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Ancient civilizations
This document provides information about five ancient river valley civilizations: Mesopotamia, Egypt, Indus Valley, China, and the Fertile Crescent. It discusses the geography, politics, economics, and social aspects of each civilization. Key points include: Mesopotamia arose between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers; Egypt's civilization was centered around the Nile River; the Indus Valley civilization spanned modern-day Pakistan and India; China began along the Yellow River; and the Fertile Crescent stretched through modern Iraq, Israel, and Syria. Each civilization relied on farming and trade. Writing systems included cuneiform, hieroglyphics, and early Chinese characters.
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Ancient civilizations
- 1. Before we begin!!!!! Political:Who controls what? What type of government is there? Anything to do with laws or war. Economic: What type of economy? How do people make a living? Geography: Where is it? Is the land mountainous? Desert? Oceanic? Social: Religious, intellectual, artistic
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- 4. ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA Oldest known civilization Cradleof Human Civilization Old Testament Nebuchadnezzar Ziggurat (right) Hanging gardens
- 5. Geography This civilization rose inthe valleys between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Some say this Fertile Crescent was the real Garden of Eden.
- 6. In what modernday country was the Fertile Crescent?
- 8. Ur, the capitalcity of Mesopotamia
- 9. Political:What was theearliest kingdom in Mesopotamia? The second?
- 10. Social This is cuneiform. Babylonianswrote using this “wedge- shaped” writing on clay tablets. The Sumerians invented writing.
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- 14. Hanging gardens ofBabylonia
- 15. The ancient cityof Babylon, under King Nebuchadnezzar II, must have been a wonder to the traveler's eyes. "In addition to its size," wrote Herodotus, a historian in 450 BC, "Babylon surpasses in splendor any city in the known world." Herodotus claimed the outer walls were 56 miles in length, 80 feet thick and 320 feet high. Wide enough, he said, to allow a four- horse chariot to turn. The inner walls were "not so thick as the first, but hardly less strong." Inside the walls were fortresses and temples containing immense statues of solid gold. Rising above the city was the famous Tower of Babel, a temple to the god Marduk, that seemed to reach to the heavens
- 16. Another painting ofthe hanging gardens with Tower of Babel in back
- 17. Economic: trade andfarming Sumerians (Mesopotamians) were known to trade with the Egyptians and the Indus Valley civilizations. In later years, these trade routes became Silk Road.
- 18. Sumerians invented thewheel! The wheel was invented by 6000 BC! It helped military, farming and trade. At right, this is made of wood.
- 19. Political:Mesopotamian Law Code ofHammurabi “eye for an eye tooth for a tooth”
- 20. That concludes Mesopotamia. Any questionsbefore the quiz?
- 21. Mesopotamia Quiz Political:What lawsystem did Sumerians use? Hint: It can be summed: eye for eye; tooth for tooth. Economic: How did Mesopotamians earn a living? Geography:Between what 2 rivers did the Fertile Crescent appear? Social:What type of writing did they use?
- 22. ANCIENT EGYPT Nile River Mummies Pharaohs Rameses KingTutankhamen Hieroglyphics
- 23. Egyptian civilization Egyptian civilization arosea bit after Mesopotamia. Geography: It was centered around the Nile River.
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- 25. Pyramids These are theGiza pyramids, the most famous. Pyramids were tombs for the kings. These were built in 3500 B.C.E. How old are they?
- 27. Political:Egyptian Pharaohs Egyptians wereled by Pharaohs. They were priest-kings King Tut is the most famous Using computers, this image was reconstructed using his remains
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- 30. Mummies Egyptians who could affordto do so would have themselves mummified. They believed in a better afterlife if their body was preserved.
- 31. The Egyptians tookout all of the internal organs, except the heart. When they removed them the organs were put in canopic jars, that were put in the tomb with the mummy. They did not take out the heart because it was believed to be the intelligence and emotion of the person. The Egyptians thought the brain had no significant value, so they took it out through the nose. The body was packed and covered with natron (a salty drying agent). After this the body was left for 40-50 days.
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- 33. Egyptians wrote inhieroglyphics
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- 35. What did Egyptianswrite on? Ancient Egyptians used papyrus, a substance derived from the plant of the same name
- 36. The Great Sphinx& Cheferen
- 37. Egyptian economy Although Egyptlooks really sophisticated, the economy is a traditional economy based on farming and trade. Egyptians traded up and down the Nile, with Mesopotamians and sometimes with Indus Valley (in Pakistan)
- 38. That concludes Egypt. Anyquestions before the quiz?
- 39. Egypt Quiz 1.What riveris the basis for Egyptian civilization? 2.What “paper” did Egyptians write on? 3. What is an Egyptian ruler called? 4.What writing system did Egyptians use? 5. What type of economic system did Egypt have?
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- 41. G:What modern daycountries was the Indus Valley civ in?
- 42. Indus River Valley Thiscivilization is still mysterious. The writing has not been translated.
- 43. Indus River civilization Wedo know the cities were sophisticated enough to have brick walls surrounding them for protection against flooding from the Indus River.
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- 46. Indus Economy Just likethe other river valley civs, the Indus river valley people were mostly farmers. Traditional economy They did trade with Chinese and with Sumerians (Mesopotamians).
- 47. That concludes IndusRiver Valley Civilization. Get ready for the quiz.
- 48. Indus River Quiz 1):Why do we know so little of the power structure in the Indus Valley? 2): How did the Indus make a living? 3):In what modern day country are the settlements of the Indus River Valley civilization? 4):Why did the cities have so many walls? 5): How do Indus artifacts demonstrate that the the the Indus Valley was sophisticated?
- 49. ANCIENT CHINA Great Wall Began2000 B.C. Mandate of Heaven Dynasties Silk astronomy
- 50. As in Egypt,Mesopotamia, and along the Indus River, Chinese civilization began within a major river valley. A vast area populated by diverse ethnic groups became, over time, a more or less single culture, began in the Yellow River Valley.
- 51. YellowRiverCivilization :Ancient China was formedaround the Yellow River. The color yellow symbolized “centrality”, as in China is the center of the world.
- 52. Chinese accomplishments During theZhou and Shang periods, the Chinese made remarkable achievements in astronomy and bronzework, learned to make silk and create books, and developed a complex system of writing
- 53. E:Chinese invented silk Silkwas exotic and expensive, so it was good for trading with the rest of the world. It is made from silk worms. Silk also makes “paper”
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- 55. S:Chinese astronomy •2137 BC- Chinese book 书经 records the earliest known solar eclipse on October 22. •ca. 2000 BC - Chinese determine that Jupiter needs 12 years to complete one revolution of its orbit. •ca. 1400 BC - Chinese record the regularity of solar and lunar eclipses and the earliest known solar variation日珥. •ca. 1200 BC - Chinese divide the sky into twenty eight regions 二十八宿 for recognitions of the stars. •ca. 1100 BC - Chinese first determine the spring equinox 黄赤 交角. •776 BC - Chinese make the earliest reliably record of solar eclipse.
- 56. In the MiddleAges the Arabs made known throughout Muslim Spain a material which was to replace all its predecessors. This was paper, whose manufacture they imported from far distant and mysterious realm of China. The first paper appeared in China about 200 BC. Its name is derived from papyrus. Silk was transformed into paper by a process of pasting, but because silk was expensive, wool and cotton came to be used instead. This invention was attributed to Ts'ai Lun. In the picture above, the manufacturing process used by the Chinese. They steeped mulberry or bamboo bark in water, then kneaded it to produce a paste from which they obtained smooth thin sheets of paper.
- 57. According to Chinesepolitical theory, every dynasty goes through the so-called dynastic cycle: 1.A new ruler unites China and founds a new dynasty. 2.China, under the new dynasty, achieves prosperity and a new golden age. 3.The royal family of the dynasty begins to decay, corruption becomes rampant in the imperial court, and the empire begins to enter decline and instability. 4.The dynasty loses the Mandate of Heaven, their legitimacy to rule, and is overthrown by a rebellion. The Mandate of Heaven is then passed to the next dynasty
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- 61. The Great Wallof China was built to keep the Mongols out.
- 62. Many died buildingit, and their bodies were used as filler for it.
- 63. That concludes China. Anyquestions before we take the quiz?
- 64. Ancient China Quiz 1):In China, according to the dynastic cycle, what happened to “bad kings”? 2): How did the Chinese earn a living? 3): What river was the earliest Chinese civilization centered around? 4): What technological advancements did the Chinese have?