UNDERSTANDING CULTURE,
SOCIETY, AND POLITICS
Presentation

LESSON 3: SOCIOPOLITICAL EVOLUTION OF MAN : EARLY
CIVILIZATION AND THE RIGHTS OF THE STATES
From a hunting-gathering lifestyle to Neolithic society, major changes took
place in terms socio-economic factors of early human life. Despite this
already drastic movement, human lifestyle continued to develop into more
organized socio-economic and political system.
• What factors contributed to this changes
• How did these developments influence future socio-political movements
and policies?

The Neolithic revolution, through the domestication of plants
and animals, paved the way for the beginnings of early
civilizations like Mesopotamia. In the lessons, the development
and implications of these civilizations will be discussed and
explained.

The Rise of Civilization
Civilizations began to develop during the Neolithic period where the early
humans learned to settle in just one area to domesticate plants and
animals for survival. The first civilization were found mostly in Asia,
particularly in China and Mesopotamia, now Iraq the latter was part of the
fertile crescent, an area in the ancient Middle East that is believed to be
"cradle of civilization" and the birthplace of agriculture, urbanization,
writing, trade, and science due to its fertile land area. This area housed two
bodies of water, the river Tigres and the Euphrates, which also became
valuable resources for the early civilization.

Chewing dispensation we're mainly agreeing societies that treated both
genders equally as the first labor only involved in farming, domestication,
and harvesting. Though this may be the case, social roles began to emerge
with some members of the community becoming priests or priestesses,
laborers, and farmers.

The Development of States
In Mesopotamia, in the region of sumer in 4,000 BCE, two significant
developments took place that influenced the flow of the socio-political
process of the early civilizations.
These are:
• the rise of states, and
• the invention of writing.
Historians believe that this developments occurred because of trades
between different regions. The early civilizations would have had some form
of writing to document or record traces of their products in deals.

During the Copper Age (5, 900-3,200 BCE), the system of commerce grew with
prosperity leading to the development of cities and changes in socio-political
positions with some civilization promoting a kingship to replace priestly ruled
to be able to foresee the flow of the trade and negotiations with other regions.
This era gave rise to numerous developments such as the invention of the
wheel and transition from the use of stone tools to copper tools.
In 3,000 - 2,119 BCE, during the early Bronze Age , copper instruments were
replaced with bronze tools. Along with this, the rise of city-states continued to
flourish , thereby laying out a foundation for economic and political stability. As
a result , more empires , civilization , and states began to rise and develop.

Implications of the Rise of Civilizations and States
The rise of civilizations and steaks lead to organization, economic focus, political
power, and material development. These changes allowed both positive and
negative implications that directly affected future developments in the socio-
political evolution of men.

Below are some implications of the rise of civilizations and states:
• Warfare: conflict and wars emerged among states as tension grew among
them. Soon , professional armies and weaponry began to make their
appearance.
• Metal Work: A huge development in metal work occurred along with the rise
of civilizations and states. During this time, people began to discover various
raw materials, such as iron, copper, and bronze for making tools and weapons.
• Political System: Because of economic factors such as trading , the leadership
among city states began to be more organized and developed . With the
kingship system replacing the priestly leaders , each state had its executive
branch that centralized decision and communications with other states.

Evidence for the existence of Civilizations and States
Artefactual evidence proved the existence and occurrences of early
civilizations and states.
Here are some of the actual evidence found to support the existence of this
era.
• In 1922 , archaeologist sir leonard woolley discovered the remains of two
four-wheeled wagons that dated back to the time of Mesopotamian.
• Excavations in the 1840s revealed human settlements in Mesopotamia
during 10,000 BCE.

Tips
• Mesopotamia , in Greek , translate to "between two rivers" . This translation
refers to the river Tigris and the Euphrates that surrounds the land.
• The Mesopotamia civilization existed even before Egyptian civilization. After
the Middle Eastern civilization began, Egyptian civilization soon developed
along the Nile River.

Key points
• The first civilizations were found mostly in Asia , particularly in China and
Mesopotamia ,
Iraq.
• The Fertile Crescent is an area in ancient Middle east that is believed to be
"cradle of civilization" and the birthplace of agriculture , urbanization , writing
, trade , and science due to its fertile land area.
• In Mesopotamia , in the region of Sumer in 4,000 BCE , two important
developments took place that influenced the flow of the sociopolitical
process of the early civilization . These are the rise of the states and the
invention of writing.
• The implications of the rise of civilizations in states include warfare ,
developments in metal work , and changes in political systems.

LESSON 4: SOCIO-POLITICAL EVOLUTION OF MAN : DEMOCRATIZATION
The early civilizations created new environments , called city-states , which
introduced new developments in various aspects of life . What outcomes have
lead to discontinuous progress and ventures ?
The rise of civilizations and city-states paved the way for the introduction of new
developments during the Copper and Bronze Age . Now , we look at how those
impacted the following periods and developments .

Democracy and Democratization
Democratization refers to the spread of expansion of democracy.
Democracy means rule by the people . The term comes from the Greek words
demos, which means "people" , and kratos, which means "rule" . While
democracy is often traced to the Greeks, particularly the Athenian democracy
during 5th century BCE, a form of primitive democracy is said to must have
existed during the hunting and gathering period In independent tribes.
The form of democracy during 500 BCE in city-states is said to be a form of
direct democracy , where citizens participate directly in decision making . On the
other hand , the evolved form of democracy or the representative democracy
that became widespread in nation-states is where officials are elected to
represent a group of people.

Historical Path to a Democratic City-States
Agricultural developments in Asia and Africa eventually spread to the nearby
civilization of Greece and Rome . Both Greeks and Romans adapted to the
forming culture developed by the Mesopotamians , even following the latter's
sociopolitical structure of kingship . Eventually they were able to engage in trade
as the resources highly developed and impact socio economic growth.

Greece
• Societal status and groups began to develop:
° the king (bearing the highest position in all Greek city-states).
° the aristocracies and nobleman , then
° the farmers.
• Wars were already occurring between city-states , and tension grew between
social classes.
• Greek kings have growing ambitions to transform themselves into Palace
laden rulers just like their predecessors from the Bronze Age .

• The need for power was not feasible as the primary abundant metal during
the period was iron , are relatively cheaper metal compared to bronze . If the
king seeks greater power , he cannot easily do so easily as the weaponry
and machinery , primarily made of iron , where much cheaper , and can be
afforded by practically anyone within the city-state.
In 750 BC, with high tensions and alarm over the intentions of the kings, the
nobleman collectively acted on ousting them, leading to a successful
establishment of the first republics.

The Beginnings of Democratization
The developments in the Greek city-states led to the birth of democracy and
the rise of democratization in societies.
Oligarchy
• Greek king's were thrown out by the nobleman.
• City-states began to change the form of leadership into oligarchy , were
the rules were made up of aristocracies.
Because of inexpensive and accessible weaponry and the ongoing wars
between city-states , even ordinary people like the farmers learned to arm
themselves and rebel against drastic changes.

The oligarchic government ruled in favor of the nobleman and aristocracies, so
ordinary people also used their collective power against an abusive government.

Tyranny
​Since there are few noble people in the government , city-states , in effect ,
were now ruled by a tyrant , a positive term for a Greek leader that means
"boss".
​Tyrants became effective in ensuring fair treatment for both land owners and
farmers.
​For some time , peace and equality emerged among social classes.
​In the second generation of tyrant rule , however , the son of a tyrant made
some wrong and abusive decisions that lead to another revolution ousting the
tyrant rule.

Birth of Democracy
​Because of the tyrant's abuse of power , intelligent leaders of Greek city-states
proposed that power must account for the common people.
​This lead to the creation of a more broad-based constitution , eventually
developing the city-states into a democratic setting.
​In 594 BCE , solon gave athens a new constitution . This event was considered as
the rise of democracy in Greece.
It should be noted , though , that not all Greek city-states follow this truly ,
especially the poorer , more backward areas , steel , the political change in
Greece has also soon lead Rome to follow a democratic ruling thereafter.

Also, keep in the mind that citizen participation in democratic decision-
making during this time is limited to males and therefore, not the total
population.

Significance and Implication of Democratization
The development of democracy led to changes that greatly impacted the
ordinary people by reducing inequality and promoting fair treatment for all.
The beginnings of the democratization in Greece laid out a foundation for
modern-day democracy.

Also , the establishment of democratic government promoted more cultural
and artistic implication that eventually distinguished Greek and roman
civilization from any other ancient civilization. Below are some artifactual
evidences e of the artistic and cultural implications of democratization:
​Greek literature began to arise as poet Homer created his epics, Iliad and
Odyssey.
​Stone temples that appeared as early as 600 bc were improved through
classical Greek structures upon the rise of democratization.

Key points
 In Greece, societal status in groups began to develop with the King bearing the
highest position in all greek city-states , followed by aristocracies and nobleman
then the farmers .
 ​In 750 BCE, with high tensions and alarm over the intentions of the Kings , the
nobleman collectively acted on ousting him , leading to a successful
establishment of the first republics.
 ​It was in 594 BCE when Solon gave Athens a new constitution. This event was
considered as the rise of democracy in Greece.
 ​The establishment of a democratic government promoted more cultural and
artistic implications.
 ​Wars and tension across Greece and between city-states were one of the
primary influences in the rise of democracy.

Importance of Artifacts in Interpreting Social, Cultural, Political , and
Economic Processes.
Artifacts
Archaeologists have discovered artifactual pieces of evidence even dating
back to the beginning of human evolution. As a result, present-day social and
biological scientists were able to open a window to what life was in the past.
In this lesson, the significance and value of artifacts in several aspects will be
described and discussed.

Artifacts are objects made or modified by humans in the past. They are
recovered after a long time through archaeological endeavor or by chance.
Apart from serving as windows to the past, artifacts are also deemed
significant because they are tangible, authentic proof that a certain period in
history actually occurred.

The Significance of Artifacts
Artifacts have significant contributions in interpreting social, political, and
economic purposes that occurred in the past. Their existence proves and
describes these aspects thoroughly. The discovery of artifacts and the
understanding of various processes has provided a stable foundation for the
socio-economic, political, and cultural growth that humans have come to
recognize today.

Importance of Artifact Preservation
There are various reason why artifacts must be preserved and taken care of.
Some of which are the following:
​*Artifacts are irreplaceable*. Artifacts, being made hundreds, even thousands
of years ago, are very delicate objects that cannot be replaced by any available
material in the present time.
Artifacts are key to understanding the past. Practices that accord in the past
would not have been known if not for the discovery of artifacts.

*Artifacts give people a sense of identity*. Artifacts greatly describe culture
and society. It provides people with an opportunity to further understand
their identities and heritage, as well as some collective qualities that their
culture may have.
The past is yet to be fully discovered. Despite the seemingly great success
archaeologists have significant recent fears commander are still more to
discover about history. Treating artifacts like pieces of puzzles will eventually
provide a general picture of the past.

Present-day “Artifacts” for the Future
Many advances have already been made and discovered within this
century, it is logical to treat these discoveries as significant elements that
can help shape the future. As such, the technologies and developments that
the world has today must also be well-preserved. These must be treated
with certainty that one day, these “artifacts” will be discovered and put to
understanding by the future generations.

Tips
​Artifacts may consist of any tangible objects that was originally part of
the distant past but recently discovered . They may include bones,
fossils, tools, and a lot more.
​Archaeologists are responsible for digging out artifacts. Anthropologist
study an area’s culture. Together, they work to create a holistic picture
and identity of a certain group.

Key Points
​Artifacts are objects made or modified by humans in the past . They are
recovered after a long time through archaeological endeavor or by chance.
​Artifacts have implications in the understanding of social, cultural, economic,
and political processes.
​It is important to preserve artifacts because they are irreplaceable, help
understand the past, and give people a sense of identity.
​Present-day discoveries and technologies will one day be artifacts for the
future generation.

THANK YOU…….