This document outlines the key features of ancient civilizations, including advanced cities and architecture, specialized workers, and systems of record keeping such as writing. It discusses how early cities had strong central governments to provide order and administration, with rulers often claiming divine right to rule. Religions in ancient societies typically involved belief in multiple gods. Civilizations exhibited social hierarchies with priests and nobles at the top and slaves at the bottom. Public works like roads, bridges and irrigation systems supported cities. Writing systems started as pictograms and were used to keep records of trade, taxes and laws.

1. Features oF Civilization
Mr. Seymour – Burges HS

2. Aim: What are the basic
features of a civilization?
• Do Now: Copy in notes
• Civilization – A complex highly organized
social order
• Cities where the main feature of a
civilization. The first cities evolved along
? valleys where fertile land created a food
surplus.
• What word is missing here?

3. Ancient Civilizations (Map it)
What do all of these
civilizations have in
common?
Label your map

4. Early Civilizations
Label your map

6. Common Features of Civilization
• Civilizations have certain characteristics in
common. These include:
– Advanced Cities and Architecture – Cities are centers of trade. They
generally have large and diverse populations and advanced forms of architecture
(like the Ziggurat in Babylonia)
– Advanced Technology – Technology is defined as any tool, invention, or
discovery that allows humans to work faster or more efficiently. These can be as
simple as stone tools and farming implements or as advanced as today’s
computers.
– Complex Institutions - Including government, religion, and other formal
institutions.
– Specialized Workers - People who do one or a few things well. Examples
include farmers, potters, basket weavers, stone masons, iron workers, priests,
scribes, government workers, etc.
– Systems of Recordkeeping – History doesn’t really begin until the first
written records. Everything before it is considered “pre-history.” Keeping a
written record of even the simplest things in a society (such as trade) and/or
forms of literature, personal recollections, diaries, etc. help historians understand
the collective past. It is how we communicate with future generations.

7. Copy in notebook
CIVILIZATION
Cities
Central
government Traditional
economy
Organized
religion
Social
classes
Art and
architecture
Roads, bridges,
and other public
works
Specialized
jobs
System of
writing

8. Organized Governments
• Early cities needed a strong government
to administer unity, protection, law, justice
and welfare.
• Early rulers had heredity rule. This meant
they inherited their status and claimed a
right from the gods to rule.

9. Activity
• How does our government provide the
following? Give examples
– Unity
– Protection
– Law
– Justice
– Welfare

10. The Pharaoh’s of Egypt
How did the
Pharaoh's of
Egypt rule?

11. Ziggurat at the City of Ur
What purpose do you think this structure served?

12. Complex InstItutIons
(RelIgIon)
• Most ancient people were polytheistic,
which means they believed in many gods
who controlled the forces of nature and
peoples lives.

13. Can you guess all the religions here?
What might they all have in common?

16. Job Specialization
• City people developed many new jobs with
many different skills. Cities needed
craftsmen, warriors, government officials,
priests and builders.

17. Social claSSeS
• In cities people were ranked according to
their jobs.
• Priests and nobles (top)
• merchants and artisans (middle)
• Farmers (near the bottom)
• Slaves (at the bottom)

18. Social Mobility –
Being able to move
between social
classes in one’s
lifetime.
Is it easy today to
move up the social
pyramid?

19. Art and Architecture
• The art and architecture of a civilization
expressed the values and beliefs of the
people that create them. Such monuments
reassure people of the power of their
government and religion

20. What value is
being expressed
in the Statue of
Liberty?

21. Public Works
• Keeping cities functioning required public
works like irrigation systems, roads,
bridges, defensive walls and in some
cases plumbing

22. What would life be
like in this city
without public
works?

24. Writing
• Writing was needed for record keeping
regarding taxes, trade, written laws and
calendars.
• Early writing was made up of pictograms
(simple drawings)

26. How are these writing
systems similar?

28. Summary Assessment
• What purpose does government serve in any organized
society?
• Religions around the world have similar beliefs and
values. How does religion contribute to an orderly
society?
• What different kinds of specialized jobs did civilized
people have?
• Who occupied the top, middle and lowest social classes
of ancient cities?
• What does art and architecture tell us about a society?
• What public works did ancient cities have?
• What kind of writing did early people have? What was
record keeping important?

29. Pompeii: A civilization preserved.

30. Why are there steps in the street?

31. Fast Food

32. Frozen in time