Chapter 1 The Origins of Western Civilization in

Chapter 1 The Origins of Western Civilization in the Ancient Near East, 3000– 1200 B. C. E.

Learning Objectives: Questions to Consider • What were the social, economic, and cultural consequences of the adoption of agriculture? • How did geography influence the development of civilization in Mesopotamia and Egypt? • What part did religion play in the lives of the ancient Sumerians? • How did the ancient Egyptians view the concept of life after death? • In what ways were the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations different from the civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt?

Before History, 2, 000 -3000 B. C. E. • The Old Stone Age – Getting to Know the Old Stone Age • Material Culture and Archaeology • Anthropology – Early Human Populations • Homo habilis (2 million years ago) • Homo erectus (1 million years ago) • Homo sapiens (450, 000 B. C. E. ) • Sub-species: Neanderthal (350, 000 B. C. E. ) • Hunting and gathering • Homo sapiens

Before History, 2, 000 -3000 B. C. E. • The Origins of Religion – The Belief in Supernatural Powers • Influence Through Ritual – Fertility Rituals and the Possibility of Matriarchal Societies – Burial Rituals • Cave Painting

Before History, 2, 000 -3000 B. C. E. • The Neolithic Revolution – The Neolithic Age in the Near East (8000 B. C. E. ) – The Rise of Pastoralism • Animal domestication – The Rise of Agriculture • Independent Developments and Cultural Assimilation – The Consequences of Settled Lifestyles • Diversification and Differentiation

Before History, 2, 000 -3000 B. C. E. • The Emergence of Near Eastern Civilization – The Fertile Crescent: from the Nile through the Levant and Mesopotamia • The Criteria of Civilization – Cities and Centralization – The Concentration of Wealth and Resources – Technological Advances – Writing and History • The Bronze Age, 3000 -1200 B. C. E.

Mesopotamian Civilization, 3000– 1200 B. C. E. • The Rise of Sumeria – Sumerian Writing • Cuneiform • Myths and Legends – The Role of Geography • Anatolia and the Rivers – Polytheists and Unpredictable Anthropomorphic Gods • Divination and Pessimism

Mesopotamian Civilization, 3000– 1200 B. C. E. • Sumerian Government and Society – – City-states Ziggurats Hierarchical Structure Economic Activity • Barter – Gender in a Patriarchal Society • Dowry – Daily Life

Mesopotamian Civilization, 3000– 1200 B. C. E. • Semitic and Indo-European Peoples – Sargon (2350 B. C. E. ) and the Akkadians • Administering an Empire: Conciliation and Domination – Hammurabi (r. 1790 -1750 B. C. E. ) and the Babylonians • Standardization in Weights (Talents) • Mathematics, Astronomy, and Astrology – The Indo-Europeans from the Steppes: Aryans, Hittites, and Kassites

Mesopotamian Civilization, 3000– 1200 B. C. E. • The Code of Hammurabi – Classes: Nobles, Free Persons, and Slaves – Gender Relations and Marriage – Crime and Punishment • Punishment by Death (Impalement) and Mutilation • The Importance of Status and Retaliation

Egyptian Civilization, 3000– 1200 B. C. E. • The Gift of the Nile – The Land of Egypt and Its Geography – The Unification of Egypt, 3000 B. C. E. • Pharaohs and Dynasties • Hieroglyphics and Scribes • Administration by Nomes – Early Egyptian Religion • The Goddess Ma’at

Egyptian Civilization, 3000– 1200 B. C. E. • Egyptian Government and Society – Crime and Punishment – Egyptian Society and Its Hierarchy • • • Pharaoh, Wives, Concubines, and Children Nobles and Priests Specialized Workers Lower Status Laborers Slaves – Daily Life in Egypt • The Importance of Family

Egyptian Civilization, 3000– 1200 B. C. E. • The Old Kingdom, 2700 -2200 B. C. E. – The Nature of the Pyramids – The Rise of the Nobles • The Middle Kingdom, 2050 -1786 B. C. E. – Osiris and the Afterlife • Mummification and the Book of the Dead – The Hyksos Invasion, 1730 B. C. E.

Egyptian Civilization, 3000– 1200 B. C. E. • The New Kingdom, 1570 -1070 B. C. E. – Protecting Egypt • Building an Army with Natives and Mercenaries • The Rule of Hatshepsut, Female Pharaoh (r. 1498 -1483 B. C. E. ) – Egyptian Empire – The Religious Revolution of Akhenaton (r. 1350 -1334 B. C. E. ) and the Aton – Successors: Tut-ankh-amon (r. 1334 -1325 B. C. E. ) and Ramses II (r. 1279 -1212 B. C. E. )

Lost Civilizations of the Bronze Age • Ebla and Canaan – Thriving Trade and Cities, ca. 2500 B. C. E. • The Minoans of Crete – Palace Complexes , 2000 B. C. E. – Trade, Religion, and Views of the World • Cult Objects • The Myth of the Minotaur – The Fall, 1400 B. C. E.

Lost Civilizations of the Bronze Age • The Mycenaeans of Greece, ca. 1600 B. C. E. – Origins • Minoan Influences – Society – Trade

Lost Civilizations of the Bronze Age • The Sea Peoples and the End of the Bronze Age, 1200 B. C. E. – The Invasion of the Sea Peoples • Evidence from the Iliad – Troy and the Trojan War – The Defeat of the Sea Peoples • Egyptian Victory under Ramses III (r. 1182 -1151 B. C. E. ) – The End of the Bronze Age • The Invasion of the Dorians, 1150 B. C. E. • Mycenaean Flight and Resettlement in Ionia