Cities and Civilization

Earliest urban “hearths”TurkeyMesopotamiaEgyptIndus Valley

Yellow River valley, ChinaMesoamericaAndean AmericaE. and S. Africa

3500-1500 BC

2000-1000 BC

0-1500 AD

1000-1500 AD

1000-1500 AD

Diffusion of urbanismBy urbanism we mean a way of life, a set of institutions, a kind of social organizationInvented various times and placesDiffused from each of these places to other places

Urbillum, Irbil, Erbil, Arbela, Arabilu

Under control of Sumerians, Persians, Macedonians, Ottoman Empire, Kurds & IraqSite continuously occupied for 8,000 years (underground water source)Has been a city for 4,300 years!Enormous “tell” has not yet been excavated

Civi…

Civic, civilization, civilize, city, civility

These English words reflect the long association between ideas of urban life and a refinement of thought and behavior

All derive from Latin

Rulers of the Roman Empire saw city building as the way to spread civilization

Civil-izing viewed in retrospect

Urban life does not necessarily uplift the human spiritThe city becomes a second wilderness with its own predators & preyCulture distracts and titillates us as often as it uplifts us As we adapt to “second nature” we forget about our dependence on “first nature”

What does this sculpture “tell” us?

Found in excavation of Teotihuacan

Says two things about the division of labor

Says something about cultural development

Labor specialization leads to the development of skills as varied as stone-carving and acrobatic performance

Purpose of the city?

The city was invented not once but many times, and served various needs

Defense against outsidersAn immediate concern of agriculturalists surrounded by pastoralists and other less sedentary peoples

Ceremonial CenterMonumental architectureResidences of priests and scribesPlace for conducting periodic ceremonies and rituals

Management of resourcesCreation of irrigation systems, granaries, etc.Collection of taxes/tribute for distribution to members of the court (sometimes after sacrifice to the gods)Distribution of stored food to subjects in times of famine

Original Social Hierarchy in City

TINY MINORITYGod-KingPriests (doubled as administrators)Technicians (e.g. surveyors, engineers)Artisans & performersMerchants

MAJORITYSubjects (mostly peasant farmers)Conquered peoplesSlaves

Characteristics of Early Cities

Early cities emerge at different times in different places (meaning of “early” varies)

Populations ranging from a few thousand to more than 100,000, but generally in the 7,000-20,000 range

Generally have Citadel with monumental architecture (temples, palaces)

Often surrounded by a city wall

Often have some form of record-keeping

Ziggurats (Mesopotamian temples)

A place for the performance of religious ceremonies by the Mesopotamian priests, including sacrifice of animals, fruit, and even beer!

The Forbidden City, Beijinght

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Mayan Temples

http://www.maya-art-books.org/html/New_photos.html

http://www.locogringo.com/past_spotlights/apr2002.html

Place where priests carried out ritual human sacrifices of virgins, children or prisoners before throwing down the bodies

The “Citadel”

Found in many early citiesTakes various formsA compound of grandiose structures, often walled off from rest of cityFunctioned as:

place of ceremonyhome for semi-divine leaders and their “court”storage place for food reserves

“Mohenjo-Daro” (mound of the dead)

Harappan culture (Indus valley, in what is now Pakistan)

Peak around 2000 BC

About 35,000 residents

Assembly halls, giant granary, towers, and cistern (bath?) in the citadel

PlannedAxial layout

Covered sewers

Cosmo-Magical Order

Regular “grid-iron” layout was not originally designed for practical purposes

Cities like Teotihuacan, Roman colonies, and China’s Forbidden City were aligned with the cardinal directions (axially) in an attempt to make them eternal and powerful

The city, especially the citadel, was believed to be the center of the universe and axiality demonstrated that idea visually

“Teotihuacan” (Mexico)

Emerged as urban center around 0 AD

Lasted for more than 600 years

Influenced most of Mesoamerica

60-80,000 inhabitants

Apartment buildings, wide avenues, huge pyramids

The Forbidden City, Beijing (1420 AD)

An administrative and ceremonial center off limits to ordinary Chinese

http://www.chinavista.com/beijing/gugong/!start.html

“Pueblo Bonito”Chaco Canyon, NMBuilt in stages beginning around 919 AD by the “Anasazi” people

5 stories in height along back wall, up to 600 rooms in use1000-2000 occupants?

Access to rooms through central courtyard, which contained two great religious gathering places called kivas and was lined by over 35 smaller kivas