Chapter-1-The-Ancient-Near-East-The-First-Civilizations教學講解課件

Chapter1

TheAncientNearEast:TheFirstCivilizationsCivilizationwasnotinevitable;itwasanactofhumancreativity.Thefirstcivilizationarosesome5,000yearsagointherivervalleysofMesopotamiaandEgypt.characteristicsofcivilizedlife:establishedcitiesandstatesinventedwritingdevelopedorganizedreligionconstructedlarge-scalebuildingsandmonuments.Humanity’srisetocivilizationwaslongandarduous.Some99percentofhumanhistorytookplacebeforethecreationofcivilization,inthevastagesofprehistory.PrehistoryThe

PaleolithicAge,orOldStoneAge,beganinEastAfricanearly3millionyearsagoendedabout10,000yearsagoPaleolithicancestors’action:livedashuntersandfoodgatherersnotlearnedhowtofarmneverestablishedpermanentvillagesalwayssearchedfornewdwellingplacesPaleolithicpeopledeveloped:spokenlanguagemakeandusetoolsofbone,wood,andstonecontrolfire,Mostlikely,mythic-religiousbeliefstheNewStoneAge,orNeolithicAge,beganintheNearEastSome10,000yearsago.Neolithichumanbeings’action:farming,establishedvillagesdomesticatedanimals,polishedstonetools,madepottery,wovecloth.

Greatstridesintechnology:theinventionofthepotter’swheeluseofmetaloxyokesail

results:improvedtransportationpromotedtradefoodsupplybecamemorereliablevillagelifeexpanded,andthepopulationincreasedfamiliesthatacquiredwealthgainedahighersocialstatusandbecamevillageleadersreligiongrewmoreformalNeolithicsocietywasgrowingmoreorganizedandcomplex,itwasonthethresholdofcivilization.TheRisetoCivilizationcivilizationarosesome5,000yearsagointheNearEast(inMesopotamiaandEgypt)andthemlaterinEastAsia(inIndiaandChina).Thefirstcivilizationbeganincitiesthatwerelarger,morepopulated,andmorecomplexintheirpolitical,economic,andsocialstructurethanNeolithicvillages.Thesedevelopments—cities,specializationoflabor,writing,organizedgovernment,monumentalarchitecture,andacomplexreligiousstructure—differentiatethecivilizationsfromprehistoriccultures.

HowwasitpossibleforSumeriansandEgyptians,tomakethisbreakthrough?scholarsstresstherelationshipbetweencivilizationsandrivervalleys.Whatcannotbeomittedisthehumancontribution:capacityforthoughtandcooperativeactivity.MesopotamianCivilizationMesopotamiaistheGreekfor“l(fā)andbetweentherivers.”Itwashere,inthevalleysoftheTigrisandEuphratesrivers,thatthefirstcivilizationbegan.Around3000B.C.,theirhutsettlementsgraduallyevolvedintotwelveindependentcity-states,eachconsistingofacityanditssurroundingcountryside.AmongtheimpressiveachievementsoftheSumerianswereasystemofsymbolwritingonclaytablets(cuneiform)torepresentideas;elaboratebrickhouses,palaces,andtemples;bronzetoolsandweapons;irrigationworks;tradewithotherpeoples;anearlyformofmoney;religiousandpoliticalinstitutions;schools;religiousandsecularliterature;variedartforms;codesoflaw;medicinaldrugs;andalunarcalendar.TheNear(orMiddle)Eastencompassesthemodernstatesof:Egypt,Jordan,Israel,Lebanon,Syria,Turkey,IraqandIran,andthecountriesoftheArabianpeninsula.Religion:TheBasisofMesopotamianCivilizationReligionlayatthecenterofMesopotamianlife.Everyhumanactivity—political,military,social,legal,literary,artistic—wasgenerallysubordinatedtoanoverridingreligiouspurpose.ReligionwastheMesopotamians’frameofreferenceforunderstandingnature,society,andthemselves;itdominatedandinspiredallotherculturalexpressionsandhumanactivities.Warsbetweencities,forinstance,wereinterpretedasconflictsbetweenthegodsofthosecities,andvictoryultimatelydependedondivinefavor,notonhumaneffort.Myths—narrativesabouttheactivitiesofthegods—explainedtheoriginsofthehumanspecies.Sumerianmythsthefirsthumanbeingsissuedforthformtheearthlikeplantlife,orwereshapedfromclaybydivinecraftsmenandgrantedaheartbythegoddessNammu,orwereformedfromthebloodoftwogodssacrificedforthatpurpose.GovernmentBestowedonamanbythegods,kingshipwasthecentralinstitutioninMesopotamiansociety.Mesopotamiankingsdidnotseethemselvesasgods,butratherasgreatmenselectedbythegodstorepresentthemonearth.Godsgovernedthroughthekings,whoreportedtothegodsaboutconditionsintheirland.Thekingadministeredthelaws,whichcamefromthegods.LawTheprincipalcollectionoflawsinancientMesopotamiawasthefamouscodeofHammurabi(c.1792-c.1750B.C.),theBabylonianruler

EconomyTheeconomyofMesopotamiancitiesdependedheavilyonforeignanddomestictrade.Becauseoftrade’simportancetothelifeofthecity,governmentsinstitutedregulationstopreventfraud.Businesstransactionshadtoberecordedinwriting.EgyptianCivilizationDuringtheearlyperiodofMesopotamiancivilization,theEgyptiansdevelopedtheircivilizationinthefertilevalleyoftheNile.OldKingdom(2686-2181B.C.)MiddleKingdom(2040-1786B.C.)NewKingdom(1570-1085B.C.)mnmnmiReligion:TheBasisofEgyptianCivilizationReligionwasomnipresentinEgyptianlifeandaccountedfortheoutstandingachievementsofEgyptiancivilization.Egyptianpolytheismtookmanyforms,includingtheworshipofanimals.AcrucialfeatureofEgyptianreligionwastheafterlife.DivineKingshipDivinekingshipwasthebasicinstitutionofEgyptiancivilization.TheEgyptianssawrulebyagod-kingsastheonlyacceptablepoliticalarrangement:itwasinharmonywiththeorderoftheuniverse,anditbroughtjusticeandsecuritytothenation.ScienceandMathematics:

geometry,Egyptians’solarcalendarTheNewKingdomandtheDeclineofEgyptianCivilizationAmenhotepsoughttoreplacetraditionalpolytheismwiththeworshipofAton,asinglegodofallpeople.EmpireBuildersHittitesSmallNationsAssyriaPersia:UnifieroftheNearEastTheNearEasternconceptionofabsolutemonarchyjustifiedbyreligionreacheditsculminationexpressioninthepersonofthePersianking,who,withdivineapproval,ruledavastempire,“thefourquartersoftheearth.”AssyrianEmpire(746-609BCE)

PersianEmpire(550-330BCE)TheReligiousOrientationOftheNearEastAMyth-makingWorld-ViewAreligiousormythopoeic(myth-making)viewoftheworldgivesNearEasterncivilizationitsdistinctiveformandallowsustoseeitasanorganicwhole.Myth-makingwashumanity’sfirstwayofthinking.Appealingprimarilytotheimaginationandemotions,nottoreason,myth-makingwastheearliestattempttomakenatureandlifecomprehensible.Thedifferencebetweenscientificandmythicalthinkingisprofound.NearEasternAchievements

TheSumeriansandtheEgyptiansdemonstratedenormouscreativityandintelligence.Theybuiltirrigationworksandcities,organizedgovernments,c