Early Complex Societies

Compiled by Brad R. HuberSaturday, April 22, 2023

Characteristics of civilizations

1. Urbanizationa. Cities developed out of Neolithic

villages.b. Cities were civilization at one point in

time.c. 50,000 to 100,000 population.

Ur, in southern Iraq

Archaeological Site of Harappa

Overview of Great Zimbabwe. The large walled construction is the Great Enclosure.

2. Agricultural innovation a. Some early cities were based upon

irrigation agriculture. b. For example, the ancient Sumerians

built dikes, canals, and reservoirs on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

c. At Tikal , raised fields were built and flooded periodically.

d. The Aztecs built chinampas-- raised gardens.

Raised Fields in Belize

Chinampas, Xochimilco, Mexico

3. Occupational specialization. a. As agricultural production increased

and a surplus was produced, some people came to pursue non -agricultural activities on a full - time basis.

b. Clay tablets from the Sumerian city of Nippur record copper- and silver-smiths, merchants, potters, tanners, clerks, brewers.

Sumer:

An account of barley rations issued monthly to adults and children.

Cuneiform on clay tablet, written in year 4 of King Urukagina, circa 2350 BCE

a. Specialization led to an improved metal technology.

i. Bronze Age (Bronze made of copper and tin alloy) in Mesopotamia began 3000 BC.

ii. Plows and axes were used for agriculture;

iii. Swords and shields are used for warfare.

iv. Adornment

Ritual wine container in shape of owl, Shang Dynasty

An Iranian Bronze Sword Blade

4. Long-distance trade. a. The Egyptian pharaohs sent

merchants to i. The Sinai Peninsula for copper

ii. Arabia for spices iii. Asia for lapis lazuli (a blue stone) iv. Lebanon for wine v. Central Africa for ivory, ebony,

leopard skins, cattle, slaves.

Bracelet of Tutankhamun with Scarab (made of lapis lazuli

b. Aztec rulers sent the pochteca to: i. Guatemala for quetzal feathers and

cocoa beans ii. The Gulf Coast for textiles, corn.

iii. To the surrounding lakes for fish and waterfowl.

iv. The pochteca also acted as spies.

5. Central Government. a. Central authorities regulate trade,

agricultural production, religion, warfare, justice, and crime.

b. They levy taxes. c. They raise an army to defend cities

from outsiders. d. They store surplus food in case of floods, droughts, disasters.

Aztec Warriors, Florentine Codex

e. Evidence for the presence of central authorities.

i. Large centrally planned cities. E.g., Teotihuacan.

ii. Writing commemorating the deeds of kings; royal marriages, tribute, business transactions, maps.

iii. Pictographs, ideographs, hieroglyphics.

Panorama of Teotihuacan

6. Social stratification. a. Ranked social classes.

i. Early civilizations had hereditary classes or castes.

ii. Later with the acquisition of wealth, social mobility became more important.

Archaeological evidence for social stratification. 1. Burials.

a. Egalitarian Neolithic sites had i. few and simple grave goods ii. utensils and figurines

iii. no difference in the size or mode of burial.

b. Burial sites of stratified societies i. v ary in size, variety of the grave

goods, mode of burial ii. for example, Maya burials of elite.

iii. The skeletons of nobles indicate their better health, diet, status -- deformed cranium.

iv. Buried in large pyramids.

A moderately-deformed

Maya skull

Pyramids of Giza (Cairo in background)

Necropolis of Giza

2. Size of dwellings. a. Elite dwellings are large, well-spaced,

and located in central district. b. Elite dwellings contain artwork,

friezes, sculptures

Dolphin fresco from the Palace of Knossos, Crete, Greece, c1500 BC

Teotihuacan: Pyramid of the Sun with Palaces in foreground

3. Written documents.a. Clay tablets of Babylonians indicate

three classes -- aristocrats, commoners, slaves.

b. Reports of explorers, conquerors, priests.

c. For example, Bernal Díaz de Castillo, Cortez, Sahagún

Hieroglyphics, Carnac Temple. Luxor, Egypt

Theories for the Origins of Complex Societies.

Note: All of these theories are meant to explain how small, Neolithic villages might have evolved into large complex societies.

The irrigation or hydraulic theory by Wittfogel o At first, Neolithic farmers built small regional

irrigation systems. o As more regional systems were built, a group of

administrators arose to coordinate and regulate these regional irrigation systems.

o These administrators gradually evolved into the political, religious, and economic elite who govern early cities.

o This theory may work for China.o Problems:oHowever, in Mesopotamia, large cities came

before large irrigation systems. o In addition, Teotihuacán never had a large-

scale irrigation system.

Trade networks by Wenke o Neolithic villages in different regions traded

with each other. o As a result, established trade routes evolved. o The intersections of these trade routes became

early urban centers of redistribution---markets.

o The markets were coordinated by a small group

of wealthy, central authorities. o The central authorities became the elite of the

cities that developed at the intersection of

trade routes. o Works well with Teotihuacán (Mexico)

Environmental and Social circumscription, by Carneiro

• Circumscribed populations are populations hemmed in

by mountains, the ocean, other geographical features,

or other surrounding populations.

• Circumscribed Neolithic villages compete with each

other as their populations grow.

• They are competing for scarce resources such as food,

water, and land.

o Those people who gain control of scarce

resources, and who conquer other groups

become the centralized authorities of these

expanding populations.o This theory works well for Mesopotamia, Peru,

and the Maya of Chichén Itza, who were forced

to congregate around natural wells (cenotes).

Chichén Itzá’s Cenote