Arellano University
Junior High School Department
2600 Legarda St. Sampaloc, Manila
UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY AND POLITICS
3rd QUARTER CONCEPT NOTE
EARLY CIVILIZATION AND THE RISE OF STATE
After agriculture, the next step in setting our framework for world history is the
emergence of civilization as a form of human organization. This is where history is
usually seen as starting (especially in the Western tradition). The first human
civilization developed in Mesopotamia around 3,500 BCE. Four or five other early,
pioneering civilizations can also be identified over the next 2,000 years.
A procession of civilizations developed first in Mesopotamia, Tigris and Euphrates
River, and some of these expanded into empires in the Middle East. Civilization then
emerged in Egypt along the Nile around BCE. The Indus Valley (or Harappan)
civilization originated around 2,600 BCE in the northwestern region of the Indian
subcontinent along the Indus River (present day Pakistan). A center of civilization
developed in northern China along the Yellow (or Huang He) River around 2,200
BCE.
EARLY CIVILIZATION
MESOPOTAMIA This civilization rose in the valleys between the Tigris and Euphrates
rivers.
Some say this Fertile Crescent was the real Garden of Eden, it features
many significant biblical narratives. The Bible records stories about real
people, living at a real time in history.
Mesopotamia generally refers to an ancient, fertile part of what is now
known as the Middle East, an area mostly associated with land in
modern-day Iraq. Mesopotamia comprised part of what is now often
called the Fertile Crescent and was home to many different civilizations
through the millennia. It is believed that in Mesopotamia cities were first
established and writing was developed, and for those reasons the area is
now sometimes called the Cradle of Civilization.
➢ Oldest known civilization
➢ Cradle of Human Civilization
➢ Ziggurat (tower)- was an ancient Mesopotamian structure
commonly built in the center of the city. These structures served
as temples dedicated to each city's god. The Ziggurat represented
a connection between the human world and the ancient gods.
The early civilizations considered the gods to live in the sky, and
the ziggurat was an ascending structure that was built to honor
and communicate with the patronn god of each city.
➢ This is cuneiform. The Sumerians invented writing.
➢ Babylonians wrote using this “wedge-shaped” writing on clay
tablets.
➢ Code of Hammurabi- was one of the earliest and most complete
written legal codes and was proclaimed by the Babylonian king
Hammurabi. The Hammurabi code of laws, a collection of 282
rules, established standards for commercial interactions and set
fines and punishments to meet the requirements of justice. “Eye
for an eye tooth for a tooth” said to show that you believe if
someone does something wrong, that person should be punished
by having the same thing done to them.
Sumerians (Mesopotamians) were known to trade with the Egyptians
and the Indus Valley civilizations. In later years, these trade routes
became Silk Road.
The wheel was invented by 6000 BC! It helped military, farming and
trade. At right, this is made of wood.
MESOPOTAMIA CIVILIZATION IMPORTANT FACTS
SUMER Created the first Ziggurat (Tower) and wheel.
The first Civilization Cuneiform- first system of writing
AKKAD Conquered Sumer through “Sargon”
The first Empire Created the first postal system
BABYLON First outsider to come Mesopotamia
The creative empire Hammurabi “greatest priest-king”
HEBREW Ten Commandments and the Bible religious
The origin of Scriptures and moral laws.
PHOENICIA Created the alphabet
The greatest trader Built strong and fast sailing vessels
HITTITE Found extracted iron from meteorites
The iron discoverer Used the ore to create tools and weapon.
ASSYRIA Famous from their fearsome army
The largest empire Cruel and ruthless warriors
CHALDEA Ruled by Nabuchadnezzar
The new Babylon Created the Hanging Gardens of Babylon
PERSIA Constructions of roads and bridges
The Cradle of science Believed in one main God called Ahura Mazda
EGYPT Ancient Egypt stood as one of history's most powerful empires for more
than 3,000 years.
Ancient Egypt, one of history's most idealized civilizations, ruled as one
of the most potent empires for more than 3,000 years. The 9 civilization
is most renowned for its pyramids, tombs, and n mausoleums as well as
the technique of mummification, which was used to prepare bodies for
the afterlife. It was situated along the fertile Nile River and formerly
stretched from what is now Syria to Sudan.
EGYPTIAN SOCIETIES
I. Egyptian Kingdoms become one.
1. Menes: Unified Lower & Upper Egypt around 3100 BC.
II. Religious Beliefs
1. Polytheistic: belief in many gods controlling earth.
2. Mummification: process of preseriving the dead.
A. Afterlife → Happy Field of Food or Devourer of
Souls
3. Pharaohs: God-kings of Egypt.
4. Chief gods: Isis, Osiris, Amon-Re, Anubis
THE THREE PERIOD OF ANCIENT EGYPT
OLD KINGDOM MIDDLE KINGDOM NEW KINGDOM
“Age of Pyramids” “Period of Reunification” The Egyptian Empire
The famous 4th Dynasty, For the ancient Egyptians, the The time span including
during which King Snefer Middle Kingdom, sometimes Egypt's 18th, 19th, and 20th
developed the skill of pyramid called the Period of dynasties.
construction and the Reunification, was a period of
pyramids of Giza were built great accomplishment. New. Between the 2nd
under the kings Khufu, techniques and styles were Intermediate Period and the
Khafre, and Menkaure, is included into art, such as the 3rd Intermediate Period it
included in the Old Kingdom block style, which utilized spans the years 16 to 11 BCE.
of Egypt, often known as the massive stone blocks to The New Kingdom witnessed
"Age of the Pyramids" or create artwork. Egypt's greatest geographical
"Age. of the Pyramid Builders expansion thanks to military
Harvests in the Faiyum, a superiority overseas.
The Egyptian monarchy was sizable oasis on the west bank
at its most powerful during of the Nile in Lower Egypt,
the Old Kingdom, also known grew as a result of irrigation
as the Pyramid Age. The operations.
monarch was strong enough
to persuade a sizeable portion
of the populace to relocate to
Giza during the agricultural
off-season and assist in the
construction of a pyramid.
EGYPT ➢ SOCIAL ORDER
Pharaohs
➢ These are the Giza pyramids; the most famous Pyramids
were tombs for the kings.
➢ These were built in 3500 B.C.E.
Pyramids today stand as a reminder of the ancient Egyptian
glorification of life after death, and in fact, the pyramids were
built as monuments to house the tombs of the pharaohs.
Death was seen as merely the beginning of a journey to the
other world. In this society, each individual's eternal life was
dependent on the continued existence of their king, a belief
that made the pharaoh's tomb the concern of the entire
kingdom.
➢ MUMMIFICATION
Egyptians who could afford to do so would have themselves
mummified. They believed in a better afterlife if their body was
preserved.
The Egyptians took out 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. After
this the body was left for 40-50 days.
Canopic jars were four decorated clay pots, each with a
different head of the sons of the god Horus on top. These gods
were Hapi the baboon who protected the lungs, Qebehnsenuf
the falcon who guarded the intestines, Duamatef the jackal
who guarded the stomach and Imsety the human guarded the
liver.
The ancient Egyptians used the distinctive script known today
as hieroglyphs (Greek for "sacred words") for almost 4,000
years. Hieroglyphs were written on papyrus, carved in stone on
tomb and temple walls, and used to decorate many objects of
cultic and daily life use.
➢ EGYPTIAN ECONOMY
• Although Egypt looks 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)
• Ancient Egypt also had many natural resources,
including flax, papyrus, stone, and gold.
INDIA Ancient India is the origin of Hinduism. Together with outstanding literary
traditions and magnificent architecture, religion was highly valued. The
concepts of reincarnation and the caste system based on birthright are
found in the Upanishads, or holy Hindu writings, and both have persisted
until the current day.
Many historians think that changes in the local terrain and climate were
to blame for the demise of the Indus civilization. The Indus River may
have flooded and changed course due to movement in the Earth's crust,
or outer layer.
➢ The term Hinduism became familiar as a designator of religious
ideas and practices distinctive to India. Oldest of the world’s
major religion, evolved from the Vedic religion of ancient India.
➢ Buddhism and Jainism also originated in India.
The caste system has existed in some form in India for at least 3,000
years. It is a social hierarchy passed down through families, and it can
dictate the professions a person can work in as well as aspects of their
social lives, including whom they can marry. While the caste system
originally was for Hindus, nearly all Indians today identify with a caste,
regardless of their religion.
➢ Ancient India developed some of the most impressive and
innovative architecture of its time, including temples, palaces,
forts, and other structures.
➢ We also know the cities were sophisticated enough to have brick
walls surrounding them for protection against flooding from the
Indus River.
Just like the other river valley civilizations, the Indus River valley people
were mostly farmers. Traditional economy They did trade with Chinese
and with Sumerians (Mesopotamians).
It was one of the first significant cities
in the world and the main metropolis
of the ancient Indus Valley
Mohenjo- Civilization. The name Mohenjo-Daro
is said to mean "the mound of the
Daro dead." It had the greatest drainage
system in the whole globe.
The Harappan culture is credited with
creating the first precise system of
weights and measurements.
Harappa
A group of individuals known as the
ancient Aryans originated in central
Asia and eventually made their way to
Aryan India. They created the Vedic Sanskrit
language as well as a caste system
with distinct social strata.
Aryans were chariot-riding, livestock-
raising, nomadic people who also
enjoyed gambling. Clans were made
up of people who herded sheep and
goats. They had Rajas, or warrior
kings, as their rulers.
CHINA The ancient Chinese civilizations thrived in isolation from
invaders and other outsiders for millennia because they were
shielded from them by the Himalayan Mountains, the Pacific
Ocean, the Gobi Desert, and their location between the Yellow
(Huang He) and Yangtze rivers. They erected fortifications to
stave off the Mongols coming from the north, which some have
compared to the Great Wall of China, which was constructed
later, in 220 B.C.
Modern China itself is a huge geographical expanse. Around
4000 BC, this huge area contained an almost infinite number of
ethnic groups and languages. This history, in which a vast area
populated by diverse ethnic groups became, over time, a more
or less single culture, began in the Yellow River Valley.
➢ Ancient China was formed around the Yellow River.
➢ The color yellow symbolized “centrality”, as in China is
the center of the world.
Ancient China, which was often split into the Xia, Shang, Zhou,
and Qin dynasties, was controlled by a series of rulers. The
printing press, which made it possible to publish and
disseminate Sun Tzu's The Art of War, which is still relevant
more than 2,500 years later, is among the inventions attributed
to the civilization, along with the abacus, sundial, and
development of decimal system.
According to Chinese political 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
The ancient Chinese were also adept at organizing populations
to carry out huge infrastructural projects. For instance, the
building of the Grand Canal, which connects the Yellow and
Yangtze rivers, in the fifth century made it possible to transport
massive quantities of armed soldiers and cargo across the
nation.
The most prosperous centralized state in human history may
be China. The greatest civilization to have persisted on Earth at
various stages in human history is without a doubt the Roman
Empire.
A. GROUP PERFORMANCE TASK
Directions: Create a group with six (6) members and create a brochure that can inform, educate,
persuade, explain, or instruct about early civilizations (Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, and China).
(This is NOT a digital brochure, only pictures are accepted)
BROCHURE CHECKLIST
✓ Name of Civilization
✓ Short Description (facts)
✓ Geography
✓ Religion
✓ Politics
✓ Economics
✓ Achievements
Grade & Section: __________________________ Group No.: _________
RUBRIC FOR BROCHURE
TOTAL SCORE: _____________
Group Leader:
Group Members:
