The Development and Interaction of Early Agricultural, Pastoral and Urban Societies
After the transition to agriculture, surpluses led to the establishment of urban centers, and the first civilizations. These new civilizations laid out the foundation for complex societies. These civilizations shared several significant social, political, and economic characteristics. These civilization often developed states and governments organized by bureaucracies or religious belief. Societies also began to trade which led to competition for limited resources and the clash of different beliefs/ideals.
1.3-I: Core and foundational civilizations developed in a variety of geographical and environmental settings where agriculture flourished.
Agricultural civilizations flourished in many climates, including dry and vegetable lands. The earliest of these societies arose in different parts of the world, and established their own unique set of agriculture. Most early civilizations developed around a water source such as a river.
The early civilizations all grew in areas where agriculture flourished. The people adapted to their specific region and improved their lifestyles by making advancements for their area. These are the core and foundation civilizations that the College Board wants you to know:
Vocabulary
Civilizations- A form of human organization and social interaction characterized by more advanced societies. Early civilizations led to states, where leaders governed the people within its territory.
Social stratification- The way in which a society is organized into hierarchies
Metallurgy- Job concerned with the development and use of metals
Divine kingship- In Egypt; kings were viewed as incarnates of gods
City state- A single city and its dependent territories
1.3-II: The first states emerged within core civilizations in Mesopotamia and the Nile River Valley
The chariot made by the Hittites is a clear example of how new weapons spread throughout the region. The Assyrians applied iron metallurgy more effectively than the Hittites and became a feared army.
The early civilizations of Mesopotamia and the Nile River Valley both had major advantage that most regions did not have. Their geographic location helped harvests and sustain agriculture. Once they established themselves, they began to compete for resources. This led to the advancement and diffusion of weapons and discovery throughout the region.
A. The states that emerged in core civilizations welded great power over people's lives and came to reinforce the inequalities that first developed with the advancement of agriculture. Some rulers of early states often claimed divine connections to power. These rulers usually relied on the support of the military, religious, and aristocratic elites. The first states were based off a hierarchical system with the ruler at the top, followed by elites and bureaucrats, and finally the commoners who worked agriculture to sustain the population.
B. As states began to compete for land and resources, the state with the most resources experienced greater access to resources, produced more food, and grew their population. This enabled them to expand their territory and conquer surrounding states. The utilization of iron in weapons gave certain areas an advantage to others. The Hittites were the first who learned to use iron for metals. This gave them leverage over weapons because iron could easily shatter any bronze weapon and always stayed sharp.
C. Pastoralists were often the makers and inventors of new weapons and transportation because they experienced the most danger daily. New weapons and modes of transportation diffused from one area to another. As hard as the Hittites tried to conceal their method of iron production, this skill spread to others.
New weapons: composite bows, iron weapons
New transportation: chariots, horseback riding
New weapons: composite bows, iron weapons
New transportation: chariots, horseback riding
Vocabulary
Aristocrats- Class with many privileges, usually related to nobility
Empire- A large group of states under control of a single authority.
State- An organized community under rule of a single authority.
Bantu Migration- Migrants from western Africa who spread across the southern half of the continent from 1000 BC- 1700 AD
Indo- European migrations- Indo- European migrants, called Aryans, migrated to Europe, India, China, and Iran from 1800-1600 BC.
1.3-III: Culture played a significant role in unifying states through laws, language, literature, religion, myths, and monumental art.
These entities like laws, language, monuments, literature, and religion created a united culture for citizens of a state, and provided them with a sense of identity and security.
Momentum buildings symbolize a society's wealth and power since it took many laborers, money, and time to build these structures. Early writing systems helped lay the foundation of language and writing for future states and kingdoms. The inequalities that naturally formed by agriculture was standardized and perpetuated in Hammurabi's laws. New religions developed during this time period laid the foundation for future religions and converts. Interregional trade grew due to new trade networks and population migrations.
A. Early civilizations developed monumental architecture and urban planning like Ziggurats, Pyramids, and defensive walls. The large amount of resources helped fund public and civic projects that included temples, roads, and irrigation and sewage system. Ziggurats were large temples used for religious practices which people brought food offerings to. They also served as schools where children learned religion, math and other subjects.
B. As people became more involved in trading, they needed a systematic way to remember information. Thus a systems of record keeping arose which subsequently spread and diffused. The ability to use written symbols to record quantity and meaning is a giant stride in the development of civilization. The Sumerians developed Cuneiform and the Egyptians developed hieroglyphics.
C. A central government required a law code rule over complex societies. Therefore, states developed legal codes that reflected existing hierarchies and facilitated the rule of governments over people. Hammurabi's code and the Code of Ur-Nammu were both important law codes that existed at the time. Hammurabi inscribed his laws in large black columns throughout the empire. His law code reinforced the social and gender hierarchies of Babylonian civilization.
D. New religious beliefs that developed including the Vedic religion, Hebrew monotheism, and Zoroastrianism continued to have strong influences in later periods.Although most of these beliefs cannot be found today in the same form they had in this earlier time, they continue to have a profound influence on billions of religious believers in the modern world.
E. Interregional cultural and technological exchanges grew as a result of expanding trade networks and large-scale population movements, such as the Indo–European and Bantu migrations.
Examples of interreigonal trade:
-Mesopotamia and Egypt
-Egypt and Nubia
-Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley
-China and Southwest Asia
Examples of interreigonal trade:
-Mesopotamia and Egypt
-Egypt and Nubia
-Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley
-China and Southwest Asia
F. Social hierarchies, including patriarchy, intensified as states expanded and cities multiplied. The larger populations were better suited for social hierarchies as a way to divide labor.
Vocabulary:
![Picture](/uploads/1/1/0/7/110711779/published/the-vedas.jpg?1510973463)
Vedas: sacred texts in the Hindu religion, they are a set of four collections of hymns and religious ceremonies transmitted by memory through the centuries by Aryan priests
![Picture](/uploads/1/1/0/7/110711779/published/hebrew-monotheism.jpg?1510974442)
Hebrew Monotheism: Semitic people who migrated from Mesopotamia. Believed in only one God that ruled all of the cosmos.
![Picture](/uploads/1/1/0/7/110711779/published/147564.jpg?1510974588)
Zoroastrianism: A polytheistic religion that emerged in the Persian Empires and promoted morality and the struggle of good versus evil. Influenced Christianity and Manicheaism.
![Picture](/uploads/1/1/0/7/110711779/download-5_orig.jpg)
Epic of Gilgamesh: epic poem from Ancient Mesopotamia and is among the earliest known works of literary fiction.
![Picture](/uploads/1/1/0/7/110711779/published/300px-rigveda-ms2097.jpg?1510974611)
Rig Veda: first Vedas scripture, deals with spirituality, and science. Laid out the principles for thought and development in India.
Primary Documents
Above is the tall black structures that Hammurabi placed around the empire. A unique characteristic of the Code of Hammurabi is its strict "eye-for-an-eye" relation between an offense and its punishment. It is an example of the central government implemented rules to establish civil order and safety for all of its residents. More importantly, however, Hammurabi's code defined the inequity of social classes and gender. For example, a poor commoner could receive a much more harsher punishment than a rich aristocrat.
The painting illustrates the diffusion and use of the chariot as a devastating weapon. Chariots were originally developed by the Hittites and diffused to other empires who learned and mastered them. They improved on the design and created their own chariots for battle. The painting shows the lethal physical and psychological effects of a chariot against foot soldiers.