Questions & Answers: World History – Early Civilization and Mesopotamia

Define the requirements for “civilization” and state where the earliest civilizations developed.
Civilizations are defined as having the following characteristics:
· Use of metal to make weapons and tools
· Written language
· A defined territorial state
· A calendar
The earliest civilizations developed in river valleys where reliable, fertile land was easily found, including:
· Nile River valley in Egypt
· Mesopotamia
· Indus River
· Hwang Ho in China
The very earliest civilizations developed in the Tigris-Euphrates valley in Mesopotamia, which is now part of Iraq, and in Egypt’s Nile valley. These civilizations arose between 4,000 and 3,000 BCE. The area where these civilizations grew is known as the Fertile Crescent. There, geography and the availability of water made large-scale human habitation possible.

Discuss human development from the Lower Paleolithic to the Iron Age.
Human development has been divided into several phases:
· Lower Paleolithic or Old Stone Age, about one million years ago—early humans used tools like needles, hatchets, awls, and cutting tools.
· Upper Paleolithic or New Stone Age, 6,000-8,000 BCE—also known as the Neolithic, textiles and pottery are developed. Humans of this era discovered the wheel, began to practice agriculture, made polished tools, and had some domesticated animals.
· Bronze Age, 3,000 BCE—metals are discovered and the first civilizations emerge as humans become more technologically advanced.
· Iron Age, 1,200-1,000 BCE—metal tools replace stone tools as humans develop knowledge of smelting.

Explain the term “Fertile Crescent.”
James Breasted, an archeologist from the University of Chicago, coined the term Fertile Crescent to describe the area in the Near East where the earliest civilizations arose. The region includes modern day Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Israel/Palestine and Jordan. It is bordered on the south by the Arabian Desert, the west by the Mediterranean Sea, and to the north and east by the Taurus and Zagros Mountains respectively.
This area not only provided the raw materials for the development of increasingly advanced civilizations, but also saw waves of migration and invasion, leading to the earliest wars and genocides as groups conquered and absorbed each other’s cultures and inhabitants.

Explain the importance of rivers and water to the growth of early civilizations.
The earliest civilizations are also referred to as fluvial civilizations because they were founded near rivers. Rivers and the water they provide were vital to these early groupings, offering:
· Water for drinking and cultivating crops
· A gathering place for wild animals that could be hunted
· Easily available water for domesticated animals
· Rich soil deposits as a result of regular flooding
Irrigation techniques helped direct water where it was most needed, to sustain herds of domestic animals and to nourish crops of increasing size and quality.

Discuss the major accomplishments of the Egyptian culture.
The Egyptians were one of the most advanced ancient cultures, having developed construction methods to build the great pyramids, as well as a form of writing known as hieroglyphics. Their religion was highly developed and complex, and included advanced techniques for the preservation of bodies after death. They also made paper by processing papyrus, a plant commonly found along the Nile, invented the decimal system, devised a solar calendar, and advanced overall knowledge of arithmetic and geometry.

Discuss major civilizations of Mesopotamia and common elements of their culture.
The major civilizations of Mesopotamia, in what is now called the Middle East, were the Sumerians, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Assyrians, the Chaldeans, and the Persians. These cultures controlled different areas of Mesopotamia during various time periods, but were similar in that they were autocratic. This meant a single ruler served as the head of the government and often, the main religious ruler, as well. These, often tyrannical, militaristic leaders, controlled all aspects of life, including law, trade, and religious activity. Portions of the legacies of these civilizations remain in cultures today. These include mythologies, religious systems, mathematical innovations and even elements of various languages.

Discuss the importance of the Hittite Empire.
The Hittites were centered in what is now Turkey, but their empire extended into Palestine and Syria. They conquered the Babylonian civilization, but adopted their religion and their system of laws. Overall, the Hittites tended to tolerate other religions, unlike many other contemporary cultures, and absorbed foreign gods into their own belief systems rather than forcing their religion onto peoples they conquered.
The Hittite Empire reached its peak in 1600-1200 BCE. After a war with Egypt, which weakened them severely, they were eventually conquered by the Assyrians in 700 BCE.

Explain the structure of Sumer, as well as at least five legacies of Sumerian culture.
Sumer, located in the southern part of Mesopotamia, consisted of a dozen city-states. Each city-state had its own gods, and the leader of each city-state also served as the high priest. Cultural legacies of Sumer include:
· The invention of writing
· Invention of the wheel
· The first library—established in Assyria by Ashurbanipal
· The Hanging Gardens of Babylon—one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
· First written laws—Ur-Nammu’s Codes and the Codes of Hammurabi
· The Epic of Gilgamesh—the first epic story in history
The Sumerians were the first to invent the wheel, and also brought irrigation systems into use. Their cuneiform writing was simpler than Egyptian hieroglyphs, and they developed the timekeeping system we still use today.

Discuss the importance of the Hebrew culture and Judaism.
The Hebrew or ancient Israelite culture developed the monotheistic religion that eventually developed into modern Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Judaism was founded in the 20th century B.C. by a man named Abraham, who was chosen to enter into a covenant with God, whereby he would receive special treatment in exchange for obedience and worship. Abraham then moved to Canaan (present-day Lebanon). Later, his descendants would move to Egypt and be enslaved, before being eventually liberated by God through the leader Moses and reconquering Canaan. Moses received from God a set of strict laws, known as the Ten Commandments. All of this is described in the Torah, the essential Jewish Scripture. There are also several other important books, including the Talmud, and many important commentaries by learned Jewish theologians.

Discuss the importance of the Babylonian Empire.
After the Sumerian civilization declined, the next dominant civilization was Babylon. The Babylonians conquered the Sumerians and established a city on the Euphrates River in approximately 1,750 B.C. One of the most famous Babylonian rulers was Hammurabi, who established the famous Code, an extremely detailed set of laws. This marked the first time that a set of rules governing every aspect of social life was applied to an entire people. The Babylonians are also known for their construction of ziggurats, long pyramid-like structures that were used as religious temples. Over time, the Babylonians acquired a reputation as a sensuous and hedonistic people, and the name Babylon has come to stand for any debauched civilization.