Ancient Civilizations I.Intro II.Mesopotamia (3000-1000 BC) A.In General B.Society/Religion C.Government III.Egypt (3100 BC-500 BC) A.Nile B.Unification.

Ancient CivilizationsI. Intro

II. Mesopotamia (3000-1000 BC)

A. In General

B. Society/Religion

C. Government

III. Egypt (3100 BC-500 BC)

A. Nile

B. Unification & Prosperity

IV. Conc.

Key Terms• Cuneiform• Code of

Hammurabi• Papyrus• Nile River• Menes• Great Pyramid

AnnouncementsRequirement/Extra Credit Opportunities

•“Chris Carter’s Student Body Language,” Friday 9/14 7:30 PM at WSCC theater•Peter Yarrow: Saturday 9/29, 7:30 at Ramsdell Theater in Manistee•For free tickets call WSCC box office: 843-5507•To do: Attend the event & write a summary (one page, single-spaced, typed, 250 words); due: one week after the event•More than one: five points can be added to your discussion grade

Two Important Civilizations

Mesopotamia & Egypt

Why here?

Access to water!

Mesopotamia

1. Mesopotamia = a Greek word meaning “between the rivers.”

2. Rivers: Tigris & Euphrates

– The Rivers flooded periodically & flood control was important.

Their Influence On Us Today

• Number system with a base of 60 (combinations of 6 & 10)

• 60 seconds in one minute

• 60 minutes in one hour

• 360 degrees in a circle

• 360 days in year (extra month added every six years)

• 24 hours in one day

Mathematics:

Their Influence On Us Today

Writing:

Sumerians invented “Cuneiform” which was the first efficient system of writing.

•It was partly pictographic and partly an alphabet.

Sumerian Cuneiform Tablet (ca. 2121 BC)

Society & Religion

• Religion dominated daily life & people constantly tried to placate the gods.

• This was reflected in their architecture.

Ziggurat(At the top was a temple for a god)

Religion

1. They were polytheists.

2. A major role/function was to explain “natural events.”

– “Gloomy” & vague afterlife; no reward for virtuous living.

3. Enlil-An important god who influenced success or failure of crops by controlling weather.

Enlil

Mesopotamian Society

• Slavery was practiced; one could be enslaved due to debt or prisoner of war.

• About 80-90% of the population farmed.

• Marriages were typically arranged by parents.

Government in Mesopotamia1. There were 10-12 separate city-states in

3000 BC; each was led by a “king.”

2. Leadership was very unstable; rulers rose & fell based upon their popularity (usually based on success of crops).

3. Kings acted as representatives of the gods; no separation of church & state.

Hammurabi (Babylonian King)(1792-1750 BC)

Hammurabi was able to unify all of Mesopotamia under his rule

Hammurabi and the law code

Code of Hammurabi(ca.1750 BC)

• If a man commits robbery and is captured, he shall be put to death.

• If the robber is not captured, the man who has been robbed shall, in the presence of the god, make a list of what he has lost, and the city and the governor of the province where the robbery was committed shall compensate him for his loss.– Insight: Protection of Private Property

Code of Hammurabi(ca.1750 BC)

• If a man accuses another man of murder but cannot prove it, the accuser shall be put to death.

• If a man bears false witness in a case, or cannot prove his testimony, if that case involves life or death, he shall be put to death.– Insight: Honesty

Code of Hammurabi(ca.1750 BC)

• If a son strikes his father, they shall cut off his hand.

• A widower cannot seize his dead wife’s dowry, but must save it for her sons.– Insight: Family Values

• If a noble has broken another noble’s bone, they shall break his bone. If he has destroyed the eye of a commoner or has broken the bone of a commoner, he shall pay one mina of silver.– Insight: Rich & poor are treated differently

Code of Hammurabi(ca.1750 BC)

• A wife can divorce her husband for adultery, but only if she has been chaste; if not she is to be thrown into the river along with her lover.

• When she deserves it, a man may pull out the hair of his wife, mutilate or twist her ears, with no liability attaching to him.– Insight: Women are NOT equal to men

The Code’s Significance?

1. No equality under the law (for women and/or commoners)

2. Laws provide a code of ethical behavior; no reward for ethical behavior

Role/Function Of Laws/Religion

Region Religion Laws Misc.Mesopotamia Religion explained natural events;

Laws were written & provided ethics; but Church/State were one

Polytheistic; uncertainty & instability

Egypt’s Influence On Us Today

1. A new, less clumsy writing tablet: Papyrus

2. Toothpaste!

a) Ingredients: lead, powdered flint, incense, and honey (ca. 1500 BC)

Rosetta Stone

• Discovered in 1799; deciphered 1822

• Included writing in hieroglyphics, demotic script, and Greek

The Gift Of The Nile

Most of Egypt is a desert, but the Nile...

1. flooded every year which added nutrients to soil.

2. made the land “livable;” 5-15 miles on either side of the River.

3. created a dependable and efficient transportation system.

In contrast to Mesopotamia’s instability, the Nile provided stability and prosperity to Egypt.

Egypt was believed to be first unified between 3100-2850 BC by… Menes

Unification Brings Prosperity

He was also known as Narmer

Statistics & the Great Pyramid

• Built about 2600 BC

• 480 feet high and 750 feet long

• Built with 2.3 million limestone blocks

• Each block weighed about 2.5 tons

• Each block was hand-chiseled to fit in place perfectly

• Built with a labor force of about 100,000 men working for 20 years

Ancient CivilizationsI. Intro

II. Mesopotamia (3000-1000 BC)

A. Society/Religion

B. Government

III. Egypt (3100 BC-500 BC)

A. Nile

B. Unification & Prosperity

IV. Conc.

Key Terms• Cuneiform• Code of

Hammurabi• Papyrus• Nile River• Menes• Great Pyramid