西方文明史chapter 1

nullChapter 1 The Ancient Near East: The First CivilizationsChapter 1 The Ancient Near East: The First CivilizationsCivilization was not inevitable; it was an act of human creativity. The first civilization arose some 5,000 years ago in the river valleys of Mesopotamia and Egypt. characteristics of civilized life: established cities and states invented writing developed organized religion constructed large-scale buildings and monuments . null Humanity’s rise to civilization was long and arduous. Some 99 percent of human history took place before the creation of civilization, in the vast ages of prehistory. PrehistoryPrehistory The Paleolithic Age, or Old Stone Age, began in East Africa nearly 3 million years ago ended about 10,000 years ago Paleolithic ancestors’ action: lived as hunters and food gatherers not learned how to farm never established permanent villages always searched for new dwelling placesnullnullnull Paleolithic people developed: spoken language make and use tools of bone, wood, and stone control fire, Most likely, mythic-religious beliefsnullthe New Stone Age, or Neolithic Age, began in the Near East Some 10,000 years ago. Neolithic human beings’ action: farming, established villages domesticated animals, polished stone tools, made pottery, wove cloth. null Great strides in technology: the invention of the potter’s wheel use of metal ox yoke sail null results: improved transportation promoted trade food supply became more reliable village life expanded, and the population increased families that acquired wealth gained a higher social status and became village leaders religion grew more formal Neolithic society was growing more organized and complex, it was on the threshold of civilization. The Rise to CivilizationThe Rise to Civilizationcivilization arose some 5,000 years ago in the Near East (in Mesopotamia and Egypt) and them later in East Asia (in India and China). The first civilization began in cities that were larger, more populated, and more complex in their political, economic, and social structure than Neolithic villages. These developments—cities, specialization of labor, writing, organized government, monumental architecture, and a complex religious structure—differentiate the civilizations from prehistoric cultures. null How was it possible for Sumerians and Egyptians, to make this breakthrough? scholars stress the relationship between civilizations and river valleys. What cannot be omitted is the human contribution: capacity for thought and cooperative activity. Mesopotamian CivilizationMesopotamian CivilizationMesopotamia is the Greek for “land between the rivers.” It was here, in the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, that the first civilization began. Around 3000 B.C., their hut settlements gradually evolved into twelve independent city-states, each consisting of a city and its surrounding countryside. Among the impressive achievements of the Sumerians were a system of symbol writing on clay tablets (cuneiform) to represent ideas; elaborate brick houses, palaces, and temples; bronze tools and weapons; irrigation works; trade with other peoples; an early form of money; religious and political institutions; schools; religious and secular literature; varied art forms; codes of law; medicinal drugs; and a lunar calendar.null The Near (or Middle) East encompasses the modern states of: Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Iraq and Iran, and the countries of the Arabian peninsula.nullnullReligion: The Basis of Mesopotamian CivilizationReligion: The Basis of Mesopotamian CivilizationReligion lay at the center of Mesopotamian life. Every human activity—political, military, social, legal, literary, artistic—was generally subordinated to an overriding religious purpose. Religion was the Mesopotamians’ frame of reference for understanding nature, society, and themselves; it dominated and inspired all other cultural expressions and human activities. Wars between cities, for instance, were interpreted as conflicts between the gods of those cities, and victory ultimately depended on divine favor, not on human effort. Myths—narratives about the activities of the gods—explained the origins of the human species.null Sumerian myths the first human beings issued forth form the earth like plant life, or were shaped from clay by divine craftsmen and granted a heart by the goddess Nammu, or were formed from the blood of two gods sacrificed for that purpose. GovernmentGovernmentBestowed on a man by the gods, kingship was the central institution in Mesopotamian society. Mesopotamian kings did not see themselves as gods, but rather as great men selected by the gods to represent them on earth. Gods governed through the kings, who reported to the gods about conditions in their land. The king administered the laws, which came from the gods. null Law The principal collection of laws in ancient Mesopotamia was the famous code of Hammurabi (c.1792-c.1750 B.C.), the Babylonian ruler null Economy The economy of Mesopotamian cities depended heavily on foreign and domestic trade. Because of trade’s importance to the life of the city, governments instituted regulations to prevent fraud. Business transactions had to be recorded in writing.Egyptian CivilizationEgyptian Civilization During the early period of Mesopotamian civilization, the Egyptians developed their civilization in the fertile valley of the Nile. Old Kingdom (2686-2181 B.C.) Middle Kingdom (2040-1786 B.C.) New Kingdom (1570-1085 B.C.) nullmnmnmiReligion: The Basis of Egyptian CivilizationReligion: The Basis of Egyptian CivilizationReligion was omnipresent in Egyptian life and accounted for the outstanding achievements of Egyptian civilization. Egyptian polytheism took many forms, including the worship of animals. A crucial feature of Egyptian religion was the afterlife.Divine KingshipDivine KingshipDivine kingship was the basic institution of Egyptian civilization. The Egyptians saw rule by a god-kings as the only acceptable political arrangement: it was in harmony with the order of the universe, and it brought justice and security to the nation.null Science and Mathematics: geometry, Egyptians’ solar calendar The New Kingdom and the Decline of Egyptian Civilization Amenhotep sought to replace traditional polytheism with the worship of Aton, a single god of all people.Empire BuildersEmpire BuildersHittites Small Nations Assyria Persia: Unifier of the Near East The Near Eastern conception of absolute monarchy justified by religion reached its culmination expression in the person of the Persian king, who, with divine approval, ruled a vast empire, “the four quarters of the earth.”nullAssyrian Empire (746 - 609 BCE) nullPersian Empire (550 - 330 BCE) The Religious Orientation Of the Near EastThe Religious Orientation Of the Near EastA Myth-making World-View A religious or mythopoeic (myth-making) view of the world gives Near Eastern civilization its distinctive form and allows us to see it as an organic whole. Myth-making was humanity’s first way of thinking. Appealing primarily to the imagination and emotions, not to reason, myth-making was the earliest attempt to make nature and life comprehensible. The difference between scientific and mythical thinking is profound. Near Eastern AchievementsNear Eastern Achievements The Sumerians and the Egyptians demonstrated enormous creativity and intelligence. They built irrigation works and cities, organized governments, charted the course of heavenly bodies, performed mathematical operations, constructed large-scale monuments, engaged in international trade, established bureaucracies and schools, and considerably advanced the level of technology. Without the Sumerian invention of writing—one of the great creative acts in history—what we mean by civilization could not have emerged. nullMany elements of ancient Near Eastern Civilization were passed on to the West. The wheeled vehicle, the plow, and the phonetic alphabet—all important to the development of civilization—derive from the Near East. The innovative divisions that gave 360 degrees to a circle and 60 minutes to an hour originated in Mesopotamia. Egyptian geometry and Babylonian astronomy were utilized by the Greeks and became a part of Western knowledge.