Humanity: The Beginning
By: David and Vishal
Mesopotamia
Cities: Babylon, Larsa
Social structure: pharaoh- government official-soldier-scribes-merchants- artisan- farmers-slaves
Government: Mesopotamia was ruled by kings. The Kings only ruled a single city. Each king designed the rules and systems that they thought would be most beneficial for their people.
Religion: the culture of Mesopotamia had a polytheistic belief system. They believed in four primary gods of the hills, sky, water, and wind.
The most important God of ancient Mesopotamia
AN-sky God
Enki- God of fresh water
Inanna- goddess of love, fertility, and war
Nanna- God of the moon and the sun
Utu- God of the sun and of justice
Culture art: the Art of Mesopotamia are the source of the earliest surviving art. Mesopotamia art was intended to serve as a way to glorify powerful rulers and their connection to divinity. Sumerian art, Akkadian art, Babylonia art, Assyrian art.
Writing: the Sumerians developed the first form of writing. Around 3300BC the Sumerians began to use picture symbols marked into clay tablets to keep their record.
Egypt
Cities: Some of the major cities included Thebes, Memphis, and Cairo. Nearly all of the cities were located along the Nile River
Religion: Egyptian's had a polytheistic religion, meaning they believed in many gods. They believed that the gods were not very far from the human world. Priests often left offerings that consisted of vast quantities of food and valuables. Their religion was mostly centered around rituals.
Government: The Pharaoh's word was absolute law, and he was believed to be a god. He had advisors and ministers to help him. The land was divided into small nomes, which each had their own governor.
Art: Egyptians painted tombs, temples, pyramids, and sculptures with paintings of religious gods and objects and depictions of their way of life.
Writing: The ancient Egyptians used picture symbols called hieroglyphics for literature, records, and letters. To write, they would use a pen made of a reed, a type of glass plant.
Social Structure: There are four classes under the Pharaoh. The upper class consisted of government officials, nobles, and priests. The middle class included scribes, artisans, tradespeople and soldiers. The lowest class is the largest class and it includes peasants, farmers, laborers, and servants. The bottom class were the slaves that were captured from foreign regions including Hebrews.
Indus
Indus cities: Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro
Government: the Indus River civilization is a theocracy government. A theocracy is run by a priest so there government and religion were combined. In the Indus River valley karma played a very big role in their laws
Social structure: Brahmins- Kshatriyas - vaisyas - sudras - non Aryans pariah "Harijans"
Priest Warriors and rulers Skilled traders, merchants, unskilled workers Out of caste "untouchables" "children of God" and minor official Commoner, servants, peasants
Religion: the main goddess was a mother goddess representing fertility, they also worshiped animals. Some Indus Valley seals show swastika. Many Indus Valley seals show animal.
Art: the earliest Indus art emerged from the valley of the Indus River during the second half of the 3d millennium B.C. The Indus civilization produced many statuettes made of steatite and limestone.
Writing: the Indus script is corpus of symbols produced by the Kot Diji and Mature Harappan. Indus writing has been found in seals and seal impression, pottery, bronze tools, stoneware
bangles, bones, shells, ivory, and on small tablets made of steatite, bronze and copper. Square stamp seals are the dominant form of Indus writing media.
China
Cities: The major city is Anyang, also the capital.
Religion: The Yellow River Valley Civilization had a polytheistic religion. People here worshipped their ancestors, as well as the ruler god Shang Ti and others. They believed in speaking to supernatural forces and believed that sacrificing would please the gods.
Art: People here crafted pots, wrote poems, and carved wooden ornaments. Bronze and jade were considered valuable and were used in most of the art pieces.
Writing: Their language was called Zhon literature, and the people wrote messages through pictograms on oracle bones to communicate. Zhon Literature was prominent in the Yellow River Valley Civilization. Many books were written about the history and religious rituals of the civilization.
Social Structure: The Shang King was at the top of the class structure. Bureaucrats were below that, and then were the peasants. Finally, at the bottom were the slaves.