Early Civilizations: c. 5000 BCE - 600 BCE
AP Concept: 1.3 The Development and Interactions of Early Agricultural, Pastoral, and Urban Societies
Key Concepts
The Importance of Agriculture
Key Concepts
- Foundational civilizations developed in areas with strong agriculture
- The first states developed within these civilizations
- Early civilizations developed in regions with strong agriculture
- Most settlements were centered around river valleys, as rivers improved the land's fertility and could be used for transportation
- Mesopotamia (c. 5000 BCE): developed in the Fertile Crescent, between two rivers in southwest Asia
- Rivers flooded
people needed to work together to control flooding through irrigation - Egypt (c. 5000 BCE): called "gift of the Nile" because the Nile River was vital to survival in the desert climate
- River flooded on a regular basis and deposited fertile silt people could plant barley and wheat after flooding finished
- China (c. 5000 BCE): earliest civilization, the Shang dynasty, developed along the Huang He (Yellow River)
- River provided fertile land but could also flood with devastating impact known as "China's Sorrow"
- Civilizations in the Americas did not develop in river valleys, but agriculture was vitally important
- Olmec (c. 1200 BCE): settled along the eastern Mexico coast, growing maize four times a year in swampy, tropical forest irrigation unnecessary
- Agricultural settlements gradually developed into urban civilizations as they grew more complex, primarily through irrigation projects and other large-scale productions
- Cities centered around a marketplace, where economic, political, and military operations occurred
- Most urban civilizations shared similar characteristics, such as:
- Job specialization
- Chavinculture in Peru (c. 900 - 200 BCE) had artisans working with gold, ceramics, and textiles
- Food surplus
- Complex religions
- Egypt had a complex polytheistic religion centered on an afterlife
- Arts and architecture
- Indus Valley civilization (India, c. 3000 - 1500 BCE) featured walled cities designed in a grid, with temples, halls, baths, marketplaces, and housing
- Olmec civilization constructed massive heads
- Organized government
- Hammurabi (king of Babylon, 1792 - 1750 BCE) had a powerful central bureaucracy and an organized code of laws
- Written language
- Shang dynasty (China, 1766 - 1122 BCE) developed written Chinese character
- Trade
- Olmecs traded for jade from nearby regions
- Social stratification
- Aryans in India (c. 1700 BCE) established a rigid social structure divided into 4 varnas, based on occupation
- City centers
- Pastoral nomads continued to exist, depending on their herds of animals for survival
- Groups traveled to find steppe, or grassland, for their herds, primarily in Central Asia
- Often grew skilled in warfare to defend their herds
- Helped spread new technologies as they came in contact with settled civilizations
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Related Links: AP World History Quizzes AP World History AP World History Notes Culture of Early Civilizations: c. 5000 BCE - 600 BCE |