APWH notes
Anon 11/4/12
APWH Chapter 2 Notes
I. Something New: The Emergence of Civilizations
A. The contrast between “artificial” life as a “civilized” city dweller and the spacious freedom and imagined simplicity of earlier times still resonates today.
B. “Civilizations” are a relatively recent phenomenon in human history made possible by the surpluses produced by the Agricultural Revolution.
C. The distinctive features of civilizations are: 1. Cities with monumental architecture and populations in the tens of thousands
2. Powerful states that could compel obedience and wage large-scale warfare
3. Much greater inequality in economic function, wealth, and social status
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I. Something New: The Emergence of Civilizations A. Civilization was a global phenomenon 1. Six major civilizations and some smaller manifestations
2. Scattered around world
3. Developed after 3500 b.c.e.
B. Introducing the First Civilizations 1. One of the earliest civilizations emerged in Sumer (in southern Mesopotamia) between 3500 and 3000 b.c.e. a. First written language
b. Appearance of Egyptian civilization in Nile River Valley (northeast Africa) and smaller Nubian civilization to its south at about the same time
2. Norte Chico (central coastal Peru), emerged between 3000 and 1800 b.c.e. a. Twenty-five urban centers
b. Norte Chico differed in several ways from Mesopotamia and Egypt: i. Smaller cities without walls or signs of pervasive warfare ii. Less evidence of economic specialization iii. No grain-based agriculture iv. Did not develop certain technologies like pottery
v. Developed an accounting system based on the quipu (a series of knotted cords) but no writing system
c. Unusually self-contained; only import was maize, derived from Mesoamerica
3. Indus Valley civilization in Indus and
APWH Chapter 2 Notes
I. Something New: The Emergence of Civilizations
A. The contrast between “artificial” life as a “civilized” city dweller and the spacious freedom and imagined simplicity of earlier times still resonates today.
B. “Civilizations” are a relatively recent phenomenon in human history made possible by the surpluses produced by the Agricultural Revolution.
C. The distinctive features of civilizations are: 1. Cities with monumental architecture and populations in the tens of thousands
2. Powerful states that could compel obedience and wage large-scale warfare
3. Much greater inequality in economic function, wealth, and social status
==================================================================================================
I. Something New: The Emergence of Civilizations A. Civilization was a global phenomenon 1. Six major civilizations and some smaller manifestations
2. Scattered around world
3. Developed after 3500 b.c.e.
B. Introducing the First Civilizations 1. One of the earliest civilizations emerged in Sumer (in southern Mesopotamia) between 3500 and 3000 b.c.e. a. First written language
b. Appearance of Egyptian civilization in Nile River Valley (northeast Africa) and smaller Nubian civilization to its south at about the same time
2. Norte Chico (central coastal Peru), emerged between 3000 and 1800 b.c.e. a. Twenty-five urban centers
b. Norte Chico differed in several ways from Mesopotamia and Egypt: i. Smaller cities without walls or signs of pervasive warfare ii. Less evidence of economic specialization iii. No grain-based agriculture iv. Did not develop certain technologies like pottery
v. Developed an accounting system based on the quipu (a series of knotted cords) but no writing system
c. Unusually self-contained; only import was maize, derived from Mesoamerica
3. Indus Valley civilization in Indus and