World Civilizations from Prehistory to 1500

Dr. Edrene S. McKay (479) 855-6836 Email: EdreneMcKay@cox.ne !e"#ie: $nline-%i#ory.or&

ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA AND EGYPT
CIVILIZATION
Defined
ANCIENT SUMER
First Civilizti!n
C!ntri"#ti!ns
G!ds$
C!s%i&' Universl'
Or(nizin( P!)er !f
Universe
ANCIENT EGYPT
Gift Of T*e Nile
Stone Age achievements laid the foundations for CIVILIZATION (defined as an advanced
state of intellectual, cultural, and material development in human societ, mar!ed "
progress in the arts and sciences, the e#tensive use of record$!eeping, including %riting,
and the appearance of comple# political and social institutions&'
In (esopotamia and the Nile Valle, people gathered into CITI)S in %hich life "ecame
more CO(*L)+ and ,I)-A-C,ICAL' .sing even more S*)CIALIZ)/ LA0O-, cit$
d%ellers engaged in T-A/) and (AN.1ACT.-IN2, administered LA-2)$SCAL)
A2-IC.LT.-), and "uilt (ON.()NTS' The development of 3-ITIN2 ena"led these
people to !eep the records necessar for O-2ANIZ)/ 2OV)-N()NT'
S.()-, a collection of cit states around the LO3)- TI2-IS AN/ ).*,-AT)S
-IV)-S in %hat is no% SO.T,)-N I-A4, ma ver %ell "e the first civili5ation in the
%orld' 1rom its "eginnings as a collection of farming villages around 6,777 0C through its
con8uest " Sargon of A!!ad around 9,:;7 0C and its final collapse under the Amorites
around 9,777 0C, the Sumerians developed a religion and a societ %hich influenced "oth
their neigh"ors and their con8uerors' Sumerian cuneiform, the earliest %ritten language,
%as "orro%ed " the 0a"lonians, %ho also too! man of their religious "eliefs' In fact,
traces and parallels of Sumerian mth can "e found in 2enesis'

Sumerians %ere earl users of CO**)- < perhaps as earl as 6,777 0C' 0 =,677 0C the
%ere casting copper into molds to ma!e various TOOLS and A-T O0>)CTS' A"out :,:77
0C the invented a pictographic form of 3-ITIN2 to !eep account of stored goods at
these temples' The used reed ends pressed into soft cla ta"lets (C.N)I1O-(& to ma!e
their recordings' -ecord$!eeping evolved to include -O?AL INSC-I*TIONS (9,;77 0C&
and ne% LA3 CO/)S (9,@77 0C& promulgated " .r$Nammu, !ing of .r'
The contri"uted immensel to industrial technolog' Speculation is that the %ere the
inventers of the *OTT)-AS 3,))L' The also developed the ANI(AL$/-A3N *LO3'
And the used SAILS on their "oats to navigate the "road Tigris and )uphrates -ivers'
Also, the developed for %ar use a SOLI/$3,))L)/ C,A-IOT dra%n " a no%$e#tinct
form of don!e
(esopotamian religion too! on a character %hich %as more comple# than Neolithic
religion' The common people continued to o"serve locall the Neolithic fertilit religions
that seemed so vital to their agricultural life' 0ut the imperial structure that presided over
the larger social order had to "e nurtured " a loftier set of religious ideas' The !ings and
priests had a special role in interceding for the %hole empire "efore the maBor gods
(principall (A-/.C& %ho guarded the imperial enterprise' These gods %ere COS(IC,
.NIV)-SAL, and represented the O-2ANIZIN2 *O3)- O1 T,) .NIV)-S) as their
empires on earth represented a ne% organi5ing po%er among the people'
Life along the Nile river as it cut through the desert %aste of )gpt %as ver much li!e
Sumerian life' 1or survivalAs sa!e, the COO*)-ATIV) LI1) %as essential' A.T,O-IT?
%as needed to organi5e the "uilding of irrigation canals and the allocation of %ater rights'
And under proper *OLITICAL O-2ANIZATION life %as a"undant' Life outside of such
social organi5ation %as unthin!a"le' The surrounding /)S)-T isolated "ut also protected
)gptian culture' In thousands of ears of e#istence, seldom %as ancient )gpt seriousl
challenged " outside armies' This too ena"led )gpt to flourish generation after
generation retaining its essential cultural characteristics %ith relativel little change over its
Ancient (esopotamia and )gpt *age 9
MESOPOTAMIA
+ EGYPT
Reli(i!n$
Unif,in( nd
Cretive F!r&e
Ulti%te G!l !f
Mt* + S&ien&e$
T! Understnd +
A&&!%%!dte t*e
-ill !f t*e G!ds
P#r.!se !f Art$
T! Re.resent
t*e Relti!ns*i.
/et)een 0#%nit,
+ t*e G!ds
Literr, Trditi!n$
Epic of Gilgamesh
Enuma Elish
Book of the Dead
long histor'
Ver earl (prior to :,977 0C& there %ere t%o D)gptsDE (@& .pper )gpt along the narro%
Nile valle to the south, %ith its center at The"es, and (9& Lo%er )gpt along the %ider
fluvial and delta plains in the north, centered on (emphis' 0ut in :,977 or :,@77 0C
Narmer (2ree!E (enes& forcea"l .NIT)/ T,) T3O )2?*TS into a single !ingdom
and "ecame the first *haroah'
In ()SO*OTA(IA and )2?*T, -)LI2ION %as the *-INCI*AL .NI1?IN2 AN/
C-)ATIV) 1O-C)' *eople sa% divine forces at %or! in ever aspect of nature, and ever
form of human endeavor %as meant to serve the gods' 1or e#ample, the Sumerians
"elieved that la%s descended from the gods' Cings administered these la%s %ith the
assistance of priests %ho revealed for them the %ill of the gods' In )gpt, the pharaohs
themselves %ere considered gods, and " serving them, their su"Bects respected the divine
%ill'
In addition to la% and government, -)LI2ION /-OV) ACTIVIT? IN (AT,)(ATICS
AN/ SCI)NC)' (esopotamian mathematicians, for e#ample, devised multiplication and
division ta"les, %hile their )gptian counterparts developed simple geometr' *hsicians
of "oth cultures gained some accurate !no%ledge of pharmacolog, and )gptian healers
learned to identif diseases and understood the connection "et%een cleanliness and
disease' (esopotamian and )gptian astronomers o"served the movements of the planets
and stars and devised, respectivel, lunar and solar calendars' In all these areas of activit,
the .LTI(AT) 2OAL %as TO .N/)-STAN/ AN/ ACCO((O/AT) T,) 3ILL O1
T,) 2O/S as revealed through the processes of nature and %or!ings of the human "od'
Similarl, the *.-*OS) O1 A-T %as TO -)*-)S)NT T,) -)LATIONS,I*
0)T3))N ,.(ANIT? AN/ T,) 2O/S' The (esopotamian ZI22.-AT, for
e#ample, gave architectural form to the e#perience of approaching the gods to gain %isdom'
Stli5ed )gptian roal statues tpicall emphasi5e the pharaohsA divine grandeur'
Although ST?LIZATION %as the norm in Near )astern art, )gptian Amarna art too! a
naturalistic turn during the Amarna period, during %hich Amenhotep IV imposed
monotheism on his su"Bects' ,e also encouraged artists to represent the human form more
realisticall and even to depict the pharaoh engaged in everda activities' This stle and
the ne% religion died %ith Amenhotep, %hose successors reesta"lished poltheism and the
rigid artistic stle of the Old Cingdom'
0et%een 9,;77 and 9,@77 0C a literar tradition developed in Sumer, one %hich left a
permanent imprint on the peoples around them and after them' 1or instance, the Epic of
Gilgamesh "ecame the forerunner of the Genesis account of the 2reat 1lood' The gods sent
the 1lood to punish people %ho had made them angr %ith their diso"edience' 0ut the
%arned the faithful .tnapishtim to "uild a "oat, thus saving onl him and his famil' All
the rest of humanit perished' The human race %as "egun again through his famil'
At the center of the religious life of the 0a"lonian culture %hich replaced Sumerian
culture %as the Ne% ?earAs Cele"ration held in April' This involved a num"er of eventsE
the enthroning of the !ing for another ear, the !illing of a scapegoat as a sign of the death
of the old ear, and the reciting of the Enuma Elish (composed a"out @,677 0C "ut much
older in tradition&' The Enuma Elish %as an epic stor of creation telling ho% the gods %ere
created to "ring order out of %ater chaos'
The )gptian Book of the Dead (a"out @,9=7 0C& is a group of mortuar spells %ritten on
sheets of paprus covered %ith accompaning illustrations' These %ere placed %ith the
dead in order to help them pass through the dangers of the under%orld and attain an
afterlife of "liss in the 1ield of -eeds' Some of the te#ts and illustrations are also found on
Ancient (esopotamia and )gpt *age :
CONTRASTING
-ORLD VIE-S
Mes!.!t%in$
Pessi%isti&
E(,.tin$ A
0..ier Vie) !f
Life nd Det*
PERSIA
Unified Nti!ns
Diverse Trditi!ns
Z!r!strinis%$
Unif,in( F!r&e
C*!i&e /et)een
G!!d nd Evil
MYT01MA2ING
-ORLD VIE-
ONLINE
RESOURCES
the %alls of tom"s and on coffins or %ritten on linen or vellum rather than on paprus'
)arl (esopotamians and )gptians shared a religious outloo!, "ut their %orld vie%
differed in %as that affected their religious thought, art, and literature' The
()SO*OTA(IAN 3O-L/ VI)3 %as fundamentall *)SSI(ISTIC' The 2O/S %ere
vie%ed as CA*-ICIO.S and human life as an effort to cope %ith their %hims'
Conse8uentl, (esopotamian literature is comparativel austere' 1or e#ample, %isdom
literature poses impondera"le 8uestions a"out human suffering' A central theme of the
EPIC OF GILGAMES is the hopelessness of the search for immortalit'
*erhaps "ecause the Nile Valle afforded relative securit, the )2?*TIANS C.LTIVAT)/
A ,A**I)- VI)3 O1 LI1) AN/ /)AT,' The conceived of an A1T)-LI1) T,AT
3AS AN I/)ALIZ)/ V)-SION O1 )A-T,L? LI1), and much of their art and
literature e#plores the passage through death to the afterlife' !E BOO" OF !E DEAD,
for e#ample, contains a variet of te#ts composed to guide the deceased safel into the ne#t
%orld' Tom"s included tools, food, and personal items for use in the afterlife, as %ell as
relief sculptures that depict dail activities in %hich the deceased participated in life and
%ould again in the ne#t %orld' Although "oth )gptian and (esopotamian %omen %ere
su"ordinate to men, the former enBoed legal protections and a greater scope in life than the
latter'
(usic %as important in (esopotamian and )gptian culture' *aintings and sculptures
depict a variet of instruments used for religious rituals, roal processions, funerals, and
private gatherings'
The last great ancient Near )astern civili5ation %as *)-SIA' This vast empire .NI1I)/
NATIONS from the (editerranean to the Indus Valle, governed them through a single
administrative sstem, and "rought them under a %orld vie% composed of /IV)-S)
T-A/ITIONS' One C)NT-AL .NI1?IN2 1O-C) 3AS ZO-OAST-IANIS(, a
monotheistic religion %hose prophet, Zarathustra, developed an eschatolog (a stud of the
final events in the histor of the %orld& and taught that ,.(ANS CAN C,OOS)
0)T3))N 2OO/ AN/ )VIL' *ersian art represented the empireAs cultural snthesis "
fusing elements from (esopotamian, )gptian, and 2ree! art'
Near )astern civili5ations shared a (?T,$(ACIN2 3O-L/ VI)3' Although
(esopotamians and )gptians o"served their %orld, the did not anal5e and dra% general
conclusions a"out %hat the sa%' Li!e their prehistoric ancestors, the told stories that
personified and e#plained phenomena in terms of divine influence' Later civili5ations
moved from a mth$ma!ing mind to scientific thought, through %hich people formulated
universal rules a"out inanimate natural processes' Nevertheless, Near )astern cultural
achievements laid the crucial foundation for 3estern civili5ation and influenced the
,e"re% and 2ree! traditions for centuries'
Adapted from 0UMANITIES IN T0E -ESTERN TRADITION " (arvin *err and A HISTORY OF THE
OR!D"S #A$OR %&!T&RES " (iles ,odges
1or more information on Ancient (esopotamia and )gpt, e#plore one or more of the
follo%ing online resourcesE
The 0ritish (useumE (esopotamiaE Interesting %e"site covering various aspects of
(esopotamian culture' 1ocuses on Assria, 0a"lonia, and Sumer'
T*e 0ist!r, !f An&ient S#%erE /etailed discussion of Sumerian culture, including
%riting, schools, cities, and architecture' Includes a num"er of primar sources'

Ancient Ta"lets, Ancient 2ravesE Assessing 3omenAs Lives in (esopotamia' 3omen in
Ancient (esopotamia and )gpt *age =
DISCUSSION
3UESTIONS
3orld ,istor Curriculum $ Lesson of the (onth " Ln -eese'
Ancient 0a"lonia$The ZigguratsE /iscusses various aspects of these monumental
structures' Includes diagrams and illustrations'
/ail Life in Ancient )gptE A %ealth of information on Ancient )gpt, including
hieroglphics, medicine, astrolog, garment ma!ing, and "eer and %ine ma!ing'
)gptian (thsE 1lash$ena"led site that tells of the stor of creation'
,ieroglphsE )#cellent treatment of )gptian hieroglphics' Includes a hieroglphics
translator (see our name in hieroglphics& and a free hieroglphics screen saver'
Ancient )gptian Civili5ationE 0i"liograph of %e"sites devoted to various aspects of
)gptian life, including clothing, furniture, sports, food, pramids, etc'
?ou 3ouldnAt 3ant to "e an )gptian (ummE ,umorous and entertaining loo! at the
process of mummification'
/ra%ing on the resources ou have had an opportunit to e#plore (te#t"oo!, course
documents, online resources, li"rar resources&, ans%er one or more of the follo%ing
8uestionsE
In 4565' t*e A%eri&n )riter 0enr, Miller defined &ivilizti!n s$ 7dr#(s' l&!*!l'
en(ines !f )r' .r!stit#ti!n' %&*ines nd %&*ine slves' l!) )(es' "d f!!d' "d
tste' .ris!ns' ref!r%t!ries' l#nti& s,l#%s' div!r&e' .erversi!n' "r#tl s.!rts'
s#i&ides' infnti&ide' &ine%' 8#&9er,' de%(!(,' stri9es' l!&9!#ts' rev!l#ti!ns'
.#ts&*es' &!l!nizti!n' ele&tri& &*irs' (#ill!tines' s"!t(e' fl!!ds' f%ine' disese'
(n(sters' %!ne, "r!ns' *!rse r&in(' fs*i!n s*!)s' .!!dle d!(s' &*!) d!(s'
Si%ese &ts' &!nd!%s' .essries' s,.*ilis' (!n!rr*e' insnit,' ne#r!ses' et&:' et&:7
-*t d! ,!# t*in9 .r!%.ted s#&* .essi%isti& vie) !f &ivilizti!n; -*t )!rds nd
.*rses )!#ld ,!# #se t! define A%eri&n &ivilizti!n in t*e <4
st
&ent#r,F
0!) i%.!rtnt d! ,!# t*in9 e&* !f t*ese dis&!veries )s t! t*e est"lis*%ent !f
&ivilizti!n$ (ri&#lt#re' %etll#r(,' .l!)in(' trns.!rtti!n' t*e .!tter=s )*eel;
-*t dvnt(es d! .e!.le (et fr!% &ivilizti!n; -*t d! t*e, l!se;
-*, )s t*e dis&!ver, !f )ritin( s! i%.!rtnt t! t*e devel!.%ent !f &ivilizti!n;
T! )*t e>tent d! t*e &*r&teristi&s !f life in An&ient Mes!.!t%i &!rres.!nd t! t*e
definiti!n !f &ivilizti!n;

-*t r!le did (e!(r.*, .l, in t*e devel!.%ent !f E(,.tin &ivilizti!n;
A *i(*l, &entrlized (!vern%ent see%ed t! "e re8#ire%ent f!r !rder' .e&e' nd
.r!s.erit, in n&ient E(,.t: -*, d! ,!# t*in9 t*t )s; 0!) d! )e %intin !rder'
.e&e' nd .r!s.erit, in t*e United Sttes t!d,; D! )e *ve "etter s!l#ti!n t! t*e
.r!"le% t*n t*e n&ient E(,.tins did;
0!) did t*e E(,.tin reli(i!#s !#tl!!9 differ fr!% t*e Mes!.!t%in; 0!) did
E(,.tin rt nd litert#re re.resent t*is !#tl!!9;
-*t s.e&il insi(*ts *ve ,!# (ined fr!% ,!#r e>.l!rti!n !f An&ient Mes!.!t%i
nd E(,.t;