early civilisations copia (1)
TRANSCRIPT
EARLY CIVILISATIONSMESOPOTAMIA AND EGYPT
1. THE BIRTH OF THE FIRST CIVILISATIONS
They appeared in distinct places but share some characteristics:
Chronology: around 6000 B.C
Location: They appeared on the banks of large rivers:
They developed irrigation techniques that took advantageof the rivers´ water abundant harvest population growth the villages became cities
They created a strong political power and hierarchical societies: - New skills emerged, e.g gold and silver smithing new social groups. Each group had a different status ( some people were more important than others) - Trade developed thanks to a transport system based on rivers - The government and public administration were created to organise the city
- Kings or pharaohs ( divine) and priests had the power and decided the laws.
- Society began to pay taxes
- WRITING appeared around 3500 B.C . It was used for administration and commerce BEGINNING OF HISTORY
4. EGYPT : natural environment and history
4.1 The natural environment
Location Egypt is located in Africa in a desert crossed by the Nile.
Nile: 6756kms
Flows from Lake Victoria (South) to the Mediterranean Sea (North)
mouth of the river delta
Worshipped the Nile like a god ( source of life)
Main transport route
Nile, every spring, when the ice melted,overflowed its banks, flooding the river valley. It fertilised the soil with mud ( silt). The land produced abundant harvests
Delta area:Flat, marshy
Nile river valley area
2.2 THE HISTORY OF EGYPT
EGYPT was divided into two small kingdoms Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt
King Menes unified them (3.100 B.C)
He is considered to be the first pharaoh
The Old Kingdom
The New Kingdom
EGYPTIANHistoryIt is dividedinto 4 periods
The Late period
The Middle Kingdom
Second Intermediate Period
First Intermediate Period
Third Intermediate Period
THE OLD KINGDOM
Capital: MemphisGreat splendourThe big pyramids of Cheops, Khafre and Menkaure
THE MIDDLE KINGDOM
Capital: ThebesTerritorial expansionThis period ended when Hyksos invaded Egypt
THE NEW KINGDOM
Capital Thebes Important pharaohs: Akenaten, Tutankhamun, Ramsses II Expansion continued
THE LATE PERIOD
Decline = crisisEgypt was divided into small independent states and invaded by other nations: Persia, Greece, Rome….Cleopatra VII was the last pharaohAlejandria Library
5. LIFE AND CULTURE IN EGYPT
ECONOMY
•Main activities:•Agriculture:
cereals, flax. They built dams and canals. Economy was based on irrigated agriculture
•Livestock•Fishing•Craftwork•Trade
SOCIETY
•Egyptian society was very hierarchical
•At the top was the pharaoh and family. Considered as a god. All-powerful
•After them: ruling caste: priest, public servants.
•Free people: soldiers, farmers, artisans
•Slaves ( no rights)
Imagen anaya pag 104
Pharaoh
Ruling caste
Free people
Slaves
Social pyramid class
RELIGION
•They were polytheist
•Some gods had an aspect half human- half animal
•Most important gods: Ra,Horus, Anubis, Isis, Osiris
•They believed in life after death mummified the dead because the soul needed a body to stay in
ART -
SCIENCES
•Written texts have been preserved. E.g The Book of the Dead. To enter the afterlife the soul had to pass the Judgement of Osiris. The Book of the Dead was a guide on how to pass this judgment.
•They knew about mathematics and medicine.
http://www.britishmuseum.org/channel/exhibitions/2011/book_of_the_dead/video_botd_schools_film.aspx
The Book of the Dead
Writing in Egypt
Egyptian people wrote on papyrus, using brushes and ink, or on stone, using a hammer and chisel. The writing is called hieroglyphics. It represented words through pictures of figures, animals, etc. Hieroglyphic writing was deciphered by Champollion in 1822 after the discovery of the Rosetta Stone which had texts written in Hieroglyphic, Demotic and Greek alphabets.
Papyrus
Rosetta Stone
Mummification
Bodies were embalmed and mummified to preserve them for afterlife.The brain was extracted through the nose. They cut the corpse to extract the intestines, the lungs, the stomach, the liver and kept them in (canopic jars). The heart was not removed, they believed it was necessary in the afterlife because it was the fountain of life.Then they filled the body with aromatic herbs, it was left to dry covered in a salt for 70 days. After it they cleaned the body and wrapped it with strips of white linen .At the end of the process they place a funerary mask and put it in the sarcophagus
Mummies
Sarcophagus
Dog mummified
ARCHITECTURE AND ARTS
Architecture
Characteristics:
-Colossal Size -Material: stone ( dressed stones)-Support: Columns-Types of buildings: temples and tombs
Temples
Temples: the priest lived in them-Different parts: Avenue with sphinxes, open courtyard,room with columns and the shrine-Examples: Karnak and Luxor
Rock temples ( speos): Carved out of rockExample: Abu Simbel
Religious building dedicated to the gods
Karnak
Abu Simbel
Tombs
Funeraryconstructions.Used to buriedpharaohs , family and public servants
Mastaba: A kind of pyramid with a flat roof
Pyramid: It formed a labyrinth of rooms and passagewaysThe body was surrounded by treasure.Example: Pyramids of Giza.
Hipogeum: underground tombs carved out of rocks.Example: Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens.
The Valley of the Queens
Sculpture
Two types: reliefs and independent statuesPurpose: religious and funeraryMaterial: stone, wood, gold, clay, etcCharacteristics: Idealization ( young, very big) and static, no realistic, inexpressive faces, look straight ahead
•Purpose: Decoration and worship the gods.•Techniques: tempera and fresco•Main subjects: gods and humans•Topic: everyday life or religious topic•The more important the person was, the bigger they were shown
ARCHITECTURE AND ART
Painting
