River Valley Civilizations 4000 BCE

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River Valley Civilizations4000 BCE 750 BCE

• Southwest Asia
• North Africa

K.M.H.S.
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Concepts-Terms-People

• Semitic
• Hammurabis Code
• Hittites
• Assyria
• Babylon
• Gilgamesh
• Cuneiform
• Ziggurat

• Pharaoh
• Menes
• Ahmosis
• Hyksos
• Nubia Kush
• Phoenicia
• Hebrews
• Hieroglyphics

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Very important To World History
Horse Nomads Turks / Mongols
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Essential Questions

• What do we mean by the term complex society?
  Compare it to Paleolithic and/or Neolithic
  society.
• Why did almost all ancient complex societies
  evolve in river valleys?
• Explain the emergence of patriarchal societies
  their impact on gender roles.
• What were the differences in religions of the
  regions and era?
• Compare writing systems of the regions era.

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Semitic Languages
First Alphabet
Language Muhammad Spoke
Language Jesus Spoke
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Bronze Age Life Styles

• Agriculturalist

• Pastoralist

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Industries Life-styles

• AGRICULTURALISTS
• Sedentary life-style
• Cities
• Walled defenses
• Governed by kings
• Agricultural surplus
• Protected by military
• Specialized labor
• Wealth property

• PASTORALISTS
• Nomadic life-style
• Traded with cities
• Animal products
• Technology
• Mobility
• WARRIOR CULTURE or courage culture

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Egypt Sumeria
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Mesopotamia Egypt

• Mesopotamia
• Land b/w the rivers
• Sumeria
• 3K B.C.E.
• City-states
• Autonomous rule
• Ruled by kings supported by nobles and priests

• Egypt
• The Gift of the Nile
• Menes
• Unification 3100 B.C.E.
• Memphis, Thebes
• Centralize rule
• Pharaoh
• God-King

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Hammurabis Code
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Assyrian Empire
First truly diverse empire
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Economic Specialization

• Metallurgy
• Bronzegt 4K B.C.E.
• Irongt 1000 B.C.E.
• Technology
• Wheelgt Sumeria
• Ship Building gt Sumeria Egypt
• Chariots gt Hyksos Assyrians
• Long-Distance Trade
• Evidence shows trade in great quantities in all
  directions

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Early Technology
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Social StratificationSharply Defined

• MESOPOTAMIA
• Hereditary kings
• Supported by nobles priests
• LEGENDS DEIFICATION
• GILGAMESH
• Priestly Elites
• Intervened with gods
• Owned land workshops
• Functioned as banks charities
• Received offerings

• Other Social classes
• Free commoners
• Peasants, craftsmen, other professionals
• Dependent Clients
• Worked on others land
• Slaves
• Mostly domestic servants some farm work

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Social/PoliticalStratification Pyramid
Kings Priests/Elites
Aristocracy
Free Commoners
Must complete pyramid for every civilization we
study.
Dependent Clients Tenants
Slaves
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Gilgamesh Enkidu
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Social Stratification

• EGYPTIAN SOCIETY
• Pharaoh
• Supreme central authority
• Military and Bureaucratic elites
• More important than nobles
• Priests
• Commoners
• Slaves

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Social/PoliticalStratification Pyramid
Pharaoh
Military
Priests/Elites Bureaucracy
Commoners
Slaves
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Upper Lower Egypt
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Origins of Writing Literacy

• Origins
• Mesopotamia gt cuneiform 2900 B.C.E.
• Egypt gt hieroglyphic hieratic scripts
• Education
• Literacy important to functioning society
• Priest, physicians, scribes, and other
  professions
• Astronomy Mathematics
• Mesopotamian conventions
• 12 MONTH YEAR 60 MINUTE HOUR

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Egyptian Hieroglyphs
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Mesopotamian Cuneiform
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Egyptian Sciences
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Surgical Instruments

• Ancient Egyptian
• Bronze

• Modern
• Surgical Steel

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Monumental Architecture

• GREAT PYRAMID
• Crypt of Khufu
• Largest building
• Visible from Moon
• Limestone polished stone
• later stolen by Arabs
• 756 long x 481 high
• Twice the volume
• Thirty times the mass
• Empire State Building

• ZIGGURATS
• Predate the pyramids
• Temples to link heaven and earth
• Built in step form
• 2000 BCE
• 50 x 150
• Mud brick with glazed brick facades

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Pyramids Ziggurats
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Seven Wonders of the World
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Newly Chosen Wonders of the World
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Origins of Religions

• Polytheism gt Mesopotamia
• Ziggurat temples
• Polytheism gt Egypt
• Amon Air God Re Sun God
• Quest for Immortality
• Mummification
• Cult of Osiris
• Judgment at death gt good
  deeds invest immortality

Akhenaten Heretic Pharaoh Aten sun worship
monotheistic?
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Broader Influences

• Hebrews
• Pastoral nomads
• Influenced by Sumerians Egyptians
• Moses Monotheism
• Moses est. kingdom in Palestine
  1300 B.C.E.
• Dominated Syria
  Sinai Peninsula
• Jerusalem
• One supreme God gt Yahweh
• Scripture moral
  concerns dominate Judaism

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Moses Hebrews
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Broader Influences

• PHOENICIANS
• Lebanon
• Turned to Industry Trade
• Maritime economy
• Dominated Mediterranean Basin 2500 BCE
• Colonies
• Cyprus, Sicily, Spain North Africa
• Later development of Carthage

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Phoenician Colonies
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Phoenician Trade

• The most unlikely commodity made Phoenicia the
  Mediterraneans first superpower.
• SALT
• They used the evaporation process.
• Salt was used as a preservative for foods, to
  process leather, the industrial process, to made
  mummies, making dyes.

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Phoenician Influence

• Alphabet
• Modified cuneiform gt 22 symbols
• Passed to Greeks
• Added vowels
• Passed to Egyptians Ptolemy
• Passed to Romans
• Passed to the rest of Europe

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Phoenician Alphabet
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Greek Alphabet
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Egyptian Influence

• INFLUENCE IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
• Nubia
• Poor agriculture but rich in minerals
• Gold, ivory, ebony, gems
• Adopted Egyptian culture
• Iron metallurgy gt
  spread throughout Africa
• Kush
• Est. by Nubians
• Invaded Egypt 750 B.C.E.
• Pushed south by Assyrians
  and were less influenced

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• Egypt
• Kush
• Axum

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Nubia Kush
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Egyptians
Lybians

• On fresco in tomb of Seit. c. 1300 BC. The sons
  of Ham Cush (Nubians), Egypt, Put (Lybians), and
  Canaan..

Canaanites
Nubians
Lybians
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Enduring Question

• Discuss examples of diffusion of culture and
  technology be specific and do not generalize.