First Civilization Summary

First Civilization Study Questions Part II: The Erosion of Equality and The Rise of the State

1. The author describes how ingenuity and technology changed social organization in early civilizations. Why was this “one of the major turning points in the social history of humankind?” How does this alteration of social structure reflect our modern societies? Give specific examples from your own culture to demonstrate how this change persists today.

Ingenuity and technology are the cause for one of the major turning points in the social history of humankind. Social hierarchy, which did not exist in gather-hunter communities, was introduced because of the accumulation of wealth. Some people had more wealth and status (titles) than other, so social

Firstly, agricultural advances required a stronger body to use animal-drawn plows and herding or milk large amounts of animals, so men were necessary for the job. Secondly, the populations of civilizations meant that women were often pregnant, which meant that they could no longer work long hours in the field. They resorted to household chores instead, such as weaving and food preparation. Thirdly, men had more time on their hands to become specialized in different roles because they were traditionally less important in the household. Women were connected with nature, but men saw nature as “inferior, and they were connect with

Only the elites and scribes know how to read and write. The control of writing and the control of the legal system go hand in hand. Most people thought writing was supernatural because they could not understand the symbols. The majority of written texts discovered from ancient times were about economics and politics. In Mesopotamia, there are records of taxes, debts, hours workers worked, etc. This helped strengthen the bureaucracy. Writing was a double-edged sword. In ancient China, Emperor Qin Shihuangdi buried alive hundreds of scholars and destroyed their books because of their critique of his cruel war strategies.

8. Describe the lifestyles of rulers and explain how these “elites” were connected to the new power of religion and the spirit world.

The elites were very privilege; they lived off the production of others. Their lifestyles were very lavish. They lived in beautiful, grand palaces, clothed in exquisite fabrics, waited on by numerous servants, and buried with elaborate burials (pyramids, temples, ziggurats, or statues were erected in their honor postmortem). The elites were connected to the new power of religion and the spirit world because their spirits were celebrated greatly after death. Many sacrifices and constructs occurred in their honor after their death. The elites were buried with tools that were thought to help them live in the