Chapter One

The March to Civilizationp. 22-51

What is History?

“When does human history begin?”

• Did it begin when the first cities were built over 5000 years go?

• Did it begin when the first hunter-gatherer societies that did not leave written records?

• Does it begin with the arrival of the first fully human beings about 50 000 years ago?

• Human beings populated the earth between 50 000 BCE and 10 000 BCE

In Search of Our Ancestors• The earliest hominid biped

ancestor (primate walking upright on two feet) lived about 4 million years ago

• Homo erectus replaced Australopithecus about 1.7 million years ago

• By 1.2 million years ago, all hominids except Homo erectus had become extinct

Homo erectus• Continued to evolve into

modern human by developing a larger brain and rounder skull

• Still had thicker skull and brow ridges

• By 400,000 years ago, the changes were significant enough to reclassified from Homo erectus to Homo sapiens (“wise man”)

Homo sapiens 100 000 years ago

• Humans had settled into three distinct populations– In Europe and Near East = Neanderthals (Homo sapiens

neanderthalensis)– Africa = modern humans (Homo sapiens sapiens)

• Invasion of Homo sapiens sapiens led to the assimilation, if not extinction, of the Neanderthals

• Homo sapiens sapiens inhabited all parts of the world, including Australia (40 000 years ago), the Americas (12 000 years ago), the Arctic (10 000 years ago), and the Pacific Islands (2 000 years ago)

– Another group in Asia, but not enough fossils to get a clear definition

The Neanderthals

• Lived in between 100 000 and 40 000 years ago during the last great ice age

• Were named after the Neander Valley in Germany where the first skeleton was found in 1856

Neanderthal appearance• Heavy-set people• Average height of 160 cm• Weight of 73 kg• Arms and legs stubby as forearms and

lower legs are shorter than ours• Heavily muscled, especially in neck

and shoulders• Eyebrows were on prominently

bulging, bony ridges • Nose, jaws, and teeth protruded

forward• Lower jaw sloped back so there was

almost no chin• Eyes were sunken in deep sockets• Large and powerful hands

The Stones and Bones of Mary Leakey

• Mary Leakey was a world renowned archaeologist, paleoanthropologist, author, and artist

• Set the standard for the excavation and documentation of Paleolithic finds

• Began working on archaeological digs at the age of 17 – for Dorothy Liddell

• Met Louis Leakey, archaeologist, and married him in 1936

Mary Leakey continued

• Until 1959, Mary and Louis worked in Kenya and Tanzania

• Discovered that Africa was the site of human evolution (not Asia as assumed)

• 1948 – located the first fossil ape ever found– Between 16-20 million years old– Not the missing link between humans and apes,

though

Mary Leakey continued• 1959 – discovered the skull of a 1.75 million-year-old hominid in

Olduvai Gorge– First of its species– Oldest hominid ever found

• 1978 – found hominid foot prints hardened in volcanic ash about 3.6 million years ago– Absence of tools led her to postulate that bipedalism (two-footedness)

came before the use of tools

• Believed that archaeologists should spend more time looking for concrete evidence and less time making hypotheses

Neanderthal Society?

• Not certain if there was any formal social relationship

• Life was lived on a day-to-day survival basis• Small groups thinly spread over the earth• Hunting and scavenging in small groups• No permanent relationships between men

and women, and no real family units

Neanderthal life

• No formal leadership, no rules or laws• Primitive religion with few rituals• Very short lives with little organization• Wore wraps to keep warm, and probably no jewelry• Society – a system of human organizations that

generations distinctive cultural patterns and usually provides protection, security, and continuity for its members– Did Neanderthals have a society?

Big Game Hunters?

• Hunted big-game such as woolly mammoth and woolly rhinoceros

• Scavenged for food – often taking bits left over from big predators

• Were opportunistic hunters and scavengers• Women and children stayed close to home preparing

food gathered from plants as well as food from the hunts

• The gathering of food by women and children was critical to survival

Neanderthal religion

• The discovery of burial sites has led scientists to believe that Neanderthals had some sort of primitive spiritual beliefs

• Absence of grave goods makes it seem that there were no rituals associated with death

Neanderthal life

• Most lives short and brutal• Infant mortality high• Life expectancy around 40 years of age (80%)• Used physical strength to do tasks, rather than

develop ways to make their lives easier• Homes were simple• Food source was not stable

What happened to the Neanderthals?

• Homo sapiens sapiens had better weapons and tools and probably wiped out the Neanderthals

• After 60 000 years, became extinct because of disease, displacement, and killing by Homo sapiens sapiens – within 2 000 years

• No fossil evidence of inter breeding– Neanderthals had a 12-month pregnancy

The Great Leap Forward: Complex Societies

• Occurred 35 000 years ago

• Two fundamental changes:– Development of modern anatomy– Beginning of innovative behaviour

Advancements made

• Tools made of thin stone blades• Spears• Needles and awls for making clothing• Mortars and pestles for preparing food• Axes for cutting wood• Water craft

Weapons developed

• Barbed harpoons• Darts• Spear throwers• Bows and arrows

• Allowed the hunting of large animals like:– Wild pigs– Reindeers– Horses– bison

Development of trade and aesthetic appreciation

• Long distance trade was not only for raw materials, but also for ornaments

• Personal ornaments appeared

• Sculpture and painting appears

• Evidence of the appreciation of beauty

Daily Life in the Upper Paleolithic Age

• Paleo - old• Lithos - stone• “Old Stone Age”

• During this time, human societies would develop:– Social hierarchies– Alliances– Marriage customs– Religious rituals– Sense of artistic beauty

Roles in Paleolithic SocietyRole Function Sphere of Influence

Warrior Protection Society

Hunter Provide food and clothing Family unit

Spiritual leader Religion and ritual Society

Healer Medicine and healing Society

Artist Storytelling, adornment Society

Gatherer Provide food Family Unit

Mentor Guidance, teaching Society

Upper Paleolithic Period

• 50 000 to 10 000 years ago• Lived in small groups about 5-10 families• Nomadic or semi-nomadic• Hunter/gatherers• Depended on one another to survive

Cro-Magnons (Europe)• Had relationships with other bands over hundreds of

kilometres• Would usually meet in the summer or early fall• Would arrange marriages, trade goods, and have initiation

rituals• Marriages were necessary to avoid inter-marriage of bands• Trade items would include sharks teeth, shells, amber, raw

materials, weapons, clothing• Would spend winter in protected valleys where they had

stored food and had some protection against the cold

Paleolithic society

• Leadership evolved• Social hierarchy evident in variations in

Paleolithic graves• Personal adornment is determined by status• Hierarchy based on gender, age, and

experience (old men had more control)• Also wisdom and knowledge

Role of Women and Men in Paleolithic Societies

• Better hunting strategies because of cooperation, improved speech, and better weapons

• Did not need to scavenge any more• Planned ahead for the winter and stored food• Better weapons and better tools for skinning

and preparing food, scraping skins, and making clothing that fit

Paleolithic Men hunted

• In Europe:– Mammoths– Aurochs– Bison– Reindeer– Wild cattle– Horses– Red deer

• In South America:– Llama– Giant sloth– Rhea

• In Australia:– Emu– Wallabies– Kangaroos– Large marsupials

Paleolithic Hunting

• Men drove the animals into a natural enclosure

• Drove the animals over a cliff, or into marshes or tar pits

• Development of bow and arrow about 20 000 BCE allowed hunters freedom to stalk animals

Paleolithic Women• Food gathered by women and children accounted for 60-

70% of the food eaten• Had far more success gathering food than hunting for food• Bulk of diet was vegetables• Gathered:

– Roots– Potatoes– Fruits– Sweet berries– Honey– Shellfish

Roles of Women

• Made clothing• Raised children• Older women would advise younger women and

pass on stories and wisdom• Also hunted small game such as reptiles, birds,

and insects• Accompanied men on big hunting trips and

helped by driving animals from the bushes or paddling the canoes

Art, Ideas, and Beliefs in the Paleolithic Age

• Tools were made to be both beautiful and useful

• Jewelry was made out of a variety of materials

• Fertility statues were made

Cave Paintings• Cave paintings were

created– Most famous in the Lascaux

Caves in France– Date back to 15 000 BCE

• Often used irregularities in the cave walls to add a 3D effect

• Shows beauty and strength of the animals, as well as movement and depth

Religion• Paintings show that certain

animals were held as sacred• Beginnings of religious beliefs• The Chapel of the Lioness in

France may have been a ritual meeting place for Paleolithic hunters

• A cave lion engraved on a stalagmite shows signs of being repeatedly struck, as if to kill it symbolically

The Neolithic Revolution

• Neo - new• New Stone Age – 9 000 BCE• Ground and polished stone tools primarily

used

• People began to farm• Planted crops and domesticated animals

Why/How the Move to Farming?

• By the end of the last ice age, people had learned a lot about plants and animals

• By observing animals at watering holes or tending for sick animals, people decided to corral some of them

• Women may have decided to try to grow some of the wild grains they gathered

• People learned they could control the food supply

End of the Ice Age

• End of the ice age lead a warmer and wetter climate– Abundance of wild grasses– Population increased• Led to competition for land• Hunter/gatherers used 16 km2 but 100 farmers could

use the same amount of land

Animals Domesticated

• Cattle• Sheep• Pigs• Goats

• Cattle provided– Meat– Leather– Milk (butter/cheese)– The entire body was

used for food

Grains Raised

• Weeds also harvested and thrown into the soup

• Barley was used to make beer• Mead was made from fermented honey and

water, flavoured with wild fruit and herbs

Agricultural Inventions

• The sickle allowed a family to harvest wheat efficiently• Axes helped clear land quicker• The hoe allowed tilling of the soil

• Copper used for– Sharper knives– Drinking vessels– Spits– Buckets– Cauldrons

Changes in Society• People built permanent towns and cities• Some left agriculture to specialize in various crafts• Society became more hierarchical as people began to have

a choice in occupations• As people didn’t need to worry about where their next

meal would come from, there was further development of:– Art– Music– Sports– Leisure activities

Further Changes to Society• Established more complex

religions• Society could now afford a

priestly class that made no real material contribution to society

• Building of permanent cities and complex religion led to the building of elaborate religious sites and tombs

The Urban Revolution• Characterized by large, densely populated settlements

that were socially and economically diverse• Specialization in occupations

– Ruler– Trader– Metal smith– Scribe– Farmer– Fisher– Herder– Priest

Characteristics of a Civilization

• Centralized government• Agricultural intensification• Specialization in occupations• Class structure• Merchants and trade• Development of science and writing• State religion

Centralized Government

• Before centralized government, individuals took it into their own hands to correct a wrong that a family member or clan member had suffered

• Warfare was on a small scale – mostly raids

Early Governments• Power became concentrated in a small group of people that was recognized as

having the right to rule over others• Initially, a citizens’ assembly was guided by a group of elders• Decisions were made on a consensus basis

– Majority rule not known• When the society was in crisis, there was usually a dictator • Different types of leadership developed, including

– monarchies– Kingships– democracies

• Government took on the role of adjudicator of disputes and rectifiers of wrongs• Warfare was an organized response of the sate to external threat• Internal conflicts between citizens were settled by the government

Agricultural Intensification

• Early governments were involved in such agricultural decisions as:– Planning and coordination of irrigation projects– Building of dikes to reclaim land– Development of a calendar to plan planting and

harvesting of crops• All this lead to increased food production– Lead to an increase in leisure time

Specialization in Occupations

• With a stable, abundant food supply, society was able to support people who did not farm

• Specialists were needed for the centralized government, including:– Tax collectors– Record keepers– Judges

New Occupations Developed• Weavers• Carpenters• Coppersmiths• Goldsmiths• Tanners• Bakers• Brewers• Teachers

• Also people to spend time pursuing the arts– Poets– Artists– musicians

Class Structure• With the evolution of centralized government, individuals

lost equal access to land• The concept of private ownership of land developed

– Led to the desire to own more land– Hire more workers to work on the land– Eventually, slavery was developed to carry out manual labour

• Private land ownership led to an uneven distribution of wealth– In early civilizations, there was the no real middle class– The wealthy nobility began to monopolize government

positions

Merchants and Trade

• Before the development of centralized government, trade was generally between bands and was usually raw materials

• With the development of trades, trade shifted mostly to manufactured goods, including luxury goods– Rare dyes– Ivory carvings– Precious stones

Merchants

• Development of a merchant class that produced nothing, but facilitated trade– Led to shops and markets– Bartering more complex– Led to currency

• Long distance trade meant movement of people from place to place

Development of Science and Writing

• Important inventions– Metallurgy– The wheel– Baked bricks– Mortar– Simple machines– Specialized tools

Evolution of Writing• Developed because of the need to keep track of food

surpluses– How much grain was available?– Who owned the cattle?– How many cows were there?– What was the rate of chickens/sheep per cow?

• Need to measure goods lead to the development of weights and measures

• Writing also used for recording of laws and religious texts

State Religion

• Strong link between religion and the authority of the centralized government

• Religion legitimized the government• The government protected and promoted the

religion• While the religions did support the

government, it did express the beliefs and spiritual needs of the society

Rivers and Civilizations• Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, and China all developed along river

valleys– Mesopotamia – Tigris and Euphrates– Egypt – Nile– India – Indus– China – Yellow

• Rivers provided:– Steady source of water– Fertile soil– Fish to eat– Served to help communication and trade

Mesopotamia: The Cradle of Civilization

• Mesopotamia - land between two rivers• Between the Tigris and Euphrates• In present day Iraq

• Developed:– Codified laws– Concept of kingship– Building of places to worship gods– Writing– The wheel

Creation of Babylonia

• Southern area known as Sumer

• Northern area known as Akkad

• Two regions united into Babylonia

Climate/Geography• Alluvial plain• Little rainfall for crops• Hot and dry• Soil is arid and sterile if not cared for properly• Soil has no minerals• Almost no stone• Almost no timber• During the winter, stormy south winds brought downpours

that turned the river valleys into mud• Spring run off from the snow lead to flooding

Why Live There Then?• The natural levees along the Euphrates River made this area

livable• The levee sloped gently downward away from the river• The highest and safest ground was along the levee adjacent to

the river• The levee was fertile, and was a good place to grow crops• Also a lot of swamps with fish, waterfowl, and reeds• Reeds were used to feed sheep and goats and were used as a

building material• The levees needed irrigation and better drainage to live up to

their potential

The People• Four distinct ethnocultural groups

– Sumerians• Arrived from central Asia around 3 000 BCE

– Akkadians and Amorites• Semitic-speaking peoples from the Syrian deserts around 2 600 BCE and 2 200

BCE

– The Luvians and Hittites• Indo-Europeans who arrived around 2 000 BCE

– Hurrians• Arrived from the Caucasus around 1 800 BCE

The Growth of the Empire• For most of its history, Mesopotamia was a collection of

independent states• Unification came very late• Early towns were democratic• A bureaucracy was developed to look after the increasingly complex

society• Government built roads and canals, enforced laws, and settled

disputes• During times of war, appointed one of their warriors to lead• Sumerian title for king was lugal – big man• Frequency of warfare led to a decline in democracy and a growth in

hereditary and autocratic monarchies

Sumerian Society• Dominant between 2 900 and 2 400 BCE• Four main classes– Nobility – king, his family, chief priests, and high palace officials

• The king was thought to be divinely ordained• Nobility owned the most and best land

– Free clients – men and women who worked for the nobility in exchange for use of the land

– Commoners – free citizens who owned their own land and were not dependent on the nobility• Included merchants, artisans, government workers

– Slaves

The Akkadians

• Social, economic, and intellectual framework of Mesopotamia was established by the Sumerians, but they were never successful in uniting with the lower Mesopotamia.

• This was done by a Semitic chieftain named Sargon in 2 331 BCE

• Established his capital at Akkad• Unified Mesopotamia and established the

culture throughout the Fertile Crescent• By 2 200 BCE, the Akkadians fell

The Babylonians

• Mesopotamia was reunited by the Babylonians

• Used their central location to dominate trade

• King Hammurabi came to the throne in 1 750 BCE

• Conquered Akkad and Assyria• Developed a law code which was

inscribed on a stone pillar set up in public for all to see

Hammurabi• Hammurabi is seen as

receiving his authority from the god Shamash

• The laws were seen as divinely inspired and were clearly written out

• Punishments were designed to fit the crime – e.g. an eye for an eye

• Members of the nobility were given more lenient penalties

The Assyrians• Invasion of the Hurrians was one of

the events in the next 700 years of turmoil

• In the tenth century BCE, Assyria became dominant, led by Assurnasirpal II who reunited Mesopotamia

• The Assyrians became the most feared army in the Near East

• By seventh century BCE, had established an empire from the Persian Gulf to Syria, Palestine, and Egypt

Assyrians forever?• Because the Assyrians

ruled through fear and overextended themselves, their empire started to revolt in the late seventh century BCE

• By 539 BCE, Mesopotamia was part of the Persian empire which was from the Indus River to the Mediterranean Sea

The Persians

• Cyrus the Great replaced fear with tolerance and fairness– Differences in religion okay– Taxes were fair– Local government officials retained

This lead to the Persian empire surviving for over 800 years

Invention of Writing

• Allowed for the passing along of ideas• Codification of laws• Keeping of records

• Written language developed by the Sumerians and known as cuneiform – wedge-shaped

• A scribe pressed a wedge-shaped stylus into a slab of soft clay

Before Cuneiform• Writing was only used for

record keeping• Only used nouns such as

“ox”, “sheep”, and “grain”• Eventually, signs used for

homonyms• Eventually abstract

thoughts• Spread to Persia and Egypt

and was the only international script

Science and Technology

• Variety of tools and techniques developed to allow for a prosperous living based on agriculture– Wheel• Allowed oxen to pull three times as much weight as

before– Seeder-plow– Pick axe

Beliefs

• Oldest religion in the world for which written records exist

• Polytheistic religion with over 3 600 gods and demigods

• Five most important gods– Enlil – supreme god and god of the air– Ishtar – mother goddess of fertility and lire– An – god of heaven– Enki – god of the underworld and the water– Shamash – sun god and the giver of law

Mesopotamian Creation Myth

• The creation of the universe was a story created by people for people to explain how the universe came about

• Four gods planned and created the main parts of the universe and then delegated each part to their children to rule:– An - heaven– Enlil - air– Enki - water– Nammu - earth

The History of the Imagination: Myths and Legends

Gilgamesh and Enkidu• Gilgamesh was a real king in Uruk in Babylonia

about 2 700 BCE• Said to be beautiful, strong, courageous, and a

large physical presence• Was 2/3 divine and 1/3 human• His people suffered under his overzealous

leadership and his belief he could control everything

Enkidu

• The gods heard the people’s moaning, so they created Enkidu, who looked like Gilgamesh, but was shorter and broader

• Lived with the animals until he was found and seduced into human contact by a temple courtesan and taught human ways

• Taken to a bride’s home where Gilgamesh was to visit, and he blocked Gilgamesh’s way

• The two fought until they embraced and began an epic friendship

Friends forever?

• The gods were made angry by Gilgamesh and Enkidu’s exuberance

• Enkidu was killed• Gilgamesh journeyed through the Underworld

crying, “Death and life I wish to know.”

Significance of Myth• Written on 12 clay tablets that

were not found until 1853 in Nineveh (northern Iraq)

• It is the first known work of great literature

• It is the first known epic poem• The tablets provide the name

of the earliest known author – Sin-leqi-unninni

• It mentions a great flood within a story similar to the one about Noah’s Ark

Ziggurats: Temples to the Gods• Gods had to be honoured by

religious ceremonies performed by priests in sacred temples

• Temples were made of mud bricks which had to be placed on platforms to avoid flooding

• Temples got larger and larger – led to ziggurats

• A stack of platforms creasing in size from bottom to top

• Ranged from one to seven platforms and were decorated

Tower of Babel

• One of the most famous ziggurats was the Tower of Babel – one of the wonders of the ancient worlds– The temple was over 100

m above the ground– Rebuilt by

Nebuchadnezzer

Mesopotamia’s Lasting Legacy

• This is where people first abandoned their nomadic life and began to build cities

• Developed:– Kingship– City-states– Writing– Astronomy (including the seasonal equinoxes)– Written legal code– The wheel

Evaluating Civilizations

• How do we judge a civilization?• Should a civilization be judged on the

grandeur of its monuments?• Should it be judged on its science, technology,

and arts• Is it judged by its size?• What about quality of life?

History Continues to Unfold

• Some anthropologists are focusing their research on the evolution of the human mind and human consciousness

• Current scientific research into the brain is helping us to understand our ancestors as well as ourselves