Characteristics of a Civilization - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

1 / 25
About This Presentation
Title:

Characteristics of a Civilization

Description:

Characteristics of a Civilization Global History To be able to fill leisure intelligently is the last product of civilization. Toynbee, Arnold 1852-1883, British ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

Number of Views:98
Avg rating:3.0/5.0
Slides: 26
Provided by: WhitePlain193
Category:

less

Transcript and Presenter's Notes

Title: Characteristics of a Civilization


1
Characteristics of a Civilization
  • Global History

2
  • To be able to fill leisure intelligently is the
    last product of civilization.
  • Toynbee, Arnold1852-1883, British Economic
    Historian and Reformer

3
Maslows Hierarchy of Needs
Self-actualization (self-knowledge, fulfillment
of personal potential) Esteem (autonomy,
achievement, recognition) Social (belonging,
affection) Safety (security, protection from
harm) Physiological (Hunger, thirst, shelter)
4
What is a civilization?
  • Civilization ?a society with a complex culture
  • Culture ?a shared set of beliefs, values, and
    traditions a way of life

5
Five Characteristics of Civilization
  • Cities
  • Specialized Workers
  • Complex Institutions
  • Record Keeping
  • Advanced Technology

6
1. Cities
  • Central feature of ancient civilizations
  • Located in fertile river valleys

Nile River
7
Early Cities Developed Along Rivers
Euphrates River
  • Rivers provided
  • water supply
  • transportation
  • food supply from animals
  • Rivers provided challenges
  • flooding
  • irrigation

8
2. Specialized Workers
  • Not only farmers, but merchants, artisans,
    scribes.
  • Why?
  • Surplus of food.
  • There was no need to have everybody farm. This
    led to bartering or an exchange of goods (basket
    or cart) for food.

9
What is an Artisan?
  • Artisans specialized in various jobs, such as
  • Bricklayers
  • Blacksmiths
  • Created great architecture and art

10
3. Complex Institutions
  • Formal governments laws
  • Religion/priests with religious duties and/or
    political power
  • Education system (mostly for priests scribes)

11
Complex Institution Governments
  • Early governments were first headed by priests
  • Later controlled by warrior chiefs or kings
  • These kings became hereditary rulers

12
Complex Institutions Governments Continued
  • Governments became more complex as new
    responsibilities arose such as
  • tax collecting
  • law making
  • handling public works projects
  • organizing systems of defense

13
Complex Institution Religion
  • Generally polytheistic
  • Many gods represented natural forces
  • Others controlled human activities
  • Priests and worshippers tried to gain gods favor
    through complex rituals and sacrifice

14
Complex Institution Religion
  • Temples often built to honor specific gods and
    goddesses

Egyptian Temple
Myan Temple
Mesopotamian Ziggurat
15
Complex Institution Social Structure
  • People ranked according to their profession

Chief Priests Nobles Wealthy merchants Artisans Pe
asants/farmers Slaves
Egyptian Social Structure
16
Complex Institution Social Structure
  • Ruling classes
  • Based often on military prowess
  • Originally elected, later hereditary
  • Perceived as offspring of gods
  • Religious classes
  • Role intervention with gods to ensure fertility,
    safety
  • Considerable landholdings, other economic
    activities

17
Complex Institution Social Structure
  • Free commoners
  • Peasant cultivators
  • Some urban professionals
  • Slaves
  • Prisoners of war, convicted criminals, debtors

18
Social Structure - Patriarchal Society
  • Men as landowners, relationship to status
  • Patriarchy rule of the father
  • Right to sell wives, children
  • Double standard of sexual morality
  • Women drowned for adultery
  • Relaxed sexual mores for men

19
Social Structure - Patriarchal Society
  • Yet some possibilities of social mobility for
    women
  • Court advisers, temple priestesses, economic
    activity
  • Introduction of the veil at least c. 1500 BCE

20
4. Record Keeping
  • System of Writing
  • Cuneiform, hieroglyphics, pictographs
  • Quipu ? series of strings used by the Inca to
    record statistics

21
Writing Continued
  • Probably first used by priests
  • Earliest writing used pictograms

Chinese Calligraphy
Egyptian Hieroglyphs
Mesopotamian cuneiform
22
Development of Writing
  • Sumerian writing systems form 3500 BCE
  • Pictographs
  • Cuneiform wedge-shaped
  • Preservation of documents on clay
  • Declines from 400 BCE with spread of Greek
    alphabetic script

23
Writing Continued
  • Symbols later added to represent words and then
    sounds
  • Scribes were specially trained to read, write,
    and record information

24
5. Advanced Technology
  • The wheel and the plow
  • Bronze weapons
  • The Sail

25
Bibliography
  • Annenberg/CPB
  • American Association for the Advancement of
    Science
  • McGraw-Hill Co.
  • Unitedstreaming.com
Write a Comment
User Comments (0)
About PowerShow.com