World History Chapter 1 Summary

World History Notes: Chapter One
Intro
In 1849, William Loftus founded the ruins of the city of Uruk, one of the first cities in the world. Loftus found this ancient city in a part of Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia was one of the first places where civilization began.
The First Humans
The first civilizations began in Western Asia and Egypt. The way we determine how civilization came about is through science. Archaeologists find many signs of civilization in ancient ruins. No records were contained but scientists were able to find out what happened many years ago. The first humanlike creatures were hominids or Australopithecines. Hominids had the ability to walk upright and were the first to create stone tools. A new form of hominid was discovered
The first Mesopotamians were the Sumerians who had city-states. Sumerian cities were surrounded by a wall and used large supply of mud to their advantage. Many large buildings and structures were made of mud bricks. Sumerian cities had a theocratic government in which many priestly figures had great power. A temple was built to serve the priests and priestesses but soon kings came into play. Kings were the sole rulers of governments. Kings had full authority of armies and people. Farming was big in Mesopotamia and there were many different products of trade. Inventions like the wheel were made to make carrying good easier. Sumerian city-states had different social groups. Nobles were the highest in status then the commoners and then the slaves. Many city-states wanted to take control of others and started war with them. The most famous and successful leaders of these wars was Hammurabi. Hammurabi gained control of many city-states. Hammurabi was a fair leader who gave peace to his empire. After his death however, his empire collapsed due to weak kings and strong invaders.
Hammurabi’s code
Hammurabi had a code that he used to help rule his empire. The code said that people would be penalized for criminal offenses and he used the “Eye for an eye” system. His code also said that parents had to arrange marriages for their children and women were far less privileged. Adultery was also taken seriously. Men could sleep with
This form of writing was called cuneiform. The writings were written on sundried clay tablets. Writing brought about record-keeping and also posed as a new job for some people. Scribes were record keepers and probably some of the only people who weren’t alliterate. Besides writing, Mesopotamians also majored in math and sciences by using a mathematical system and constellations.
Egyptian Civilization
Egypt had a great advantage of being near the longest river in the world, The Nile River. The Nile helped with the cultivation of different sorts of crops. It had a good defensive system and did not pose many problems.
Old and Middle Kingdoms
The old kingdom was a period of time where kings would be in power and many Egyptian royal dynasties were ruled by them. Kings also had help in ruling. Viziers and Nomarchs helped govern lands and maintain peace in places. The middle kingdom was a golden age in which peace was brought. Pharoahs were in power at this time and they helped remain peace.
Socity and Economy
Ancient Egypt was hierarchical. The upper class consisted of the kinds and his nobles and priests. The merchants and artisans were under the upper class and they traded and produced different products. Most of the people were land owners but some were artisans and merchants.