About This Book

This book is organized into 10 units including 37 chapters, as well as an introduction and epilogue. The Table of Contents (pages v - xx ) lists the titles of the units and chapters. It also lists skill lessons, special features, and the maps, charts, and graphs in the book. Many features have been included in this book to assist you in your course of study:

1. Unit Time Line Each unit opens with a colorful, illustrated time line. It pro­vides an overview of the political, economic, social, and cultural devel­opments you will study in the unit.

2. Chapter Opener Every chapter opens with an outline of the chapter as well as an illustration and an intro­ductory story about a major theme, person, or event in the chapter.

3. Aids for Understanding Several fea­tures help you read and understand the chapters. Each section begins with Read to Understand statements that provide a focus for reading. His­torical terms and vocabulary words appear in boldface and are defined the first time they are used. These terms are also included in the Glos­sary in the Reference Section. Sec­tion Reviews include questions to test your understanding.

I l lustrations Maps, graphs, charts, paintings, and photographs are much more than decoration. They help you understand major events and also bring history to life. Captions provide additional tidbits of information. They also tie the illustration into what you are reading.

5. Special Features These features give you a close look at the people and events of world history. Some are profiles of individuals or extracts from historical sources. Others are about daily life, the relationship of history and geography, the impact of economics on history, and the rela­tionship of the past and the present.

6. Ski l l Lessons These step-by-step skill lessons help you understand and practice important skills such as reading maps and graphs, using vis­ual evidence and statistics, and ana­lyzing conflicting sources.

7. Chapter Review The material at the end of each chapter allows you to review and apply what you have learned. They include:

• Summary to outline the main ideas of each section

• Recalling Facts to review basic in­formation

• Chapter Checkup to review impor­tant ideas

• Critical Thinking to apply critical thinking skills in order to deepen your understanding of world history

• Developing Basic Skills to apply such skills as comparing, classify­ing, map and graph reading, and using primary sources and illustra­tions

• Writing About History to help you develop writing and research skills needed for studying history

8. Reference Sect ion At the back of the book, you will find a section of reference material to be used throughout the course. It includes an atlas with both physical and political maps, a chronology, a glossary with pronunciation key, and an index.

xxiii

P O L I T I C S ; AND GOVERNMENT

2700 B.C . .Egvptiar rulers take* 2500-1500 B . C . Indus title uf pharaoh Valley civilization ir India

E C O N O M I C S AND T E C H N O L O G Y

3000 B.C . City-states develop in Sumer

2200 B.C . Bronzemaking develops in China

S O C I E T Y AND C U L T U R E

2650 B.C . StiSp Pyramid built in Egypt

2000 B.C . Egyptian literature flourishes

In this tomb painting, Egyptians carry offerings of food for their gods.

Bronze bird from ancient China, representing wealth and prestige.

UNIT OUTLINE

Introduction Foundations of Civilization (Prehistory-3000 B.C) Chap te r 1 Ancient Egypt (7000 e . c - 3 0 B.C.)

Chap te r 2 The Ancient Middle East (4500 B.C.-331 B.C.)

Chap te r 3 Ancient India and China (2500 B.C.-256 B.C.)

H^S^^OO ^ I E - ' Shang 'dynasty is , 1000 B.C. Kingdoril ot lsraef|550 B^c^PMs^e l ' first in China flourishes under King" David ' -*'r?V ire

1500 B.C . Hittites among first to use iron spears and battle axes

800 B.C . Metal coins become medium of exchange in China and Lydia

1700 B . C . Hammurabi's.Code ^ 1000 B.C . Phoenicians :70O43.c/Sanskrit emerges as is first effort to record all laws" develop alphabet .;:written language in India

1339 B . C . Figure of an Egyptian official, decorated with gold, found in the tomb of Tutankhamon.

720 B.C . This winged bull was found in-the ruins of the temple of Sargon Jl,-'. an Assyrian emperor.'s-'

(Prehistory—3000 b . c . )

CHAPTER OUTLINE T | Geography and World History

Discovering Prehistory

Stone Age Peoples

Emergence of Civilization

Much about Stonehenge in southern England remains a mystery. Some of the huge stones used in the monument are up to 30 feet long and weigh as much as 50 tons.

efore dawn, crowds gather at Stonehenge, an ancient monument in southern England. The sky brightens early on June 2 1 , the longest day

of the year. All eyes are fixed on the huge, heel-shaped stone beyond the great circle of stones. At dawn, the sun sweeps above the horizon. Its warm light

2 shines directly above the heel stone and slices through an archway of stones.

The crowd of visitors is filled with awe. Like others before them, they are fascinated by the stone monument. For centuries, people have wondered who designed this massive circle of stones. When was Stonehenge built? How were the enormous blocks raised into position? Most important, what purpose did Stonehenge serve?

Scholars have offered some answers to questions about Stonehenge. They have learned, for example, that early inhabitants of England started to build Stonehenge about 3,800 years ago. Experts have discovered that the 82 enormous stones of Stonehenge were quarried from a mountain in Wales about 240 miles (386 kilometers) away. The stones were probably loaded on barges, shipped by water, and then hauled on sleds over log rollers to Stone­henge.

Yet many questions about the purpose of Stonehenge remain unan­swered. Was it a temple, a palace, or a fort defended by warrior kings? Or was it, as one astronomer has suggested, an ancient calendar used to predict eclipses and other heavenly events?

Stonehenge is one of the many puzzles left by early peoples. Tantalizing clues about the past are uncovered all the time in different parts of the world. Some evidence, like that at Stonehenge, is on a grand scale. Other evidence includes only fragments of stone, pottery, or bone.

By studying the evidence, scholars have begun to answer questions about early peoples as well as later civilizations. They are weaving a picture of people interacting with the world around them and with one another, a picture that begins from the earliest prehistoric times and continues to the present. •

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j &. a i

R E A D T O UNDERSTAND

• What the five major themes of geography are.

• How those themes help you understand world history.

• How map projections affect what you see on a map.

• Vocabulary: geography, latitude, longitude, projection.

Every human activity takes place somewhere. A rock band might perform in a gigantic open-air stadium before thousands of people or in a small recording studio with only a small tech­nical crew. Where the band performs affects how the band plays. You can easily tell the dif­

ference between a live recording and one done in a recording studio.

The story of world history takes place on a complex stage of great variety, the earth. Knowing where something happened helps you understand why it happened. Understand­ing the connections between places and be­tween groups of people can help you under­stand the events and developments of world history. For this reason, it is important to study the connections between history and geography. Geography is the study of people, their environments, and their resources.

Geographers have developed five major themes to help you understand these connec­tions: location, place, interactions between people and their environment, movement, and regions.

Location Location means basically where something is. In world history, you sometimes want to know

exactly where a place is located. For example, imagine that you were reading about the fa­mous hanging gardens of ancient Babylon (see page 43), but you did not know where Babylon was located. If you found the latitude and longi­tude of Babylon in an encyclopedia, you could find its exact location on a map.

Latitude lines on a map or globe measure distance north and south of the Equator. Lon­gitude lines measure distance east and west of the Prime Meridian, which runs through Greenwich, England. Any place on earth can be located exactly using the grid of latitude and longitude. For example, by using a world map, you can locate Babylon at 32° N latitude and 44° E longitude.

At other times, the relative location is more important to understanding a historical event. Relative location refers to the relation­ship of one place to another. For example, Rome was the center of a large empire, as you wi l l read. Romans built an extensive road sys­tem to help them control distant parts of their empire. Thus, this road system changed the relationship between Rome and its colonies.

Place The term place refers to the physical and human characteristics of a specific location.

For example, the land along the Nile River in ancient Egypt was fertile because of the river's yearly floods. This physical characteristic meant that Egyptian farmers produced good harvests. If we were to look at a human char­acteristic of the Nile River valley, we would observe that most people in ancient Egypt lived near the river and that farming was im­portant to them. (See page 19.)

Interactions Between People and Their Environment In world history, you wi l l study how people have been affected by their environment and how they have modified it. As long as 3,000 years ago, the Maya of Central America built canals to drain swampland. Much later, Euro­pean settlers in North America cut down acres of trees in order to plant crops. All such inter­actions influenced the ways people lived.

Movement Throughout human history, people have been on the move. The earliest people moved from one place to another in search of food or a place to live. In the 1800s, thousands of Irish moved to the United States because of famine in Ireland. Today, people might move in search

In addition to building canals to drain swampland, the Maya cleared dense rain forests to build their cities. These remains are of the Temples of the Warriors and the Thousand Columns in Chichen Itza.

Your textbook is an important too! as you begin your study of world history. You can get the most from the textbook by learning to use it effectively. Review pages xxi-xxi i i to famil­iarize yourself with the main features of World History: Patterns of Civilization. Then follow these steps to use these features.

Scan the Table of Contents. You can use the Table of Contents to preview what topics will be covered in the book. Turn to page v and answer these questions: Ca) How many chapters, including the In­troduction, are in Unit One? (b) What in­formation is listed for the Introduction? (c) Turn to pages xvi i -xx. On what page can you find the feature, Who Was the Bog Man? (d)On what page is the map called Early Civilizations?

Preview the Unit. Study pages x x i v - 1 . (a) What is the main topic of the unit? (b) What categories of information are shown on the time line? (c)How can you tell which categories the illustrations are related to?

Preview the Chapter. Study pages 2 - 3 and 1 6 - 1 7 . (a) What topics are covered in the Introduction? (b) What time span is included? (c) List the headings in the Re­view, (d) Which set of questions reviews the main ideas of the chapter?

Preview the Section. Scan Section 1. (a) What information is included under the title, Read to Understand? (b) What topics are covered by illustrations in the section? (c) What types of questions are included in the Section Review?

of a place to work or in search of political or religious freedom. Some move to another part of their town, from the country to a city, while others move to a different country.

Many types of movement are important to world history. These include the movement of ideas from one people to another, the spread of diseases or air pollution, and the movement of products from one place to another.

Regions Geographers and historians use the theme of regions to refer to an area with specific char­acteristics. A region might be defined by its physical characteristics. For example, the Great Plains region of the United States can be defined as the area between the Rocky Moun­tains and the 98th Meridian, where there is l i t­tle rain and few trees. Or a region might be defined by human characteristics such as pol i­tics, religion, language, or economics. The area of Central and South America is called Latin America because the Europeans who settled in that region spoke Spanish, Portu­

guese, and French, all of which are related to Latin.

Globes and Maps Geographers and historians use globes and maps to represent the earth. A globe is like a small model of the earth. It shows major geo­graphic features, and it shows the land masses and bodies of water accurately. However, a globe is not always convenient to use. You might study a globe in class, but you wouldn't want to carry a globe home to do your home­work.

Maps are a more convenient way to show the earth. A road map of your state can be folded and put in the glove compartment of a car. A map of your town or city can be printed in the phone book. And, of course, many maps can fit in this world history textbook. How­ever, no map can be an exact picture of the earth because all maps are flat and the earth's surface is curved. You can understand the problem of map makers if you try to make an orange skin lie flat. 5

Map Projections

Mollweide Projection

. x \ \ > \ \ \ \ s / / / / / / .

6 | MAP" STUDY |

The interrupted projection, the Mercator projection, and the Mollweide projection are three of many projections that geographers use to show the earth on a flat surface. Which projection would you use to map the sea routes of explorers?

Map projections. Map makers have de­veloped many different ways of showing the curved earth on a flat surface. Each of these ways is called a projection. Three of these projections are shown on page 6. Each has its strengths and weaknesses. The interrupted projection shows the correct sizes and shapes of land masses. However, because of the cuts in the oceans, you could not use i t to measure distances across water.

The Mercator projection shows accurate directions of north, south, east, and west. For this reason, it was often used by ship captains in the 1500s. The shape and size of land areas close to the Equator are accurate, but the Mer­cator projection distorts the shape and size of land areas far away from the Equator. Com­pare the size of Greenland in the different pro­jections. Although Greenland is about one-ninth as large as South America, i t looks larger on the Mercator projection.

In the Mollweide (mohl VID uh) projec­tion, the shapes of land areas are distorted, but the proportions of the land and water areas are accurate. No single projection is per­fect. When a historian wants to use a map to show a particular development, he or she chooses a projection most useful for that pur­pose.

R E A D T O UNDERSTAND

• How scientists study prehistory.

• How archaeologists search for evidence about early people.

• Why there are unanswered questions about prehistory.

• Vocabulary: prehistory, archaeologist, artifact, anthropologist, fossil.

In addition to geography, historians use many other sources to learn about the past. Among the most important of these are writ ten rec­ords such as inscriptions, letters, diaries, and newspapers. But wri t ten records have existed for only 5,000 or 6,000 years.

Scholars use the term prehistory to de­scribe the long period before wri t ing was in­vented. To learn about prehistory, they use unwritten records such as buildings, pottery, and bones. Historians and scientists work together to unravel the mysteries of the pre­historic period.

§ ^-Zj'xk ~ fid'HE''?' '

1. Locate: (a) Babylon, (b)Ni le River.

2. Define: (a) geography, (b) latitude, (c) longitude, (d) projection.

3. List one physical characteristic and one human characteristic of the Nile River val­ley.

4. What types of movement are important in world history?

5. (a) What does the interrupted map projec­tion show accurately? (b) What is distorted on a map with a Mercator projection?

6. Cr i t ica l Thinking Explain how you use one of the major themes of geography in your daily life.

The Study of Prehistory

Evidence from prehistory is of special interest to archaeologists, scientists who find and analyze objects left by early people. These objects, called artifacts, include anything shaped by human beings, such as tools, pot­tery, and weapons. Archaeology is a branch of anthropology. Anthropologists use artifacts and bone fragments to study the ways people organize societies.

Other scientists are also interested in pre­history. For example, geologists often find fos­s i l s , evidence of plant or animal life preserved in rock. Fossils show the types of plants and animals that existed at a particular time.

Like detectives, archaeologists piece to­gether what they and other scientists discover to form a picture of the past. As new evidence is uncovered, this picture changes.

Archaeologists must take great care to preserve the artifacts they uncover. The man shown here is painstakingly cleaning vases unearthed from a prehistoric city in Greece.

Uncovering Archaeological Evidence

Archaeologists have a three-part task in their search for evidence about early people. First, they find a site, or area, where they think early people lived. Second, they excavate, or dig, at the site to uncover artifacts. Third, they ana­lyze any artifacts and draw conclusions about the people who made them.

Although some important sites have been found by accident, more often archaeologists choose places where they think people would have lived. For example, they might pick a lo­cation because it was near water. Once a site is located, archaeologists begin to dig care­fully. Even the smallest fragment of a piece of pottery can be important. The exact location of every find is noted. Then the objects are cleaned and marked for identification.

A major step in the analysis of artifacts is estimating their ages, or dating them. Scien­tists have developed several methods for dat­ing an object. Some are used to date plant or

animal remains. Others calculate the age of volcanic rock and thereby the age of any ob­jects preserved in that rock.

Unanswered Questions Archaeologists have made impressive ad­vances over the past 30 years. New methods of dating artifacts, aerial photography to find likely sites, and computer analysis of bone fragments are just a few of the techniques that are revealing new evidence about prehistory. But new discoveries can raise as many ques­tions as they answer.

Many questions remain unanswered be­cause so few artifacts survive. Over thousands of years, much evidence has been destroyed by natural forces and human settlement. Exca­vations often produce only t iny bone frag­ments or a few tools. With such l imited evi­dence, views of prehistoric life can vary.

Yet much remains. Even today, construc­t ion workers discover artifacts. For example, ancient ruins were uncovered in Mexico City during the construction of subways. In a race wi th t ime, archaeologists have been able to preserve some valuable remains. As you wi l l read later, the discoveries of archaeologists, combined with writ ten records, have helped answer many questions about the first ancient civilizations.

1. Define: (a) prehistory, (b) archaeologist, (c ) artifact, (d ) anthropologist, (e) fossil.

2. What evidence do anthropologists use to expand knowledge of the past?

3. Describe the three-part task of archaeolo­gists.

4. Why are there so many unanswered ques­tions about prehistory?

5. Critical Thinking How might knowing the geography of an area help an archaeologist decide where to dig?

On a hot August day in 1984, Andy Mould was gathering peat moss from a bog in north­ern England. As he was about to throw a load of peat into a shredder, something strange caught his eye. He dropped the peat and took a closer look—a human foot was sticking out of the wet moss.

Mould reported his discovery, and scien­tists rushed to the site. They found the head, torso, and arms of a man who had died 2,200 years earlier. Although the bones of the Bog Man had dissolved, the peat had turned his flesh to leather. He was so well preserved that scientists found traces of his last meal in his stomach. And they could even reconstruct the expression on his face!

Many different scientists worked to find out who the Bog Man was and what had hap­pened to him. Archaeologists looked at the first puzzle. The Bog Man had died horribly. His throat had been cut and his skull smashed before he was thrust under the water. Yet, he apparently died with a peaceful expression on his face.

The archaeologists decided that the Bog Man had been sacrificed in a religious ritual. The ancient Druids, who lived in England thousands of years ago, sacrificed humans to their gods. They believed that each god wanted his victims killed in a certain way. Sac­rifices to Esus had their throats cut; those of­fered to Teuttates were drowned. The Druid priests honored Tarainis by bludgeoning his victims to death.

Since the Bog Man had been executed all three ways, the scientists concluded that he had probably been sacrificed to all three gods. Therefore, he was an important man, perhaps even a priest. A priest might also have considered it an honor to be sacrificed, which would explain the peaceful expression on his face. Other investigators noted that the Bog Man had no calluses on his hands. This made it even more likely that he had belonged to the elite group of Druid priests.

Other evidence confirmed that the Bog I Man was a priest. The scientists found the 1 remains of a burned barley cake in the Bog 1 Man's stomach. Archaeologists knew that | Druid priests had a special use for burned barley cake. They would burn part of the cake, then break the whole cake up and put it in a bag. They passed the bag around and each priest took out a piece. Whoever drew the burned piece would be sacrificed. A chemist tested the electrons in the cake and showed that it had been cooked for eight minutes— exactly what the Druid ritual called for.

The study of the Bog Man shows how sci­entists must be detectives to shed light on the shadowy past. By recreating how the Bog Man died, they uncovered new evidence about life in ancient Europe.

1. What evidence led scientists to think the Bog Man had been important?

2. Critical Thinking How does the case of I the Bog Man show that knowledge of both i science and culture is needed to unravel | the mysteries of the ancient past? I

3 St©sw; Age Peoples

R E A D T O UNDERSTAND

• How people lived In the Old Stone Age.

• What effect the last ice age had.

• How life changed in the New Stone Age.

• Vocabulary: nomad, glacier, technology, bronze.

In their search for prehistoric artifacts, ar­chaeologists have uncovered many stone axes and arrow tips. As a result, scholars use the term "Stone Age" to describe the prehistoric period of time when people used simple stone tools. The term also describes a way of life in which people rely on such stone tools.

The Stone Age is often divided into the Old Stone Age, or Paleolithic (PAY lee uh LIHTH ihk) Age, and the New Stone Age, or Neolithic (NEE uh LIHTH ihk) Age. The Paleolithic Age may have begun as early as 500,000 B . C * It lasted to about 10,000 B.C. The Neolithic Age lasted from about 10,000 B.C. to about 3500 B.C.

The Old Stone Age Archaeologists have found remains and art i­facts of Paleolithic people in many parts of the world, including East Africa, China, Southeast Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the Ameri­cas. Based on their findings, scientists have begun to construct a picture of life in the Old Stone Age.

Paleolithic people lived by fishing, hunt­ing, and gathering plants that grew wild. They were nomads, people who moved in search of food. For example, they would follow herds of animals such as the woolly mammoth. Or if wild berries and nuts became scarce in an area, they would migrate to another area where food was plentiful.

* Civilizations influenced by Christianity date his­torical events from the birth of Christ, B.C. stands for dates before the birth of Christ. For B.C. dates, the higher number is always the earlier date. A.D . stands for "anno domini," a Latin phrase meaning "in the year of our Lord." A.D . is used for dates after the birth of Christ.

A simple social structure developed dur­ing the Old Stone Age. Groups of related fami­lies joined to form small hunting bands num­bering about 30 people. They built no permanent shelters. Instead, they camped in caves or slept under lean-tos made of branches and grasses. While some people hunted, others stayed near the camp to gather wild food and care for the young.

There is evidence that during the Old Stone Age people developed spoken languages and learned how to control fire. With spoken language, hunters could organize hunts of large animals. Fire provided light and warmth, protection against wi ld animals, and heat for cooking food.

Paleolithic people made simple tools such as hand axes and choppers. The earliest tools were pieces of fl int, a hard stone, chipped to produce a sharp cutting edge. Later, people made stone and bone tools for more special­ized uses. These tools included needles, skin scrapers, harpoons, fishhooks, arrowheads, and spear points.

Some scholars suggest that during the Old Stone Age people accepted basic religious be­liefs. For example, they think that cave paint­ings made by prehistoric hunters had a rel i­gious meaning. (See page 11.) Perhaps the hunters believed that drawing the animals would help them in the hunt.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING

Changes in the Environment The date often used to indicate the end of the Old Stone Age, about 10,000 B . C , also marks the end of the last ice age. Scientists think the earth has experienced four ice ages over mil­lions of years. During the last ice age, thick sheets of ice, called glaciers, spread out from the polar regions. In North America, glaciers stretched as far south as present-day Ken­tucky. Glaciers also covered much of northern Europe and parts of Asia.

According to scientific theory, much of the world's water was frozen during the last ice age. As a result, ocean levels dropped, and land areas today covered with water were ex­posed. A land bridge may have connected North America and Asia where the Bering Sea is today. Some scientists think that about

25,000 years ago people from Asia followed herds of wi ld animals across the land bridge into North America. When the glaciers melted, the level of the ocean rose. The land bridge disappeared, and the people in North America were cut off from Asia.

The end of the last ice age caused dra­matic changes in local climates around the wor ld . Deserts appeared where lush plants had grown, and warm weather brought new plants to life in formerly frigid areas. The new climate patterns contributed to a change in the way people lived—a change so profound that scholars often call i t a revolution. This revolution marked the beginning of the Neo­l i thic Age. •

The New Stone Age Between 10,000 B.C. and 3500 B . C , people in many parts of the world gradually stopped hunting and gathering food and became farm­ers. They domesticated, or tamed, wi ld ani­mals such as dogs, sheep, and goats and began to grow grain and vegetables for food. Schol­ars speculate that women were the farmers in many of these early societies and that men hunted.

In the New Stone Age, agriculture devel­oped in many places. Anthropologists have generally concluded that it began first in the Middle East. People grew crops that were suited to the local soil and climate. In the Mid­dle East and Africa, for example, they grew wheat, barley, and oats. They grew rice and root crops such as yams in Asia. Beans, squash, and maize, or corn, were grown in the Americas.

The agricultural revolution, or the change from hunting and gathering food to growing food, had a far-reaching effect on the way peo­ple lived. Since people no longer had to move in search of food, they formed permanent set­tlements, or villages. They buil t houses, and property became important. Even so, not everyone abandoned the nomadic way of life. Some people remained hunters and gatherers. Others established a stable way of life as herd­ers of sheep, cattle, or goats.

In farming villages, people had to cooper­ate in new ways. The heads of each family probably met to make decisions about plant-

In 1940, four boys discovered this cave painting in Lascaux, France. The work of Stone Age artists, this red and black bison is one of 20 painted in the cave. The artists created colors by grinding ores and mixing them with animal fat. They used mortars and pestles for grinding, shells for holding pigment, and scrapers for blending colors.

ing and harvesting. As villages grew, a chief­tain and a council of elders assumed the task of making decisions. Increasingly, people re­lied on these leaders to settle disputes over such issues as land ownership. This issue had not come up among nomadic people, who did not own land.

According to archaeologists, Neolithic farmers believed that spirits, or gods, con­trolled the forces of nature. Since floods and drought meant starvation or death, farmers took care to keep the spirits happy.

Technology of the New Stone Age The growth of a farming economy led to the development of new technology, that is, tools and skills people use to meet their basic needs. To turn over the soil, people fashioned sturdy hoes from granite, a hard stone that could be sharpened. They also invented weav­ing. When they learned to make cloth from wool and flax, Neolithic people no longer had to slaughter their animals for the hides. They made baskets for storing grain, nets for fish­ing, and fire-hardened pottery for cooking.

Toward the end of the New Stone Age, sev- 11 eral more developments greatly changed the

way some people lived. For example, farmers began to use animals such as the ox to pull plows instead of pulling the plows themselves. As a result, farmers could plow more land and reap larger harvests, which supported a grow­ing population.

Other important developments included the invention of the wheel and the sail and the use of metal. Wheeled carts gradually replaced wooden sleds, making land transportation eas­ier. The invention of the potter's wheel meant that people could make better pots and other vessels. The sail improved transportation on water and made longer voyages possible. In addition, people in the late Neolithic Age began to use metal as well as stone for tools and weapons. They first used copper. Then they discovered that copper combined with t in formed a harder metal, called bronze.

By 3000 B . C , each of these inventions was being used in some part of the world. How­ever, they were not invented everywhere at the same time. Most appeared first in the Mid­dle East. Some were not used in other places for thousands of years. The people of Central America, for example, used the wheel on toys but did not use wheels on carts unti l after the arrival of Europeans in the 1500s A.D. People used the inventions of the late Neolithic Age to build more complex societies called civiliza­tions.

1. Identify: (a) Paleolithic Age, (b) Neolithic Age, (c ) agricultural revolution.

2. Define: (a) nomad, (b) glacier, (c ) tech­nology, (d) bronze.

3. Why was learning to control fire important for Paleolithic people?

4. List two ways in which the agricultural rev­olution affected the way people lived.

5. What metals did late Neolithic people begin to use?

6. Critical Thinking Which technology of the New Stone Age do you think had the most impact on daily life? Explain.

READ T O UNDERSTAND

• What the characteristics of early civilization were.

• How early cities developed.

• Why keeping records was important in early civilizations.

• Vocabulary: silt, polytheistic, theocracy, artisan, barter economy, scribe, culture.

Early civilizations did not just appear over­night. They gradually developed in different parts of the world. Simple farming settlements grew into large cities by the end of the Neo­lithic Age, about 3500 B.C. This urban revolu­tion marked the beginning of civil ization. In fact, the word "civi l izat ion" comes from the Latin root "civitas," meaning city.

The development of cities was only one characteristic of early civilizations. Other characteristics included complex religions and governments, specialized skills and occu­pations, social classes, and methods of keep­ing records.

Growth of Cities The earliest cities appeared in four great river valleys. Cities may have emerged as early as 6000 B.C. in the valley of the Tigris (Tl grihs) and Euphrates (yoo FRAY teez) rivers in west­ern Asia. Other cities developed in the valleys of the Nile River in North Africa, the Indus River in South Asia, and the Yellow River in East Asia.* (See the map on page 13.)

Conditions in the river valleys favored the development of cities. For example, fertile soil in the valleys made a surplus of food possible. When the rivers flooded, the water left depos­its of silt, a soil r ich in minerals, which made the land especially fertile. Flood waters also brought needed moisture to the land, and peo­ple used river water for irrigation during dry

* Early cities were not limited to river valleys. As you will read in Chapter 12, cities also grew in the highlands of the Americas.

Early Civilizations

Name the four river valleys in which early civilizations began. Where did

civilizations develop in the Americas?

periods. In addition, the rivers contained plen­tiful fish and attracted animals, two additional sources of food. Finally, the rivers served as transportation arteries, which allowed people to trade for goods.

With food surpluses, the populations of farming settlements increased, and villages grew into cities. Some early cities had as many as half a mil l ion residents. City dwellers un­dertook major projects such as clearing new farmland and building vast irrigation systems as well as constructing temples, palaces, and walls for defense. Because such projects re­quired organization and leadership, they con­tributed to the development of governments.

Religion and Government In the early cities, government and religion were closely related. Like the people of the New Stone Age, city dwellers were polythe­istic— that is, they worshipped many gods. They believed that gods and goddesses con­trol led the forces of nature. It was, therefore, important to them to win the gods' favor in order to prevent disasters. Only priests knew

mmmimmmmmmmmmmmmmmmismmm In early civilizations, people spent much of their time planting, cultivating, and harvesting grain crops. Once harvested, grains such as wheat and barley had to be ground by hand. This statue shows a slave using a stone board and roller to crush the kernels of grain into flour.

the rituals to influence the gods. Thus they gained enormous power.

Priests probably headed the government as priest-kings. The form of government in which priests serve as kings is called a theoc­racy. Gradually, successful mil i tary leaders began to replace the priest-kings as rulers. These leaders may have emerged as a result of warfare over scarce resources.

Military rulers had clear responsibilities. They shared the priests' task of keeping the gods friendly, and they were responsible for defending their cities against enemies. They acted as judges, made laws, and appointed of­ficials to keep order. They also supervised building and irrigation projects.

To support the temple and pay for vast construction projects, city dwellers had to contribute a portion of their labor or their har­vest to the government. This payment repre­sents the earliest system of taxation by gov­ernment.

The Economy and Society The innovations in technology of the late Neo­lithic Age were important to city dwellers. Bronze came into such widespread use for vessels, tools, and weapons that historians have often called the period of early civiliza­t ion the "Bronze Age." Important social and economic changes also occurred during the Bronze Age.

Ancient people used jewelry both for decoration and for religious rituals. As early as 3500 b.c, artisans had learned how to shape metal to create jewelry. This necklace shows the skill of the people of the Indus River valley.

Specialized ski l ls and occupations. The new technology often required special skills. As a result, specialized occupations gradually developed. Skilled workers called artisans hammered out plows, scythes, hel­mets, and swords. Jewelers shaped precious metals into charms and necklaces. Sculptors, potters, painters, priests, and government offi­cials acquired specialized skills and knowl­edge.

The food surplus, an important character­istic of early civilizations, also contributed to the development of occupations. Because of the surplus, some people did not have to farm. Rather, they could trade products or labor for the food they needed. For example, a potter might trade a clay cooking vessel to a farmer for grain. The system of exchanging one set of goods or services for another is called a bar­ter economy.

Social c lasses . As a city grew, a more complex social structure emerged. The social structure defined a person's place in society. At the top of the structure was the priest-king or king. Below the priest-king or king was a class of priests and nobles. Nobles generally based their power and wealth on owning large amounts of land. Being a noble was heredi­tary—that is, the children of nobles were also nobles.

In some cities, government officials and wealthy merchants formed the class below the nobility. Artisans and small traders ranked next, followed by the largest class, made up of peasant farmers and workers. At the bottom of the social structure were slaves. Slaves were men, women, and children who had been taken captive in war or who were enslaved to pay their debts.

In early civilizations, people generally could not move from one social class to an­other. Children usually learned a trade from their parents and so tended to stay in the same occupation.

Keeping Records

Some historians consider keeping records one of the most important characteristics of civi l i­zation. The Inca of South America kept de­tailed records on pieces of knotted string

called quipus (KEE pooz). Most ancient peo­ples, however, developed writ ing in order to keep accurate records.

Priests were probably the first to start making the marks or drawing the pictures that eventually evolved into systems of writ ing. They needed precise information about how and when to perform ceremonies.

Temples became the schools of ancient civilizations. Priests taught only a select few the secrets of writ ing. A young man who mas­tered the difficult task of learning to read and write was called a scribe. Scribes worked in the ruler's service, in the temples, or in the homes of wealthy merchants. Rulers depended on scribes to keep track of taxes, property deeds, treaties, and marriage documents. Mer­chants needed copies of business contracts and records of debts.

Writing was more than keeping records, however. It became the means of passing the wisdom and learning of one generation on to the next.

Contacts Among Early Civilizations Although the first river valley civilizations appear to have developed independently, they did have some contact with one another. Trade, warfare, and migration helped spread ideas and products from one city to another and from one civilization to another. For ex­ample, city dwellers along the Tigris and Eu­phrates rivers traded wi th people in other parts of the Middle East for timber, metal, and stone.

Warfare sometimes destroyed elements of a civilization, but it also helped spread ideas. When a highly civilized people conquered a region, the conquered people often absorbed ideas from the conquerors. In addition, mi­grating people exchanged skills wi th people they encountered.

In early civilizations, people absorbed or adapted only those ideas that seemed to suit their own way of life. From this process, dis­t inct patterns of culture developed that were passed on to future generations. Culture is the customs, ideas, and ways of life of a group of people.

Ancient civilizations of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa developed traditions that sti l l

Long, tedious training was needed to master the skill of writing. Once a scribe acquired this knowledge, he became indispensable in ancient civilizations.

influence large parts of the wor ld. In addition, the early civilizations of the Americas helped shape later cultures.

1. Locate: (a) Tigris River, (b) Euphrates River,- (c)Ni le River, (d) Indus River, (e) Yellow River.

2. Define: (a) silt, (b ) polytheistic, (c) theoc­racy, (d) artisan, (e) barter economy, ( f) scribe, (g) culture.

3. Why were farmers in river valleys able to produce a surplus of food?

4 . Why were priests powerful in early cities?

5. Why did the people of early civilizations develop writing?

6. Critical Thinking (a) How did early civi l i ­zation spread? (b) Which method do you think was most effective? Why?

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Summary

1. Understanding geography is impor­tant for the study of world history. Knowing where something happened is a clue to know­ing why it happened. Five themes of geography are useful in the study of history: location, place, interactions between people and their environment, movement, and regions.

2. Scientists and historians work to­gether to explore the mysteries of prehis­tory. They have uncovered thousands of art i­facts at ancient sites all over the world. Archaeologists have developed sophisticated techniques for analyzing and dating their finds. However, many questions about prehis­toric peoples remain unanswered.

3. During the Paleolithic Age, people were nomadic, moving in small bands in

search of food. But when the last ice age ended, revolutionary changes ushered in the Neolithic Age. The agricultural revolution rad­ically changed the way people lived. As people learned to raise crops, some formed perma­nent farming communities. In the late Neo­lithic Age, farmers began producing food surpluses that could support large popula­tions.

4 . Early civilizations appeared in many parts of the world. Favorable geographical conditions encouraged the growth of civiliza­tions in the Nile, Tigris-Euphrates, Indus, and Yellow river valleys. Characteristics of these early civilizations included the development of cities, complex religions and governments, specialized skills, social classes, and methods of keeping records.

Chapter Checkup

16

Decide if the following statements are true or false. If a statement is false, rewrite i t to make it true.

1. A region may be defined by physical or cultural characteristics.

2. Latitude lines on a map measure distance east and west of the Prime Meridian.

3. Written records have existed for about 5,000 to 6,000 years.

4. Artifacts include weapons and tools.

5. Paleolithic people lived in permanent farming communities.

6. The Old Stone Age emerged after the end of the last ice age.

7. The wheel was invented in the New Stone Age.

8. Food surpluses favored population growth.

9. Early city dwellers believed in one god.

10. People in early cities had no contact with outsiders.

1. (a) Why is i t important to study the con­nections between history and geography? (b) Define the five major themes of geog­raphy.

2. (a) What types of evidence provide infor­mation about prehistoric peoples? (b) How is such evidence found?

3. What new techniques have enabled ar­chaeologists to make impressive ad­vances?

4 . Compare the way Paleolithic and Neolithic people lived, in terms of food and shelter.

5. (a) What evidence suggests that Paleolithic people developed religious beliefs? (b )Why was religion important to Neo­lithic farmers?

6. (a) List three inventions of the late Neo­lithic Age. (b )How did each invention af­fect the way people lived?

7. (a) How were early civilizations different from Neolithic farming communities? (b) How were they similar?

1. Analyzing (a) Why was writ ing an impor­tant development? (b) How do you think i t affected the way people lived?

2. Relating Past to Present (a) How did the end of the last ice age affect local climates? (b)What effects might these changes have had on the way people lived? (c )Do you think major climate changes today would alter the way people live? Explain your answer.

3. Analyzing Geography in History (a) Des­cribe three ways in which new ideas and products were spread from one area to another. (b)What modern ideas or prod­ucts have spread from one culture to an­other? (c )By what means were they spread?

Developing Basic Skills

1. Studying an Artifact Study the statue shown on page 13. (a) What is the woman doing? (b)What can you learn about the technology of early peoples from the statue? (c ) Do you think grain was impor­tant to the people who made the statue? Explain.

2. Map Reading Study the map on page 13. Then answer the following questions: (a) On what continents did early civiliza­tions develop? (b)What geographical fea­tures made travel between different regions difficult? (c) Which early civilizations were

most likely to have had some contact wi th other peoples? Explain.

Writing About History

Answering Essay Questions

To wri te an answer to an essay question, you need to understand the instruction word. Below are some common instruction words and the type of answer each requires.

Discuss: tel l the significance of a person or event . -

Describe: wri te a ful l account of what happened

Explain: tell how o r why ah action or event .affects something else 1

Identify: give a person's or event's place in t ime and the relat ion to other persons ;or evenfe

Compare: give similarit ies and/differences

Sometimes an essay question wi l l have a ques­t ion word. Below are some of the most com­mon question words and the type of answer each requires.

Why: give reasons

How: tell in what way or by what means some­thing was done

What: give specific examples or il lustrations

Pract ice: Read each of the Critical Thinking questions above. Which type of answer does each question require?

Last ice age ends

First cities in the Middle East 6,000 B.C.*

3000 B.C* Civilizations develop in river valleys

3500 B .C* Writing begins

Paleolithic Age

Neolithic Age

'approximate date jp

17

CHAPTER OUTLINE 1 Early Egyptian Civilization

2 Government in Ancient Egypt

3 Ancient Egyptian Society

Among the priceless treasures uncovered in King Tutankhamon's tomb was his gold throne. This detail from the back of the throne shows some of the riches the king enjoyed.

jL%t first I could see nothing. The hot air escaping from the chamber I \ caused the candle flame to flicker. But presently, as my eyes grew

accustomed to the light, details of the room within emerged slowly from the mist, strange figures of animals, statues, and gold—everywhere the glint of gold." With these words, Howard Carter described his first glimpse of the inside of the tomb of King Tutankhamon (TOOT ahngk AH muhn) of Egypt. Car­ter then shone a light into the room, "the first light that had pierced the dark­ness of the chamber for three thousand years. The effect was bewildering, overwhelming."