From+Hunter+Gathering+to+Civilization

1.1 **What is Civilization?** Societies distinguished by reliance on sedentary agriculture, ability to produce food surpluses, and existence of non-farming elites, as well as merchant and manufacturing groups.

1.2 **ESPIRIT Chart on Neolithic Revolution**

1.3 **Key Terms**
 * Neolithic Revolution ||  The succession of technological innovations and changes in human organization that led to the development of agriculture, 8500-3500 B.C.E.  ||
 * Bronze Age ||  After Stone Age, it was the next basic age of human existence by about 3000 B.C.E. Metalworking had become so commonplace in the Middle East that the use of stone tools dissipated.  ||
 * Catal Huyuk ||  Early urban culture based on sedentary agriculture; located in modern southern Turkey; was larger in population than Jericho, had greater degree of social stratification.  ||
 * Civilization ||  Societies distinguished by reliance on sedentary agriculture, ability to produce food surpluses, and existence of non-farming elites, as well as merchant and manufacturing groups.  ||
 * Ziggurats ||  Massive towers usually associated with Mesopotamian temple complexes.  ||
 * City-States ||  A form of political organization typical of Mesopotamian civilizations; consisted of agricultural hinterlands ruled by an urban-based king.  ||
 * Sumerians ||  People who migrated in Mesopotamia c. 4000 B.C.E.; created first civilization within region; organized area into city-states.  ||
 * Hammurabi ||  The most important ruler of the Babylonian empire; responsible for codification of law.  ||
 * Huanghe ||  Also known as Yellow River; site of development of sedentary agriculture in China.  ||
 * Indus River ||  Is a major river which flows through the northern Indian Subcontinent   ||

**1.4 ESPIRIT Chart on Mesopotamians**


 * E || ** Economic: **
 * Mesopotamia did not have many natural resources
 * Merchants from other countries travelled to Babylonia to exchange their goods.
 * Grain was best transported on a boat and precious stones were transported on foot or by donkeys. ||
 * S || ** Social: **
 * Astronomers of Babylon were a special group of scribes, they observed the movements of the stars/planets. ||
 * P || ** Political: **
 * Hammurabi created first legal code ever. ||
 * I || ** Interactions: **
 * Mesopotamian people needed to trade with neighboring countries to obtain the resources they needed to live.
 * Grains, oils and textiles for timber, wine, precious metals and stones.
 * Babylonian merchants worked trading goods with the people who lived within a city or local villages. ||
 * R || ** Religion: **
 * Kept records and archives about stars, planets and omens.
 * Polytheistic religion based on forces of nature. ||
 * I || ** Cultural & Intellectual: **
 * Recorded observations about the daily, monthly and yearly position of the stars and planets. ||
 * T ||  **Technology and demographic changes**:
 * Records/archives could be looked at by later astronomers to help them explain and understand the world around them. ||


 * Summary of Babylonians:** Babylonians focused mainly on the movement of starts and planets. They also did not have many natural resources so they did everything possible to get them. They would trade Grain, oils and textiles for timber, wine, precious metals and stones with neighboring countries. Since transportation wasn't as advanced they transported goods on donkeys, by foot, on a gulf boat, on a raft, river boats and carts depending on the goods.

1.5 __Primary Source Analysis :__ Hammaurabi's Law Code __Document__: Hammurabi’s Law Code What do we know about where this was created? What have we learned about this topic? Society that may be relevant? || We know that in Babylon, where the document was created, people focused mainly on the movement of starts and planets. They also did not have many natural resources. || Who is the intended audience? How might they receive this? – quotes to support your claims? || The intended audience is the Mesopotamians because how it says in the introduction that Hammurabi was a king of Babylon who “united Mesopotamia under his rule from about 1800 to 1750 B.C.E. I think the people would have good reactions since Hammurabi says that he will “prospered the people” and “to give justice to the people of the land and to let [them] have [good] governance.”  || What is the purpose of this document? Read between the lines, support claims with a quote ||  The purpose of the document is to have rules for people to fallow and not break. For example when it says “If a man has accused a man and ahs charged him with manslaughter and then has not proved [it against] him, his accuser shall be put to death.” || Support with quotes ||  The main idea is to have standards of justice. Like for example when it says that “If a judge has tried a suit, given a decision, caused a sealed tablet to be executed, [and] thereafter varies his judgment, they shall convict that judge of varying [his] judgment and he shall pay twelvefold the claim in the suit;” The rules apply to everyone not only the citizens but also the judges and mayors that makes mistakes. “The city mayor shall pay one maneh of silver to his kinsfolk.” Shows that they apply to the mayor, too. Crime would be met with harsh punishment in order to uphold law. || How does this relate to the big picture? What can it tell us as historians? Relate to ESPIRIT if possible ||  The Babylonians were very “cruel” since a lot of the rules were paid back by death or torture. A lot of things were paid back with what they took from another person, if you took their eye or tooth out then you had your eye or tooth taken out. But some things also led to not having a job for like a judge if they made a mistake but making someone guilty and the n changing their mind. People view things different then to know, today if you still something you go to jail or if you fight someone and hurt them you could go to jail. First ever legal recorded law code. ||
 * Author – Who created this? What do we know about the author? What might influence their opinions? ||  Hammurabi created this source and we know that he created it as king of Babylon. So the laws on the source were to be fallowed and specially made for Babylonians.  ||
 * **Place** – Where and when was it created - ||  The Laws were discovered on a stone slab in Iran in 1901 C.E. It was probably created around 1800 to 1750 B.C.E. Since that was during the time that Hammurabi ruled.  ||
 * ** Prior Knowledge **
 * ** Audience **
 * ** Reason for Creation **
 * ** The Main Idea **
 * ** Significance **

Questions? When it says “If a trader borrows money from…” That means for traders that live in Mesopotamia not outside the countryside?


 * Summary of Chapter 1:** Agriculture was basically the Neolithic Revolution because that's what it civilized the people. During the Neolithic Revolution patterns of human expansion were all over the world especially in Africa, Europe and Asia. So since the poeple spread then the agriculture spread and the Stone Age was forgotten and th Bronze Age came upon using now metalworking. Civilization occured in Mesopotamia, Egypot, the Indus River and China because of agriculture but not in all agricultural societies. Hammurabi's law code was the first legal law code recoreded by the king of Babylon (Hammurabi) with rules that applied to everyone even the judges, most of the rule were cruel, had a lot to do with death or punishments instead of jail.

Summary: The belief of differences between civilized and barbaric/savage people it’s ancients and widespread. To Chinese being civilized was cultural not biological or racial. So basically if a barbarian learned the Chinese language and culture then they were civilized. The American Indian peoples of current Mexico used a similar “criteria.” They lived in fear of barbarous or also know as Chichimecs (Songs of the dogs) But after Chichimecs conquered they adopted the culture/language/religion etc. Civilization comes from the Latin word // civilis // which means “of the citizens,” (by Romans). Greeks saw as any outsider that didn’t speak their language as a barbarian. They tried to define the differences between civilized and barbarians. But Greece and Rome classified themselves as civilized and people like Nomadic cattle and sheepherding people (Mongols) as barbarians. But racial was added later when white people were seen as more civilized. European writers said that some races were just more inventive, moral, courageous, and artistic (more capable of building civilizations) and Europeans were considered to be the most capable of all (by white European authors). Then it went by color dimension with white on top and the rest (yellow, red, brown and black) in downhill order. Race and level of cultural development were seen in the side of thousand of years of human change/adaptation instead of being fixed in time. This view affected the nature and history of human society. European imperialist expansion was seen as a civilizing mission to make barbarians/savage people civilized. So they dominated all non-Western people because of the idea as them being the best to govern. But the racial came to an end after the colonized people revolt and the crimes by the Nazis before/during WWII. But problems remains in the ways social people determine who is civilized and who is not. To avoid problems one should not attempt to identify specific kinds of cultural achievement. All societies have cultures and people are able to built civilizations they just have lacked the desire to do so. Question: Identify a society you consider civilized. The United States of America What criteria did you use to determine that it was civilized? Criteria: Freedom of Speech, Achievements, Exceptional Opportunities, Differential Access to Educational opportunities. Can you apply those criteria to other societies? I could apply that criterion to other societies in Europe probably. Can you think of societies that might not fit your criteria and yet be civilizations? Any country in South or Central America could be societies that might not fit my criteria but still be civilized. Do the standards that you and others use reflect your own society’s norms and achievement rather than neutral, more universal criteria? The standards that I used didn’t reflect my own society because I pick where I live but if I was talking about my homeland Venezuela then it wouldn’t fit the criteria. What could be a universal criterion?
 * 1.6 The Idea of Civilization in World Historical Perspective **