FOUNDATIONS OF CIVILIZATION

BIG 7 CHARACTERISTICS

• DEVELOPED CITIES• ORGANIZED

GOVERNMENT• FORMALIZED RELIGION• SPECILAIZATION OF

LABOR• SOCIAL CLASSES• RECORD KEEPING AND

WRITING– *CUNEIFORM

• ART AND ARCHITECTURE

CULTURE DEFINED

• The customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular people or other social group

• The attitudes and behavior characteristic of a particular social group.

THE NEOLITHIC REVOLUTION

• THE NEW STONE AGE• Began in 8000 BC and

ended until 3000 BC• People learned to polish

and grind stones to shape tools with sharper edges

• New tools are made• Animals and plants are

domesticated• Growth in agriculture –

Transition period of hunter-gathering to permanent farming settlements

MESOPOTAMIA

• GEOGRAPHY PROMOTES CIVILIZATION

• Greek word meaning “between the rivers”

• What made Mesopotamia the perfect location for civilizations to start and thrive?

QUESTION

• In which geographic location would the beginning of a civilization most likely occur?– Alongside a lake– Alongside a river– In the middle of a

forest– In the middle of a

desert

SUMERIANS

• First developed civilization

• Polytheistic• Major contributions:

– Developed a math system

– Established a writing system (cuneiform)…the way to move up the social ladder

– Arts: Arches, ramps, columns, large temples

– Invented the wheel and plow

THE AKKADDIANS

• FIRST CONQUEREORS IN HISTORY

• Led by Sargon I• Formed the world’s first

empire (a land that includes different kingdoms and people under one rule)

• Stretched from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf

• Lasted about 140 years – spread Sumerian culture

THE BABYLONIAN EMPIRE

• Settled in what is now modern day Baghdad, Iraq

• King Hammurabi became king of Babylon

• United all of Mesopotamia

• Absorbed elements of previous cultures

• Most famous for Hammurabi’s Code– 282 laws dealing with

everything from trade and theft to injury and murder

FIRST MAJOR CIVILIZATIONS

• The Sumerians along the Tigris and Euphrates River

• The Chinese along the Yellow River• The Harappans along the Indus River• The Egyptians along the

Mediterranean/Nile River• The Assyrians• The Babylonians• The Hittites