Foundations of Civilization First Civilizations Egypt Mesopotamia

1. Foundations of Civilization First Civilizations Egypt Mesopotamia

2. Guiding Questions • What was the relationship between people and their environment? • What were the push/pull factors for migration? • How does migration affect other civilizations/cultures • What is trade? • How does an economy function?

3. K-W-L Early Civilizations What I Learned about First Civilizations What I Know about First Civilizations What I Want to Learn about First Civilizations

4. Foundations of Civilization TTYN:What were Hunters and Gatherers?. • Scientist believe that humans first appeared over two million years ago. • It is also suggested that the first humans were wandering Hunters and Gatherers.

5. Foundations of Civilization • Hunters and Gatherers – • During the Stone Age, Hunters and Gatherers, also known as Nomads, were people who moved from place to place, hunting and gathering their food. • They made simple tools and weapons from stone, bone, and wood. They developed their own language, which allowed them to communicate during a hunt.

6. Foundations of Civilization Spiritual Beliefs – Towards the end of the Old Stone Age, Nomads began to bury their dead, which suggests that they believed in an afterlife. Where it all began – Evidence suggests that the earliest people lived in E. Africa. Eventually, their descendants spread to all parts of the world. There some evidence that suggests Nomads migrated over a land bridge into N. America.

7. Foundations of Civilization TTYN: Describe Migration Migration led to Cultural Diffusion, or the exchange of ideas, customs, and goods among cultures. • TTYN: From your prior knowledge, describe - • How Cultural Diffusion has had an impact on American Culture. • How Cultural Diffusion has had an impact on your life

8. Foundations of Civilization TTYN: Describe the term Revolution The Neolithic Revolution (In with the New and out with the Old) • Due to environmental changes and changes to weather patterns, the Old Stone Age came to a close. • Warmer weather promoted vegetation where, previously, sheets of ice had dominated the landscape. • Around 10,000 B.C., civilizations made several important discoveries – they learned how to plant seeds and domesticate animals.

9. Foundations of Civilization TTYN: Describe the term Revolution The Neolithic Revolution (In with the New and out with the Old) • Too tired to wander - The need to wander was over • People could live in permanent settlements • The end of the Old Stone Age and the beginning of the New Stone Age, or Neolithic Period. • FYI– Many historians refer to the Neolithic Revolution as the Agricultural Revolution because farming and domestic animals changed the way people lived.

10. Foundations of Civilization TTYN:Try to Identify at least three different ways that life may have changed during the Neolithic Revolution - Permanent Settlements New Social Classes – Not everything was “peaches and cream.” When resources were scarce, groups went to war and Chiefs or headsmen emerged. As a result, men gained prestige and obtained great power and influence.

11. Foundations of Civilization TTYN:Try to Identify at least three different ways that life may have changed during the Neolithic Revolution - • 3. New Technology – • The wheel • Metal weapons • Metal tools • Plows • Calendar There’s no place like home Where did most civilizations develop? First civilizations began to develop along river valleys. The rich fertile lands helped new civilizations thrive.

12. Compare and Contrast Paleolithic vs. Neolithic

13. Foundations of Civilization Paleolithic vs. Neolithic • “Neo” means new • New Stone Age • People learn to farm • No longer have to follow herd • Can stay in one place and live • establishment of villages • permanent homes • Domestication of Animals • people learn to raise animals and • keep them as a food source • pigs, chickens, cows • lasted 2.5 million years to • 8000 BC • Otherwise known as the • Old Stone age” • Cave paintings • Hunters and gatherers • nomadic ( never stayed in • one place (followed herd) • Science and Technology • Stone tools, use of rocks, teeth

14. Foundations of Civilization • New tools make farming easier and life • Use of Bronze • Plates • Bowls • Ox drawn • Development of agriculture • Food surpluses • This period is also sometimes called the Agricultural Revolution • So, What does it all MEAN? • People stopped chasing food and started • living in permanent settlements growth • of villages, towns, cities • Leisure time will lead to advancements in record keeping and technology

15. Ancient Middle East and Egypt

16. Ancient Middle East and Egypt Early Civilizations EGYPT TTYN - Can you name one of the earliest civilizations? Hint!! This country recently experienced a revolution

17. Ancient Middle East and Egypt Timeline 500 500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 3500 270 B.C. Meroitic Period In Kush 2625 B.C. Old Kingdom Begins 1539 B.C. New Kingdom Begins 730 B.C. Nubian Dynasty Rules Egypt

18. Ancient Middle East and Egypt Along with the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Sphinx is one of the greatest enigmas and the most studied ancient monument of mankind’s history. The whole complex of Giza, composed of the Sphinx, the Great Pyramid, other pyramids, and distinct structures, definitely holds the key to understanding advanced past civilizations.

19. Ancient Middle East and Egypt • Two schools of thoughts concerning • the origin, age, and the builder of the • Sphinx in Egypt. • First, that Pharaoh Khafre built the • Sphinx around 2500 B.C., which suggests that the Sphinx is about 5,000 years old. • Second, that the Sphinx was built by an advanced civilization 8,000 to 10,000 B.C. This school of thought has been around for hundreds of years, but new findings give it more credibility. 

20. Ancient Middle East and Egypt The second finding would suggest that mankind’s history is older than the 6,000 years of Christian tradition and an advanced ancient civilization built the Sphinx. This would mean that history would have to be rewritten or a better understanding of Moses account of creation. TTYN: Why is knowing when the Sphinx was built important?

21. Ancient Middle East and Egypt Geography

22. Ancient Middle East and Egypt Geography

23. Ancient Middle East and Egypt Geography

24. Ancient Middle East and Egypt Geography

25. Ancient Middle East and Egypt • Geography • Most of Egypt is a desert • Early civilizations settled along • the Nile River. • The Nile River provided water for drinking and irrigation. • The river also served as a transportation highway.

26. Ancient Middle East and Egypt Major River: Nile River • “Gift of the Nile” • Each year the Nile floods leaving behind rich resources (silt) which aid in farming • Unlike the Tigris and Euphrates- Nile floods like clockwork (yearly)

27. Ancient Middle East and Egypt • People were not able to survive in the harsh desert and began to move into the Nile River Valley. • The Nile River Valley has fertile land along each side of the river. • The river flows northward for more than 4,000 miles from its main source at Lake Victoria in central Africa. • It is the world’s longest river.

28. Ancient Middle East and Egypt Vocabulary Savanna A grassy plain with many trees and animals. Delta Low land formed at the mouth of some rivers by the silt the river drops there.

30. Ancient Middle East and Egypt The Geographical Effects • Fertile soil • Deserts provided protection and shelter from outside influences • Access to Mediterranean increased and expanded trade and culture….Cultural Diffusion!!! • Culture was one of stability and not rapid change • Deserts were an important source of minerals and building supplies (copper, tin, gold and natron, the drying agent used in mummification

31. K-W-L Early Civilizations What I Learned about First Civilizations What I Know about First Civilizations What I Want to Learn about First Civilizations

32. Religion in Ancient Egypt

33. Government in Ancient Egypt

34. Ancient Middle East and Egypt • Religion • Source of Egyptian Religion • The Ancient Egyptians believed in many gods • TTYN:The belief in many gods is known as what? • and used stories about them to explain events in nature. • They believed the sun was a god that was born each day and died each night. • They believed religion was important to their survival in the Nile River Valley.

35. Ancient Middle East and Egypt Religion • Egyptians were polytheistic. In other words, they believed in more than one god. • For example, the sun god, Amon-Ra or Amon-Re was the chief god, Osiris was the god of the Nile, and a host of other gods who had specific functions. TTYN: If polytheistic is the belief in more than one god, what is monotheistic ?

36. Ancient Middle East and Egypt Egyptian gods Thoth – the god of wisdom Hathor – the goddess of love Orisis - ruled over the dead Hapi – the god of the river

37. Ancient Middle East and Egypt The Afterlife • The Egyptians prayed to their gods and believed in life after death – the Afterlife • A book of prayers called The Book of the Dead was placed in their tombs , which is to be used as a guide in the afterlife.

38. Ancient Middle East and Egypt The cornerstone of the religious faith for Egyptians was a belief in life after death. Egyptians prepared their dead for the afterlife through the preservation process called mummification More on Religion…. Amon Ra

39. Ancient Middle East and Egypt Government, Society, and Contributions Government style known as a Theocracy • Government • The Egyptian ruler was called a pharaoh and Egyptians believed he was both a god and a king. • After the death of a pharaoh, power usually • passed to another member of the family. Thus, these ruling families were called dynasties.

40. Ancient Middle East and Egypt Government, Society, and Contributions • Society • Egyptian society was divided into classes. • The pharaoh was at the top • Next were the priests, who served the gods and goddesses, and third were the nobles, who fought the pharaoh’s wars. • Next were the craftspeople and merchants

41. Ancient Middle East and Egypt Government, Society, and Contributions • Society • The biggest group, the peasant farmers. • The lowest group were the slaves. • Women had a higher status in Egyptian society than in any other ancient civilization…a woman could own property, conduct business transactions, and obtain a divorce.

42. Ancient Middle East and Egypt Government, Society, and Contributions Contributions Egyptians made many advancements in science and art. Mummifications helped them understand the human body, which helped them diagnose illnesses and perform surgery. They developed a calendar, which is very similar to what we use today. They also created picture writing called hieroglyphics. Egyptian temples, monuments, and pyramids have survived thousands of years.

43. Ancient Middle East and Egypt The Rosetta Stone: Key to understanding hieroglyphics • Found in 1799 by the French • Took 23 years to crack code http://www.nationalgeographic.com/pyramids/pyramids.html Egyptian Hieroglyphics

44. Ancient Middle East and Egypt Science and Technology: Pyramids

45. Ancient Middle East and Egypt Papyrus • The first form of paper • Something they could write on other than stone or clay

46. Ancient Middle East and Egypt Calendars • 365 day calendar (to keep track of flooding of Nile) …learned this by watching stars

48. Achievements

49. VI. Ramses II (1279-1213)

50. VI. Tutankhamen 1335-1325 BCE • (King Tut) • child ruler • ruled nine years, died at 18 • young death meant burial in the tomb of a lesser person (noble) resulting in preservation