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1. Before 1200: Patterns in World History

Civilizations

Early civilizations

Mesopotamia (Iraq), Egypt, central coast of Peru between 3500 and 3000 BCE

First Civilizations

small islands of innovation in sea of people living in much older ways

over next 4,000 years, spread globally

by 1200, considerable majority of humankind lived in a civilization

Definition

definition: societies based in cities and governed by states

product of age of agriculture

only highly productive agricultural economy can support substantial numbers of people who don’t produce their own food

huge change compared to bands of Paleolithic peoples and villages of farming communities

Major cities

mostly remained in rural areas but cities were central feature

political and administrative capitals

cultural hubs

generated works of art, architecture, literature, ritual, ceremony

marketplaces for local and long-distance trade

housed major manufacturing enterprises

States

governing structures organized around particular cities/territories

usually headed by kings

employed variety of ranked officials

used force to compel obedience

Occupational specialization

new degree of specializing

scholars, merchants, priests, officials, scribes, soldiers, servants, entertainers, artisans

supported by peasant farmers (majority)

unprecedented inequalities

wealth

status

power

gender

patriarchy

male superiority and dominance

Innovations

artistic, scientific, technological

Chinese civilization

invented bureaucracy (non-elected government officials)

silk production

papermaking

printing

gunpowder

Islamic civilization

mathematics

medicine

astronomy

metallurgy

water management

written literatures

poetry

stories

history

philosophy

paper texts

Impact of and to environment

Impact of environment

River valleys → productive agriculture

Mesopotamia

Egypt

Peru

India

China

mountainous terrain (Greece) → city-states over unified empire

bottleneck of Panama/rainforests → hard to interact between Mesoamerica and Andes civilizations

oceans → separation of Afro-Eurasian world and Western Hemisphere

Impact to environment

larger populations/intensive agriculture of civilizations had greater effect than Paleolithic, pastoral, agricultural villages

southern Mesopotamia: by 2000 BCE irrigation made soils white as salt accumulated

wheat largely replaced by barley (more tolerant of salty conditions)

growth often meant extensive deforestation, soil erosion

area around Athens “a mere relic of the original country. ... All the rich soil has melted away, leaving a country of skin and bone” (Plato)

Chinese expanded southward towards Yangzi River valley after 200 CE

destroyed old-growth forests

elephants retreated

mountains now gullies (ravines from water)

“I believe that the forest ... covers the land to no purpose and hold this to be an unbearable harm” (German abbot, Europe)

Mayans

“almost totally engineered landscape” that supported agriculture and increasing population

contributed to its collapse by 900 CE

population growth: pushed to 5 million or more, outstripping resources

farmers:

drained swamps

leveled forests

terraced hillsides

constructed cities, roads, irrigation ditches, canals

Comparing civilizations

earliest: geographically limited

later (Chinese, Persian, Roman) extended over larger regions, empires with culturally different people

Arab Empire (after death of Muhammad in 632 CE): much of North Africa, Middle East, parts of Spain and western India

Mali, Songhay (both West Africa), Inca (South America) were also imperial

some had competitive city-states, making unified empires difficult

Greek (Europe)

Swahili (East Africa)

Maya (Mesoamerica)

Structure

China/India similarities

birth determined social status

little social mobility

great inequality

religious/cultural traditions defined inequalities as natural, eternal, ordained by gods

Occupational specialization

Innovations

Impact of and to environment

Impact of environment

Impact to environment

Comparing civilizations

Structure

China/India similarities

Range/extent of influence

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