Cities and Civilization

TheDomestication of the Human Species

SourcesLewis Mumford The City in History

V. Gordon Childe, “The Urban Revolution”

Lewis Mumford, “What is a City?”

Diffusion of urbanismBy urbanism we mean a way of life, a set of institutions, a kind of social organizationInvented various times and placesDiffused from each of these places to other places

Earliest urban “hearths”TurkeyMesopotamiaEgyptIndus Valley

Yellow River valley, ChinaMesoamericaAndean AmericaE. and S. Africa

What’s in a word?Civic, civilization, civilize, city, civilityWhat’s the common thread?These English words reflect the long association between the idea of urban life and the idea of some kind of refinement of thought or behaviorAll of these words derive from LatinThe association is as old as the Roman empire: the Romans saw city building as the way to spread civilization

Civil-izing viewed in retrospect

Does urban life uplift the human spirit?Is the city a way to escape from the grim struggle of nature with predators & prey?

As we adapt to “second nature” what happens to our relationship with “first nature”?

Is urban culture a step above folk dances, folk songs, traditional handicrafts and the rest of rural culture?

What is the point of overcoming the instincts bred in people over millions of years living in non-urban environments… is it worth the struggle?

Who invented the city?The city was invented not once but many times in different Neolithic cultures. Ingredients:

Concentrated population

Social hierarchy & formal institutions

Defense against outsiders (wall)

Monumental architecture (temples, palaces)

Management of resources• Creation of irrigation systems, granaries, etc.

• Collection of taxes/tribute

• Distribution to members of the court

• Distribution to subjects in times of famine

Characteristics of Early Cities

“Early” cities emerge at different times in different places

Populations ranging from a few thousand to more than 100,000

Often have city wall indicating need for defense

Have a Citadel indicating an aristocratic/priestly ruling class and more generally a social hierarchy

Most have record-keeping technologies (like counting devices or primitive forms of written notation) indicating that urban life requires record keeping

Why is the wall integral to the earliest cities?

Earliest urban communities were surrounded by nomadic people coming and goingWild animals were common during early urbanization in most placesCities were known to have food and water, so in times of scarcity nomadic people often tried to raid citiesAs more cities developed, their kings began to lead raids on other cities for plunder, slaves, and territoryWalls might have helped control slaves and other urban residents who were less than willing to cooperate with the king and his forces

Mesa Verde, Colorado

Early city or fortified village?

Largest cliff dwelling (Cliff Palace) had room for only 100-120 people

Essentially a village

Urban Site Issues

“Pueblo Bonito”

Chaco Canyon, NM, “Anasazi” peopleLarge village or small city built in stages beginning around 919 AD1000-2000 occupants, up to 600 rooms in use, 5 stories in height along back wallAccess to rooms through central courtyard, which contained two great kivas and was lined by over 35 smaller kivas

“Teotihuacan” (near Mexico city)

Emerged as urban center around 0 AD and lasted for more than 600 years

60-80,000 inhabitants!

Boston didn’t reach this population until the 1830s

Apartment buildings, wide avenues, huge pyramids, districts with specialized functions

“Avenue of the Dead,” Teotihuacan

Architectural Detail, Teotihuacan

What does this sculpture “tell” us?

Found in excavation of TeotihuacanSays two things about the division of laborSays something about cultural developmentSocial specialization

SculptorAcrobatAcrobat’s audienceSculptor’s “audience”/patrons

What does this sculpture tell us?

Found in a Mayan archaeological site

Demonstrates both the role of the artist in serving and glorifying power, and the supreme power of the king

What do these artifacts tell us?Found in a Mayan archaeological site

Prisoner and sacrificial victim demonstrate the link between urban culture and organized violence/warfare

Organized violence is not necessarily “uncivilized” (since it comes with civilization) although it is horrific

Çatal HüyükIn what is today Turkey Population of between 5,000 and 6,000 people Inhabited around 6800-5400 B.C. Houses packed togetherEach house was entered through a hole in the roof (defense?)

Urbillum, Irbil, Erbil, Arbela, Arabilu

Oldest city that is presently occupiedHas been a city for 4,300 years, creating an enormous “tell” that has not yet been excavatedWalled city on hill created classic urban formUnder control of Sumerians, Persians, Macedonians, Ottoman Empire, Kurds & Iraq

“Mohenjo-Daro” (mound of the dead)

Harappan culture (Indus valley, in what is now Pakistan)Peak around 2000 BCAbout 35,000 residentsAssembly halls, giant granary, towers, and cistern (bath?) in the citadelAxial layoutCentrally planned (similar to other Harappan cities)Covered sewers!

Harappan cities (artist’s conception)

Jonathan Mark Kenoyer, University of Wisconsin - Madison

ZigguratsZiggurats (Mesopotamian temples)

Assyrian conquest, 9th c. BC

Women and children celebrate outside their walled-city as the dead float by

City has always required defending

Mumford suggests that people were not psychologically and culturally prepared for the regimentation and social stress of urban life so they took out their tension and aggression on other groups

Assyrians taking captivesfrom a 9th c. BC engraving (source: Society of Ancients: http://www.soa.org.uk)

The “Citadel”

Found in many early citiesTakes various formsA compound of grandiose structures, often walled off from rest of cityFunctioned as:

place of ceremonyhome for semi-divine leaders and their “court”place to store (and guard) the food reserves

“Mohenjo-Daro” (mound of the dead)

Social HierarchyLarge population concentrations both facilitated and necessitated specialization of social roles

Ruler (usually thought to have god-like powers)Priests (doubled as administrators)Technicians (e.g. surveyors, engineers)Artisans & performersMerchants Subjects (mostly farmers)Conquered peoplesSlaves

Cosmo-Magical OrderRegular “grid-iron” layout was not originally designed for practical purposesCities like Teotihuacan, Roman colonies, and China’s Forbidden City were aligned with the cardinal directions (axially) in an attempt to make them eternal and powerfulThe city, especially the citadel, was believed to be the center of the universe; its axiality demonstrated that idea visuallyEarly cities show extensive evidence of sacred places in the form of shrines, temples, etc.

TokensTokensUsed from 8,000 BC throughout the Middle East into Indus Valley

Represented goods that were traded or collected as tithes (taxes of produce)

Grain

Oil container

Wool fleece

Garment

Etc.

Early writing systemsMayan hieroglyphs

Egyptian hieroglyphsCuneiform (Sumerian)

Role of Record Keeping

Early urbanism is associated with record keeping of various kinds

This permitted the extension of control through space and time

Conquest & empire

Long-distance administration and military coordination

Dynasties & legal codes

Solidification of trade agreements

Urban Cultural AchievementsPrimitive forms of notationNutritional securityRefinement of handicraftsArt AstronomyMathematics Warfare (achievement?)Religious elaboration and regimentation (achievement?)

Websites that were helpfulCatal Huyuk: http://campus.northpark.edu/history/classes/Sources/CatalHuyuk.htmlTeotihuacan: http://archaeology.la.asu.edu/teo/intro/citymp1.htmCahokia: http://medinfo.wustl.edu/~mckinney/cahokia/site.htmlTikal: http://mayaruins.com/tikal/Tikal_InnerMap.htmlMohenjo-Daro: http://emuseum.mnsu.edu/archaeology/sites/middle_east/mohenjo_daro.html