UNIT 2.- EARLY CIVILISATIONS

WELCOME TO A NEW CLASS OF HISTORY• Today, we are going to start with the study of history. • We don´t forget the previous period of time: prehistory

PREHISTORY HISTORY

Before the invention of

writing

After the invention of

writing

Remember the timeline with all the periods of history

This term we are going to study ANCIENT HISTORY

EARLY CIVILISATIONS

URBAN CIVILISATION

Mesopotamia

Egypt

CLASIC CIVILISATION

Ancient Greek

Ancient Rome

ANCIENT HISTORYFrom the invention of writing to the fall of Roman Empire

Unit 2

Unit 4

Unit 3

BEFORE STARTING WITH THE STUDY OF EARLY CIVILISATION…• You have to make the cover of unit 2 using the ancient Egyptian system of

writing: hieroglyphs, based on elaborate drawings.

EARLY CIVILISATION:Mesopotamia and Egypt

In this unit, we will focus on the civilisations in Egypt and Mesopotamia

What is a civilisation?

• Is an advanced state of human society in which there is:– A stable food supply.– A division of labour.– A hierarchical society.– Systems of laws and government.– A developed culture.

RAE: Conjunto de costumbres, saberes y artes propio de una sociedad humana.

MESOPOTAMIA AND EGYPT.Common characteristics

1. These early civilisations began along the banks of very long rivers, such as the Nile in Egypt, and the Tigris and the Euphrates in Mesopotamia. People used their water to make the lands around them fertile for agriculture.

They developed irrigation systems, such as canals, to channel water to more distant areas.

2. There was a lot of craftwork and trade in the areas around these large rivers. In fact, so much trade took place that people began to use money.

Nectanebo II (361-350 AC) 

3. These early civilisations were urban civilisations, because the main economic activities were concentrated in cities. 4. Society in these early civilisations was very hierarchical (look at the population pyramid above). A minority, made up of kings and priests, controlled the majority of the wealth and governed the people. Under their command were the army and civil servants, who managed the kingdom. Traders were below these groups in the social hierarchy. Then came artisans, peasants and finally slaves.5. In ancient civilisations, the majority of labour was done by slaves. They were the basis of the economy. Slaves did not have rights and were considered to be the property of their masters.6. The first codes, or sets of laws, were written during this period. These codes regulated day-to-day life. For example, Code of Hamurabi (king of Babilonia).

Memphis  Code of Hamurabi

7. The people of these civilisations were polytheistic. This means they worshipped various gods. Temples were built in honour of the gods.8. One of the most important developments of these early civilisations was the appearance of writing. The earliest known example was cuneiform writing, dating from 5500 BC in Mesopotamia. Writing first came into existence as a way of keeping record of offerings made and taxes paid to temples. Therefore, the origin of writing is associated with religion and economic activities.

MESOPOTAMIA

EGYPT