The document summarizes several early civilizations including Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, China, Ancient Greece, and their key characteristics. Mesopotamian civilizations developed cities like Ur and Uruk, built structures from mud bricks, and created one of the earliest works of literature, the Epic of Gilgamesh. Ancient Egyptians mummified bodies for the afterlife and built elaborate tombs and pyramids, like the Great Pyramids of Giza. Chinese civilization emerged along the Yellow River around 2200 BCE. Early societies developed writing, economies, religious rituals, and social hierarchies. The Silk Road connected China and Europe and transferred goods and ideas. Ancient Greece introduced democracy, philosophy, theater, and

1. EARLY
CIVILIZATIONSCREATED BY BRIAN SALAS
MIDWESTERNCAREERCOLLEGE
JULY 2019

2. ■ Four major areas of agriculture and
writing
■ Created independently and spread
throughout the world

3. Mesopotamia
■ “Land Between the Rivers”
■ Fertile Crescent – excellent for
growing crops
■ c.3000 BCE – Sumerian people
develop first cities
■ Ur, Uruk
■ Buildings made of mud bricks
■ Invented the arch and dome

4. Religion
■ Polytheism
■ Over 3000 deities worshipped
■ Most associated with natural
elements – sun, wind, earth, rivers
■ Ziggurat – stepped pyramid-shaped
temple dedicated to the gods
■ Kings derived power from the gods

5. Epic of Gilgamesh
■ Earliest complete work of literature
■ King of Uruk fights monsters and
seeks immortality

6. Ancient Egypt
■ Civilization arose around the Nile
River
■ Pharaoh – ruler
■ Dual nature of the body
– Physical body
– Spiritual body – Ka
■ Once physical body dies, spiritual
one can live on if proper rituals are
preformed

7. Mummification
■ Prepare the physical body for
transformation
■ Remove organs, wrap the body,
place in coffin
■ Bury the person with objects useful
in the afterlife
– Weapons, games, food, boats,
chairs

8. Tombs
■ Vary from basket to pyramids
■ c.2500 BCE – Pyramids of Giza
■ Pyramid of Khufu – 480 ft, 20
years, 2.3 million blocks
■ Valley of the Kings – burial ground
for the pharaohs
■ KingTutankhamun – most complete
tomb

9. ■ Why do almost all cultures believe in an afterlife?

10. China
■ c.2200 BCE – civilization emerges
along theYellow River
■ The Middle Kingdom – world of
order and stability surrounded by
chaos
■ 221 BCE – Qin Shi Huang – first
emperor of China
– Started the GreatWall
– TerracottaWarriors

11. ■ China has several different empires but they share a common cultural background

12. Characteristics of Early Societies
■ Major ancient societies develop:
■ Writing
■ Economy
■ Hierarchy of leadership – king,
emperor, pharaoh
■ Government
■ Religion and rituals
■ Warfare

13. The Silk Road
■ Spanned from China to Europe
■ Constant transfer of goods and ideas
■ Silk, gunpowder, art
■ Roman Empire known in China
■ Too far apart to engage in warfare,
politics

14. Ancient Greece
■ 5th century BCE
■ Not a unified empire
■ City-State (polis) – the city the unit
of loyalty
■ Sparta,Athens, Olympia
■ Athenian Democracy – citizens
gather and vote

15. Ancient Greece
■ First great thinkers of theWestern
World
■ The start ofWestern Civilization

16. GreekThinkers
■ Socrates – Socratic Method
■ Plato – the Philosopher King
■ Pythagoras – advanced math
■ Theater emerges as an art form
■ The Academy – Plato’s school,
origins of philosophy

18. Art
■ Parthenon – Athens temple
dedicated to Athena
■ Praxiteles – revolutionized sculpture
■ Imitated by the Romans -> copied by
the Renaissance -> copied by
everyone else

19. Decline of Greece
■ Innovations short lived
■ Athens succumbs to a plague
■ Invaded by Sparta and the golden
age ends

20. Perspective
■ History often selectively told from a
Western perspective
■ Only recount the events/ideas that lead
up toWestern Civilization
■ Ancients were not consciously trying to
create modern America/Europe