Cities, Inequalities and New Social Realities WHAP/Napp
Read and Annotate:
“As the Bronze Age opened (around 3500 B.C.E.), people began living in towns, and a select few were able to specialize in nonagricultural professions…[Still] agriculture was by far the most important work of the bulk of the population, even in the societies that relied on cities. Linguistic evidence from Sumeria suggests that the oldest professional names were those of plowman, miller, and shepherd, terms associated with agriculture and herding. Only later did names such as baker, fuller, brewer, and leather worker evolve… [Yet] growing specialization among the population led to an increasingly hierarchical society. Those who did not have to labor in the fields felt themselves to be superior to the agriculturists. They constituted a small but significant group, rarely exceeding 5 percent of the population during this period. Those not working in agriculture tended to be more educated, and as writing evolved, more literate, though literacy rates remained extremely low. Even these more urbanized people remained tied in significant ways to the agricultural economy. As one Mesopotamian writer suggested, the fields were ‘the soul of the country.’
Merchants, bakers, weavers, and leather workers were obviously directly linked to production from the countryside. Priests were a small but very significant group. Religion evolved in large measure as a way of placating divine beings – rain gods, river gods, mountain gods, and the like – to provide adequate conditions for food production. Many societies in Mesopotamia were highly theocratic, with the priests ruling their people. The first towns in southern Mesopotamia had temples as their centerpiece. In Egypt, the pharaohs were also (at least in theory) gods, thus legitimating their power. Aristocracy and government officials (who were often one and the same) constituted another part of the elites. At first, the aristocracy filled both government and military duties. Their feelings of superiority over the rest of the population came from their leadership role and their ability to protect their settlements from outsiders.” ~ Experiencing World History
1- How does linguistic evidence support the claim that the majority of people were involved in agriculture? ______
2- Define specialization. What allows specialization to occur? ______
3- Define hierarchy. How did specialization give rise to hierarchy? ______
4- Why were the fields “the soul of the country”? ______
5- How did urbanized people differ from rural people? ______
6- Define theocracy. Why were priests significant? ______
7- Define aristocracy. Why did the aristocracy develop feelings of superiority? ______
With the rise of civilization came the rise of class hierarchies. Was the rise of civilization a blessing or a curse for humanity? Defend your point of view.
Notes:I. The First Civilizations
A. Developed around 3500 BCE - 3000 BCE
B. Cradle of Middle Eastern Civilizations – Mesopotamia
1. Competing Sumerian city-states
2. Surplus, Specialization, Cities, Writing
a. World’s earliest written language (Cuneiform)
b. Uruk, largest city, with population of around 50,000
c. Ziggurat, temple, in center of city
C. Nile River Valley in northeastern Africa
1. Unified stateàCities less prominent than in Sumer
2. Pharaoh – divine ruler
D. Nubia
1. Farther south along Nile
2. Cultural diffusion from ancient Egyptians but unique elements too
E. Along the central coast of Peru (3000-1800)
1. Little rainfall but dozens of rivers
2. Twenty-five urban centers known as Norte Chico
3. Economy based to an unusual degree on fishing
4. Did not rest on grain-based farming or pottery or writing
5. Existence of a 5,000-year-old quipu (knotted rope to keep records)
F. Indus and Saraswati River Valleys in present-day Pakistan
1. By 2000 BCE, embraced a larger area than Mesopotamia
2. Elaborately planned cities-->Standardized weights and bricks
3. Irrigated agriculture
4. Written language, thus far undeciphered
a. No kings or warrior classesàLittle indication of a political hierarchy
G. Early Civilization in China
1. Perhaps as early as 2200 BCE
2. Ideal of a centralized stated evident from Xia dynasty (2200-1766)
3. By Zhou Dynasty, belief that emperor was the Son of Heaven and ruled by Mandate of Heaven
H. Teotihuacan – located in central valley of Mexico
1. Perhaps 200,000 people/Dozens of temples/Pyramids
II. Characteristics of Early Civilizations
A. Class and occupation at least as important as kinship
B. Specializationàsurplus freed some people for different tasks
C. Upper classes/great wealth in land/salaries, avoid physical labor
D. Development of Law Codes
1. Code of Hammurabiàearly written law codeà harsh punishments but based on social class of violator à class divisionsà developed in Mesopotamia under Babylonian king
E. Free Commoners
1. Vast majority of population
2. Agricultural surplus appropriated through taxes, rent, required labor, and tribute payments to support upper classes
F. Slavery
1. Slaves at the bottom of the social hierarchy
2. Slavery was practiced in early civilizations but varied depending on region and culture
G. Rise of Patriarchy/New Inequalities for Women
Strayer Question:
· When and where did the First Civilizations emerge?
· What accounts for the initial breakthroughs to civilization?
· What was the role of cities in the early civilizations?
· In what ways was social inequality expressed in early civilizations?
· In what ways have historians tried to explain the origins of patriarchy?
· What were the sources of state authority in the First Civilizations?
1. One of the main innovative ideas in Hammurabi's law code was that(A) the ruler's will is to be followed at all costs
(B) the upper classes are to have the most rights
(C) the lower classes were to have special privileges
(D) a consistent set of regulations should govern society
(E) anyone who spoke against the king would be executed
2. In 3100 B.C.E., the history of Egypt is said to have begun when
(A) Cleopatra met Mark Antony
(B) King Menes united Upper and Lower Egypt
(C) the Old Kingdom began
(D) the Egyptians rebelled against the Hyksos
(E) pyramids began to be constructed
3. What do many researchers now think brought about the fall of the Indus River society?
(A) fighting between the Hindus and Sikhs
(B) outside invasions from Mesopotamia
(C) environmental factors
(D) population growth
(E) all of the above / 4. Surplus production
(A) is caused by poor cultivation methods
(B) prevents specialization of labor
(C) gives rise to the specialization of labor and stratification of society
(D) can never occur in modern societies
(E) none of the above
5. How did pastoralism affect early social development?
(A) Herding societies tended to settle on particular lands, and thus civilization emerged relatively quickly.
(B) Pastoralism led to the adoption of a monotheistic approach to religion.
(C) No pastoral societies mixed animal husbandry with the domestication of plants.
(D) Herding societies tended to migrate frequently, and thus civilization took longer to emerge.
(E) Pastoral societies tended to be led by women.
6. Which of the following is the least advanced agricultural technique?
(A) slash-and-burn
(B) shifting
(C) irrigation
(D) fertilizing
(E) mixing crop types