters for various craft specialists Large urban centers such as this are at the top of the settlement hierarchy Other Harappan civilization sites Medium 20 walled and cardinally oriented sites Small 2-4 walled towns Villages 1 specializing in agriculture or resource processing A system of writing different from early Mesopotamian script developed in the Indus Valley Over 4000 intaglio seals with Indus script have been found, though the language is undeciphered Many animals are depicted on the seals, these animals may be totems representing specific kin groups Uniformity in culture across large areas and over time suggests state level social organization Elsewhere state level organization co-occurs with Elite palaces/temples Gathering/hoarding of wealth Large agricultural and craft surpluses Elaborate burials of elites, mundane burials of commoners Studies of Harappan civilization have failed to identify elite residences or burials Various hypotheses have been offered to explain how widespread uniformity and standardization could exist in the absence of a clearly identifiable elite class Massive walls surrounded nearly all Harappan urban centers Perhaps violence or conflict was more common that previously assumed Large urban centers of the Harappan civilization begin to decline 1900 Most are abandoned entirely Decline has been previously been attributed to an invasion of Indo-European The idea of an invasion of Indo-Europeans is not supported by the evidence Current ideas emphasize the following Multiple small scale natural events Dissolution of centralized authority structures Increased regional autonomy