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vilization of World

By- Neha Lalwani

WHAT IS A CIVILIZATION???
CIVILIZATION- (1) group of people living and working
together for the purpose of creating an organized
society.
(2) the highest cultural grouping of people which
distinguishes humans from other species
(3) complex systems or network of cities that
emerge from pre-urban culture

What is civilization?
From civis = citizen or
member of a larger group.
The cultural achievements of a
specific group of people (e.g.,
Mayan civilization)
civilized = refined, polite,
opposite of barbaric.
Complex Societies

Intensive agriculture
Urbanization
Division of labor
Social hierarchies
Government / State
Larger populations
Laws, Armies, culture

Band/Tribal Groups

Hunter/Gatherer
Nomadic villages
No specialization
Egalitarian
Family/clan leadership
Small populations

EIGHT BASIC FEATURES


OF A CIVILIZATION:
(1)Writing Systems

(2) Infrastructure- public works such


bridges, roads etc.

(3) Government / Laws

(4) Art / Architecture


(5) Social Classes

(6) Organized Religion

(7) Job Specialization

(8) Development of
Cities

Aim: What are the basic


features of a civilization?

Civilization A complex highly organized


social order

Cities where the main feature of a


civilization. The first cities evolved along

? valleys where fertile land created a

food surplus.
What word is missing here?

Early Civilizations

Features of Civilization

Common Features of Civilization

Civilizations have certain characteristics in


common. These include:

Advanced Cities and Architecture Cities are centers of trade. They


generally have large and diverse populations and advanced forms of architecture
(like the Ziggurat in Babylonia)

Advanced Technology Technology is defined as any tool, invention, or


discovery that allows humans to work faster or more efficiently. These can be as
simple as stone tools and farming implements or as advanced as todays computers.

Complex Institutions - Including government, religion, and other formal


institutions.

Specialized Workers - People who do one or a few things well. Examples


include farmers, potters, basket weavers, stone masons, iron workers, priests,
scribes, government workers, etc.

Systems of Recordkeeping History doesnt really begin until the first written
records. Everything before it is considered pre-history. Keeping a written record of
even the simplest things in a society (such as trade) and/or forms of literature,
personal recollections, diaries, etc. help historians understand the collective past. It
is how we communicate with future generations.

Copy in notebook
Cities

Central
governmen
t

CIVILIZATION

Social
classes

Traditional
economy

Organized
religion

Specialize
d jobs
Art and
architectur
e

Roads, bridges,
and other
public works

System
of writing

Organized Governments

Early cities needed a strong government


to administer unity, protection, law,
justice and welfare.
Early rulers had heredity rule. This meant
they inherited their status and claimed a
right from the gods to rule.

Activity

How does our government provide the


following? Give examples
Unity
Protection
Law
Justice
Welfare

Complex Institutions (Religion)

Most ancient people were polytheistic,


which means they believed in many gods
who controlled the forces of nature and
peoples lives.

Can you guess all the religions


here? What might they all have in
common?

Polytheism

Job Specialization

City people developed many new jobs


with many different skills. Cities needed
craftsmen, warriors, government officials,
priests and builders.

Social Classes

In cities people were ranked according to


their jobs.
Priests and nobles (top)
merchants and artisans (middle)
Farmers (near the bottom)
Slaves (at the bottom)

Social Mobility
Being able to
move between
social classes in
ones lifetime.
Is it easy today
to move up the
social pyramid?

Art and Architecture

The art and architecture of a civilization


expressed the values and beliefs of the
people that create them. Such
monuments reassure people of the power
of their government and religion

What value is
being
expressed in
the Statue of
Liberty?

Public Works

Keeping cities functioning required public


works like irrigation systems, roads,
bridges, defensive walls and in some
cases plumbing

What would life


be like in this
city without
public works?

Writing

Writing was needed for record keeping


regarding taxes, trade, written laws and
calendars.
Early writing was made up of pictograms
(simple drawings)

How are these


writing systems
similar?

Summary Assessment

What purpose does government serve in any


organized society?
Religions around the world have similar beliefs
and values. How does religion contribute to an
orderly society?
What different kinds of specialized jobs did
civilized people have?
Who occupied the top, middle and lowest social
classes of ancient cities?
What does art and architecture tell us about a
society?
What public works did ancient cities have?
What kind of writing did early people have?
What was record keeping important?

Pompeii: A civilization preserved.

Why are there steps in the


street?

Fast Food

Frozen in time

ANCIENT
CIVILIZATIONS

ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS
Ancient Mesopotamia
Ancient Egypt
Ancient India
Ancient China
Ancient Greece
Ancient Rome

ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA
Oldest known
civilization
Babylon
Gilgamesh
Hammarabi
Nebuchadnezzar
Ziggurat
Hanging gardens

ANCIENT EGYPT
Nile River
Mummies
Pharaohs
Rameses
King Tutankhamen
Cleopatra

ANCIENT INDIA

Indus Valley
Hindu religion
Buddha
Reincarnation

ANCIENT CHINA
Great Wall
Chinese Characters
Dynasties
Inventions
Confucius

ANCIENT GREECE
Greek Gods and myths
Archimedes and
friends
Trojan War
First Democracy
Architecture
Olympics

ANCIENT ROME
Etruscans
Roman Empire
Julius Caesar
Coliseum
Hannibal and the
elephants
Mount Vesuvius

Roots of Indus Valley Civilization


Roots of Indus Valley
began as early as 7000
B.C.E.
Possibly began as herders
who moved into the river
valley during colder months.
Over time, they may have
decided to farm riverwatered lands of the valley.
They began trading by boat
along the Indus down into
the Arabian Sea, into the
Persian Gulf, and up the
Tigris and Euphrates into
Mesopotamia.

The Artifacts: Crafts and the Arts


Crafts of the Indus valley
included pottery making,
dyeing, metal working in
bronze, and bead making.
Bead materials included:

jade from the Himalayas,


lapis lazuli from Afghanistan,
turquoise from Persia,
amethyst from Mewar in India,
and steatite, which was found
locally.

The Artifacts: Crafts and the Arts


Small sculptures in
stone, terra cotta, and
bronze appear to
represent priestly or
governmental officials,
dancing girls, and
perhaps mother
goddesses.
Since there are no
surviving texts to
explain identities,
these can only be
guesses.

The Artifacts: Crafts and the Arts


Dice and small
sculptures of bullock
carts were probably
used as toys and
games.
The first known use of
cotton as a fiber for
weaving textiles
occurred in the Indus
Valley.

Carefully Planned Cities


Originating around
2500 B.C.E. the
thriving civilizations
survived for around
500 years.
Both Harappa and
Mohenjo-Daro, two of
the largest among
500 sites, were three
miles in
circumference with
around 40,000
people.

Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa


To the north is a citadel or
raised area.
In Mohenjo-Daro, the citadel is
built on an architectural
platform about 45 feet
above the plain.
On the summit was a huge
communal bath.
Next to the large bath was a
huge open spacea
granary where food was
stored from possible floods.
Fortified walls mark the
southeast corner.

Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa


The lower city was laid out in a
gridiron with the main streets about
45 feet wide.
Private houses, almost every one
with its own well, bathing space,
and toilet consisting of a brick seat
over a drainage area.
Brick-lined drains flushed by water
carried liquid and solid waste to
sumps, where it was carted away,
probably to fertilize nearby fields.

Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa


The town plan was regular.
Even fire-baked bricks were uniform in
size and shape.
The regularity of plan and construction
suggests a government with
organization and bureaucratic capacity.
No monumental architecture clearly
marks the presence of a palace or
temple.
There is little sign of social stratification
in the plan or buildings.

Indus Valley Burial Sites


Heads pointing to the north
Some grave goods, such as pots
of food and water, small amounts
of jewelry, simple mirrors, and
some cosmetics.
Not extravagant like royal burials
of Egypt or even of Mesopotamia.

Indus Valley Archaeological Finds


Among the 20,000 artifacts
uncovered, the extraordinary
extremes of wealth and poverty of
Egypt and Mesopotamia do not
appear.
Why do you think that is the case?

Indus Valley Archaeological Finds


Questions of Interpretation:
Artifacts stress the apparent
classlessness of the society.
Until the Harappan language is
deciphered, its civilization will
remain mysterious.

Enter: The Aryans


Approximately 1500 B.C.E. a
nomadic and pastoral people who
spoke the Indo-European language
passed through the Hindu Kush
mountains.
They called themselves Aryans
or noble people.
They established small herding
and agricultural communities
throughout northern India.
Their migrations took place over
several centuries.

Aryan Influence on Harappan


Society
Aryan migrations took place over several centuries.
Their arrival was not an invasion or organized military
campaign.
It is likely that Indo-European migrants clashed with
Dravidians (people settled in the Harappan area.)
By the time Aryans entered India, internal problems had
already brought Harappan society to the point of collapse.
During the centuries after 1500 B.C.E., Dravidian and IndoEuropean peoples intermarried and laid social and cultural
foundations that influenced Indian society to present day.

Aryan Influence on Harappan


Society
The Aryans survived on
pastoral economy, sheep
and goats.
The especially prized their
horses and cattle, but
horses did not breed well in
India so they had to import
animals from Asia.
The Aryans consumed both
dairy products and beef.
Centuries later cattle would
become sacred.

Aryan Influence on Harappan


Religion
The Vedas were collections of religious and literary
poems and songs transmitted orally.
There were four parts.
The most important part was the Rig Veda, a collection
of 1,028 hymns addressed to the Aryan gods.
Aryan priests compiled the Rig Veda between 1400 and
900 B.C.E.
It wasnt put into writing until about 600 B.C.E.

The Vedic Age 1500 to 500 B.C.E.


The Vedas refer often to conflicts
between Aryans and the Dravidians
and other people already living in
India.
The Vedas refer to Indra, the Aryan
war god and military hero, who would
destroy parts of the city.
This suggests that the Aryans
clashed repeatedly with the
Dravidians of the Indus valley,
attacking their cities and wrecking
their irrigation systems.

The Vedic Age 1500 to 500 B.C.E.


The Aryans often had friendly relations
with Dravidian peoples.
They learned about the land and
adopted Dravidian agricultural methods.
Still there was competitions over land
and resources.
It appears that the Aryans did not have a
formal government but they formed
chiefdoms with a leader known as a raja
(Sanskrit term for king.)

Aryan Migrations in India


Aryans first settled in the Punjab, the upper Indus River
valley that straddles modern-day border between
northern India and Pakistan.
They spread east and south and established
communities throughout much of the subcontinent.
They learned to make iron tools and with axes and plow
they cleared forests and established agricultural
communities in the Ganges valley.
The Aryans gradually lost the tribal political organization
they had brought into India and evolved into small
kingdoms with formal governments.

The Caste System


Originally based on color: Aryans were wheat-colored
and Dravidians were darker skinned.
Four Main Varnas or Castes:
Priests (brahmins)
Warriors and Aristocrats (Kshatriyas)
Cultivators, artisans, and merchants (vsaishyas)
Landless peasants and serfs ( shudras)
Untouchables (people who performed dirty tasks)
added much later

Jati (Subcastes)
As Vedic Society became
more complex and specialized,
the caste system changed to
include specialized
occupations.
Occupation determined an
individuals jati (subcaste).
By the 18th and 19th centuries
C.E., the system featured
several thousand jati.
Brahmins alone have some
1,800 jati.

The Development of a Patriarch


Society
Aryan Society had a strong patriarchal social order at the
time of their migration into India.
All priests, warriors and tribal chiefs were men.
Women influenced affairs within their families but had no
public authority.
Women rarely learned the Vedas and were denied formal
education.
Sati, the practice of a wife sacrificing herself on her
husbands funeral pyre, was considered noble.

Religion in Vedic Age


The Rig Veda sheds light on religious
practices.
The chief deity was Indra, a war god, who
was partial to fighting and drink.
Varuna was a god who presided over the
sky from his heavenly palace. He oversaw
behavior of morals and preserved order.
Cattle, sheep, goats, and horses from
Aryan herds were sacrificed to gain divine
support, large families, long life, and
abundant herds.

Religion in Vedic Age


Around 800 B.C.E. some individuals
withdrew into the forest of the Ganges
valley and lived as hermits.
They drew inspiration from religious
beliefs of Dravidian people who
worshipped nature spirits.
Dravidians also believed that human souls
took on new physical forms after the
deaths of their bodies.
The idea of reincarnation was born.

The Upanishads
Appeared late in Vedic Age, around 800 to
400 B.C.E.
Upanishad means sitting in front of and
refers to practice of disciples gathering
before a sage for discussion of religious
issues.
The Upanishads were dialogues that
explored the Vedas.

The Upanishads
Each person is part of a large, cosmic order and
forms a small part of a universal soul known as
Brahman.
Brahman is an eternal, unchanging foundation
for all things.
Individual souls were born into physical world
many times.
Their souls were most often humans but
sometimes animals, and even occasionally
plants.
The highest goal of the individual soul is to
escape the cycle of birth and rebirth to enter into
permanent union with Brahmin.

Doctrines of the Upanishads


Samsara Upon death, individuals go temporarily to the
World of the Fathers and then return to earth in a new form.
Karma a man of good acts will become good, a man of
bad acts, bad. He becomes pure by pure deeds, bad by bad
deeds.
Suffering A certain amount of pain and suffering is inevitable
in human existence.
Moksha is a deep endless sleep that comes with permanent
liberation from physical incarnation.
Brahmin You can achieve Brahmin through meditation and
asceticism, leading extremely simple lives and denying all
pleasure.

Religion and Vedic Age


Modern historians have often
interpreted the Upanishads as a
way to justify social inequalities
imposed by the Caste System.
The doctrines of Samsara and
karma have reinforced the Vedic
social order.

Permanent

Permanent
settlement, part of
life by the people
who had learned to
master
the
environment;
this
settlement
left
permanent
structures,
artifacts
and
records
that
showed how the

Cities

As
farmers
settled in river
valleys,
they
began to grow
surplus
or
extra
food;
this extra food
increased the
population of
the
settlements; in
time,
the
settlements
grew
into
cities (e.g. Ur
and Babylon).

Organized Central
Governments

As
cities
expanded, the
food supply and
irrigation
systems
needed to be
maintained;
governments,
such
as
councils
or
religious
leaders, began
to oversee the
business
and
existence of the
cities.

Organized
Religions

Religious
leaders
would
conduct
elaborate
ceremonies
to
appease the gods
and
ensure
a
bountiful harvest;
floods
and
droughts
were
blamed
on
the
gods
anger
so
rituals
were
conducted in the
temples.

Job
Specialization

Artisans
and
craftsmen were
needed
to
maintain specific
items and tasks;
Now,
some
concentrated on
teaching,
scribing,
stonecutting and
so forth.

Social Classes

did the status


and
needs
of
certain
individuals; the
need
for
an
educated
religious leader
was
more
respected than
an
unskilled
worker; herders
were needed for
the food, while
masons
were
needed
for
building;
the
slave was on the
lowest rank of
the
social

Writing System

Records
were
needed
to
keep
accounts on trade
goods
and
food
storage; writing was
needed because the
information became
too
great;
in
addition,
one
needed to express
more complex ideas
such as "belief" and
"social order" where
pictures and words
simply would not
suffice.

Art and
Architecture
This expressed the
beliefs and values of
a civilization; often
the art was used to
impress visitors and
people about the
beauty and power of
a
king
or
community.

Public
Works

The government
would
order
these, although
costly, to aid
and benefit the
community;
such things as a
wall to protect
from attack or a
canal to aid in
irrigation would
help insure the
survival
of
a
people.

THE END

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