ANCIENT NEAR EASTAncient Near East TimelinePre-HistoryAgricultureGeographySlide 6Slide 7Slide 8WritingSlide 10Slide 11Science & ThoughtReligionSlide 14Slide 15Social StructureSlide 17Hammurabi (1792-1750)Slide 19Slide 20ArtHittites until PersiaANCIENT NEAR EASTPrehistoric Cave ArtAncient Near East Timeline•~ 8000 BCE beginning of agriculture•7000-5000 duration of Catal Huyuk•~ 4000 rise of Mesopotamian cities•~ 3000 Sumerians become numerous•1792 Hammurabi rules ANEPre-History•Why is it called “pre-history”?–Before writing•How did they live?–Hunter/gatherer–mobile - no cities.Agriculture•What caused the change?–Development of agriculture and domestication of animals leads to creation of permanent settlements•Impact of Agriculture–population boom–development of urban centers–job specialization•pottery; tool/weapon making; priests; writingGeography•Tigris and Euphrates rivers–surrounded by marshes and plains–flooding•where are cities built?•how does the environment shape life?–Isolation: floods, deserts, swamps–development of city state.The “fertile crescent”Geography•natural resources–clay, no stone, wood or metal–what did they build with?•Cities use interlocking wallsWriting•Evolves over time•Scribe schools–very complicated - years of study –strict schools–who could study?•Mainly male, wealthy.Example of CuneiformCylinder SealScience & Thought•Develop numerical system: divide day into two twelve hour parts (24 hour day)•math is practical and theoretical–tables of charts–layout of temples•Astronomy & lunar calendar–determine will of gods•medicine–magic, prescriptions and surgery!–Demons and evil spirits can cause illness•spells and nasty concoctions can drive them out•failure.ReligionGod GudeaRiver God•Religion directs all aspects of life•god for every portion of life.Religion•patron deity for every city•natural catastrophes are work of gods•humans put on earth to enact will of gods•afterlife.Religion•worship gods to appease gods–build temples (ziggurats)–position of temples in society.Social Structure•Four social classes–nobles, free clients of nobles, commoners, slaves•land especially valuable–temples and nobles own most–land for support of temple and priests–land cannot be taken from commoners by king•desire for land leads to war–rise of kings–war results in slaves.The image of the constant warfare among the city statesHammurabi (1792-1750)•Ruler of Babylon•unifies Mesopotamia•establishes long term control through religionThe Dragon of Marduk.HammurabiHammurabi (1792-1750)•Code of Laws–significance of creation–harsh - punishment fits the crime (burglar ex.)–class based (stealing ex.)–try to be fair –patriarchy - fathers have absolute control.ArtHittites until Persia•Growth of successive nations ruling the region•1600 Hittites (iron monopoly)•900 Assyrians•700 Neo-Babylonians•538
View Full Document
Unlocking...