From Village From Village Community Community ……to City-Stateto City-State

•Transition to settled Transition to settled communities began communities began about 10,000 B.C.E.about 10,000 B.C.E.

•Why change? Why change?

•Villages promoted Villages promoted agricultural productivity agricultural productivity as well as cultural as well as cultural creativitycreativity

•First villages appeared in First villages appeared in “Fertile Crescent”“Fertile Crescent”

•Based on domestication of Based on domestication of plants and animals (peas, plants and animals (peas, lentils and goats)lentils and goats)

•Different regions of world Different regions of world focused on other speciesfocused on other species

•Era of villages labeled Era of villages labeled NeolithicNeolithic or New Stone Age or New Stone Age

• Tools needed for cutting, Tools needed for cutting, grinding, chopping, etc.grinding, chopping, etc.

• Pottery developed for storagePottery developed for storage• Variation of pottery design Variation of pottery design

and decoration is one way to and decoration is one way to identify the people who identify the people who occupied early villagesoccupied early villages

The Fertile The Fertile CrescentCrescent

The Tigris and Euphrates rivers The Tigris and Euphrates rivers gave life to the first known gave life to the first known agricultural villages, about agricultural villages, about

10,000 years ago, and the first 10,000 years ago, and the first known cities in human history, known cities in human history,

about 5000 years ago. about 5000 years ago.

The Fertile Crescent• Parts of Israel,

Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Syria, and Iraq

• Eastern part was called Mesopotamia

Tigris & Euphrates Rivers

• Flooded often

• Caused destruction – swept away villages & fields

• Mesopotamians cooperated to control floodwaters – built dams, escape channels, canals, & ditches

• Easy to invade – led to constant war

The First CitiesThe First Cities• Appeared on sites of early Appeared on sites of early

villagesvillages

• Mesopotamia site of earliest cityMesopotamia site of earliest city

• Appeared in seven separate Appeared in seven separate places around the worldplaces around the world

Cities transformed human life with Cities transformed human life with innovationsinnovations

• New transportation modes (wheel)New transportation modes (wheel)

• Metallurgy (led to era known as the Metallurgy (led to era known as the Bronze Age)Bronze Age)

• New ideas for administering daily life New ideas for administering daily life (bureaucracy)(bureaucracy)

• Armies and diplomatsArmies and diplomats

• In short: specialized organizations, In short: specialized organizations, centralized state, and a powerful armycentralized state, and a powerful army

Traits of a Civilization to accompany that rise of city-states

• Specialization of labor (from Specialization of labor (from surplus of food)surplus of food)

• Record keeping with a written Record keeping with a written languagelanguage

• Complex institutions – government, Complex institutions – government, social hierarchy, religionsocial hierarchy, religion

• Trade & technologyTrade & technology• Advanced citiesAdvanced cities

Mesopotamia:The Sumerians

Indo-European Migration

Sumerian Civilization

• Settled in the lower part of Fertile Crescent – a.k.a. Sumer

• Birthplace of cities• Created 12 city-states• Including Ur, Uruk, & Eridu• Science: astronomy, calendar (aided

agriculture)

Sumerian City-States• Sumer region

included 500,000 people, with eighty percent living in cities by 2500 B.C.E

• Shared a common culture

• Built ziggurats for religious purposes – dedicated to chief deity of the city

• Religious leaders strongly Religious leaders strongly supported city leaders vice-versasupported city leaders vice-versa

• Priests built imposing temples--Priests built imposing temples--ziggurats-ziggurats--to reflect their power -to reflect their power and impress the populationand impress the population

• Rituals reaffirmed power with Rituals reaffirmed power with public ceremonies public ceremonies

Sumerian Culture

•Practiced polytheismPracticed polytheism

•Had one chief god for each Had one chief god for each city-statecity-state

•Gods were unpredictable, Gods were unpredictable, angry, & selfish angry, & selfish

Sumerian Government•Competition for land

and water rights with foreign invaders led to the development of a monarchy (king)

•King was a religious & political leader

•King enforced law and set penalties (usually a fine)

Sumerian Culture• Men – could sell wife

and children to pay a debt; could divorce easily

• Women – could buy and sell property; operate own businesses; own slaves

Writing!Writing!

•Epic poem – Gilgamesh story of

a godlike man who performs heroic deeds

•Developed pictograms, then Developed pictograms, then cuneiformcuneiform – 1 – 1stst known writing known writing

system in the worldsystem in the world

1st used for record keeping, Sumerians were soon producing

literature and government decrees!

Invention/technology• Invented wagon

wheel, arch, potter’s wheel

• Developed a number system based on 10,60, & 360 (for degrees in circles) and 12 month lunar calendar

• Silver coinage• etc

Famous Leaders• Sargon I – built the Akkadian Empire by uniting all of the Mesopotamian city-states (predated Egypt)

• …and..

The Code of Hammurabi

• Hammurabi – created a code of law

• Dealt with most aspects of daily life

• Penalized wrongdoers with an “eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth” approach

The Code of Hammurabi

• Protected the less powerful & property

• Laws varied according to class

The First Cities: What Difference Do They Make?

•Cities facilitated important Cities facilitated important accomplishments including accomplishments including population increase, economic population increase, economic growth, organized life, new growth, organized life, new technologies, legal codes, and technologies, legal codes, and literatureliterature

•Not all cities succeededNot all cities succeeded•Cities raised new questions of Cities raised new questions of

appropriate size and how best to appropriate size and how best to achieve the good lifeachieve the good life