Chapter 2 Complex Societies: Movements, Settlements, and ... · Complex Societies: Movements, Settlements, and Innovation ... in the Nile River valley. • King Narmer ... Bantu Migrations

Chapter 2 Complex Societies: Movements, Settlements, and Innovation (3500 to 1000 BCE)

The Rise of Civilizations 10000 BCE – 1000 BCE

• Complex societies arose when nomadic hunter-gatherers became sedentary and started cultivating crops.

• The development of trade networks stimulated the growth of multiple complex societies.

• Fertile soil allowed farmers in the valleys between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers to produce crop surpluses.

Babylonians and Assyrians

• The city-state of Babylon dominated much of Mesopotamia in the second millennium BCE.

• The Babylonian king Hammurabi implemented a code of law (with 282 statutes) throughout his empire.

• Another Mesopotamian power, the Assyrian Empire, based its success on the innovations of iron weapons and the siege tower, until its collapse in the 7th century BCE.

Erich Lessing / Art Resource, NY

Old Kingdom of Egypt 2660 BCE – 2160 BCE

• The ancient Egyptians established their civilizations in the Nile River valley.

• King Narmer (see image) united the Nile valley kingdoms in 2660 to become the first pharaoh of Egypt.

• The pharaohs ruled from a palace complex in Memphis, where they developed a centralized state and a well-organized bureaucracy.

• The pharaohs were recognized as living gods.

Mary Evans Picture Library/Everett Collection

Egyptian Pyramids & Hieroglyphics

• Pharaohs were buried in grand, pyramid-shaped tombs.

• Thousands of Egyptians labored for years to build the pyramids, stimulating the economy and winning favor with the pharaohs.

• Egyptian writing, called hieroglyphics (see image), was a system of more than 700 pictographs and sound symbols.

• Hieroglyphics recorded sacred texts and organized the central government.

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Middle and New Kingdoms of Egypt 2040 BCE – 1640 BCE and 1550 BCE – 1070 BCE

• Middle Kingdom pharaohs restored stability to Egypt after the Old Kingdom declined into chaos.

• The Middle Kingdom saw the rise of an independent merchant class and more contact with the outside world.

• This ultimately allowed Egypt to be conquered by the Hyksos, but Egyptian nobility revolted against the invaders and initiated the New Kingdom.

• Continuing the expansionist policies of their predecessors, New Kingdom pharaohs (such as Queen Hatshepsut, see image) turned Egypt into a regional power. The Stapleton Collection/Art Resource, NY

Kingdom of Kush

• The Kingdom of Kush arose along the Nile River immediately south of Egypt as early as the fourth millennium BCE.

• Egyptian records refer to the region as Nubia and for many centuries it existed as a colony of Egypt, which prized its gold mines.

• Kushite culture borrowed heavily from Egypt but the Kushites also developed their own innovations, including ironwork, distinctive decorative motifs, and an alphabetic writing system.

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Bantu Migrations 4000 BCE – 500 BCE

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• The Bantu, a language and culture group originating in West Africa, settled in riverine communities where they produced yams, palm oil, millet, and sorghum.

• By the fourth millennium BCE, Bantu-speaking people began sporadic, uncoordinated migrations to the south and east.

• By about 1000 BCE they had settled in nearly every part of Africa south of the Sahara.

Hebrews 1300 BCE – 586 BCE

• The Hebrews were a nomadic culture that lived in modern-day Jordan, Israel, and the Sinai Peninsula.

• The civilization of the Israelites (Hebrews who settled in Palestine) reached its zenith during the reigns of King David and King Solomon between 1000 BCE and 930 BCE.

• Jews (Israelites who settled around the Palestinian city of Judah) created Judaism, a monotheistic religion that also served as the foundation for Christianity and Islam. iStockphoto/Thinkstock

Harappan Civilization 2600 BCE – 1500 BCE

• The Harappan civilization emerged around 2500 BCE in the Indus valley, which straddles modern-day India and Pakistan.

• Harappan ruins indicate a sophisticated understanding of urban planning.

• The Harappan civilization, likely weakened due to environmental decline, probably fell to Indo-European speaking Aryan invaders in the middle of the second millennium BCE.

Aryan Invasions 1700 BCE – 1200 BCE

• The Aryans came from between the area north of the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea.

• They brought the hymns and rituals of their religion, known as the Vedas.

• The arrival of the Aryans resulted in the caste system, a partitioning of society based on ethnicity and occupation, which permanently transformed India.

Shang and Zhou Dynasties of China 1766 BCE – 256 BCE

• The Shang Dynasty (1766-1122 BCE) developed over centuries from the agricultural communities on the Yellow and Yangtze rivers.

• It amassed the largest armies ever recorded in Asia up to that time.

• The Shang granted authorities in conquered lands great autonomy in handling local affairs.

• The Zhou overthrew the Shang and established their own dynasty in 1122 BCE, one which also grew to unprecedented size.

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Development of a Written Chinese Language

• The Chinese writing system was developed and thoroughly organized during the Zhou Dynasty.

• It ultimately consisted of 2,000 characters, which Zhou emperors standardized throughout the country.

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Confucianism

• Confucianism, founded by Confucius (551-479 BCE), was a philosophical school that promoted justification and fairness in society.

• Confucianism taught that humans must live in harmony with one another and recognize social relationships between inferiors and superiors.

• Examples of this harmony began with the family and extended to the entire country.

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