World History Chapter 1III. Foundations of Civilization

Bell Ringer Exercise

• Get into small groups and create a definition of Civilization. Then make a list of characteristic institutions and features that a civilization should have.

Main Idea

• From farming villages arose cities, and with them, the first civilizations marking the beginnings of recorded history.

A) From Villages to Cities

• Settlements became villages, villages became cities• Irrigation allowed more food to be produced• Surplus – excess of food – support larger populations• People began to work in other jobs besides farming• Division of labor – economic arrangement in which

each worker specializes in a particular task or job• Traditional economy – economic decisions are based

on custom, tradition, or ritual – exp. farmers trade for raw materials

Characteristics of Cities

1) Cities were larger and more densely populated than villages

- Uruk, Iraq – 3000 BC 40,000 – 50,000 people and covered 1,000 acres; Catal Huyuk – 5,000 – 6,000 and covered 30 acres

2) Populations more diverse – not related - clan3) More formal organized – defined center, palaces,

temples and walls4) Served as centers of trade – farmers fed the cities

in return for goods they created.

B) The First Civilizations

• Civilization – is a complex and organized society

• 4 great river civilizations – Mesopotamia, Egypt, Indus, Huang He – flood – Mississippi?

Characteristics of Civilizations

• Cities develop – Ur, Uruk, Memphis, Mohenjo Daro, Anyang• Organized Government – need planning and decision making –

some ruled by religious people• Formalized religion – needed rituals for farming and other stuff –

priests became very powerful.• Specialization of Labor – not all farmed

- artisans – skill craftspeople – basketry, carpentry and such• Social Classes – rulers, priests upper; merchants and artisans

next, then farmers and unskilled and then slaves• Record Keeping and Writing – developed written language to

keep records – government and economic• The Arts – statues and paintings of tombs

First Calendar

• Farmers first used a “calendar”. Use the flood.

• Also used the moon. What is the problem?

• Moon phase is 354 days – 11 short

Change in Civilizations

• Environmental changes hurt cities – floods, drought, ruined soil, run out of resources

• Spread of ideas through trade, customs, culture, ethnicity, art

• cultural diffusion – spread of ideas, beliefs, customs, and technology from on culture to another.

• beginning of warfare – as cities got bigger they needed more stuff – get it from the neighbors – mainly land

Review

• How did early cities differ from early farming villages?

• What was the relationship between job specialization and the development of social classes in early civilizations?

• How did cultural diffusion affect early civilization?