Rivers, Cities, and First States 3500- 2000 B.C.E.

Rivers, Cities, and First States 3500- 2000 B.C.E. INTRODUCTION 1.) The Ancient City of Uruk a. Located in southern Mesopotamia i. Euphrates river b. Population of 10K by 4th Millennium B.C.E. i. King Giglamesh 2.) Uruk and its growth a. Became an immense commercial and administrative center i. Huge wall – seven gates surrounding the city b. Canal used to bring water in from the Euphrates c. Industrialization and Recreational districts 3.) Why was this important? a. Uruk was the first example of the next step in human development i. What is a city? – concentration w/ large populations and institutions of economic, religious, and political power. ii. Why were cities important – they freed up space for inhabitants to specialize in other professions instead of producing food 4.) Where did a majority of cities end up? a. 3500 – 2000 B.C.E. – most cities were established on river basins in Afro-Eurasia 5.) Importance of these cities a. Writing’s birthplace SETTLEMENT, PASTORALISM, AND TRADE 1.) Irrigational Techniques – need for more reliable water sources (biggest factor in where cities were settled) a. Abundant rainfall b. Rich alluvial soils – created by deposits from rivers when in flood season 2.) Importance of the River Basins a. Rivers carried topsoil and minerals in which were deposited into the river deltas b. River basins – areas drained by a river – became extremely attractive areas of settlement i. Fertile soils ii. Irrigation water iii. Domestication of animals and plants 3.) Division of Labor a. Specialization of goods – allowed for producers to make different goods for consumers within the cities b. Importance of Copper i. Allowed for the use of bronze – useful in making tools and weapons ii. Bronze Age Early Cities along River Basins 1.) Material and Social Advancement occurs in cities on five rivers: a. Tigris – Mesopotamia b. Euphrates – Mesopotamia c. Indus – India d. Yangtze & Yellow Rivers – China e. Nile River – Egypt 2.) Congregation leads to a new technology – The Wheel a. First used for mass-production of pottery b. Carts – transportation that was pulled by oxen or onagers (Asian wild asses) c. Other technology – metallurgy and stone working 3.) Cities and the Urban- Rural Divide a. Urban areas inspired people to take up tasks based on specialized labor and mass production of goods/ rural areas continued to specialize in food and livestock 4.) Invention of the writing system a. Enabled people to record and transmit sounds and words through visual signs – used symbolic storage of words and meanings to extend human communication and memory Smaller Settlements around 3500 BCE 1.) Most people worldwide lived as hunter- gatherers 2.) Most were organized by clan or family – but as population increased, so did the division of labor in these areas 3.) THE AMERICAS a. Population restricted by techniques of food production and storage, transportation, communication, and environmental factors i. Chicama Valley of Peru – coastal village communities begin to abandon cane and adobe homes for sturdier structures 1. Technological breakthroughs made in efforts to produce pottery, improve irrigation, and trading with inland communities 2. Archaeologists discovered ceremonial structures – reveal an elaborate religious life ii. Tehuacan (near modern-day Mexico City) – specialized in domestication of corn b. Did not have large cities that support urbanization – but instead had influxes of high populations 4.) SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA a. Same pattern as in the Americas – population growth but no urbanization b. Small camps formed around large lakes and rivers – threats came from wild game in the region c. Permanent villages formed in the wetter and more temperate locations – near upland massifs (mountains) and foothills d. As Sahara region became dry – migrations to Niger River and the Sudan occurred e. Construction of stone dwellings, underground wells, and food storage areas occurred and allowed for increased population – strained resources that forced more migrations into the southern regions of the Congo River and Lake Nyanza f. Population centers were often spread apart by hundreds or thousands of miles – and smaller than Mesopotamia Pastoral Nomadic Communities 1.) Around the same time? a. Communities were pastoral – being small and impermeant i. Lacked substantial public buildings and infrastructure ii. Stable seasonal moves b. Coexisted with settled agrarian people i. Traded meat and animal products for grains, pottery, and tools 2.) Arid regions of inner Mongolia a. Steppe environment could not support large scale farming – concentrated on breeding and herding b. Full scale pastoral nomadic communities and economies that emphasized an importance of horses The Rise of Trade 1.) Obsidian – volcanic class that was used to make chipped stone tools 2.) Mesopotamia – southern region relied on long-distance trade as they lacked many raw materials in which they established outposts at strategic locations to control imports a. 5000 BCE – Persian Gulf Trade b. 3000 BCE – Extensive trade with Anatolia, Levant, and Iran 3.) Rise of caravan trading – traded goods and also influential ideas across Afro-Eurasia BETWEEN THE TIGRIS AND EUPHRATES RIVERS: MESOPOTAMIA 1.) Witnessed the rise of the first complex society – changed how people in the world would live Tapping the Waters 1.) Mesopotamia – Greek for “place between two rivers” a. Both Tigris and Euphrates were wild and unpredictable – responsible for flooding during heavy rainfall i. Solution? 1. Irrigation systems – deliver water to fields 2. Levees – used to drain water into ditches and canals that Crossroads of Southwest Asia 1.) Mesopotamia set up an elaborate trade network to help fuel their cities a. Imported cedar, copper and stones, lapis lazuli, tin, etc. b. Exported textiles, foods, and oils 2.) Natural advantages a. Open boundaries that supported trade b. Rich and fertile agricultural lands and an abundance of water 3.) Cultural groups a. Sumerians b. Akkadians c. Hurrians The Worlds’ First Cities 1.) What is a city? – large, well defined urban area with a dense population a. First cities i. Eridu – dates back to 6000 BCE 1. Home to the Sumerian Water God, Ea 2. Sacred sight ii. Nippur iii. Uruk b. Sumerian City Planning i. Common belief that man exist to serve the gods – therefore city planning reflected the fact ii. Temple in the core of the city c. Reflected the city-state i. A political organization based on the authority of a single, large city that controls the surrounding countryside d. What is important – cities reflected religious importance which in turned gave them the economic and religious status to help them swell in population i. City planning also reflected a city’s role as well as religious Spector ii. Populations grows – houses get smaller 1. Suburbs e. Common Pattern – central canal surrounded by neighborhoods of specialized occupational groups, temple as the city center, palace and ofÏcial buildings near the temple i. Social hierarchies began to form Gods and Temples 1.) All groups believed that a group of gods shaped their political institutions and controlled everything – including the weather, fertility, harvests, and the underworld (depicted in the Epic of Gilgamesh (second – millennium BCE composition based on the oral tales of the Uruk King Giglamesh 2.) Sumerian Gods – ofÏcially recongnized by the Sumerian pantheon that resided in a particular city that he/she created -- INSERT DOCUMENT 1.) The importance of temples… a. What is a temple? – building where believers worshipped their gods and goddesses or where these gods and goddesses took up an earthly residence i. Altar – displayed a cult image (cult being a religious movement – often based on worship of a god or goddess ii. Establishment of the ziggurat – or raised platform base 2.) Temples as the Gods’ estate a. Functioned like a large household – production and commercial activities i. Owned livestock ii. Carried out cultivation of large croplands The Palace and Royal Power 1.) Appeared around 2500 BCE – two millennia after the Mesopotamia temple 2.) What was the palace? – ofÏcial residence of a ruler, his family, and his entourage a. Was off-limits to commoners as the King was considered on par with the local deity 3.) Establishment of the permeant secular, military, and administrative authority districts – apart from the temples religious and economic influence a. Establishment for control of weaker city-states 4.) Rulers tied their status to gods through elaborate burial arrangements a. Royal Cemetery at Ur – archeological evidence of how Sumerian rulers dealt with death i. Housed in mud brick structures – housed both rulers body and the bodies of sacrificed people (more than 80 men and women) ii. Reinforced the social hierarchy – vertical ties between humans and gods – cornerstone of early city- state Social Hierarchy and Families 1.) Was an important component of Sumerian city-states a. Set rulers apart b. Allowed for elites to secure priviledged access to economic and political systems by establishing systems of bureaucracies, priesthoods, and laws 2.) Specialization of occupants living within a city a. King/ Priest – top of the social ladder b. Bureaucrats (scribes, and household accountants), supervisors, craftworkers c. Cooks, jewelers, gardeners, potters, metalsmiths, and traders d. Unskilled laborers e. Slave 3.) Family a. Bedrock for Sumerian society that reflected the balance between women, men, children, and parents i. Hierarchal -senior male dominated as the patriarch b. Extended family c. Inside the basis – husband and wife i. Husband provides protection and support ii. Wife provides children – preferably male (if wife can’t than a second wife will.) 1. Or adoption iii. Son would inherit property iv. Daughter would marry into another family 1. Note some would join the temple staff as a priestess First Writing and Early Sections 1.) Mesopotamia – birthplace of the first recorded words of history: promoted power of temples and kings in the expansion of city-states 2.) Small-scale communities and hunter-gatherer societies began developing rituals based on collective memories transmitted across generations a. Scribes – 3.) Mesopotamia as the world’s first scribe – a. Used clay tokens and images carved on stones to seal off storage areas to convey messages about the distribution of goods and resources i. Rebus – a representation that transfers meaning from the name of a thing to the sound of that name; if combined with other visual marks allowed for the recording of messages that denote concepts b. Cuneiform – wedge- shaped writing that filled tablets with information that could be deciphered i. Opened the ability to produce and trade goods, control property, and record and transmit ideas of literature, history, and religion ii. Appeared about 3200 BCE c. Around 2400 BCE – text described the political makeup of southern Mesopotamia, detailing history and economy i. Northern regions spread cuneiform but adapted it into a different language 4.) Written Narratives – 2100 BCE a. “The Temple Hymns” – thirty five divine sanctuaries b. Sumerian King List - texts written in 2000 BCE that recounts the reign of rulers by dynasty, one city at a time (prior to the time of the biblical Great Flood) i. Explained the city of Uruk’s demise at the ‘god’s’ doing in the form of flooding Spreading Cities and First Territorial States 1.) Important to remember? – not a single state controlled the history of 4 th and 3rd millennia BCE in Mesopotamia a. Sumerian States of the Early Dynastic Age (2850- 2334 BCE) b. Akkadian Territorial State (2334-2193 BCE) 2.) Many urbanized in the Sumer region of Mesopotamia a. Northern cities – political, economic, and social organizations are more distinct and independent as to their southern counterparts 3.) Wake of cities and instability a. Expansion of Sumerian city-states with large populations that found themselves fighting for power over lands, water, and trade routes b. Attraction of pastoralists who wanted to make big off of the bounty THE INDUS RIVER VALLEY: A PARALLEL CULTURE 1.) Urban Culture of the Indus Valley is known as Harappan - named for the site of Harappa that arose during the third millennia on the Ravi River a.) indigenous and Iranian influences from both regions reflected the culture in this region 2.) Urbanization a.) public works b.) migration to fertile banks of Indus River c.) trade improvements 3.) Why was the Indus so important? a.) it was subtropical - meaning that it was ideal for crops and receives plentiful rainfall/water from melting snow upriver 4.) Urbanization a.) first urban skyline - granaries b.) Harappa and Mohenjo Daro - housed close to 35,000 resident each i.) covered about ½ of a square mile 5.) Harappan cities covered nearly 500K square miles (2x -3x the size of Mesopotamia Harappan City Life & Culture 1.) Harappan culture is a hard guess as it is one of the least known subjects surrounding the Ancient World - due to massive flooding 2.) Scholars were unable to decipher written language or identify the language a.) 400 symbols on the known script b.) Stamp seals that represent the names and titles of individuals c.) Unlike Mesopotamians - Harappans did not produce a king list therefore scholars cannot chart the Harappan political history by tracing back the rise/ fall of dynasties 3.) So how do we know? a.) knowledge is based on an archaeological reconstruction - based on fragmentary evidence 4.) So what do we know? a.) layout of cities follows a well-planned pattern of using fortified citadel housing, public facilities, and used a main street that functioned as drainage i.) citadel - political or ritual activities b.) Mohenjo Daro i.) citadel had a 39.3 ft by 23 ft “great bath” that was about 10 feet deep that was sealed with mortar and bitumen (form of petroleum) 5.) Harappan construction… a.) use of brick extensively in houses for nobles, city walls, and underground drainage systems b.) some houses were 2-3 stories high i.) interior courtyard ii.) private bathrooms, showers, and toilets that drained into sewers c.) One room apartments w/ shared bathrooms d.) small towns and villages used sun-baked brick 6.) Harappan beliefs and religion - not much certainty either a.) insights based on the symbols and images on the seas i.) concern for fertility and nature ii.) sacred animals and trees Trade 1.) Trade Emphasized primarily on… a.) areas along the Indus b.) Persian Gulf and Mesopotamia c.) Iranian plateau 2.) Imports & Exports a.) copper, flint, shells, ivory b.) pottery, flint blades, and jewelry 3.) Harappan trading towns… a.) Lothal - fortified port at the head of the Gulf of Khambhat (Cambay) 4.) Trade of Raw materials a.) gemstone demand was high in Mesopotamia b.) copper and silver mining c.) Carnelian 5.) Harappan archaeological sites suggest a centralized and structured society and state a.) grand idea - shows that urbanized parts of the world were divergent from one another “THE GIFT OF THE NILE”: EGYPT 1.) Served as a melting pot a.) Libya and Sinai b.) Mediterranean Regions 2.) Similarities w/ Mesopotamia and the Indus a.) depended on irrigation b.) rulers enjoyed immense authority c.) created complex social orders d.) architecture 3.) Culture? a.) geographically influenced - 386,560 square miles i.) 11,720 sq. miles were cultivable ii.) 6 million acres in the Nile delta - between the two main branches of the Nile River (near Cairo) The Nile River and Its Floodwaters 1.) Nile River spans approximately 4,238 mi from its source in the highlands of central Africa to the Mediterranean Sea a.) rich silt b.) also the source of most of the Nile River Valley came from central Africa 2.) Did not flood and irrigate fields as in Mesopotamia a.) did not have a fertile hinterland b.) was gentle and bountiful - compared to the wild Euphrates and Tigris rivers Egypt’s Unique Riverine Culture 1.) Herodotus - coined “Egypt was the Gift of the Nile”; entire length was self- contained geographical entities 2.) Common culture by balanced regional tensions and reconciliation regional rivalries a.) Lower Egypt - northern region (rich soil) b.) Upper Egypt - southern region (sand) 3.) ma’at - task of bringing stability and order out of antagonistic impulses The Rise of the Egyptian State and Dynasty 1.) experienced a rapid growth in social diversity and complexity, including the establishment of a ruling order 2.) The King “Pharoah” - center of Egyptian society; primary responsibility is to ensure that the forces of nature “flooding of the Nile” are contained without interruption a.) protection 3.) Manetho accounts of Ancient Egyptian Dynasty a.) 31 dynasties occurred between three millennia i.) 3100 BCE - Alexander the Great conquers Egypt ii.) Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, and the New King Rituals, Pyramids, and Cosmic Order 1.) Third Dynasty Era (2686 - 2613 BCE) 2.) 3.) 4.) 5.) 6.) a.) Old Kingdom or the “Golden Age of Ancient Egypt” i.) dynasty legitimized by ritual and ideology Sed festival - important ceremony that renewed king’s vitality for 30 years a.) origin to ensure presence of water King Djoser - second King of the Third Dynasty a.) celebrated the Sed festival in his tomb complex at Saqqara i.) Imhotep - transformed the tomb into a massive set pyramid that rose 200 feet Upper and Lower Egypt unified a.) symbolized in structures by using the lotus and the papyrus Pharaoh & State’s Ideology and Principles of the Egyptian cosmos a.) Ritual of Death - everlasting life b.) Dual Crown - unification of Upper and Lower Egypt c.) Maintaining the Universe Pyramid Building a.) Giza (near Cairo) i.) Pyramid of Khufu - stands 481 feet (1) largest stone structure in the world and perfectly aligned to north, south, east, and west (2) Pyramid of Khafre - retains its original limestone casing b.) Centralized Egyptian Society? i.) required an immense resources and workers to build the pyramids- including other public works such as canals and harbors used primarily for pyramid construction (1) 21K workers (2) 10-hour workdays (3) 300 days (4) 14 years (a) One Pyramid - Khufu Religion 1.) All aspects of culture reflected a spiritual expression a.) Gods b.) Kings - not to be confused with Gods as they joined them after death c.) Humanity 2.) CULTS OF THE GODS a.) Egypt’s region had its own resident God i.) Amun - present in Thebes (creator/ hidden god) b.) Certain Gods i.) Horus - hawk god ii.) Osiris - God of the Underworld and Regeneration iii.) Hathor - Goddess of Childbirth and Love iv.) Ra - Sun God c.) Cults i.) Gods ii.) (1) Respected, adored, and thanked in their temples - King and his agents cared for the temples and carried out religious business there (a) In Return - Gods nurtured the King and maintained order Isis - represented sisterhood and motherhood (1) Temple at the Island of Philae 3.) THE PRIESTHOOD a.) Responsibility of upholding the cult, regulating rituals according to a cosmic calendar, and mediating among god's, kings, and society fell to the Priesthood group b.) focused role on temple life did not stop unofÏcial religion i.) local shrines 4.) MAGICAL POWERS a.) amulets - brought good fortune and protected against evil forces i.) could prevent illness ii.) guarantee safe childbirth b.) omens and divination - prediction of a future event c.) Animals i.) cats ii.) apis bulls - sacred to Ptah iii.) animals associated with God's Writing and Scribes 1.) Importance of literature a.) Scribes lived easy life b.) 3rd Millennium B.C. - literary pockets among a few individuals i.) heightened to scribe status 2.) Appearance of first alphabet a.) Southwest Asia - Aramaic (1500B.C.E.) b.) Egyptian literacy i.) king’s court ii.) armies iii.) priesthood iv.) scribes 3.) Egyptian Writing a.) Hieroglyphs and Demotic Writing - “Greek for sacred carving” (hieroglyphs)/ “Demotika” (he- used in temple, royal, and divine context/ popular and used for record keeping and literary works 4.) Becoming Literate a.) students to become scribes start training at a young age i.) copy hieroglyphs and demotic cursive b.) 3000 years of nonstop increase in literacy The Prosperity of Egypt 1.) Population growth - 350K in 4K B.C.E to 1Mil in 2500 BCE 2.) Submitted intrusions to the Egyptian State a.) farmers and workers tributes Later Dynasties and Their Demise 1.) Fall came from elite political factions and a droughts that cut crops 2.) Death of Pepy II - collapse of royal power 3.) First Intermediate Period (2181 - 2055 BCE) THE YELLOW AND YANGZI RIVER BASINS: EAST ASIA 1.) Foundation of future Chinese State - settlements along the river basins 2.) Abundance of food and widely dispersed communities encouraged development of localized agrarian societies From Yangshao to Longshan Culture 1.) Historian’s viewpoint a.) Culture originated in Central Plains of Yellow River basin - spread to less developed regions b.) Xia Dynasty (2200 BCE) - but perhaps around 4000- 2000 BCE 2.) 4000 BCE China - geographically and culturally different a.) warmer and moister climate b.) Central plains were smaller c.) Eight cultures appeared within this time frame - would later create a unified Chinese culture and eventual Han Dynasty d.) innovations brought forth by traveling nomads in the region i.) metal works ii.) eventual establishment into communities in the region 3.) Culturally Distinct? a.) both basins followed different practices i.) Yellow River (1) Yongshao culture (a) villages practiced a central square theme (b) slash and burn agriculture - migrant villages (c) archaeological evidence indicates children made up nearly 20% of burials (15 and younger) (d) Manipulation of signs and symbols - 5000 BCE (i) could be used in rituals, music, and healing 4.) Rise of Longshan Culture - 3000 BCE a.) Shandong Province (3000- 2000 BCE) - served as the cultural capital of the Longshan i.) evidence from pottery shows the Longshan culture was spread as far as Manchuria, Taiwan, etc. b.) Bones from deer shoulder blades (scapulas) were used as oracle bones - later seen during the Shang Dynasty of 1600-1045 BCE) c.) Did not produce city-states but had flourishing agriculturist small settlements 5.) Early Urban Life a.) buried dead outside of villages w/ ritual pottery vessels, instruments, copper bells, and paintings b.) Jade axes as a ritual - technical sophistication c.) Organized violence - discovery of a well filled with five layers of human skeletons proved village defensive walls were important 6.) Contact with regions outside of Longshan borders a.) centralization b.) migrations to Taiwan and Pearl River 7.) Political Organizations a.) Ten Thousand States (Wan’guo) i.) Liangzhu - culture influxes 8.) Catching up with Mesopotamia and Egypt a.) Agrarian systems along the rivers similar to those in Mesopotamia b.) Trade increased LIFE ON THE MARGINS OF AFRO-EURASIA 1.) Barbarians - nomads that civilized society didn’t view accurately - could in fact use technologies that were adapted by urbanites a.) institutions created that were similar to urban society 2.) River basins- people followed a warrior- based ethos a.) Social Ladder i.) Chief ii.) Military iii.) Priests iv.) Scribes Aegean Worlds 1.) Transformation or Traditional a.) did not adapt to Egyptian and Mesopotamian contact due to follow factors: i.) geography did not suite urban development - mountainous islands 2.) Mainland Greece & Cyclandic Islands a.) fortified settlements b.) Metallurgy develops c.) Copper trade for luxury objects 3.) Small Populations due to lack of geography suited for agriculture a.) Until… rise of Knossos i.) rich agricultural plain ii.) palace town (1) extended network of palaces iii.) burial sites Anatolia 1.) evidence shows culture focused on trade and mining 2.) Cities did not develop until 3rd Millennium BCE a.) when they did… i.) communities form around fortified citadels (1) Horoz Tepe (2) Alaca Huyuk 3.) Troy? a.) developed around 3000 BCE - Troy Level I b.) fortification - due to outside invasions Europe: The Western Frontier 1.) Warfare a.) persistent fragmentation b.) pursuit of agrarian development i.) Agricultural Development was result of constant warfare c.) integration of local communities leads to more conflict and social stratification i.) Warrior Code (1) cups carried by soldiers 2.) Expansion of Agricultural Communities and Consumption of Raw Materials a.) Flint Mining - social and economic transformation b.) Cleared forests - make room for crops 3.) 3500 BCE - began coalescing into large communities a.) built monuments i.) megalithic constructions - “Great Stone” (1) Avebury Constructs (2) Stonehenge 4.) 2000 BCE - northern Europe shares a common culture - based on agriculture a.) technological innovations i.) domestication of animals ii.) the wheel iii.) metal works - copper --End of Chapter