Chaoter 2 First Civilizations

First Civilizations-

Something New: The Emergence of Civilization:

Civilization was global phenomenon much like agriculture, showing up in 7 different location around the world, which slowly extended across the world. In human history the civilizations gradually absorbed or displaced others that practiced other living environments. 5,000 years later the human community grew larger of people and larger territories.

Introducing the First Civilization:

The first civilizations emerged from 3500 B.C.E.-3000 B.C.E. in present day Iraq (Mesopotamia), Egypt, and Norte Chico (N. Central Peru). Later on 3 other civilizations appeared: Indus Valley, China, and Olmec.

• The Sumerian civilization gave rise to the world’s earliest written language which officials used to record the goods received by many temples. The Egyptian civilization is famous for the pharaohs and pyramids. Egyptian civilization took shape as unified territorial state where cities were less prominent.

• Norte Chico is the coast of Peru that developed urban culture as early as 2500 B.C.E. The cities were smaller than this of Mesopotamia and showed less evidence of specialization. Norte Chico is characterized by massive stepped pyramids and extensive use of cotton. There’s less evidence of economic specialization based on fishing. Because of that it shows why they were less advanced than Mesopotamia and Egypt.

• The Indus Valley civilization generated no places, temples, elaborate graves, kings, or warrior classes. They did however, had a lot of land, no political hierarchy, was abandoned because of mass deforestation, low crop yields, famine, and environmental deterioration. This is important because it depicts how we developed in our economy and cities.

• The China Civilization dates to 2200 B.C.E. This was also part of the Xia dynasty dating from 2070 -1600 B.C.E. The Xia Dynasty is known for one legendary monarch known as Wu. He was known for “Master the waters and made the mflow through in great channels.” Other dynasty’s such as the shang and the Zhou substantially enlarge the chinese state. For each monarch people erected lavished tombs for their leaders with thousands of human sacrifices. During the Zhou dynasty political ideology emerged creating the “son of heaven.” This made the monarch look like he was chosen by the heavens to govern China. As long as the Son of Heaven remained in power there is to be social harmony among the people.

• Olmec is a civilization that took shape in the South of Mexico in 1200 B.C.E. The Olmec cities rose from competing chiefdoms and became ceremonial centers filled with decorated temples, altars, pyramids, and tombs of rulers.  It is said to be known as the mother of civilization of mesoamerica. The cultural patterns they have then spread to Maya and Teotihuacan.

The Question of Origins

It is clear that agriculture was essential to the rise of the civilizations, it is also the case that not all agricultural societies developed into civilizations. Demographic changes are better understood increased population growth led to increased population. Not all agricultural societies and Chiefdoms developed into civilizations which leaves other questions. Large scale irrigation projects might have been stimulants for early civilizations. Warfare, trade, and population density are other possible contributing factors. There was dense population that had increased for competition. First civilizations represented something much different than societies that came before.

An Urban Revolution

Resources that came from agriculture that made one of the distinctive features of the First Civilization. Uruk had the population of 50,000 in the third millenium B.C.E.  Teotihuacan housed 200,000 people. The urban society was impersonal because it wasn’t possible to know anyone. The social class was just as important when it came to relationships; it was more important than village loyalty. So then, heavy degree of inequality began to develop.

The Erosion of Equality

The wealth status and power brought inequalities. As technology grew so did the inequalities. The greater wealth that was assembled didn’t spread it instead it clumped together. Commoners was represented more as lower level officials, soldiers, police, servants, farmers, as well as artisans. The upper class rather, enjoyed a wealthy lifestyle with very little physical labour. The ones at the bottom of the social hierarchy was mainly slaves, which was all the first civilizations.

Hierarchies of Gender

The women was more involved in secondary tasks and was identified as home makers and nature meaning that they were more associated with inferior dimension of human life. The female sexuality became limited to the men. Men also had the rights over the women. The females were either slaves, concubines, or exchanged.

Patriarchy in Practice

In this section it talks about some consequences that women have to go through if they were to to do anything that betray or upsets their husband. “A wife caught sleeping with another man might be drowned at her husband’s discretion, where as he was permitted to enjoy to sexual relations with his female servants.” It was easier for men to get divorced than the women because of the male superiority. Being a female goddess may sound nice but in reality they were still less significant; wherefore the male creation gods was more important. However, patriarchy was not the same in Egypt or anywhere else. In egypt women had better opportunities than most. They were also equal to men, they could sign there own marriage contracts, get divorces, sell land, own property and have some political power.  

The Rise of the State

The state solved many problems among the population, but it also served to protect the privileges of the upper class and the commoners were demanded to work on big projects. The state has the power to force obedience. Symbols of kingship associated with “divine power” and the kings of Egypt, China, and Mesopotamia held that power. Further support of state authority was the invention of writing.Writing was major arena for social and political conflict. Being able to write was served to be a method of organization , accounting, and communication. It also shined on to literature, philosophy, astronomy, math and history. The upper class lived in luxury and was served by endless servants. The monuments palaces, burials, and pyramids conveyed the powers of the elite.

Comparing Mesopotamia and Egypt

There are some similarities between Mesopotamia and Egypt. Both of these civilizations grew in river valleys, and they tended to depend on the rivers to sustain their lands. Culture was very reflective of their environment. The difference between them would be that mesopotamia was more vulnerable to invasion while Egypt was protected by the surrounding land and enjoyed a free security.

While reading this chapter I learned more about the civilizations and the roles of the men and women. I felt like that the patriarchy was a little less focused in the chapter and instead the chapter was very detailed on the civilizations and how they were set up. Overall, knowing the civilizations and where they are located now was exciting.