Chapter 3: First Civilizations

Chapter 3: First Civilizations

Cities, States and Unequal Societies

35oo B.C.E. - 500 B.C.E

"Urge to escape from civilization has long been a central feature in modern life, ... 
The ancient Chinese teachers of Daoism, likewise,  urged their followers to abandon the structured and demanding world of urban and civilized life and emerege themselves in the eternal patterns of the natural order. Its a strange paradox that we count the creation of civilization among the major achievements of humankind and yet people within these civilizations have often sought to escape the constraints, artificiality, hierarchies and other discontents of city living," (55).

Something New : The Emergence of Civilizations

• Civilization was global phenomenon much like agriculture, showing up in six different locations around the world, slowly extending across the world

Introducing the First Civilizations

• First civilizations emerged from 35oo B.C.E - 3ooo B.C.E in three places 
• Mesopotamia (Present day Iraq)
• Egypt
• Norte Chico (costal Peru)
• Later, three additional civilizations appeared
• Indus Valley
• China
• Olmec

The Question of Origins 

• How did it start? 
• Originated with the Agricultural Revolution
• Roots in Chiefdoms where social ranking had already developed
• Though not all agricultural societies and Chiefdoms developed into civilizations which leaves other questions 
• Large scale irrigation projects might have been stimulus for early civilizations
• Warfare, trade and population density are other possible contributing factors
• Dense population increased need for competition
• Strong organized states won wars, and losers would be lower class
• First civilizations represented something much different than societies that came before

An Urban Revolution

• Agricultural resources made cities possible
• Teotihuacan housed 2oo,ooo people 
• Urban society was impersonal b/c it wss impossible to know everybody
• relationships based on class were as important (if not more important) than villiage loyalty
• heavy degree of inequality began to develop

The Erosion of Equality

• Wealth, status and power brought inequalities
• As technology grew so did inequalities
• The greater wealth that was accumulated didn't necessarily spread it -- rather it clumped together
• Upper Class enjoyed a wealthy lifestyle with little physical labour
• Commoners represented the majority 
• included artisans
• lower level officials
• soldiers
• police
• servants
• farmers
• Their surplus production was
• Bottom of social hierarchy EVERYWHERE was slaves
• In all of the first civilizations were slaves -- prisoners of war, criminals and debtors, available for sale

Hierarchies of Gender

• As first civilizations arouse, patriarchy emerged
• But why? 
• women more involved in secondary tasks
• women identified with home and nature -- women now associated with inferior dimension of human life (nature)? 
• warfare? military services restricted to men
• Female sexuality became limited
• Male had rights over women -- female slaves, concubines and wives were exchanged

Patriarchy in Practice

• "A wife caught sleeping with another man might be drowned at her husband's discretion, whereas he was permitted to enjoy sexual relations with his female servants."
• "Rape was a serious offense, but the injured party was primarily the husband of the victim rather than the violeted woman herself" 
• Easier for men to get divorces than females
• Female goddess' became less significant as male creation gods became more important
• Patriarchy not the same everywhere
• In Egypt, women had greater opportunities than women in most of the world
• Were legal equals to men, able to sign their own marriage contracts, get divorces, sell land, own property and even have political power

The Rise of the State

• State solved many widely shared problems among the population
• However -- it also served to protect the privileges of the upper classes and demand commoners to work on large public projects
• State had the ability to force obedience
• Symbols of kingship associated with divine power
• Egypt, China, Mesopotamia all had kings that held sort of divine religious powers -- "gods established monarchy"
• A further support of state authority was the invention of writing 
• Writing served as a method of organization, accounting and communication
• Gave rise to literature, philosophy, astronomy, math and history
• Writing became major arena for social and political conflict
• Kings, high officials and their families lived in luxury ; attended by endless servants
• Elaborate burials, monumental palaces and pyramids conveyed the powers of the elite 

Comparing mesopotamia and Egypt

• Both civilizations grew in river valleys, depended on the rivers to sustain their lands
• Egypt depended on Nile "that green gash of teeming life" which nurtured a rich agriculture
• The Tigris and Euphrates river supported Mesopotamian civilization but was "unpredictable" and often resulted in flooded crops
• Mesopotamia was more vunerable to  invasion
• Egypt was protected by the surrounding land and enjoyed a free security
• Culture was very reflective of their environment 
• Mesopotamian outlook on life viewed mankind as "caught in a disorderly world, subject to whims of capricious and quarreling gods, and facing death without much hope of a life beyond," 
• Egypt produced a more optimistic outlook rebirth of the sun daily, and river yearly assured Egyptians that life prevailed over death

Cities and States

• Mesopotamian civilization known as Sumer, organized in twelve + city-states, each ruled by a king
• Frequent warfare amongst these city-states
• Led to environmental devastation and vulnerability to outside forces
• Egyptian civilization began in 31oo B.C.E with the merge of several early states and chiefdoms into united territory 1,ooo miles along the nile
• For 3,ooo years they managed unity and independance
• Focus resided with Pharaoh 'god in human form"
• When changes of weather resulted in inconsistency with the Nile in 22oo the Pharaoh's lost credit and Egypt's strength slowly dissolved 
• Pharaohs never regained their power

Interaction and Exchange

• Interacted with one another 
• Step pyramids and writing system may have been inspired by Sumerian Models 
• Did long distance trade with one another
• Trading goods also caused cultural influences 
• Nubia borrowed many of Egyptian's religious and cultural practices
• In the Mediterranean egyptian influence is clear in the art, and greek culture drew heavily upon Egyptian influence as well
• Egypt and Mesopotamia were also influenced by neighbors -- the domesticated horse can from what is now Russia 
• Chariot technology was also borrowed