Slide 1Slide 2Slide 3Slide 4Slide 5Slide 6Slide 7Slide 8Slide 9Slide 10Slide 11Slide 12Slide 13Slide 14Slide 15Slide 16Slide 17Slide 18Slide 19Slide 20Slide 21Slide 22Slide 23Slide 24Slide 25Slide 26Slide 27Slide 28Slide 29Slide 30Slide 31Slide 32Slide 33Slide 34Slide 35Slide 36Slide 37Slide 38Slide 39Slide 40Slide 41Slide 42Slide 43Slide 44Slide 45Slide 46Slide 47Early CivilizationsA civilization is a state-level society with thefollowing characteristics:A stratified, hierarchical societyFood and labor surplus controlled by the eliteDense population centers (cities or urban centers)Control of a territoryA formal government and a military forceSpecialization of laborMonumental public architectureA system of record keepingHow can we tell in the archaeological record?A stratified, hierarchical societyMortuary treatmentPeople of same age/sex class not treated the same;Infants buried like adult of high achievementSettlement patternHierarchy of settlement types, with one or a fewshowing some power over othersA system of record keepingEarly writing was for keeping accounts!Food and labor surplus controlled by the eliteLarge granariesStores of goodsSystem of record-keeping to record taxesDense population centersHow can we tell in the archaeological record?Find a city: dense population, may have streets in a grid patternMonumental public architectureBuildings or spaces for the population at large:Pyramids, ziggurats, large granaries, plazasSpecialization of laborNeighborhoods or villages of specialists;Evidence that not everyone farmsHow can we tell in the archaeological record?Control of a territoryby settlement pattern and similarity of artifactsA military forcePlaces where housed/trainedEquipmentThere are a number of early civilizationsHere are the earliestin the Old WorldThe oldest was ancient Mesopotamia, occupied by Sumeriansby 5,500 yaPresent-dayIraq and SyriaHierarchicalsettlement pattern:cities, villages, andhamletsSocial stratificationSumerian civilizationCity of Uruk-Warka at 5,000 ya was the largestcity in the world: covered 1 square mileOver 20,000 people within its 6-mile-long encircling wallThis urban center was dominated by two large compounds:1) Public and economic compound, surrounded by a wall2) Religious temple complexLater, temples became ziggurats:temple on top of massive mud-brick platformThese are examples of monumental architecture(Rice & Moloney 2005:318)Estimate it took 7 million bricks to make ziggurat at UrEarliest writing called cuneiformUsed to keep recordsOn left, records transferof landFound on cylinder seals, tabletsExtensive trade networks, including withHarappan civilization in Indus Valley of Pakistan/IndiaEven set up trading colonies in foreign statesMany independent walled states in MesopotamiaAbout 4,350 ya, Sargon of Akkad conquered other city-states and unified southern MesopotamiaOne major change was legitimization of kingshipthrough military conquests:Earlier, king had power through divine authorityCraft specializationSome crafts produced in domestic householdsSome under strict control at palace & temple workshops wood and ivory workers goldsmiths and silversmiths stoneworkers carpenters leather workers rope makers workers in reed wool & flax textile makingDevelopment of potterywheel led to mass-producedpotteryEgypt by 5,500 ya(www.crystalinks.com)(Rice & Moloney 2005:314)Most people lived in rural communitiesBut also began building towns withadministrative buildings and palacesLinear, up and down riverTowns and villages along NileTemples often at edge of desert, connected to river by canals(Univ. of PA Museum)specialists in potteryPredynastic PotteryDistinctive black-topped red ware jarswere produced 5000-3000 B.C. This type of pot was formed by hand. Before the pot was fired, it was burnishedwith a smooth pebble until it was polished.After the pot was fired, the upper part of the vessel was immediately placed in organic material, which resulted in theblackened rims characteristic of this type of pottery. Early period called Pre-DynasticMany other specialties developedCraft traditions passed down through a familyMost specialists worked for royal or temple workshops,producing items for prestige and ritual useSome used teamwork and assembly-line productionLong-distance trade networksAlso sent out trading partiesPredynastic BurialPrior to the invention of artificial mummification, the ancient Egyptians buried their dead in shallow pits in the sand. These burials produced a process of mummification in which the bodies became desiccated naturally. The deceased individuals were usually buried in a contracted position that may have imitated sleep. Evidence for a belief in an afterlife is suggested by the burial of grave goods, such as pottery and stone vessels, slate palettes for grinding pigments, hairpins, and flint knives.earliest tombs called mastabasRectangular, madeof mud brick andstoneBurial chamberunderground(Univ. of PA Museum)Decorated ware(3550-3400 B.C.)Later on, built pyramidsFirst pyramid 2630 B.C. at SaqqaraStep pyramid -- like mastabas piledon top of each otherWas covered with white limestone(www.crystalinks.com)Pyramids are monumental architectureIndus or Harappan Civilizationby 4,600 yaUnlike othercivilizations,No record was passed downIt was a surprise to discover anancient civilization that no one knew aboutFound alongIndus Riverin Pakistan and IndiaHarappan Civilization by 4,600 yaControlled an area of nearly 500,000 sq miles, orover twice the size of either Egypt or MesopotamiaThe state was based on river-fed agricultureand pastoralismIt had large populationsLarge, well-planned cities and smaller townsMonumental architectureSpecialized artisansLong-distance tradeA written languageUrban cities with sewer systems, apartments,bath houses, temple, granary, wall, streets MohenjodaroGranary?or city hall?BathFortificationsOne of the five largestcities, 500 acres in sizeCities are usually nearly 200 miles apartEach surrounded byfarmlandBuilt on mud-brick platforms,surrounded by brick wallsMohenjodaroResidential quarter at Mohenjodarostreet planHouses had inside toiletsthat drained into a publicsewer systemMohenjodaroThese clay objects are commonlyfound in the sewer, and are thoughtto have been used in the toilet(Harappa.com)Here is a bathSewers down the middleof streets were coveredThe great bath atMohenjodaroThe tank was waterproofedwith asphaltAn example
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