Chapter 1: Before History

Prehistory period before writing.

History era after the invention of writing.
I.

II.

III.

The Evolution of Homo sapiens

a. Hominids
i. Australopithecus genus (the southern ape)
1. Walked upright & used arms.
2. Traveled long distances & fashioned tools.
3. By ~ 1 million years ago they had disappeared.
ii. Homoerectus (upright walking human)
1. Larger brain & developed ability to create more sophisticated tools.
2. Learned to start & tend fires
3. Had language skills & coordinated hunting in groups.
b. Homo sapiens
i. consciously thinking man evolved 200 thousand years ago.
ii. Large brains, similar to human brain.
iii. Understand the structure of the world around them, organize efficient ways to
exploit resources, & communicate & cooperate.
iv. 60 15 thousand years ago, extended into previously uninhabited areas using
land bridges that emerged during ice ages.
v. ~ 15 thousand years ago had appeared in every habitable region of the world.
Paleolithic Society
a. The Paleolithic era (old stone age) era during which human beings foraged for food
by hunting animals / gathering plants.
b. Hunting & gathering economy prevents individuals from accumulating private property
& basing social distinctions on wealth.
c. Hunters moved w/ prey & moved w/ in-season plants.
d. Social distinctions emerged based on individuals age, strength, courage, intelligence,
fertility, force of personality, etc.
e. Social equality extended to both sexes.
f. Paleolithic culture
i. Neanderthal (homo neanderthalensis) lived in Europe & sw. Asia (between 200
thousand & 35 thousand years ago).
1. Buried dead, recognized significance of life & death.
ii. Constructed powerful & flexible languages. Passed information to offspring.
iii. Created Venus figurines & cave paintings.
1. Venus figurines named after Roman goddess of love, symbolized
fertility.
2. Cave Paintings in s. France & n. Spain.
a. Subjects were animals; artists interest in successful hunting.
The Neolithic Era & the Transition to Agriculture
a. The Origins of Agriculture
i. Neolithic Era new stone age
1. Refinements in tool making techniques.
2. Early stages of agricultural society; from 12 to 6 thousand years ago.
ii. Hunters & gatherers had to limit population of their tribes.

iii. Encouraged growth of crops & brought wild animals into dependence on human
keepers.
iv. Led to agricultural economy, agricultural
v. Earliest evidence of agricultural activity discovered dates to after 9000 B.C.E.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Sw. Asia - wheat, barley, sheep, goats, pigs, cattle (after 9000 B.C.E.)
Africa - cattle, sheep, goats, sorghum (9000-7000 B.C.E.)
Sub-Saharan west Africa - yams, okra, black-eyed peas (8000-6000 B.C.E.)
East Asia, Yangzi River - rice (6500 B.C.E.)
Yellow River Valley - millet, soybeans (after 5500 B.C.E.)
East Asia - pigs, chickens, water buffalo, taro, yams, coconut, breadfruit,
bananas, citrus (6000 B.C.E.)
7. Mesoamerica - maize, beans, peppers, squashes, tomatoes (4000 B.C.E.)
b. Early Agricultural Society
i. Humans multiplied as agriculture increased.
1. (10,000 B.C.E.), before agriculture - four million
2. (5000 B.C.E.), after agriculture emerged - five million
ii. People settled instead of migrating.
iii. Village life led to specialized labor.
1. Catal Huyuk - town in south-central Anatolia
a. Made pots, baskets, textiles, leather, stone/metal tools, wood
carvings, carpets, beads, jewelry, etc.
iv. Pottery
1. (7000 B.C.E.) Neolithic villagers discovered that they could process clay &
make waterproof pottery.
v. Metallurgy
1. Earliest metal humans worked w/ was copper.
2. (5000 B.C.E.) able to melt copper & make jewelry as well as tools.
3. Later worked w/ gold, bronze, iron, etc.
vi. Textile production
1. Early as 6000 B.C.E.
2. Women able to spin thread & weave at home while nursing & watching
children.
vii. Social distinctions
1. Individuals traded surplus food / manufactured products for gems,
jewelry, etc.
2. Landowners held economic power.
3. Successful individuals consolidated wealth in families hands for several
generations.
c. Neolithic Culture
i. Farmers observed natural world & noted seasonal conditions.
1. Applied science, studied earths rhythms.
ii. Religious values
1. Honored Venus figurines.
2. Celebrated birth, growth, death, & regenerated life.
iii. The Origins of Urban Life
1. Development of cities & complex societies organized around urban
centers was gradual.
2. Large classes of professionals emerged.
a. Governors, administrators, military strategists, tax collectors, etc.

Chapter 2: Early Societies in Southwest Asia & the Indo-European Migrations

I.

The Quest for Order

a. Mesopotamia the Land between the Rivers
i. Fertile valleys of the Tigris & Euphrates rivers.
ii. (~ 5000 B.C.E.) Artificial irrigation increased food supplies population
growth & immigration.
iii. Wealth of Sumer attracted migrants.
1. Most arrivals were Semitic peoples; nomadic herders.
iv. Sumerians built worlds first cities.
1. (3200 to 2350 B.C.E.) Cities city-states: extended authority to
neighbors & oversaw affairs in surrounding agricultural
regions.
v. Gilgamesh built city walls & temples at Uruk.
1. Built ziggurats - distinctive stepped pyramids that housed temples.
vi. Raiders invaded Sumerian cities & stole wealth.
1. Cities built defensive walls & organized militaries.
b. The Course of Empire
i. Mesopotamians ventured beyond boundaries of societies; conflicts between citystates.
ii. The creator of empire in Mesopotamia was Sargon of Akkad, a city near Kish &
Babylon.
1. Went against Sumerian city states.
2. Seized control of trade routes & supplies of natural resources to maintain
military & make Akkad (capital) the wealthiest city in the world.
iii. Rebellion by city-states that resented imperial rule & invasions led to the fall of
Sargons empire by 2150 B.C.E.
iv. Babylonian Hammurabi (1792-1750 B.C.E.) king of the four quarters of the
world
1. Improved Sargons techniques by relying on bureaucratic rule & regular
taxation.
v. Created a code of law- Hammurabi's Laws
1. Death penalties, civil laws.
2. Lex talionis - law of retaliation offenders suffered punishments
resembling violations.
vi. Babylonian empire fell (~ 1595 B.C.E.)
c. The Later Mesopotamian Empires
i. Assyrians built flourishing cities at Assur & Nineveh.
1. Built a powerful army by organizing forces into units & placing them
under the command of professional officers.
2. Horse-drawn chariots allowed archers to attack from moving platforms.
3. Iron weapons to strengthen army.
ii. Assyrian Empire controlled Mesopotamia, & Syria, Palestine, & much of
Anatolia & Egypt.
iii. King Assurbanipal (668-627 B.C.E.) king of the universe
iv. Assyrians had large libraries containing Mesopotamian literature, including Epic
of Gilgamesh.

II.

v. Internal unrest & external assault brought Assyrian empire down (612 B.C.E.)
vi. (600 550 B.C.E.) Babylon dominated Mesopotamia during New Babylonian
Empire (Chaldean empire)
1. King Nebuchadnezzar (605-562 B.C.E.)
The Formation of a Complex Society & Sophisticated Cultural Traditions
a. Social classes emerged & Mesopotamia developed into a patriarchal society.
b. Invented systems of writing that enabled recorded information.
c. Economic Specialization & Trade
i. Bronze Metallurgy
1. (~ 4000 B.C.E.) Mesopotamian metalworkers discovered that alloying
copper w/ tin created a harder & stronger material.
2. Bronze was expensive, but was used for weapons & other military
supplies.
ii. Iron Metallurgy
1. (~ 1300 B.C.E.) Hittite craftsmen in Anatolia began forging strong iron
tools & weapons.
2. Iron deposits cheaper & more available than copper & tin.
iii. The Wheel
1. Wheels first used ~ 3500 B.C.E.; built wheeled carts by 3000 B.C.E.
iv. Shipbuilding
1. By 3500 B.C.E. allowed Sumerians to venture past the Persian Gulf.
2. By 2300 B.C.E. Sumerians trading w/ merchants of Harappan society in
Indus River valley of n. India.
3. Until ~ 1750 B.C.E. merchants traded woolen textiles, leather goods,
sesame oil, & jewelry for Indian copper, ivory, pearls, & semiprecious
stones.
v. Trade Networks
1. Assyrian merchants traveled by donkey caravan 1,000 miles from Assur
in n. Mesopotamia to Kanesh in Anatolia.
2. Well organized business.
d. The Emergence of a Stratified Patriarchal Society
i. Early ruling classes in Mesopotamia elected b/c of valor & success as warriors.
ii. Royal status hereditary; nobles members of royal families / supporters of kings.
iii. Early kings portrayed as offspring of gods.
iv. Role of priestly elites was to intervene w/ gods & ensure fortune for community.
1. Lived in temple communities & received offerings of food, drink, &
clothing from city inhabitants.
2. Temples generated income from land owned & workshops maintained.
3. Functioned as banks; stored wealth & helped trading ventures.
v. Free commoners
1. Peasant cultivators in countryside on land owned by families.
2. Some worked in cities as builders, craftsmen, / professionals.
3. Taxes (surplus agricultural production)
4. Provided labor services for large-scale construction projects.
vi. Dependent clients
1. Did not own property.
2. Agricultural laborers on estates owned by kings, nobles, / priestly
communities.
3. Owed a portion of production to landowners.
4. Taxes (surplus agricultural production)
5. Provided labor services for large-scale construction projects.

III.

vii. Slaves
1. Prisoners of war, convicted criminals, heavily indebted individuals who
sold themselves into slavery.
2. Agricultural laborers on estates of nobles / temple communities.
3. Domestic servants in wealthy households.
viii. Patriarchal society
1. Within households, men decided family members work & made
marriage arrangements.
2. Hammurabis laws recognized men as heads of households & entrusted
major decisions in their judgement.
ix. Womens Roles
1. High priestesses who managed temples estates.
2. Worked as scribes, midwives, shopkeepers, brewers, bakers, tavern
keepers, textile manufacturers.
e. The Development of Written Cultural Traditions
i. Earliest writing from Mesopotamia; Sumerians invented system in middle of
fourth millennium B.C.E. to keep track of transactions & tax collections.
ii. (3100 B.C.E.) signs representing works had spread throughout Mesopotamia.
iii. (2900 B.C.E.) Sumerians developed graphic symbols to represent sounds, syllables,
ideas, & objects.
iv. Sumerian scribes wrote w/ a reed stylus on wet clay.
1. Cuneiform lines & wedge shaped marks in clay.
2. Babylonians, Assyrians, etc. developed Sumerians script to their
languages; Greek alphabet script emerged in fourth century B.C.E. &
cuneiform declined.
v. Education
1. Vocational instruction designed to train individuals in trades & crafts.
2. Schools did cuneiform writing; created scribes / government officials.
3. Some became priests, physicians, / professionals.
vi. Astronomy & Mathematics
1. Important in agricultural societies.
a. Calendars seasonal rhythms for planting & harvesting
b. Mathematical skills to survey agricultural lands.
c. Divided year into 12 months, divided hours into 60 minutes,
divided minutes into 60 seconds.
vii. Used writing to communicate abstract ideas Epic of Gilgamesh
The Broader Influence of Mesopotamian Society
a. Projected power to foreign lands & imposed ways forcefully.
b. Hebrews, Israelites, & Jews
i. Preserved memories of historical experiences in sacred writings.
ii. After 1200 B.C.E. Jews descended from southern Israelites who inhabited kingdom
of Judah.
iii. The Early Hebrews
1. Pastoral nomads inhabited lands between Mesopotamia & Egypt.
2. Abraham from Ur; migrated to n. Mesopotamia ~ 1850 B.C.E.
3. Told the story of a flood that destroyed all early human society.
a. A version made its way into the Epic of Gilgamesh.
iv. Migrations & Settlement in Palestine
1. Some Hebrews migrated to Egypt during the 18th century B.C.E.
2. About 1300 B.C.E. a group of Hebrews, led by Moses, went to Palestine.
a. 12 tribes, known as Israelites.

IV.

b. King David (1000-970 B.C.E.), King Solomon (970-930 B.C.E.)

c. Built capital city at Jerusalem.
3. Moses & Monotheism
a. Early Hebrews recognized many of the same gods as
Mesopotamians.
b. Moses monotheism.
i. Yahweh was personal god.
c. In Ten Commandments, Yahweh warned his followers against
destructive behavior.
d. Between 800 & 400 B.C.E. Torah was compiled.
4. Assyrian & Babylonian Conquests
a. Tribal tensions led to division into Israel (north) & Judah/Judea
(south).
b. Assyrian forces conquered northern kingdom & deported
inhabitants to other regions.
c. Judah retained independence temporarily; New Babylonian
empire conquered Judah & destroyed Jerusalem.
5. The Early Jewish Community
a. Exiles who returned to Judea after Babylonian conquest
organized small Jewish states as tributaries to empires that
dominated sw. Asia after sixth century B.C.E.
v. The Phoenicians
1. Referred to themselves as Canaanites.
2. The Early Phoenicians
a. Ancestors of Phoenicians migrated to the Mediterranean coast &
built first settlement after 3000 B.C.E.
b. More interest in commercial opportunities than state building /
military expansion.
3. Phoenician Trade Networks
a. Influenced societies in Mediterranean basin b/c maritime trade &
communication networks.
b. Traded overland w/ Mesopotamian & others.
c. Imported food & raw materials; exported metal goods, textiles,
pottery, glass, art.
d. Commercial colonies.
4. Alphabetical Writing
a. Early alphabetic script 22 symbols representing consonants.
b. Easier than cuneiform; more people literate.
c. Spread as Phoenicians traveled throughout Mediterranean.
The Indo-European Migrations
a. Indo-European Origins
i. Languages in Europe, sw. Asia, & India shared similarities in vocabulary &
grammatical structure.
ii. Homeland of Indo-European speakers was steppe region of modern-day Ukraine
& s. Russia. Built society between 4500 & 2500 B.C.E.
iii. Domesticated horses by ~ 4000 B.C.E.
b. Indo-European Expansion & Its Effects
i. Population explosion spread to eastern steppe & beyond.
ii. The Hittites
1. ~ 1900 B.C.E. migrated to Anatolia; built powerful kingdom
& established relations w/ Mesopotamians.

iii.
iv.
v.
vi.

vii.

2. Toppled Babylonian empire (1595 B.C.E.) & dominated sw.

Asia.
War Chariots
1. Hittites created spoked wheels chariots became much
lighter.
Iron Metallurgy
1. Refined Mesopotamian iron metallurgy; heated metal & hammered into
weapons.
Indo-European Migrations to the East
1. Some Hittites ventured into central.
Indo-European Migrations to the West
1. Indo-European speakers moved into Greece after 2200 B.C.E.
2. Descendants moved to Italy by 1000 B.C.E.
3. Some moved into central Europe (Germany/Austria) by 2300 B.C.E.
4. Modern France by 1200 B.C.E.
Indo-European Migrations to the South
1. Iran & India
2. ~ 1500 B.C.E. Medes & Persians migrated into Iranian plateau.
3. Aryans migrated into n. India.

Chapter 3: Early African Societies & the Bantu Migrations

I.

Early Agricultural Society in Africa

a. Climate Change & the Development of Agriculture in Africa
i. ~ 10,000 B.C.E. Sahara Desert was a grassy steppe w/ lakes & other water sources.
1. Grasses & cattle flourished; people hunted wild cattle & collected grains,
or fished.
ii. After ~ 9000 B.C.E. people of e. Sudan domesticated cattle & became nomadic
herders.
1. Established permanent settlements after 7500 B.C.E. & cultivated sorghum
(grain).
2. Agriculture became more diverse.
a. Sheep & goats from sw. Asia after 7000 B.C.E.
b. Gourds, water melon, cotton after 6500 B.C.E.
iii. Sudanic people organized small-scale states.
1. Small monarchies by ~ 5000 B.C.E. (ruled by divine/semi-divine beings)
2. Religious beliefs reflected agricultural society.
a. Single divine force as source of good & evil; associated w/ rain.
iv. Climate change
1. Rich grasslands became barren desert; drove humans & animals towards
water supplies/ more hospitable areas.
v. Nile River Valley
1. Flooding of downstream plains led to rich fertile soil & supported
agricultural economies.
b. Egypt & Nubia: Gifts of the Nile
i. Egypt had larger floodplain than land south (Nubia).
ii. Egypt took advantage of annual floods; Nubia less prosperous.
iii. Early Agriculture in the Nile Valley
1. ~ 10,000 B.C.E. Red Sea hills migrants in n. Ethiopia introduced Egypt &
Nubia to practice of collecting wild grains.
2. Introduced a language ancestral to Coptic (ancient Egyptian language).
3. Cultivators moved beyond Niles floodplains onto higher ground.
iv. Dense human population in Egypt & Nubia led to political organization.
1. By 4000 B.C.E. agricultural villages along the Nile traded regularly w/ one
another & cooperated in building irrigation networks.
c. The Unification of Egypt
i. Political & economic competition led to small-scale wars.
1. Ta-Seti (3400-3200 B.C.E.) extended rule north of Niles first cataract into
Egypt.
ii. Egyptian rulers forged all territory between Nile delta & the rivers first cataract
into a unified kingdom.
iii. Unified rule came to Egypt about 3100 B.C.E. under the conquer Menes.
1. Minor official from s. Egypt who rose to power & extended authority
north into the delta.
2. Founded city of Memphis (capital & political center of Egypt).
iv. Ruled by pharaoh.
1. Early pharaohs claimed to be gods living in human form.
a. Horus (sky god).
b. Offspring of Amon (sun god).
v. The Archaic Period & the Old Kingdom
1. Archaic Period (3100-2660 B.C.E.)

II.

2. Old Kingdom (2660-2160 B.C.E.)

a. Pyramids built as tombs (Giza)
i. Khufu largest pyramid
1. 84,000 laborers; 80 days per year for 20 years.
vi. Relations between Egypt & Nubia
1. Nubia & Egypt were closely intertwined, but also fought.
2. Egyptians desired products such as gold, ivory, etc. from Nubia.
3. Nubians wanted to protect their independence from Egypt.
4. Pharaonic forces destroyed Ta-Seti (Nubian kingdom) after unification.
a. Domination of lower Nubia from 3000 to 2400 B.C.E.
vii. The Early Kingdom of Kush
1. By ~ 2500 B.C.E. established a powerful kingdom called Kush.
2. Wealthy state dominated upper reaches of Nile & threatened s. Egypt.
3. Traveled from Egypt to Nubia for political alliances & commercial
relations.
d. Turmoil & Empire
i. The Middle Kingdom
1. High agricultural productivity led regions to ignore pharaohs & pursue
local interests.
2. Central state disappeared during period of political & social unrest
(2160-2040 B.C.E.)
3. Pharaonic authority returned in Middle Kingdom (2040-1640 B.C.E.)
ii. The Hyksos
1. Egypt came under pressure of foreigners from w. Asia (Hyksos
particularly).
2. Chariots & bronze weapons military advantage over Egyptians.
iii. The New Kingdom
1. Agricultural surpluses supported population of 4 million.
2. Built temples, palaces, & monumental statues.
iv. Egyptian imperialism
1. Worked to extend authority beyond Nile valley & delta.
2. Pharaoh Tuthmosis III (1479-1425 B.C.E.) dominated coastal regions of
eastern Mediterranean & n. Africa.
v. The Revived Kingdom of Kush
1. Nubian leaders organized new kingdom of Kush (capital Napata).
2. Powerful enough to invade Egypt.
3. King Kashta conquered Thebes ~ 760 B.C.E. & founded a Kushite dynasty.
4. After mid-sixth century B.C.E. Egypt fell to a series of foreign conquerors.
The Formation of Complex Societies & Sophisticated Cultural Traditions
a. Cities & dense populations encouraged specialized labor.
b. Egypt was center of trade, linking sw. Asia, e. Mediterranean, sub-Saharan Africa.
c. Writing systems appeared.
d. The Emergence of Cities & Stratified Societies
i. Populations clustered around agricultural villages.
1. Memphis (3100 B.C.E.)
a. Founded by Menes.
b. Capital for many pharaohs.
2. Thebes
a. Political center before unification of Egypt.
b. After unification, became administratice center of upper Egypt.
3. Heliopolis

a. city of the sun

b. Sun cult near Memphis; temple to sun god Re.
4. Tanis
a. Nile delta.
b. Gateway to Mediterranean.
ii. Cities of the Nile Valley: Nubia
1. Kerma
a. Capital of earliest kingdom of Kush.
b. Dominated river & overland routes between Egypt (n.) &
Sudanic region (s.).
c. Destroyed about 1450 B.C.E. by New Kingdom
2. Napata
a. New political center of Nubia.
b. Wealth flowed up Nile to Kushite capital.
c. Assyrian forces expelled Kushites
3. Mero
a. New capital.
iii. Social classes
1. Egyptian peasants & slaves
a. Hard labor, agriculture.
2. Pharaoh: supreme central ruler.
3. Professional military forces.
4. Bureaucracy of administrators & tax collectors.
5. Nubia also had hierarchical society.
iv. Patriarchal society
1. Both men & women could own property & slaves.
2. Men were governors of households & society.
3. Women served as regents for young rulers.
4. Queen Hatshepsut Co-ruler w/ Tuthmosis III.
5. Some women obtained formal education & worked as scribes.
e. Economic Specialization & Trade
i. Bronze metallurgy
1. After 17th century B.C.E.
2. Egyptians began using bronze for weapons after the Hyksos.
ii. Iron metallurgy
1. Nubia lacked bronze; produced iron.
iii. Transportation
1. Nile facilitated transportation.
a. River flows north upper to lower Egypt.
b. Winds blow from the north lower to upper Egypt.
2. Wheeled vehicles, donkey caravans; Nile to Red Sea.
3. Nubians transported goods overland b/c rough waters of Nile.
iv. Trade networks
1. Aswan & Elephantine (s. boarder of Egypt)
a. Ivor, ebony, leopard skins, ostrich feathers, gemstones, gold, &
slaves were traded for pottery, wine, honey, etc.
b. Fine linen textiles, boxes, furniture, jewelry, etc. were exported.
2. Traded w. Mesopotamians (early as 3500 B.C.E.); After 3000 B.C.E. active
throughout e. Mediterranean basin.
3. Wood came from abroad.
4. Traded through Red Sea & Gulf of Aden w/ Punt (Somalia/Ethiopia).

f.

III.

Early Writing in the Nile Valley

i. Hieroglyphic Writing
1. Symbols representing sounds/ideas.
2. Written on papyrus & buildings/monuments.
3. Used simplified version for everyday affairs (hieratic script).
4. Disappeared from 2600 B.C.E. to 600 C.E.
a. Egyptians adapted Greek alphabet & developed alphabetic
scripts; demotic & Coptic scripts.
ii. Education
1. Formal education scribes
2. Nubians spoke own languages; but writing in Nubia was in
hieroglyphics.
iii. Meroitic Writing
1. Nubian scribes devised an alphabetic script for Meroitic language.
2. Represented sounds rather than ideas.
g. Development of Organized Religious Traditions
i. Amon & Re
1. Amon Theban deity; sun, creation, fertility, & reproduction.
2. Re sun god.
3. Honored gods in combined cult.
4. Massive temple at Heliopolis; studied for astronomical purposes.
ii. Aten & Monotheism
1. Pharaoh Amenhotep IV (1353-1335 B.C.E.) renamed Akhenaten in honor of
Aten.
2. Considered Aten sole god.
3. Built new capital called Akhetaten.
iii. Mummification
1. Egyptians believed death was a transition to a new dimension of
existence. Yearning for immortality.
2. Ruling elites & pharaohs were mummified; wealthy individuals also later
mummified.
iv. Cult of Osiris
1. God of the underworld.
2. Osiris evil brother Seth murdered him & scattered his body parts. Osiris
wife, Isis found his body parts & buried him.
3. Gods made him god of the underworld.
4. Osiris associated w/ the Nile.
5. Religious cult associated w/ immortality.
v. Nubian religious beliefs
1. Lion god Apedemak war god for Kush.
2. Sebiumeker creator god & divine guardian.
3. Did not mummify; built smaller pyramids.
Bantu Migrations & Early Agricultural Societies of Sub-Saharan Africa
a. The Dynamics of Bantu Expansion
i. The Bantu
1. Bantu languages original language related to Niger-Congo language
family.
2. Earliest Bantu speakers settled along rivers.
3. Traded w/ hunting & gathering peoples in tropical forests.
a. Provided forest peoples w/ pottery & stone axes in exchange for
meat, honey, etc.

ii. Bantu migrations

1. By 3000 B.C.E. they were spreading south into w. African forest. After
2000 B.C.E. they expanded south toward the Congo River basin & east
toward the Great Lakes.
iii. Made use of canoes in traveling rivers.
iv. Often intermarried & absorbed forest populations into Bantu agricultural society.
v. Iron & Migration
1. Iron allowed Bantu to expand agricultural zones & clear land more
effectively & supported population growth.
b. Early Agricultural Societies of Sub-Saharan Africa
i. Southern Kushite herders pushed into parts of e. Africa (3500-1000 B.C.E.)
ii. Sudanese cultivators & herders moved into upper areas of the Nile.
iii. Mande speaking peoples established communities along the Atlantic estuaries of
w. Africa.
iv. Spread of Agriculture
1. Between 1000 & 500 B.C.E., cultivation of yams & grains extended into
east & south Africa. Herders introduced sheep & cattle.
2. Bantu & other Niger-Congo speakers spread cultivation of yams, oil
palms, millet, & sorghum throughout west & central Africa while also
introducing sheep, pigs, & cattle.
3. Communities consisted of a few hundred individuals led by chiefs.
4. Age sets organized groups consisting of individuals of similar ages.
v. Religious Beliefs
1. Sudanic & Niger Congo peoples held monotheistic beliefs by 5000 B.C.E.
a. Impersonal divine force; source of good & evil.
b. Took form of spirits.
c. Called Nyamba; created world.
2. Offered prayers to ancestor spirits & local territorial spirits.
3. Borrowed elements from other communities.

Chapter 4: Early Societies in South Asia

I.

II.

Harappan Society
a. Developed in the Indus river valley.
b. No deciphered written records & no early remains.
c. Foundations of Harappan Society
i. Wheat, barley, cattle, sheep, goats, domesticated chickens, & cotton.
ii. Dravidian peoples dominated Indus river valley until after 1900 B.C.E.
iii. Indus valley fed Harappa & Mohenjo-Daro.
iv. No evidence of royal or imperial authority.
v. Harappa & Mohenjo-daro
1. City walls, fortified citadel, large granary, marketplaces, temples, public
buildings, residential districts, broad streets.
2. Likely served as centers of political authority & sites for tax collection.
3. Standardization of cities reflects wealth & power.
vi. Specialized Labor & Trade
1. Domestic & foreign trade.
2. Pottery, tools, decorative items produced & traded.
3. Harappans obtained gold, silver, copper, lead, gems, & semiprecious
stones.
d. Harappan Society & Culture
i. From 2500 to 2000 B.C.E. Mohenjo-Daro was a thriving economic center;
population ~ 40 thousand.
ii. Social distinctions
1. No pyramids or tombs, rulers wielded authority from citadels.
2. Houses varied in size; one room tenements, multiple story houses, &
even larger houses existed.
3. Water & sewage systems were most sophisticated of ancient world.
iii. Statues, figurines, & illustrations carved onto seals reflect tradition of
representational art & expertise in metallurgy.
iv. Fertility Cults
1. Venerated gods & goddesses associated w/ creation & procreation.
v. Harappan Decline
1. Deforestation of Indus valley for cultivation & firewood led to erosion
of topsoil & reduced rainfall.
2. Indus valley became desert; flooding/earthquakes weakened society.
The Indo-European Migrations & Early Aryan India
a. The Aryans & India
i. The Early Aryans
1. Depended on pastoral economy; sheep, goats, horses, cattle.
2. Imported horses from central Asia. Chariots.
ii. The Vedas
1. Poems & songs; collections of religious & literary works passed down by
memorization & Sanskrit.
2. Earliest works were the Vedas.
3. Collections of hymns, songs, prayers, & rituals honoring various gods.
4. Four Vedas; Rig Veda was earliest & most important.
iii. The Vedic Age
1. Vedas refer to conflicts between Aryans & indigenous peoples called
dasas. Identify war god Indra.

III.

2. Clashed frequently w/ Dravidians but also adopted their agricultural

techniques.
3. Did not have state or common government but formed hundreds of
chiefdoms organized around herding communities or agricultural
villages.
a. Most had a leader known as a raja who governed w/ a council of
village elders.
iv. Aryan Migrations in India
1. Settled in the Punjab then spread east & south. Began to settle in area
between Himalayan foothills & Ganges river.
2. Cultivated rice rather than wheat & barley.
3. Established first small cities in Ganges river valley by ~ 750 B.C.E.
v. Changing Political Organization
1. Lost tribal political organization & evolved formal political institutions.
2. Councils of elders recognized as primary sources of authority.
b. Origins of the Caste System
i. Caste & Varna
1. Caste identities developed slowly & gradually.
2. Distinctions in complexion between Aryans (wheat colored) &
Dravidians (darker skinned) influenced social distinctions.
ii. Social Distinctions in the Late Vedic Age
1. Four main varnas: Brahmins (priests), Kshatriyas (warriors &
aristocrats), Vaishyas (cultivators, artisans, & merchants), & Shudras
(landless peasants & serfs). Later new category, the untouchables.
iii. Subcastes & Jati
1. Subcastes known as jati emerged.
2. Jati people working similar tasks in a given area belonging to the same
subcaste.
a. Offspring joined same subcasate.
b. Jati lived together & supported each other.
3. Violation of jati rules resulted in expulsion from larger group
4. Outcasts could not function well when shunned from group.
iv. Caste & social mobility
1. Individual vaishyas or shudras occasionally changed work.
2. Could move down in social hierarchy.
3. Jati could improve their conditions by moving to a new area or taking on
a new line of work.
c. The Development of Patriarchal Society
i. Aryans recognized descent through male line.
ii. Women held no public authority.
iii. Only males could inherit property.
iv. Women rarely learned Vedas; formal Sanskrit education for women was rare.
v. Lawbook of Manu reflected society constructed under Aryan influence.
1. Women remain subject to guidance of principal men in tier lives.
vi. Womens duties were to bear children & maintain homes.
vii. Sati, practice of a widow throwing herself in to funeral flame of husband.
Religion in the Vedic Age
a. Aryan Religion
i. Aryan Gods
1. Rig Veda collection of hymns, songs, & prayers.
2. Indra

a. War god; led them into battle.

b. Domestic dimension associated w/ weather & rain.
3. God of sun, sky, moon, fire, health, disease, dawn, underworld, etc.
4. Believed god Varuna presided over sky & preserved cosmic order.
ii. Ritual sacrifices
1. Aryans hoped to win favor of gods.
2. Slaughter of dozens or hundreds of prepared animals.
3. Expected to gain divine support to ensure military success, large
families, long life, cattle, etc.
4. Some became dissatisfied w/ sacrificial cults & left their villages to live
as hermits in the forests.
b. The Blending of Aryan & Dravidian Values
i. The Upanishads
1. Disciples gathering before a sage for discussion of religious issues.
ii. Brahman, the Universal Soul
1. Human beings are not separate & autonomous creatures.
2. Each person part of larger cosmic order & forms small part of universal
soul, Brahman.
3. Individual souls born into world many times; rebirth in new body.
4. Highest goal is to escape cycle of birth & rebirth to entire into union w/
Brahman.
iii. Teachings of the Upanishads
1. Samsara upon death, individual souls go temporarily to the World of
the Fathers & return to earth reincarnated.
2. Karma the life you live determines the life you will be reincarnated
into.
3. Upanishads sought to escape cycle & attain state of moksha; deep &
dreamless sleep from meditation.
iv. Religion & Vedic Society
1. Samsara & karma justified social inequalities from caste system.

Chapter 5: Early Society in East Asia

I.

Political Organization in Early China

a. Early Agricultural Society & the Xia Dynasty
i. The Yellow River
1. Loess soil deposited on plains of northern China; fertile.
2. Enough rainfall for crops.
3. Dredged river & built dikes to limit flood damage.
ii. Yangshao Society & Banpo Society
1. 5000 to 3000 B.C.E.
2. Neolithic village at Banpo; painted pottery & bone tools.
iii. Three ancient dynasties: Xia, Shang, Zhou
iv. Xia
1. One of first efforts to organize public life in China on large scale.
2. Founder was the sage-king Yu; organized flood control projects.
3. Eritou likely the capital.
b. The Shang Dynasty
i. Shang
1. 1766-1122 B.C.E.
2. Bronze Metallurgy & Horse Drawn Chariots
a. Enabled Shang rulers to displace Xia dynasty.
b. Came from sw. Asia (Indo-European migrants) along w/ horses,
horse-drawn chariots, & other wheeled vehicles.
c. Shang ruling elites monopolized bronze production by
controlling access to copper & tin ores.
d. Employed government craftsmen to make bronze weapons.
e. Shang armies imposed rule on agricultural villages & extended
rule through Yellow River valley.
f. Shang kings extended rule to northeastern China.
i. Claimed large portion of surplus agriculture to support
military, government, etc.
3. Shang political organization
a. Authority rested on work of walled towns who recognized kings
power.
b. Capital moved six times.
4. The Shang capital at Ao
a. One of earliest capitals at Ao.
b. Walls stood 33 ft high & 66 ft thick.
5. The Shang capital at Yin
a. Complex royal palaces, archives w/ written documents,
residential neighborhoods, bronze foundries, workshops, burial
grounds, etc.
b. Graves of kings & others included chariots, weapons, bronze,
pottery, jade, etc. Also included sacrificial victims.
c. King Wu Dings consort Fu Haos tomb not found by grave
robbers.
6. Beyond the Yellow River Valley
a. Similar states dominated other regions at same time as Xi &
Shang.
c. The Zhou Dynasty
i. Rise of the Zhou

II.

1. The last Shang King led the dynasty to be transferred to the Zhou.
2. The Shang capital Yin was seized by Zhou forces & the administration
was replaced.
3. Allowed Shang heirs to continue governing small districts.
ii. The Mandate of Heaven
1. Zhou theory of politics was that earthly events were closely related to
heavenly affairs.
2. Heavenly powers granted the right to govern the mandate of heaven.
3. Rulers were a link between heaven & earth.
4. As long as they maintained order the heavenly powers would approve.
iii. Political organization
1. Zhou rulers relied on decentralized administration.
2. Entrusted power to subordinates who in returned owed tribute & support.
iv. Weakening of the Zhou
1. Subordinates became more independent of the dynasty.
2. Ignored obligations to support government.
v. Iron metallurgy
1. Not able to control production of bronze as closely as Shang
predecessors; subordinates built up stockpiles.
2. Zhou kings unable to monopolize iron production; iron ores cheap &
accessible.
3. Subordinates gave their forces iron weapons to resist central government.
4. Dynasty collapsed after subordinates refused to support dynasty when
invaded.
5. Period of the Warring States (403-221 B.C.E.); dynasty ended in 256
B.C.E.
Society & Family in Ancient China
a. The Social Order
i. Ruling elites
1. Royal family & allied nobles possessed lots of bronze weaponry.
2. Lavish life styles.
3. Privileged class of hereditary aristocrats arose from military allies of
Shang & Zhou rulers.
4. High living standards.
ii. Specialized labor
1. Artisans, craftsmen, bronze smiths, jewelers, jade workers, embroiderer,
textile manufacturers, etc.
2. Comfortable lives.
iii. Merchants & trade
1. Long distance trade routes during Shang & Xia times.
2. Trade networks linked China w/ west & south.
3. King Yu invented sails.
4. Large oar propelled vessels used before 2000 B.C.E.
iv. Peasants
1. Owned no land; provided agricultural, military, & labor services for lords
in exchange for plots, security, & portion of harvest.
v. Slaves
1. Enemy warriors captured during battles.
2. Hard labor, clearing fields or building city walls, etc.
b. Family & Patriarchy
i. Veneration of Ancestors

III.

IV.

1. Tended graves & memories of ancestors.

2. Believed spirits passed to new realm & had power to support & protect
families.
3. Strong ethic of family solidarity.
ii. Patriarchal society
1. Elderly males headed households.
2. Two queens received high honor of having temples.
3. Society lost matrilineal character; no queens after Shang dynasty.
Early Chinese Writing & Cultural Development
a. Scribes at the Shang royal court kept written records all destroyed.
b. Oracle Bones & Early Chinese Writing
i. Used by fortune tellers.
ii. Bones would have questions written on them then they would be burned.
iii. Fortune tellers would read cracks in the bone.
iv. Early Chinese Writing
1. Earliest writing was the pictograph.
c. Thought & Literature in Ancient China
i. Zhou dynasty produced books of poetry & history, manuals of divination & ritual,
& essays dealing w/ moral, religious, philosophical, & political themes.
ii. Confucius.
iii. Zhou Literature
1. The Book of Changes manual instructing diviners in telling the future.
2. Book of History documents justifying Zhou state.
3. Book of Etiquette (book of rites) art of polite behavior.
iv. The Book of Songs
1. Also known as the Book of Poetry & the Book of Odes
2. Reflect conditions of early Zhou dynasty.
v. Destruction of Early Chinese Literature
1. Many records deteriorated.
2. Period of the Warring States brought China under tightly centralized
rule in 221 B.C.E.
3. Destruction of all writings that didnt have immediate utilitarian value.
Ancient China & the Larger World
a. Chinse Cultivators & Nomadic Peoples of Central Asia
i. Steppe Nomads
1. Pastoral societies in central Asia; horses, cattle, sheep, goats, & yaks.
2. Heavy wagons & domesticated horses.
ii. Nomadic society
1. Little farming; concentrated on herding animals.
2. Meat & milk as well as bones & leather.
3. Constant threat to north & western regions of China.
4. Organized in clans under warrior-chiefs.
b. The Southern Expansion of Chinese Society
i. Yangzi Valley
1. Chinese influence spread south, north, & west.
2. Intense agriculture of rice; elaborate irrigation system.
ii. The State of Chu
1. Agricultural surpluses led to cities.
2. Chu governed affairs autonomously & challenged Zhou for supremacy.
3. Adopted Chinese political & social traditions.

Chapter 6: Early Societies in the Americas & Oceana

I.

Early Societies in Mesoamerica

a. The Olmecs
i. Early Agriculture in Mesoamerica
1. Experimented w/ cultivation of beans, chili peppers, avocados, squashes,
& gourds by 8000 to 7000 B.C.E.
2. Added maize & tomatoes.
3. Agricultural villages appeared after 3000 B.C.E.
4. Turkeys, small barkless dogs.
5. Human laborers prepared fields for cultivation & carried trade goods.
ii. Ceremonial centers
1. Monumental pyramids, temples, palaces.
2. Residents included ruling elite, priests, artisans & craftsmen tending
ruling classes.
iii. Olmecs: the Rubber People
1. Appeared on coast of the Gulf of Mexico.
2. Name b/c abundance of rubber trees in region.
3. First ceremonial center about 1200 B.C.E. in modern day San Lorenzo;
capital for 400 years.
4. La Venta (800-400 B.C.E.); Tres Zapotes (400-100 B.C.E.)
5. Abundant rainfall; elaborate drainage systems.
iv. Olmec society
1. Thousands of laborers to construct ceremonial centers.
2. Common subjects labored regularly on behalf of Olmec elite.
v. Trade in Jade & Obsidian
1. Olmecs spread influence through military force & trade.
2. Traded decorate objects from jade & obsidian.
3. Knives & axes.
vi. Decline of Olmecs
1. Destroyed ceremonial centers deliberately.
b. Heirs of the Olmecs: The Maya
i. Populations grew & ceremonial centers cropped up.
ii. Priests devised written languages & compiled astronomical knowledge.
iii. The Maya
1. Present day Guatemala, Mexico, Belize, Honduras, & el Salvador.
2. Kaminaljuy ceremonial center.
3. Built terraces to trap silt from rivers.
4. Harvested maize, cotton, cacao, etc.
iv. Tikal
1. Most important Maya political center between 4th & 9th centuries.
2. Small city-kingdoms Tikal largest; Palenque & Chichn Itz large also.
v. Maya Warfare
1. Kingdoms fought w/ one another.
2. Destroyed people they defeated & took over ceremonial centers.
3. Held captives & used as sacrificial victims to gods.
vi. Chichn Itz
1. Loose empire that brought political stability to northern Yucatan.
vii. Maya Decline
1. Began to desert cities by ~800 C.E.
2. Chichn Itz continued to flourish.

II.

3. Populations declined.
c. Maya Society & Religion
i. Large class of priests maintained elaborate calendar & studied writing,
astronomy, & mathematics.
ii. Hereditary nobility owned most land & cooperated w/ kings & priests.
iii. Merchants from noble classes.
iv. Professional architects & sculptors oversaw construction.
v. The Maya Calendar
1. Solar year of 365 days agricultural cycle
2. Ritual year of 260 days daily affairs
3. 20 months of 13 days
4. Took 52 years for two calendars to work through all possible
combinations of days.
vi. Maya Writing
1. Created most flexible & sophisticated language of early Americans.
2. History, poetry, myth, genealogical, administrative, & astronomical
writing.
3. Spanish conquerors destroyed books.
vii. Maya religious thought
1. Gods created humans out of maize & water.
viii. Bloodletting rituals
1. Shedding of human blood as sacrifice to send rain water to maize.
ix. The Maya ball game
1. Ball game from Olmecs
2. Competed for sporting purposes or to place bets. Conclusion of treaties.
3. Had captives play against each other to decide sacrificial victims.
d. Heirs of the Olmecs: Teotihuacan
i. Large lakes fed by waters from mountians.
ii. Sources of freshwater & transportation routes.
iii. Teotihuacan
1. Agricultural village.
2. Colossal pyramids; pyramid of the sun largest structure in Mesoamerica.
3. Theocracypriests needed for survival of society b/c agriculture calendar.
iv. The Society of Teotihuacan
1. Cultivators, artisans, merchants. Extensive trade.
2. Rulers established colonies to protect sources of obsidian.
v. Cultural traditions
1. Played Olmec ball game.
2. Adapted calendar.
3. Complete system of writing.
Early Societies of South America
a. Early Andean Society & the Chavn Cult
i. Cultivated maize & squashes; spread to central Andean region.
ii. Early Agriculture in South America
1. Beans, peanuts, sweet potatoes, cotton, marine life.
iii. The Chavn cult
1. Popular between 900 & 800 B.C.E.
2. Large temple complexes & elaborate art.
iv. Early Cities
1. Beginning around 200 B.C.E. cities emerged in modern sites of Huari,
Pucara, & Tiahuanaco.

III.

b. Early Andean States: Mochica

i. Political & Economic Integration of Andean valleys
1. Regional states
2. Conquerors unified valleys & organized societies.
3. Built irrigation systems so lower valleys could support agriculture.
4. Established trade networks.
5. Maize, beans, potatoes, llama meat, alpaca wool, squashes.
6. Integrated economic zones.
ii. The Mochica State
1. Artistic legacy
2. Dominated coasts & valleys of northern Peru from 300 to 700 C.E.
Early Societies of Oceania
a. Early Societies in Australia & New Guinea
i. Inhabitants of Australia & New Guinea lived by hunting & gathering.
ii. Aboriginals of Australia hunted & gathered until 19th & 20th centuries.
iii. New Guinea peoples cultivated yams, taro & kept pigs & chickens.
iv. Early Hunting & Gathering societies in Australia
1. Small, mobile communities.
2. Plant foods included fruits, berries, roots, nuts, etc.
3. Used axes, spears, & other weapons to hunt animals.
v. Austronesian peoples
1. Seafaring peoples from se. Asia.
2. Visited northern coast of New Guinea, traded & established communities
vi. Early Agriculture in New Guinea
1. Yams, taro, pigs, chickens
2. Specialization of labor.
b. The Peopling of the Pacific Islands
i. Few settlements in Bismarck & Solomon island groups east of New Guinea.
ii. Austronesian Migrations to Polynesia
1. Sophisticated maritime technology & agricultural expertise.
2. By ~ 1500 B.C.E. Austronesian mariners arrived at Vanuatu.
3. Tahiti & Marquesas.
4. Hawaii, Easter Island, New Zealand
iii. Austronesian Migrations to Micronesia & Madagascar
1. From Philippines some ventured to region of Micronesia.
2. Others went west from Indonesia to Madagascar.
iv. The Lapita Peoples
1. Pacific island peoples.
2. Maintained communication & exchange networks.
3. Pigs & chickens, & yams, taro, breadfruit, & bananas.
4. Distinctive pottery.
v. Chiefly Political Organization
1. Established hierarchical chiefdoms in Pacific Islands.