Characteristics of a Civilization

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Characteristics of a Civilization

• Global History

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• To be able to fill leisure intelligently is the
  last product of civilization.
• Toynbee, Arnold1852-1883, British Economic
  Historian and Reformer

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Maslows Hierarchy of Needs
Self-actualization (self-knowledge, fulfillment
of personal potential) Esteem (autonomy,
achievement, recognition) Social (belonging,
affection) Safety (security, protection from
harm) Physiological (Hunger, thirst, shelter)
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What is a civilization?

• Civilization ?a society with a complex culture
• Culture ?a shared set of beliefs, values, and
  traditions a way of life

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Five Characteristics of Civilization

• Cities
• Specialized Workers
• Complex Institutions
• Record Keeping
• Advanced Technology

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1. Cities

• Central feature of ancient civilizations
• Located in fertile river valleys

Nile River
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Early Cities Developed Along Rivers
Euphrates River

• Rivers provided
• water supply
• transportation
• food supply from animals
• Rivers provided challenges
• flooding
• irrigation

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2. Specialized Workers

• Not only farmers, but merchants, artisans,
  scribes.
• Why?
• Surplus of food.
• There was no need to have everybody farm. This
  led to bartering or an exchange of goods (basket
  or cart) for food.

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What is an Artisan?

• Artisans specialized in various jobs, such as
• Bricklayers
• Blacksmiths
• Created great architecture and art

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3. Complex Institutions

• Formal governments laws
• Religion/priests with religious duties and/or
  political power
• Education system (mostly for priests scribes)

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Complex Institution Governments

• Early governments were first headed by priests
• Later controlled by warrior chiefs or kings
• These kings became hereditary rulers

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Complex Institutions Governments Continued

• Governments became more complex as new
  responsibilities arose such as
• tax collecting
• law making
• handling public works projects
• organizing systems of defense

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Complex Institution Religion

• Generally polytheistic
• Many gods represented natural forces
• Others controlled human activities
• Priests and worshippers tried to gain gods favor
  through complex rituals and sacrifice

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Complex Institution Religion

• Temples often built to honor specific gods and
  goddesses

Egyptian Temple
Myan Temple
Mesopotamian Ziggurat
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Complex Institution Social Structure

• People ranked according to their profession

Chief Priests Nobles Wealthy merchants Artisans Pe
asants/farmers Slaves
Egyptian Social Structure
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Complex Institution Social Structure

• Ruling classes
• Based often on military prowess
• Originally elected, later hereditary
• Perceived as offspring of gods
• Religious classes
• Role intervention with gods to ensure fertility,
  safety
• Considerable landholdings, other economic
  activities

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Complex Institution Social Structure

• Free commoners
• Peasant cultivators
• Some urban professionals
• Slaves
• Prisoners of war, convicted criminals, debtors

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Social Structure - Patriarchal Society

• Men as landowners, relationship to status
• Patriarchy rule of the father
• Right to sell wives, children
• Double standard of sexual morality
• Women drowned for adultery
• Relaxed sexual mores for men

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Social Structure - Patriarchal Society

• Yet some possibilities of social mobility for
  women
• Court advisers, temple priestesses, economic
  activity
• Introduction of the veil at least c. 1500 BCE

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4. Record Keeping

• System of Writing
• Cuneiform, hieroglyphics, pictographs
• Quipu ? series of strings used by the Inca to
  record statistics

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Writing Continued

• Probably first used by priests
• Earliest writing used pictograms

Chinese Calligraphy
Egyptian Hieroglyphs
Mesopotamian cuneiform
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Development of Writing

• Sumerian writing systems form 3500 BCE
• Pictographs
• Cuneiform wedge-shaped
• Preservation of documents on clay
• Declines from 400 BCE with spread of Greek
  alphabetic script

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Writing Continued

• Symbols later added to represent words and then
  sounds
• Scribes were specially trained to read, write,
  and record information

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5. Advanced Technology

• The wheel and the plow
• Bronze weapons
• The Sail

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Bibliography

• Annenberg/CPB
• American Association for the Advancement of
  Science
• McGraw-Hill Co.
• Unitedstreaming.com