Do Now

• Answer the following question on one of your index cards

• Question: How did the Neolithic Age differ from the Paleolithic Age?

A Great Transition

From village life to urban living:

Early Neolithic Settlements

8,000 BCE-3,500 BCE

Review: Paleolithic Life• Semi-

permanent dwellings

• Nomadic movement

• Hunting and Gathering

• Egalitarian gender relations

• Small populations

Review:Review: Neolithic Life Neolithic Life• Permanent

dwellings• Permanent

settlements• Domesticated

plants & animals

• Relatively egalitarian gender relations

• Growing populations

Neolithic Villages

Early UrbanizationEarly Urbanization: 6,200 BCE: 6,200 BCE• Catal HuyukCatal Huyuk is an example of an is an example of an

early city (located in modern Turkey).early city (located in modern Turkey).• The population ranged from 3,000 to The population ranged from 3,000 to

8,000 people.8,000 people.• People lived in People lived in densely packed densely packed

homeshomes and and moved about on moved about on rooftopsrooftops (no streets). (no streets).

• It existed for roughly 1,200 years.It existed for roughly 1,200 years.

An Early Urban Center

>>>>>>

Catal Huyuk’s Urban DesignCatal Huyuk’s Urban Design

The First Mural? (c. 6,200 BCE)

Artistic depiction of Catal Huyuk’s urban design

Erupting Volcano>>>>>>>

Discuss!

Why did people gather in this way?

Categories of Analysis:Economy & Culture

Early Cities: Economic Functions• Job Specialization:

– Painters paint (murals, etc)– Toolmakers make tools– Stone masons build– Weavers weave (baskets)– Potters make pots and other appliances

• Trade:– Small settlements obtain needed goods that

specialists make.– Cities obtain needed economic basics (food, raw

materials).

Inside the The Homes of Catal Huyuk:

Evidence of masonry, weaving, tool-making, pottery, painting

Early Cities: Cultural Functions• Complex Religious Shrines for common use:

–They contained multiple paintings, sculptures, & artifacts built by specialists.

–They were large enough to accommodate large numbers of people.

A Catal Huyuk Shrine: note the work of specialists

Goddess / “Venus” Sculptures

• Why are the Goddesses depicted as they are?

• Why is the one on the right holding her breasts?

Early Cities had Walls

Walls often had Towers

Discuss!Why did residents of early cities surround

themselves with walls & towers?

Hint: Towers faced outward (away from the city).

Why are early cities NOT considered full-blown civilizations?

• No clear class divisions– Job specialization did not produce social classes.– Men and women were of equal status (no patriarchy).

• No centralized, powerful government– No Chiefs or Kings and no specialized bureaucracy to

serve them– No system of taxation

• No writing system or record-keeping • Limited “public works”: no streets, canals, sewage

(You have to consider what they LACKED.)

Summary Question& Exit Ticket:

How did early cities like Catal Huyuk differ from most Neolithic settlements?