Warm Up

• What does “fertile” mean? What does it mean to have “fertile soil/land”?

Core Civilizations

Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia3500 B.C. to 1700 B.C.

Location: Between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in present day Iraq.

Agriculture: Used irrigation to grow crops. This led to other professions such as potters, weavers, metal workers, warriors, and priests.

Mesopotamia

Government: At first each city or city state had its own ruler. Later several city states were united under one ruler. Rulers were often priests. This type of government is called a theocracy.

Religion: They were polytheistic (many gods) and worshipped as many as 2,000 different gods.

Ziggurat

What might be some of the benefits and drawbacks to have a theocratic form of government?

Mesopotamia• Contributions:

– Architecture: stone and mud buildings such as the ziggurat and Hanging Gardens.

– Invented the wheel– Invented the sailboat– Irrigation– Made tools and weapons out of

copper and bronze– Invented a calendar– Created a number system based on

60– Invented cuneiform writing– Developed a legal system called the

Code of Hammurabi

Which Mesopotamian contribution is the most important? Be prepared to defend you answer.

Code of Hammurabi

• Covers most things in daily life – criminal & civil

• Goal is to ensure justice and protect the weak.

• Treated nobles and commoners different.

• Retaliatory - an “eye for and eye” legal system.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDALXORbtR4

Why is it important for a society to have established and defined laws and rules?

Egypt3200 B.C. to 500 B.C.

• Location: Northeast Africa along the Nile River.

• Agriculture: Each year the Nile River floods making the surrounding land fertile. Egyptian farmers were able to grow an abundant amount of food to support the craftsmen, warriors, priests and nobles of the land.

How is the location of Egypt similar to and different from that of Mesopotamia?

Egypt

Egypt

• Government: The Egyptian Pharaoh was an absolute monarch. He owned all the land, commanded the army, made laws, controlled irrigation and grain supplies, and defended Egypt from foreign invaders.

• He was considered one of the gods.

What are the benefits and drawbacks to this type of government?

Egypt

• Religion: The Egyptian religion was polytheistic and the Pharaoh was considered a god. They built pyramids to preserve their rulers body in the afterlife. They surrounded him with gold, jewels, and other items he might need in the afterlife.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UvWJbh6Dxo

EgyptContributions:

– Medicine: developed knowledge of the human body through embalming and surgery.

– Hieroglyphics: developed one of the earliest forms of writing using pictures and symbols.

– Architecture: built magnificent pyramids, temples, and palaces of stone.

– Art: decorated buildings with paintings and sculptures.

– Geometry: developed geometry to build projects such as the pyramids.

– Astronomy: by observing the stars, they developed a calendar based on 365 days.

Activity

• Worksheet: Complete in class.

Warm Up

• Who were the pyramids built for?

Indus Valley2500 B.C. – 1500 B.C.

Indus River Valley

• Location: Along the Indus River in present-day Pakistan.

• Agriculture: Farmers grew barley, wheat, dates, & melons. A surplus of food allowed them to flourish.

• Building: Well-planned cities suggest they had a well-organized government. Cities included dockyards, granaries, warehouses, & brick protective walls.

They were one of the 1st societies to have ‘urban planning’ with houses connected to a public sewage system & a water supply. They also grew cotton to make clothing & had standardized weights & measures.

Indus Valley

• Trade: Trade was important to the economy. Small clay seals used for trading have been discovered. There was also evidence of the use of metals.

• They were polytheistic & developed their own form of writing, but its never been decoded.

• Collapse: There is no evidence as to what ended this civilization. Experts suggest an earthquake, a flood, a volcanic eruption or invasion were the factors.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7ndRwqJYDM

Shang China

Shang China 1650 B.C. to 1027 B.C.

• Location: Along the Huang He (Yellow River)

• Agriculture: The Yellow River flooded yearly and made the area very fertile. Millet (grain) and soybeans were the main crops. Chicken and pigs were also raised.

• Government: Monarchy; ruling families are called dynasties. In each dynasty the monarch had near absolute power.

Shang China• Contributions:

– Bronze weapons, tools, and crafts

– Silk textiles– System of writing with

pictographs

Activity

• You will do a gallery walk where you will observe various images of ancient Chinese art.

• Will rotate slides every 5 minutes.• Write down notes/answers on your worksheet

.• Prepare to answer the final question: How do

the arts of the Shang Dynasty prove that Ancient China was a civilization?

Practice

Station 1

Station 2

Station 3

Station 4

Station 5

Station 6

Station 7

Station 8

Warm Up

• How does art demonstrate the presence of a “civilized” society?

• Turn to your partner and discuss for 2 minutes.

Olmec1400 B.C. – 500 B.C.

Olmec• Location: tropical forest region along the

Mexican Gulf Coast.

• Cities: La Venta Tres Zapotes San Lorenzo

Olmec

• Agriculture: farmers cultivated most of the foodstuffs needed by their villages. Maize, beans, squash, and cacao, are just a few of the crops they produced.

Olmec

• Government: very little known; many temples and rich, ornate tomb structures.– Priest (shamans) and noble ruling classes.

Olmec• Religion: shamans(priests); practiced human

sacrifice.

OlmecContributions: •“mother culture” of Mesoamerica•vast trade network •carved massive, stone heads up to 20 tons•used stone inscriptions as a writing system•developed a calendar system.•http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOBrDSnUiUk&list=PLurX7ms4Y4IcP11W-vc1czqagBr3KfDqS

Chavín850 B.C. – 200 B.C.

Chavín

• Location: modern-day Peru; Andes Mountain Range

• Religion: built temples; styles of art reflected strong religious traditions

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HzBYAIfuGI

Chavín

• Agriculture: mostly root crops (i.e. corn, maize, squash); domesticated llamas and alpacas.

• Government: unknown; artifacts suggest a theocratic system.

• Cities: Chavín de Huantar

Activity

• Complete WS with a table partner.• Use your notes.• Prepare be called on to answer the very last

question: Based on what you have learned, how do you think these core civilizations might lead to the development of later (and greater) civilizations?