Chapters 1-4

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Chapters 1-4 Unit I Lesson 2
Cradles of Civilization of Ancient Times
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Sumer

• Located
• b/t the Tigris Euphrates Rivers in
  Mesopotamia (land b/t the rivers), providing
  fertile soil to grow crops to sustain life with a
  surplus of food from irrigation
• within the Fertile Crescent region
• within the Middle East in what is now Iraq

• Major accomplishments
• est. Babylon as 1st center of trade (city)
• built ziggurats tier-shaped temples
  
  intro. plow and the wheel 1st to use (blend of
  tin copper)
• bronze
• hierarchy of society from kings priests to
  scribes (professional writers) to merchants
  artisans to farmers

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• 1st to intro. any form of written language
  called cuneiform
• used stylus to mark on wet clay tablets
• deciphered (translated) by discovery of the
  Behistun Rock

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The size of the whole monument is larger than
half a football field 100 feet high, 150 feet
wide. One example of the quality of workmanship
that went into the monument is the preparation of
the surfaces. Where loose rocks and cracks were
found, hot lead was added as a stabilizer or
fillerat 300 plus feet!
Engraved on a cliff ledge 345 feet about the
ground, the Behistun Inscription stands as a
monumental feat of the ancient world. Located at
the foot of the Zagros Mountains in western Iran
near the modern town of Bisitun, the Behistun
Rock was commissioned by King Darius I of Persia
(522-486 B.C.).
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• Government
• (kind of rule with complete power)
• autocratic
• (a govt ruled by a religious leader)
• theocratic
• (center of trade surrounding area)
• ruled city-states
• Babylonian king, Hammurabi
• intro. worlds 1st written law code
• harsh, eye for an eye
• Religion
• polytheistic

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King Hammurabis court of law
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EGYPT
Nile R.
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• Located
• along the Nile River in N.E. Africa, providing
  fertile soil to grow crops to sustain life with a
  surplus of food from irrigation projects
• also known as Kemet meaning Black Earth or
  Black Soil
• Herodotus, Greek historian and the father of
  history, called Egypt the gift of the Nile

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• Major accomplishments
• 1st capital and center of trade) called
  Memphis by 1st pharaoh, Menes,
• when he united Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt
• built pyramids
• became the best known doctors around the
• Mediterranean Sea area

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• hieroglyphics on papyrus written by scribes

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• deciphered (translated) by discovery of the
  Rosetta Stone found in 18th century (A.D. 1700s)

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by a soldier serving under the leadership of
French
Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte while on campaign in
Egypt
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• chariots canals embalming (mummification)
  facial make-up

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• Government
• Pharaohs as autocrats / theocrats ruling with
  the power of
• (series of rulers from the same family)
• dynasties
• Religion polytheistic

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INDIA
Indus R.
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• Located
• along Indus River in South Asia, providing
  fertile soil to grow crops to sustain life with a
  surplus of food
• major centers of trade Harappa (Pakistan)
  Mohenjo-Daro (near Arabian Sea) with cities built
  on a grid pattern

The Great Bath
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• Major Accomplishments
• underground sewer system

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• use of bronze, copper, silver, shell, ivory
• pictograms by scribes later Sanskrit as
  cultural form of writing

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• Gupta Dynasty as example
• gave India its (time period of greatest
  achievement)
• Golden Age
• earliest form of Arabic numerals as we use
  today
• vaccinations against diseases such as smallpox
• most families patriarchal (led by the eldest
  male)
• family was most basic unit in society
• Religion polytheistic

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CHINA
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• Located
• along Huang He River (the Yellow River or the
  River of Great Sorrow), providing fertile soil
  more times than not to grow crops to sustain life
  with surplus food if loess did not cause
  catastrophic flooding
• China is considered the worlds oldest
  continuous civilization

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• Major Accomplishments
• Shang dynasty was the 1st to shape the Chinese
  civilization
• several centers of trade, but for centuries,
  each preferred to remain
• isolated from outside influences (outsiders may
  change Chinese culture)
• metal-casting jade silk kaolin (a fine
  white clay)
• seafarers, merchants, artisans

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• scribes wrote characters in vertical columns
• later intro. elegant calligraphy using brush
  ink

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• Government
• kings as autocrats / theocrats ruling
  dynasties
• by order of the Mandate of Heaven from old
  dynastys cycle of
• disaster to new dynastys cycle of
• prosperity, which eventually becomes the old
  dynasty with problems, leading to a new dynasty

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• Religion
• polytheistic, honoring spirits of their
  ancestors

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THE AMERICAS

• Location
• Paleolithic groups of Asian people first
  crossed a land bridge connecting Asia and Alaska,
  now called the Bering Strait, following migrating
  animal herds in search of food.
• These early Americans spread southward,
  settling along lakes and rivers, where they
  learned to farm maize (corn) and beans, tomatoes
  and squash to sustain life with a surplus of food.

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• Major Accomplishments
• The Olmecs as the oldest American civilization
  
• ceremonial centers with pyramid-shaped temples
• calendar carved inscriptions by scribes
  intricately carved
• jade figurines jewelry

Some as much as 9 ft. tall each carved from a
single chunk of volcanic basalt total of 17
colossal heads have been unearthed so far
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• utilized rubber for ball games the Olmecs the
  Rubber People

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• domesticated animals like llama for their
• wool
• traders
• influenced the Mayas the Aztecs
• Government
• priestly leadership with polytheistic religious
  devotion