The Urban Revolution British archaeologist V Gordon Childe

The Urban Revolution British archaeologist, V. Gordon Childe Attempting to explain the emergence of cities in the ancient Middle East And the social/cultural trends that cities therefore embodied

The Urban Revolution Cities • State organization • Social hierarchy • Extraction of surplus • Full-time specialization of labor • Writing and mathematics • Monumental architecture

Tombs (kofun) Types of tombs from c. 3 rd – 5 th Centuries

Tombs (kofun) 5 th century tomb of Emperor Nintoku, in Sakai (near Osaka)

Diffusion of urban idea T’ang dynasty of China (618 -907 A. D. ) provided model for Japanese imperial capitals (and model for notions of how a complex state should be organized) diffusion or adaptation of Chinese social, cultural, political, technological patterns

Diffusion of urban idea Diffusion of pattern, rather than underlying similarities of development or process Not an “urban revolution” in Childe’s sense, but elements of what makes a city possible are still apropos

Diffusion of urban idea Took a few attempts in Japan to get it right. Series of Chinese style capitals • Asuka • Fujiwarakyo • Nara • Heiankyo (present-day Kyoto)

Chang-an, capital of the T’ang dynasty 618 -907 A. D.

Chang-an Imperial capital Cosmological significance of urban plan Social/political structuring of capital around institutions of state, as well as cosmological significance of Imperial court

Early Japanese cities Plan of Fujiwarakyo (near present day Kyoto)

Early Japanese cities Plan of Heiankyo (the present day Kyoto)

Early Japanese cities Tourist map of present day Kyoto)

Compare Heiankyo

. . . with Edo 1747 French map of Edo, by the mapmaker Bellin