Ancient Civilizations

Indus Valley Civilization (3300-1700BC)

It was located the food plain of the Indus and Sarawati rivers, located of what is known as Pakistan. Along with
Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, it was one of three early cradles of civilizations of the Old World. It flourished
around 3500 BCE with a population of over 5 million. A total of 1022 cities and settlements had been found by
2008. Of these were the major urban centers of Harappa, Mohenjo-daro, Dholavira, Ganeriwala and Rakhigarhi

The first was Harappa in the 1920s , in what was then the Punjab province of British India. The early Harappan
cultures were preceded by local Neolithic agricultural village, from which the river plains were populated.

Along with Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt, it was one of the earliest civilizations of the Old World.

Pre-Harappan (7000-3300BCE)
Mehrgargh was a settle village. It is one of the earliest sites with evidence of farming and hearing in South Asia.

Early-Harappan (3300-2600BCE)
Kot Diji represents the phase leading up to Mature Harappan, with the citadel representing centralised authority
and an increasingly urban quality of life. Trade networks linked this culture with related regional cultures and
distant sources of raw materials. The final stages of the Early Harappan period are characterised by the building
of large walled settlements, the expansion of trade networks and the increasing integration of regional
communities into a uniform culture.

Mature Harappan (2600-1900BCE)

Many Indus symbols have been found on seals, small tables, ceramic pots.

Flood-supported farming led to large agricultural surpluses, which in turn supported the development of cities
The urban plans of the scavenged cities have revealed the first known urban sanitation systems. Within the city,
individual homes obtained water from wells. Waste water was directed to covered drains, which lined the major
streets. The massive walls of Indus cities most likely protected them from floods.

Nevertheless, there were palaces or temples. Found at one city was an enormous bath. Although some houses
were larger than others ALL had access to water and drainage facilities. This gives the impressions of an
egalitarian society. Archaeological records provide no answers for a centre of power.

The Harappans also had their own crafts and arts.

We can infer from statues and drawings that their religion may have been polytheistic. They most probably
worshipped Mother Goddess symbolizing fertility. She was seen as the source of all creation. Many Indus seals
show picture of gods, which indicates how important religion was to them. Some seals showed swastikas, which
are also found in Hinduism and Buddhism. Swastikas was the sacred symbol for good luck.

Late Harappan
Around 1900 BCE, sign of gradual decline began to emerge. Around 1700 BCE, most of the cities had been
abandoned. Recent examination of human skeletons demonstrated that the end of the Indus civilization saw an
increase in inter-personal violence. There was a general decrease of long-distance trade.

During the later half other of the 2nd millennium BCE, most of the post-urban Late Harappan settlements were
abandon together.

Many paleo climatologists propose that the decline of the Indus Valley Civilization was due to long-term drought

Many elements of the Indus Civilization appear in later cultures (Punjab, Haryana). Some claim that Hinduism
derives partially from the Indus Civilization
Mesopotamia (3000-539BC)
It helped created two fundamental things: writing & taxes

Around 3000 B.C.E in the land of Meso, cities starting popping up. These cities engaged in a form of socialism
where farmers contributed their crops to public store houses where workers would be paid uniform wages in
grain. A large number of people didn’t want to give up their flocks, giving rise to the enduring conflict between
country and city. The city wins...

Uruk (city) had an extensive canal system and several monumental temples called ziggurat. The priest of these
temples had all the power because he could communicate directly to the gods.

After 1000 years, a rival structure began to pop up, the palace. The responsibility for the well-being of the
social order was shifting from God to the people.

Mesopotamia writing was initially created to record transactions. Writing and reading was something
everyone could do. They created a class distinction. They had slaves. Mesopotamia lacked most generic items.
Therefore, they had to trade.

The city state period for Mesopotamia ended around in 2000 BCE due to droughts led to nomads coming in
and conquering the environmentally weakened cities. The new Mesopotamian city states had some
differences. First, the socialist structure was replaced to something that looked a lot like private enterprise.
Where people could produce as much as possible, but had to give a small cut to the government. Tax.

The most famous of these early monarchs is Hammurabi. He ruled the new kingdom of Babylon from 1792
BCE to 1750 BCE. Babylon was not that powerful, since it was soon taken over by nomadic Kassites.

The Assyrians came along and have reputation of being the brutal bullies of Mesopotamia. They gave us an
early example of political organisation in world history, the empire. An empire is an aggregate of territories or
people ruled by an emperor. Beginning in 911 BCE, the neo-Assyrian empire grew from hometown of Ashur to
the Mediterranean, and even Egypt. They did this with their brutal military, which was selected through
system of meritocracy.

Everything was done in the name of Ashur, the great god of the neo-Assyrians. Ashur through the king kept the
world going. The Assyrians spread propaganda. In 612 BCE, their whole world view was based on the idea that
the apocalypse will come if you ever lose a battle. They lost a battle.

The idea of an empire was just getting started.

Ancient Egypt (3000-332BC)
 Nile shaped the world view of the Egyptians.
 Rich nutrients due to reliable source of water
 Civilization only existed along the Nile
 The afterlife was seen as a continuation of this life.

Old Kingdom (2649 - 2152 BCE), the glory of age of Ancient Egypt
The King (Pharaoh) was a God. Therefore, he was expected to act as a God. Which in Ancient Egypt meant
acting like the Nile (calm, cool, benevolent).
The pyramids represent a remarkable degree of political and social control over the population. The pyramid
with the sphynx for Khephren; the largest built for Pharaoh Khufu. The pyramids were built by peasants who
were required by Egyptian law to work for the government (slaves).
Ra started as a regional God. He was the God of the sun and creation. The thinking was that if their jobs then
the pantheon of gods would maintain cosmic order. It made sense to please them even unto pyramids. They
believed that cats had divine power.

Two forms of writing:

 Hieroglyphics: for sacred writing
 Demotic script: unimportant stuff

The Old Kingdom was ridiculously rich

Middle Kingdom (2040 – 1640 BCE)

The rulers were outsiders. They fostered a new pantheon of gods, the star of which was Ammun. Ammun
eventually formed with Ra to form Ammun-Ra, who was the idealist god. All the middle kingdom pharaohs
made temples for him. The Middle Kingdom developed an interest in conquering.
One group, the Hyksos, were able to conquer all of Egypt, but rather than destroying the culture, they relaxed.
However, the Egyptians were able to destroy the Hyksos.

New Kingdom (1550 – 1070 BCE)

Continued military expansion, however it looked more of an empire. This created conflicts with the Assyrians.
Tutankhaten (Aten) is very famous because modern society discovered his body.