T he Bi r th of

Civ il iza tio n

3000-1700 BC
 The Birth of Civilization
• Agricultural Revolution: Increased
Carrying Capacity of Land, more people
could live together.
• Rivers provided fresh water that could
irrigate fields and allow crops to grow.
• Irrigation & flood control led to growth of
villages, towns, (need for leaders,
organizers)
• Food Surpluses encouraged Economic
specialization (different jobs such as
artisans and farmers)
 Creating Government
• Government Power: People trade some of their
power as individuals for group protection.
• Leaders: Authority given to a strong leader can
help in war or in large building projects.
• Benefits of Leadership: Victory in war gave
people new land to farm as well as ability to use
former no mans land. Large irrigation projects
helped grow more food.
• Chiefdoms Developed: Power once given is
hard to take back leadership became hereditary.
Chief collects tribute and can force people to
work on large projects like dams, irrigation
canals etc.
Powhatan: the father of Pocahontas, ruled over a Chiefdom of about 30 tribes.
 Chiefdoms
• Chiefdoms found in Middle East by 5000
BC.
• Larger than tribes: often contain 50,000 or
more people.
• Built large public works: temples, burial
monuments, irrigation systems.
• Chiefs compete with other chiefs. By killing
enemy chief victor takes loosing chiefs
subjects and land.
• Chief and his top warriors get best food
and resources.
• Hard for chief to live to old age. Many
Chiefdoms could build large Armies

The Zulu built a powerful African Chiefdom in the 19th century AD.
 Chiefdom Warfare
• War became less a controller of population.
• “common” people became pawns of elites.
Peasants more valuable alive and producing for
new rulers. Less killing of non warriors.
• Big battles settle issue instead of constant raids.
Many men but few women killed. Losers added
to controlled population instead of being killed.
• War deaths in chiefdom societies around half the
war deaths among foragers or tribal farmers.
• Many people still live in chiefdoms and tribes
today. Modern “chiefs” in places like Somalia or
Afghanistan are called local warlords by news
media.
 States
• Large Chiefdoms developed into states.
• Can be many times larger than
Chiefdoms.
• States are complex societies with many
institutions: classes, kings, courts, clubs,
political parties, nobles and peasants.
• Individuals more specialized, live less
complex lives than people in tribes.
• Elites and non elites are usually
hereditary.
Problems of States
• States have the same population and food
issues as tribal farmers and forager bands with
added problem of a central authority trying to
impose its will on the situation.
Solutions
• States can move food from one area to another
to feed people where there is a shortage.
• In very bad times elites can let part of population
starve and prevent them from trying to fight for
survival. (Starve the peasants.)
• Infanticide: killing babies, practiced at times in
most states including Greece, Rome, China,
Japan and India.
 Organization of an early state:
• The King: he had military powers.
• The Governors: they governed the territories of the
kingdom. They were generals and judges at the same time.
• The Aristocracy: they were nobles, priests and traders.
• The Peasants and Slaves: the people who work the land.

The King
The Governors

The Aristocracy

The Peasants
 8 Pillars of Civilization
• Cities: almost what makes a society a civilization.
• Complex Government : Developed States, chiefs
became kings built palaces. Created Bureaucracy.
• Writing (keep track of trade items and taxes!)
• Social Classes or Stratification: dividing society into
different classes (at top nobles; at bottom slaves)
• Public Works: Bigger projects: Irrigation Canals,
Great Wall of China.
• Complex Religion: Often mixed with government.
Priest Kings and God Kings.
• Specialization and Technological Innovations
(metal working, wheel, shipbuilding), Increased long-
distance trade.
• Architecture: Large Temples, Palaces, Pyramids of
Egypt.
 Cities
• A place where many people live close together.
Often at a center of trade. Early cities usually
surrounded by a wall for protection.
• Through most of history a city was a place
where population was lost. In cities more people
died than were born. Urban residents had few
children and lack of sanitation and crowding
spread disease.
• A State is a city or cities surrounded by farmers.
The farms provided the food and people needed
to maintain the city.
• Many early civilizations centered around single
independent cities known as City-States.
Sumer, 3200-2350
B. C.
 First Civilization: Sumer
• Occurred in Mesopotamia between Tigris and
Euphrates in Iraq
• Surplus of food enabled people to specialize in other
trades.
• Leadership needed to direct work in irrigation canals
• Led to city states ruled by: kings and priests
• Society centered around god’s house Ziggurat
• Developed Metallurgy, first copper then Bronze
(copper + tin)
• Developed writing, (cuneiform). History begins!
• Used potters wheel, wheeled vehicles, and sail boats.
Sumerian Civilization

Ziggurat temple
cuneiform writing, (wedge shaped)
Religion a type of Polytheism (many Gods)
based on forces of nature.

Epic of Gilgamesh contains story of Great Flood

 Sumerian Art

Goat and
Tree
From Ur
c. 2600 B.C.
Worshipers c. 2600 B.C.
Rivalry over water led to wars and conquest.

Upper Register of the Stele of Vultures

The Standard of Ur comes to us from a royal tombs
Sumerian War Carts
found in the ancient Sumerian city of Ur. In the
Standard of Ur, a chariot is shown in the top register
on the left. The Standard presents, on the top 2
registers, the aftermath of another successful victory
for Sumer, with a procession of troops presenting
POWs to the victorious king at the center of the top.
Sumerian soldiers gather outside Ziggurat about 2500 BC
Note scout riding “saddle car” on left and kings war cart on right.
 Sumerian Soldiers about 2500 B

Most state level conflict less personal than earlier wars. Fighting done
by conscript soldiers who needed to be defeated, not personal enemies
that had to be killed. Enemy fighters seen as just doing their jobs.
States take prisoners and usually don’t kill leaders of the defeated side.
 The First Empire
• Power moved upstream to Akkad
• Sargon of Akkad (c2250 BC) created
first empire (ruled over other city states)
• Sargon’s soldiers used powerful
composite bow
• Semitic languages (like Akkadian)
replaced Sumerian
The Composite Bow

Improved weapon helps build an empire.

 The Akkadian Empire

Akkadian Ruler
(Sargon I ?)
c. 2300-2200 B.C. Victory Stele
of Naram-sin
c. 2300-2200 B.C.
Note: Naram-sin is
Holding a Composite Bow
Empire of Sargon
2350-2820 B.C.
Akkadians were driven out by Gudea
the ruler of Lagash

Gudea
ruler of
Lagash
c. 2150 B.C
 Hittite
Empire >

Empire of
Hammurabi >

Egypt

Power shifted north (up stream) to Babylon 1760 BC

 Law Code
of Hammurabi

Hammurabi (standing) receiving Law

Code from the sun-god. c. 1760 B.C.
 Bureaucratic Government
• The Bureaucrats: enforce and deliver the will of
the ruler.
• Any person given authority by the some distant
ruler could expect to be obeyed.
• Delegated authority made it easier to collect
taxes and enforce laws across long distances.
• This system was in place by time of Hammurabi
and the practice of bureaucratic government
never went away.