The document summarizes the key developments in the Neolithic period and the rise of civilization in ancient Sumeria. It describes how the Neolithic Revolution led to agriculture and more settled societies, which in turn led to the rise of the first cities like Uruk, Umma, and Lagesh in Mesopotamia. It then outlines the five characteristics of civilization - advanced cities, organized institutions, technology, specialized workers, and record keeping - and provides examples of how ancient Sumerian society exhibited each characteristic, such as formal governments, artisans, use of bronze tools and weapons, and the development of cuneiform writing.

1. Ms. Fayad
Chapter One: “The Peopling of the World” (4,000,000 B.C. – 2,500 B.C.)

2. Paleolithic to Neolithic
 BEFORE NEOLITHIC  NEOLITHIC PERIOD
 12,000 BCE  5,000 BCE
 world pop.: 8 million  world pop.: 100 million
 all people were nomads  most people farmers and
and hunter-gathers live in villages
 earth’s temperature  earth’s rising
cooler, cycle of Ice temperature allows for
Ages longer growing seasons
 more big game animals  animals not hunted, but
 societies smaller, more domesticated for human
equal use (dogs, cattle, goat,
pig)
 larger societies, gap in
power and wealth grows

3. Chapter One: “The Peopling of the World”
I. Human Origins in Africa (Lecture Notes continued)
Stone Ages
a. Lasted from about 2.5 million B.C. to 8,000 B.C.
1. Old Stone Age (Paleolithic Age)
b. Oldest stone tools date back to this period.
c. All 5 types of early man date back to this period
Australopithecine, Homo Habilis, Homo Erectus,
both Homo Sapiens (Neanderthal & Cro Magnon)
… All early man were Hunter-Gatherers !

4. CHAPTER 1: Early Human Origins to The Neotlithic Revolution to the Birth of Civilization
Millions
3 2 1 BC 0 AD
of years
ago
Australopithecine
Afarensis Homo
Australopithecine Homo Homo
Sapiens
Africanus Habilis Erectus
“Lucy”

5. Life in the Ice Age
Woolly Mammoth roamed and men and women were nomads and
hunted and gathered for their food. World temperatures were slightly
cooler, about 3 – 5 degrees cooler.

6. Neolithic Revolution

7. Chapter One: “The Peopling of the World”
But then came a Revolution (a great change) in human behavior. Agriculture!
2. New Stone Age (Neolithic Age)
a. Lasted from about 8,000 B.C. to 3,000 B.C.
Modern Man is from this period
b. Advanced tools, ability to make pottery, domestication of animals
c. Neolithic Revolution – great change in human behavior when humans
shifted from hunting-gathering to growing their own food; raised crops (agriculture)
*Important consequence of the Neolithic Revolution is in flood plains with
fertile soil, rich harvests led to the rise of the first civilizations.
Revolution – means a dramatic transformation (change in behavior),
usually requiring great effort, but producing long-lasting changes.
i.e. Agricultural Revolution, Industrial Revolution, American Revolution

9. When Global Warming Was Good
End of the last Ice Age and warming temperatures led to longer
growing seasons and the extinction of the big game animals such as
woolly mammoth. Farmers, such as these women in Southeast Asia
could now live off the land and lead more settled lives.

10. The Great Wall of China
The farmer Chinese built a great wall to
protect themselves from the Central Asian
nomads (Huns, Mongols, etc.)

11. 2. New Stone Age (Neolithic Age)
Hint:
One of the two
Essay “led to”
Questions on Cause Effect
Test --Pre-AP Why is this Neolithic Revolution important?
• In order to grow crops, humans will have to “settle down” !
and wait for the seeds / crops to grow.
• “Settling down” meant the first human settlements (villages and later, cities!)
• Once settled, humans tamed animals (goats, cattle, pigs, sheep) > used as beasts
of burden, sources of meat protein, milk, hides and fibers for protective clothing.
• Better diet & food surpluses (grain storage) > increased birth rates, decreased infant
mortality rates, increased life expectancies > population explosion
> large
civilizations.
“led to”
• Put simply, because humans finally settled down…
the Neolithic Revolution (Agriculture) led to

12. Civilization!
No longer hunting-gathering nomads, humans now began a settled way
of life. These human “settlements” became “villages” became “towns”
became “cities”….in other words, civilizations arose.
Ur
SW Asia
(the Middle East)
Fertile
Crescent

13. [Handout] THE FIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF A CIVILIZATION:
• Uruk– population of about 10,000, A. Advanced Cities (UR
• Lagesh – population of about 19,000 is the earliest human
• Umma – population of about 16,000
civilization
Sumerian city life

14. THE FIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF A CIVILIZATION:
• Uruk – population of about 10,000
• Lagesh – population of about 19,000 A. advanced Cities
• Umma – population of about 16,000
• Formal governments with officials and laws
• Priests with both religious and political power
B.

15. THE FIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF A CIVILIZATION:
• Uruk – population of about 10,000
• Lagesh – population of about 19,000
A. advanced Cities
• Umma – population of about 16,000
• Formal governments with officials and laws
• Priests with both religious and political power
• A rigorous education system for training scribes.
B. organized Institutions
• By 3,000 B.C., the Sumerians had developed the wheel, the plow,
sewers, and the sailboat.
• Bronze weapons and body armor that gave the Sumerians a military C.
advantage over their enemies.
This heavy gold
helmet (right)is
exquisitely
engraved to
reproduce the
curls of his hair
and the bun at the
back of his head.
Royal Cemetery
of Ur, about 2500 Sumerian clay fragment clearly
B.C. Iraq depicting bronze helmets and even
Museum, early phalanx formation.
Baghdad. Spear throwers wearing
helmets

16. THE FIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF A CIVILIZATION:
• Uruk – population of about 10,000
• Lagesh – population of about 19,000
A. advanced Cities
• Umma – population of about 16,000
• Formal governments with officials and laws
• Priests with both religious and political power
• A rigorous education system for training scribes. B. organized Institutions
• By 3,000 B.C., the Sumerians had developed the wheel, the plow,
sewers and the sailboat.
• Bronze weapons and body armor that gave the Sumerians a military C.
advantage over their enemies.
• Engineered construction of ziggurats (huge tiered pyramid-shaped temple monuments)

17. THE FIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF A CIVILIZATION:
• Uruk – population of about 10,000
• Lagesh – population of about 19,000 A. advanced Cities
• Umma – population of about 16,000
• Formal governments with officials and laws
• Priests with both religious and political power
• A rigorous education system for training scribes.
B. organized Institutions
• By 3,000 B.C., the Sumerians had developed the wheel, the plow,
sewers, and the sailboat.
• Bronze weapons and body armor that gave the Sumerians a military C. Technology
advantage over their enemies.
• Engineered construction of ziggurats (huge tiered pyramid-shaped temple monuments)
Bronze-Age
Weapons
Wheel Sailboat
Sumerian
Achievements
Plow Sewers
Engineered
construction of
Ziggurats

18. THE FIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF A CIVILIZATION:
• Uruk – population of about 10,000
• Lagesh – population of about 19,000
A. advanced Cities
• Umma – population of about 16,000
• Formal governments with officials and laws
• Priests with both religious and political power
• A rigorous education system for training scribes. B. organized Institutions
• By 3,000 B.C., the Sumerians had developed the wheel, the plow,
sewers, and the sailboat.
• Bronze weapons and body armor that gave the Sumerians a military C. Technology
advantage over their enemies.
• Engineered construction of ziggurats
• Sumeria had artisans (skilled workers who make goods by hand) –
i. e., metalworkers, weavers, potters, tanners D.

19. THE FIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF A CIVILIZATION:
• Uruk – population of about 10,000
• Lagesh – population of about 19,000 A. advanced Cities
• Umma – population of about 16,000
• Formal governments with officials and laws
• Priests with both religious and political power
• A rigorous education system for training scribes.
B. organized Institutions
• By 3,000 B.C., the Sumerians had developed the wheel, the plow,
sewers, and the sailboat.
• Bronze weapons and body armor that gave the Sumerians a military C. Technology
advantage over their enemies.
• Engineered construction of ziggurats
• Sumeria had artisans (skilled workers who make goods by hand) –
i. e., metalworkers, weavers, potters, tanners D.
• Farmers and merchants engaged in trade of their goods
• Those trained to be priests, soldiers, teachers,
government officials, and scribes.
Scribes recording transactions in the city market.

20. THE FIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF A CIVILIZATION:
• Uruk – population of about 10,000
• Lagesh – population of about 19,000 A. advanced Cities
• Umma – population of about 16,000
• Formal governments with officials and laws
• Priests with both religious and political power
• A rigorous education system for training scribes.
B. organized Institutions
• By 3,000 B.C., the Sumerians had developed the wheel, the plow,
sewers, and the sailboat.
• Bronze weapons and body armor that gave the Sumerians a military C. Technology
advantage over their enemies.
• Engineered construction of ziggurats
• Sumeria had artisans (skilled workers who make goods by hand) –
i. e., metalworkers, weavers, potters, tanners D. specialized Workers
• Farmers and merchants engaged in trade of their goods
• Those trained to be priests, soldiers, teachers,
government officials, and scribes.

21. THE FIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF A CIVILIZATION:
• Uruk – population of about 10,000
• Lagesh – population of about 19,000
A. advanced Cities
• Umma – population of about 16,000
• Formal governments with officials and laws
• Priests with both religious and political power
• A rigorous education system for training scribes.
B. organized Institutions
• By 3,000 B.C., the Sumerians had developed the wheel, the plow,
sewers, and the sailboat.
• Bronze weapons and body armor that gave the Sumerians a military C. Technology
advantage over their enemies.
• Engineered construction of ziggurats
• Sumeria had artisans (skilled workers who make goods by hand) –
i. e., metalworkers, weavers, potters, tanners D. specialized Workers
• Farmers and merchants engaged in trade of their goods
• Those trained to be priests, soldiers, teachers,
government officials, and scribes.
• Cuneiform tablets found in Sumeria record business transactions,
historical events from their past, their traditions and customs.
E. Record-keeping

22. THE FIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF A CIVILIZATION:
• Uruk – population of about 10,000
• Lagesh – population of about 19,000
A. advanced Cities-(UR
• Umma – population of about 16,000 UR- earliest human civilization)
• Formal governments with officials and laws
• Priests with both religious and political power
• A rigorous education system for training scribes. B. organized Institutions
• By 3,000 B.C., the Sumerians had developed the wheel, the plow,
sewers, and the sailboat.
• Bronze weapons and body armor that gave the Sumerians a military C. Technology
advantage over their enemies.
• Engineered construction of ziggurats
• Sumeria had artisans (skilled workers who make goods by hand) –
i. e., metalworkers, weavers, potters, tanners D. specialized Workers
• Farmers and merchants engaged in trade of their goods
• Those trained to be priests, soldiers, teachers,
government officials, and scribes.
• Cuneiform tablets found in Sumeria record business transactions,
historical events from their past, their traditions and customs.
E. Record-keeping
A civilization is a complex culture that has developed, over time,
these five characteristics. (Textbook, p. 18)