CIVILIZATION

Understand the shift from independent Agricultural Villages to complex cities and civilizations

Recognize and understand the 5 characteristics of a civilization

Objectives

From Villages to Cities

Plentiful food supply Advanced farming tools Irrigation systems Craft specialization Widespread trade The Wheel and the Sail

How did this transition take place?

Social StatusSocioeconomic statusPower structuresMore organized religion

Social Impact

A complex culture with: advanced cities; specialized workers; complex institutions; record keeping; improved technology

Civilization

Cities are centers of trade for a large geographic area Raw materials came from the hinterlands and

were traded for finished goods in markets

Advanced Cities

Specialization- the development of skills in a specific kind of work Blacksmiths, potters, making clothing, etc.

Artisans- skilled workers who make goods by hand

Specialized Workers (Craft Specialization)

Institution- long-lasting pattern of organization in a community

Systems of ruling Government, laws

Religion More formal institution with defined

roles and positions of power Economy

Trade and barter systems Establishing value of goods and

services

Complex Institutions

Need to record increasingly complex institutions and food supply Gov. officials needed to keep track of taxes, amount of food surplus and laws

Priests needed to keep track of calendars and rituals

Record Keeping

Early systems Pictographs

pictures that represented words

Knots Colored strings Notches on wooden

sticks Etc.

Record Keeping Methods

Writing- characters that represent sounds

A=ehB=bee

+

=COLORADAN

Sumerians- 3,000 BCE Scribes invented Cuneiform

(“wedge-shaped”) Sharp reeds were pressed into

wet clay which was then allowed to bake in the sun

Eventually used to record cultural events as well as records.

First Writing Established

Domesticated animals for work Ox-drawn plows Irrigation systems

No longer had to rely on natural sources of water

3,500 BCE potters wheel 3,000 BCE combining copper and tin

to make BRONZE Bronze Age- tools and weapons

made of bronze

Improved Technology

Gallery Walk

Review