CIVILIZATION
Understand the shift from independent Agricultural Villages to complex cities and civilizations
Recognize and understand the 5 characteristics of a civilization
Objectives
Plentiful food supply Advanced farming tools Irrigation systems Craft specialization Widespread trade The Wheel and the Sail
How did this transition take place?
A complex culture with: advanced cities; specialized workers; complex institutions; record keeping; improved technology
Civilization
Cities are centers of trade for a large geographic area Raw materials came from the hinterlands and
were traded for finished goods in markets
Advanced Cities
Specialization- the development of skills in a specific kind of work Blacksmiths, potters, making clothing, etc.
Artisans- skilled workers who make goods by hand
Specialized Workers (Craft Specialization)
Institution- long-lasting pattern of organization in a community
Systems of ruling Government, laws
Religion More formal institution with defined
roles and positions of power Economy
Trade and barter systems Establishing value of goods and
services
Complex Institutions
Need to record increasingly complex institutions and food supply Gov. officials needed to keep track of taxes, amount of food surplus and laws
Priests needed to keep track of calendars and rituals
Record Keeping
Early systems Pictographs
pictures that represented words
Knots Colored strings Notches on wooden
sticks Etc.
Record Keeping Methods
Writing- characters that represent sounds
A=ehB=bee
Sumerians- 3,000 BCE Scribes invented Cuneiform
(“wedge-shaped”) Sharp reeds were pressed into
wet clay which was then allowed to bake in the sun
Eventually used to record cultural events as well as records.
First Writing Established
Domesticated animals for work Ox-drawn plows Irrigation systems
No longer had to rely on natural sources of water
3,500 BCE potters wheel 3,000 BCE combining copper and tin
to make BRONZE Bronze Age- tools and weapons
made of bronze
Improved Technology