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Foundations of Civilization

1 DISCOVERING PREHISTORY Historians use many sources to learn about the past. Among the most important sources are written records such as inscriptions, letters, diaries and newspapers. But written records have existed for only 5,000 or 6,000 years. There are no written records from earlier times. Scholars use the term prehistory to describe the long period before writing was invented. To learn about prehistory, they use unwritten records such as buildings, pottery and bone. Historians and scientists work together to unravel the mysteries of prehistoric people. The Study of Prehistory Evidence from prehistory is of special interest to archeologists, scientist who finds and analyzes objects left by early people. These objects called artifacts include anything shaped by human beings such as tools, pottery and weapons. Archeology is a branch of anthropology. Anthropologists use artifacts and bone fragments to study the physical characteristics of people and the ways people organize societies. Other scientists are also interested in prehistory. For example, geologists often find fossils, as evidence of plant and animal life preserved in rock. Fossils show the types of plants and animals that existed at a particular time. Uncovering Archeological Evidence Archeologists have a three-part task in their search for evidence about early people. First, they must find a site or area where they think early people lived. Second, they excavate, dig at the site to uncover artifacts. Third, they analyze the artifacts they find and draw conclusion about the people. Although some important sites have been found by accident more often the archeologists choose places where they think people would have lived. A major step in the analysis of artifacts is estimating their ages or dating them. Scientists have developed several methods for dating an object. The carbon-14 method can be used to date organic matter-that is, anything that is once alive, such as wood and hair. A second method of dating objects is called amino acid racemization. Some scientist prefers this method since it can be used to date items that are up to one million years old.

2 Stone Age People Old Stone Age People Paleolithic people lived by fishing, hunting and gathering plants that grew wild. They were nomads, people who moved in search of food. A simple social structure developed during the Old Stone Age. Groups of related families joined to form small hunting bands numbering about 30 people. They built no permanent shelters. Instead they camped in caves or slept under lean-tos made of branches and grasses. While some people hunted, others stayed near the camped to gather food and care for the young. There is evidence that during the Old Stone Age people developed a spoken language and how to control fire. With spoken language, hunters could organize hunts. Fire provided light and warmth, protection against wild animals and heat for cooking food. Paleolithic people made simple tools such as hand axes and choppers. The earliest tools were pieces of flint, a hard stone chipped to produce a sharp cutting edge. Later, people made stone and bone tools for more specialized uses. These tools included needles, skin scrapers, harpoons, fishbooks, arrowheads, and spear points. Some scholars suggest that during the Old Stone Age people developed basic religious beliefs. CHANGES IN THE ENVIRONMENT The date often used to indicate the end of the Old Stone Age, is about 10,000 B.C., also the marks the end of the last ice age. During the last ice age, thick sheets of ice, called glaciers spread out from the Polar Regions. When the glaciers melted, the level of the ocean rose. The land bridge disappeared, and the people in North America were cut off from Asia.

New Stone Age Between 10,000 B.C. and 3500B.C. people in many parts of the world gradually stopped hunting and gathering food and became farmers. They domesticated, or tamed, wild animals such as dogs, sheep, and goats and began to grow grain and vegetables for food. In New Stone Age, agriculture developed in many places. Anthropologists have generally concluded that it began first in the Middle East people grew crops that were suited to the local soil and climate. The agricultural revolution or the change from hunting and gathering food to growing food had far-reaching effect on the way people lived.

TECHNOLOGYOF THE NEW STONE AGE

The growth of farming economy led to the development of new technology, that is, tools and skills people use to meet their basic needs. To turn over the soil, people fashioned sturdy hoes from granite, a hard stone that could be sharpened. They also invented weaving. Neolithic people have no longer had to slaughter animals for the hides. They made baskets for storing grain, nets for fishing and fire-hardened pottery for cooking. Eventually, they discovered that copper combined with tin formed a harder metal, called bronze.

3 Emergence of Civilization Civilization comes from the Latin root civitas meaning city. The development of cities was only one characteristic of early civilization. Growth of Cities The earliest cities appeared in four great river valleys. Cities may have emerged as early as 6000 B.C. in the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in western Asia. Conditions in the river valleys favored the development of cities. Flood waters also brought needed moisture to the land and people used river water for irrigation during dry periods. In addition, the rivers contained plentiful fish and attracted animals, two additional sources of foods. Finally, the rivers served as transportation arteries, which allowed people to trade for goods they did not have. With food surpluses, the populations of farming settlements increased, and villages grew into cities. The population of the earliest cities ranged from several thousand to a half million residents. City dwellers undertook major projects such as clearing new farm land and building vast irrigation systems as well as constructing temples, palaces, walls for defense. Government and Religion The city dwellers were polytheistic-that is, they worshipped many gods. They believed that gods and goddesses controlled the forces of nature. Priests developed elaborate rituals to try influence the gods. Because the priests were the only ones who knew how to perform these rituals, they gained enormous power. Priests probably headed the government as priest-kings serve as king is called a theocracy. Gradually, successful military leaders began to replace the priest-kings as rulers. Military rulers had clear responsibilities. They shared the priests task of keeping the gods friendly, and they were responsible for defending their cities against enemies. The Economy and Society Bronze came into such widespread use for vessels, tools, and weapons that historians have often called the period of early civilization the Bronze Age . Skilled workers called artisans, hammered out plows, scythes, helmets and swords. The system of exchanging one set of goods or services for another is called a barter economy. As a city grew, amore complex social structure emerged. At the top of the structure was the priest-king or kings. Below was a class of priests and nobles. Nobles generally based their power and wealth on owning large amounts of

land. Being a noble was hereditary-that is, the children of noble were also nobles. Artisans and small traders ranked next, followed by the largest class made up of peasant farmers and workers. At the bottom of the social structure were slaves. Slaves were men, women and children who had been taken captive in war or who were enslaved to pat their debts. Recordkeeping Some historians consider recordkeeping one of the most important characteristics of civilization. Priest was probably the first to start making the marks or drawing the pictures that eventually evolved into systems of writing. Temples became the schools of ancient civilizations. Priest taught only a select few the secrets of writing. A young man who mastered the difficult task of learning to read and write was called a scribe. Scribes worked in the king s service, in the temples or in the homes of wealthy merchants. Writing was more than recordkeeping; however it became the means of passing the wisdom and learning of one generation on to the next.

Ancient Egypt

1Early Egyptian Civilization About 8000 B.C., the climate of northern Africa became drier forcing Stone Age hunters in the region to move in search of food. Archeologists theorize that by 7000 B.C. the agricultural revolution had reached the Nile Valley. People living there grew barley, wheat, and vegetables. By 3500 B.C. many small farming villages clung to the banks of the Nile. The people called their land Kemet, meaning ric, black soil. The Nile River: Giver of Life The Nile River is the longest river in the world. It flows north from Lake Victoria in the mountains of central Africa to the Mediterranean Sea. In ancient times, as today, the Nile was considered the source of life in Egypt. Without the Nile, which brings valuable moisture to the parched land Egypt would be an extension of the Libyan Desert. In addition to moisture, the flood waters carried silt, which was deposited on the fields as the water receded. The rich soil replenished the farmland each year. At the mouth of the Nile, where the river empties into the Mediterranean Sea, deposits of silt have formed a delta, a triangle shaped-area of marshy farmlands. Egyptians used a reed called a papyrus that grew along the Nile s marshy shores for making paper. Religion in Ancient Egypt The Egyptian s religious beliefs reflected the importance of nature in their lives. Egyptians believed that different gods controlled the forces of nature, giving good harvests or causing crops to die. They thought gods had the power of life and death over everyone. They were polytheistic. Amon Re, the sun god, is the most important Egyptian god. The east, where the sun rose, symbolizes birth an the west, where the sun set, represented death. Thus, Egyptians always built tombs and funeral temples on the west bank of the Nile. Farmers gave special attention to Osiris, god of the Nile. Belief in life after death was central to Egyptian religion. They believed that dead did not automatically go to afterlife. Instead, they went first to the underworld, where they were judged by Osiris. Egyptians believed that they would need their bodies as home for the soul in afterlife. For this reason they practiced mummification, a process that preserved the body of the dead. A System of Writing They need to keep their records of religious rituals and temple property probably led Egyptian priest to develop a system of writing, later known as hieroglyphics, pictograms or pictures of objects, ideogram is a picture that symbolizes an idea or action.

2Goverment in Ancient Egypt Uniting Upper and Lower Egypt

The villages that grew up along the Nile gradually became under the control of two kingdoms, one in Upper Egypt and the other in Lower Egypt. About 3100 B.C. Menes, the ruler of Upper Egypt united the two kingdoms. By conquering Lower Egypt, Menes greatly increased his power. They built their capital at Memphis, where Upper and Lower Egypt met. The Old Kingdom (2700 B.C-2200 B.C.) During the Old Kingdom, Egyptian rulers acquire extensive power. They took the title pharaoh, meaning great house . They believed that pharaoh was the god or the god himself. The pharaoh had absolute power over people s lives. Not only was the source of all law, but he also owned all land. He shared these resources with the people, and they, in turn, paid taxes and obeyed his commands. The Old Kingdom was a period of significance achievements. They improved their hieroglyphics and developed their engineering needed to construct more elaborate tombs for the pharaohs. The pharaoh believed that, as the god, they needed a suitable house for his spirit in the afterlife. When pharaoh Zoser ordered a tomb prepared by his chief master, Imhotep, a brilliant engineer, designed the Pyramid at Sakkara. The Old Kingdom has sometimes been called the Pyramid Age because Zoser s successors as well as many wealthy nobles erected pyramid tombs. Thousands of laborers had to be recruited, fed, clothed and housed during the years it took to build a pyramid. The cost of huma lives and suffering was enormous. The common people resented the nobles and pharaohs who made them work and pay taxes. Thus, led them to revolt and it last for 150 years that marked the end of Old Kingdom.

Middle Kingdom (2050 B.C.-1800 B.C.) A new dynasty from the south restored order in Egypt and establishes Middle Kingdom. Compared to the earlier rulers, pharaohs of the Middle Kingdom seemed more interested in the common people. During this period, the lower class Egyptians gained the right to have their bodies mummified after death. The common people believed that this is a privilege gave them the same access to the afterlife as nobles and pharaohs. Major projects Middle Kingdom undertook, first is the draining of swampland in the Nile Delta, created thousands of acres of new farmlands. Second, is the digging of the canal to connect the Nile to the Red Sea, benefited trade and transportation. During this period, they expanded their borders and had greater contact with other civilizations, contact with outsiders contributed to the flourishing of Egyptian literature and art. One famous story, the Tale of Sinuhe , described the adventures of an Egyptian traveling in foreign lands. Because of the succession of weak pharaohs, they were defeated by Hyksos Western Asia. The newcomers used horses and war chariots, both unknown in Egypt. The Hyksos ruled Egypt for about 200 years. During that time, the Egyptians learned important military skills from their conquerors. They

learned to ride horses and became expert charioteers. By 1750 B.C., Egyptians nobles united to expel the foreigners and established a New Kingdom. New Kingdom (1570 B.C.-1090 B.C.) During this period, Egyptian power reached its peak. Ambitious pharaohs established an empire stretching from Kush to the Euphrates River. Taxes on flourishing trade further increased Egyptian wealth, this period is also called the Empire Age. The first woman ruler known history, Queen Hatshepsut reigned during the Empire Age. For 22 years she administered an efficient government. Hatshepsut was succeeded by her son, Thutmose III a brilliant military leader, he expanded the Empire to its greater size. Thutmose raised monuments to his own greatness on tall, pointed stone pillars, called obelisks. The controversial pharaoh Amenhotep IV who is less interested in foreign conquests than in changing some traditional religious practices. He wanted Egyptians to worship the god Aton, whose symbol was the sun disk and later on he changed his name to Akhenaton, meaning it goes well . He was actually trying to introduce monotheism, the worship of the single god. When Akhenaton died in 1358 B.C. his son-in-law, Tutankhaton, a boy just eight years old inherited the throne and he returned to traditional religious practices. The last great ruler of the New Kingdom was Ramses II. He spent most his 67-year reign reviving the empire by fighting the Hittites of Asia Minor. Following the reign of Ramses II, Egyptian power declined and the Greeks led by Alexander the Great conquered Egypt. Three hundred years later, Queen Cleopatra, a descendant of one of Alexander s generals, tried to restore Egyptian greatness, she became the last pharaoh and Egypt became the province of Roman Empire.

3Ancient Egyptian Society Birth determined a person s social class and occupation. Social Classes RULING CLASS. Priest had the highest status after the pharaoh. Nobles made up the second segment of the ruling class. MIDDLE CLASS.It consists of merchants,artisans,physicians,skilled workers PEASANTS AND SLAVES.The third class in Egypt society. Status of Women Women in Egypt enjoyed relatively high status. Women had the right to buy and sell property and testify in court. They valued the women s role as wife and mother. Women gained greater status when they

had children, but Egyptians writers refer to wives as property of their husbands and urged men to treat their wives with kindness. In the royal family, the queen occupied a privileged position because she was the wife of a god and the mother of the next pharaoh.

World Civilization

Group 1 NR32
Sorilla, Rachel Aguaje, Bernadeth Almoite, Oliver Familara, Clyndal Franco, Ailene

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