Everyone is gifted….but some people never open the package.
Neanderthal Man: 250,000-30,000 years
• Cooperated through language
• Advanced stone tools• Used fire for cooking
and protection• Wore clothing• Buried dead• Lived in caves [cave art ? 2012]
CroMagnon / modern Man: 35,000- present time
• Sewing needles, buttons
• Snug boots; hooded parkas, pants w/ leggings
• Fish hooks & harpoons
• Bows and arrows
• Flint tools and weapons
• Lamps / animal fat
• Why are the discoveries of Jarmo, Jericho and Catal Huyuk of interest to historians?
Ancient Jericho
What makes “a way of life” a civilization?
• Writing system• Organized economy• Specialization of labor• Social classes• Legal code • Advanced art • Central government• Several cities with monumental architecture • ***Religion – the central force in primary civilizations
Marshland and swamps…
Mesopotamia: the rise of civilization
The Assyrian capital at Nineveh
Ashurbanipal King of Assyria (669-631 BCE)
Cuneiform tablet – symbol writing on clay tablets with a reed stylus
Sir Henry Rawlinson
The Behistun Rock
Cuneiform tablets
• How did Mesopotamia get its name
How was Mesopotamia transformed around 3000 BC?
• Each city was the property of a specific deity.
• Temple priests interpreted the will of the gods and acted as stewards of a city's deity.
• The ruler of the city – a priest-king often was visited and instructed by the community's god.
Religion was the central force:
• Explained the workings of nature• Eased the fear of death• Justified rules and morality• United people in a common view• Bolstered the authority of rulers• Promoted creativity in art, literature and
science
How did Mesopotamians define the purpose of man’s existence?
Why did a mood of uncertainty and anxiety pervade the Mesopotamian psyche?
• Frequent floods and droughts• Windstorms• Invasions• The gods were unpredictable
The Standard of Ur
• King Gudea of Lagash C. 2150 bc
• The inscription describes a temple dedicated to the goddess Geshtin-anna
• How did King Sargon earn a place in our history books?
Third Dynasty of Ur…Ur-Nammu, 2113-2096 BC
The ancient Sumerians were very smart people:
• Cuneiform• Law codes• Literature• Schools• Numbering system• Kiln-dried bricks & pottery• Lunar calendar• Potter’s wheel• The wheel
• The wheelbarrow• Sailboats• Bronze tools and weapons• The plow• Frying pans• Razors• Cosmetic sets• Shepherd’s pipes• harps
Why were King Hammurabi’s law codes obeyed?