August 24 2015 HY 101 Dr James Mixson I Before Civilization A History exists because of evidence even prior to writing B Humans domesticate then begin to settle and grow crops C Most successful of these early forming civilizations were the Indo Europeans Left language patterns behind for future generations Lived in an afro asiatic or semitic area There are so many shared Indo European words that we continue to use to this day II Why Sumer A Orientation and Sources a cuneiform Defined earliest written evidence Literally means wedge shaped Used clay tablets made of sand and water Practiced from roughly around 3 500 2 000 BCE Relate this idea of communication via symbols to modern day usage of emoji icons on the iPhone keyboard b Behistun Inscription Persian Empire inscription with 3 different languages Deciphered cuneiform from within the sculpture discussed later on B Firsts and Foundations Elements of Civilization a Writing starts around 3 500 BCE cities begin to develop Uruk Lagash around 2 500 BCE b Cities struggling to find shelter food and water in the desert c War and Competition spurred between the cities d Law established and demonstrated to sustain life e Agriculture commerce people begin management of the surplus of crops by irrigation and began to trade amongst themselves C Firsts and Foundations Religion Literature Science a Religion Polytheistic meaning the Sumerians worshipped Ziggurats common term defining Sumerian people as multiple Gods polytheists Ziggurat of Ur c 2100 BCE building of Sumerian temple historically significant Interesting point the Sumerian gods acted like humans most of the time through showing fault and emotion like us b Science Time Geometry the way that our modern clock works goes back to the discoveries made by Sumerian scientists Ex 6 and 10 based system roots of accounting engineering and much more given to us from the Sumerian findings c Literature Epic of Gilgamesh one of the most important pieces of literature to civilization as a whole story is about two warriors who go on a trip together to search for immortality and end up devastated teaches the devastating fact of life we grow old die and are eventually forgotten human realism is learned the fundamental human perspective is gained from reading this work of literature III Why Egypt A Orientation and Sources a Hieroglyphics writing in the form of symbols to communicate The Palermo Stone depicts the history of a dynasty of early Egyptian kings The Rosetta Stone same text in 3 different languages Hieroglyphics Demotic language Greek language b Papyrus abundance of papyrus by Nile River used to create paper scrolls used to write on B City Life a Irrigation important to Egyptian cities and the Nile gave life b Nomes administrative centers governed by Nomarchs managed equitable distribution of food in time of need c Agricultural Sustainability every year the Nile flooded Some years it was a large flood which is a good thing more water more growth and resources other years it was a small flood which would be a sign of a famine coming their way for the year Nomarchs would have to deal with these issues concerning the Nile and see to it that the correct decisions were made with equally distributing food and other resources d Lower Egypt consisted of 20 Nomes e Upper Egypt consisted of 22 Nomes C Religion Culture a The Great Household phrase used by the Egyptians to describe their society s religion of polytheists worshipped multiple gods entire civilization is part of the household b Pharaoh ruler of the Great Household Had to make sure the sun came up and the Nile River The pharaoh was ma at something like harmony and Embodiment of harmony and of all things Pyramids are sites of burial not sites of religion or flooded justice worship c Culture Science Math and Medicine Egyptians acquired an advanced intelligence The Book of the Dead handbook for the Egyptians concerning the after life what to expect for life after death ethical component point made in book says the afterlife is determined by earthly decisions and puts a great deal of pressure on one s private life August 26 2015 Age of Empires I Bronze Age A Babylon Hammurabi a The Code of Hammurabi Hammurabi is famous b c of how well documented he is Sculpture of Hammurabi standing and God is sitting handing him a scribe Symbolic of law and order Code writes that a person should be sold for negligence if anyone destroys irrigation process of crops or makes a mistake Hammurabi enforces law and order through his code b Hittites Have some of the oldest Indo European writings Discovered an abundant empire Small and short empire but broad on similarities to Hebrews and Israelites c Constant war from Egyptians II Landed Empires A The Assyrians 700 BCE reached their height at this time based in city of Nineveh a 5 reasons they prospered Iron weapons Horses and Calvary had several armies of these Cruelty and Terror Slaughter all adult males Slave women children deporting them afterwards to prevent rebellion within home city Propaganda was sent to places they conquered Made alliances with surrounding places unfortunately the alliances ended up overthrowing them B Neo Babylonians a Overthrew the Assyrians because of the cruelty demonstrated in their empire b Built their empire on what was already there therefore making their empire stronger c C The Persians a Built up a stable empire b Overthrew Babylonians and created largest empire that has a rivalry with the Romans c Reasons for success Massive army of over 300 000 soldiers at its peak Replaced dead soldiers with a whole new set the very next day Conquered regions and made peace with the locals as long as they would cooperate developed loyal officials Developed system of interstates Primary military benefits Developed currency weights and balances Promoted stability throughout regions Developed one of the earliest monotheistic religious systems Very stable dynasty of Persian kings legacy survives into even the modern era III Sea Empires A The Minoans a Takes place in Crete c 2000 1500 BCE b Massive palace complex discovered underground what types of people lived here Found storehouses like commodity storage tablets with inscriptions that are unknown found luxury items wall paintings like a gymnast leaping over the bull activities that showed culture of the time Royal palace complex of some sort was found No military armor found Demonstrates the Minoans were a peaceful society c Minoan civilization