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Ancient Civilizations - Cornell Notes

I. Dawn of History
A. Paleolithic Age (Old Stone Age)

1. When - 2 million BCE to 10,000 BCE

2. First people lived more than 2 million years ago in East Africa
3. Hunters and Gatherers
a. People lived nomadic lifestyles
b. Men would hunt game animals and fish
c. Women would collect fruits, berries and other edibles
4. Adapting to their environment
a. Tools
What are the 1. Simple tools - digging sticks, spears and axes out of
characteristics stone, bone or wood.
of the 2. Clothing - skins of animals
Paleolithic b. Shelter – caves
Era? c. Fire - people learned to build fires for warmth and cooking.
5. Paleolithic Societies
a. Groups numbered between 20-30 people
b. Developed spoken languages
1. Allowed people to communicate during a hunt
6. Early belief systems
a. Polytheistic – early forms of animism
b. People began burying the dead
1. Burials suggest that people believed in an afterlife
2. The dead were buried with their tools and weapons
7. Migration
a. People migrated from Africa to Asia, Europe and North
America
b. Led to cultural diffusion
1. Also occurred through warfare and trade
8. Scarce resources
a. Hunting and gathering sustained human life for millions of
years, but people barely survived.
b. People moved from place to place because resources were
scarce
c. People needed a more reliable way of obtaining a supply of
food
How did
B. Neolithic or Agricultural Revolution (New Stone Age)
people obtain
1. When - 10,000 BCE
food during
2. Important discoveries
the Neolithic
a. Farming
Era?
1. People learned to plant seeds to grow food
2. Led to permanent settlements
3. Sedentary agriculture – Farm in one place
b. Domesticate animals
1. Tamed animals they had been hunting
2. Herded and penned the animals
3. Used for food, clothing, labor and transportation
 3. Impact of Neolithic Revolution
Why was the a. Farming led to a more reliable source of food
Neolithic Era b. As food supply increased, so did the population
considered a 1. Population of settlements numbered in the hundreds to
revolution? thousands
2. Permanent communities formed
c. New Technologies – people needed new tools in order to
meet their new needs
1. Calendars – helped determine when to plant and
harvest crops
2. Metal tools – built bronze and then iron plows that
were pulled by animals
3. Irrigation systems – brought water from rivers to
farms
4. Metal weapons – developed bronze and then iron
weapons to defend their resources and villages

C. Rise of Civilizations
1. Rivers valleys - home to the first civilizations
Why were a. Fertile Land – the yearly floods provided arable land
rivers valleys b. Fresh Water – gave people water source
important to c. Transportation – Used the river as a means of transportation
early d. Trade – as the civilizations grew and expanded, more
civilizations? people came into contact with one another

2. Characteristics of a Civilization
a. Cities – populations grew into the thousands due to
increased food supplies
b. Central governments – provide order, organization and
protection
c. Traditional economy – based on farming and other skilled
crafts such as pottery, clothing and other goods
d. Organized religion – polytheistic, where priests would
perform ceremonies to ensure plentiful crops and
protection
 e. Specialization of labor - increased food supplies allowed
people to perform different jobs in society
f. Social classes emerge – based on one’s occupation
1. Priests, warriors, craftsmen or artisan, and farmer
2. Chiefs - emerged as leaders
3. Women’s status declined as men took lead roles as
warriors
4. Warfare increased as resources became scarce
g. Systems of writing – Used for record keeping. Early
writing used pictures and then developed into symbols
h. Art and architecture – Built temples and palaces to honor
religious and political leaders.
i. Public works – built infrastructure such as roads, bridges
and walls for protection

II. River Valley Civilizations - (4000 BCE - 1650 BCE)

A. Nile River Valley – Egypt (North Africa)

1. Geographic Setting
a. Region – North Africa, Middle East
b. Topography – Mostly Desert
1. Natural barrier – provided protection from invasion
2. Lack of arable land
c. Nile River - River flows from South to North
1. Silt from floods leaves a rich deposit of soil
2. Used as a highway for travel and trade
3. Villages merge to form cities along river becomes into
one kingdoms: Upper Egypt (South) and Lower Egypt
(North)
4. Nile Delta - in Lower Egypt, where the Nile emptied
into the Mediterranean Sea
2. Government
How did the a. Pharaohs – ruler of Egypt that is believed to be both a God
Nile allow and a King
Egypt to 1. Absolute power – claimed divine right
centralize its 2. Centralized Government – Strong central
government? government/leaders
3. Bureaucracy – Run by a Vizier to help run
government business, such as collecting taxes
b. Dynasty – Ruling family of Egypt; When the pharaoh died,
power was passed onto the another family member
c. Menes – Pharaoh (3100 BCE) - United Upper and Lower
Egypt to create the first dynasty
1. Used the Nile to link Upper and Lower Egypt
3. Religion
a. Polytheistic – Worshipped many gods
1. Amon-Re – The Sun God and the Chief God
2. Osirus – God of the Nile, controlled the Nile’s annual
flood
b. Afterlife – Egyptians prepared the dead for life after death
1. Pyramids – Tombs and monuments used to store the
remains of dead pharaohs as they await the afterlife
 4. Society
a. Social Classes
1. Upper Class – Pharaoh, Priests, Nobles
2. Middle Class – Merchants and artisans (skilled
workers)
3. Lower Class – Peasants (Farmers)
4. Slaves
What b. Role of Women:
Egyptian 1. Legally own property
contribution 2. Run business
would you 3. Divorce
consider the c. Contributions
most 1. Papyrus – Paper making
important to 2. Hieroglyphics – Writing system that used pictures to
today’s represent words and ideas
society? a. Rosetta Stone- Helped translate Egyptian writing
3. Literature - poetry, songs, hymns and fiction
4. Surgery and Medicine
a. Mummification preserving the dead helped them
diagnose illnesses and perform surgery
5. Calendar – based on 365 days (solar)
6. Number system - based on 10 (10, 100, 1000, etc)

B. Tigris & Euphrates Rivers – Mesopotamia (Middle East)

1. Geographic Setting
a. Region – Middle East
b. The Fertile Crescent – a crescent shaped region of good
farmland created by the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers that
stretches from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea
c. Mesopotamia – The land between the rivers
d. Few natural barriers
1. Cultural diffusion – exchange of goods and ideas
2. Invasion – lack of barriers allowed for several
invasions
2. Sumerian Civilization – (3000 BCE)
a. Government
1. City- States – Sumer was divided into independent
areas that included a city and the surrounding land
2. Rulers – seen as the chief servant to the gods
a. Role – Enforced laws, collected taxes, led armies
into war, kept records, maintained city walls
and irrigation systems
b. Religion
1. Polytheistic – Gods had human qualities and were tied
to the forces of nature
2. Each city-state had their own God or Goddess
3. Ziggurats - Stone temples made out of sun-dried
bricks that were used for religious purposes
c. Social Classes
1. Upper Class – Ruling family, officials and high priests
2. Middle Class –Merchants and artisans (skilled
workers)
3. Lower Class – Peasants (Farmers)
Why were d. Contributions
irrigation 1. Inventions
systems a. Sailboat
important to b. Wheel
the c. Plow
development d. Walled cities
of 2. Architecture
civilizations? a.Ziggurats
3. Irrigation Systems – a network of canals that provided
water for those away fro the river banks
4. Cuneiform – Writing systems that used wedged
shaped marks to keep records
5. Math contributions
a. Basic algebra
b. Geometry
c. Number system - based on 6
6. Literature - The Epic of Gilgamesh
3. Babylonian Civilization
What are the a. Government
characteristics 1. Centralized government – strong central government
of 2. Hammurabi – (1792-1750 BCE) God-like king
Hammurabi’s 3. Code of Hammurabi – 300 codified laws carved in
Code? stone
a. Criminal Law – robbery, assault, murder
b. Civil law – business contracts, property, taxes,
marriage and divorce
c. Specific punishments for specific laws
d. Harsh punishments – “Eye for an Eye”
e. Unequal enforcement – Lower social classes
vs. nobles, men vs. women, adults vs. children
– laws were harsher for lower classes, women
and children)
b. Contributions
1. Contract - written agreement
2. Astronomy – Study of universe
a. Lunar calendar (12 months, 7 day week, 24 hr
day)
3. Number system - based on 60 (60 minute hour, 360
degree circle)
4. Map makers – cartographer

C. Indus River Valley – Indian Subcontinent (India and

Pakistan)
1. Geographic Setting
a. Region - South Asia
b. Mountain ranges
1. Hindu Kush
2. Himalayan
c. Climate - Hot dry
d. Monsoons – seasonal winds that brought rainfall to the
Indian Subcontinent
e. Indus River - Floods brought rich soil and destruction
(unpredictable due to monsoon rains)
Why are 2. Mystery
written a. Little is known about the Indus river valley because
records historians and archaeologists have not been able to decipher
important to the writing system.
understanding b. All that is known comes from archaeological finds
history? 3. Government
a. Centralized government – strong central government
1. Well-Planned Cities – Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro
2. Streets with grids
3. Uniformed Systems - weights and measures
4. Religious buildings
5. Buildings used to store grain
4. Contributions
a. Plumbing systems – baths, drains, sewers
b. Buildings made of brick
c. Irrigation ditches and flood barriers
d. Wheel

D. Yellow River Valley (Huang He) and the Yangzi River –

China (3000-2500 BCE)
1. Geographic Setting
a. Region – East Asia
b. Natural barriers – mountains, deserts, rainforest, ocean
What are the
1. Isolation
positive
c. River Valleys
impacts of
1. Huang He – Yellow River
natural
a. Loess - yellow matter in river that brings nutrients
barriers?
to soil
b. Floods – given the nickname, “River of Sorrows”
2. Yangzi River
2. Government
a. Decentralized government
1. Shang Dynasty – 1650 BCE
2. Dynasty – Ruling family of China; when the emperor
What are the
died, another family member took over
negative
3. Kings controlled small areas of land
impacts of
4. City-states – ruled by groups of families
natural
barriers?
3. Religion
a. Polytheistic – worshipped many gods and nature spirits
b. Early form of Daoism
1. Yin and yang – opposing forces that held nature in
balance
c. Ancestor Worship – honored ancestors with sacrifices and
shrines

4. Society
a. Social Classes
1. Upper Class - Royals family and nobles
2. Merchants and artisans
3. Peasants – farmers
 b. “Middle Kingdom” - Due to isolation, early Chinese
The belief that thought of themselves as the center of the universe
your culture is
superior to 5. Contributions
others is a. Writing system
known as? 1. Thousands of characters made it hard to learn
2. Pictographs – drawings of objects
3. Ideographs – Drawings of thoughts and ideas

III. Classical Civilizations

A. Zhou Dynasty – China (1027 BCE-221 BCE)

1. Government
a. Overthrew the Shang Dynasty
b. Mandate of heaven – Right to rule comes from heaven; used
What
to explain the dynastic cycle
European
c. Dynastic Cycle – cycle that explained the rise and fall of
theory is
dynasties, based on the mandate of heaven
similar to the
Mandate of
Heaven?

d. Feudal government – Zhou emperors granted control of

large areas of land to their supporters. The local lords
controlled their own areas, but owed military service to the
emperor
2. Economy
What was a a. Trade – increased as a result of new roads and canals that
positive were built (infrastructure)
impact that b. Money – Chinese copper coins as a form of currency
Confucianism c. Agriculture – expanded after the development of iron tools
had on such as plows and axes
Chinese 3. Contributions
society? a. Confucianism – Belief system that provided order and
stability in China by creating rules of behaviors for
individuals based on filial piety; Best government was
educated
b. Daoism – Belief system that stressed harmony in nature,
based on the Dao and concepts of the yin and yang; best
government, governed least
 c. Literature – “Book of Songs” – poems that describe
farming, government, ceremonies and love
d. Astronomy – Studied planet movements and ellipses to
create a 365 day calendar
e. Silk – Fine clothing material that was China’s most
valuable export
f. Iron – used for weapons and tools

B. Qin Dynasty – China (221 BCE – 206 BCE)

1. Government
a. Overthrew the Zhou dynasty – Shi Huangdi claims to be
China’s “First Emperor”
What are the b. Centralized government
similarities 1. Abolished feudal states
between the 2. Created military districts with an official heading
Qin’s each area
Legalism and c. Legalism - strict set of laws that imposed harsh penalties.
Hammurabi’s Used to jail, torture and kill those who imposed the
Code? emperor. Would target nobles and Confucian scholars.
d. Burned books – ordered the destruction of all books of
literature and philosophy
2. Economy
1. Standardized weights and measures
2. Created national coins
3. Repaired canals and roads
3. Contributions
a. Great Wall of China – Built to China’s civilized world from
nomadic invaders from the north (Mongols)
1. Thousands of workers died building the wall due to
harsh conditions.

C. Han Dynasty – China (206 BCE - 220 CE)

1. Government
Why is it
a. Dynastic Cycle - People despised the Qin’s dynasty’s harsh
important to
laws and heavy taxes; Led by peasants, the Han Dynasty
have an
would take control of China
educated
b. Han Dynasty – Reduced taxes and repealed Legalism
government?
c. Civil Service Exams – Emperor Wudi improved China’s
government by setting up exams based on Confucian
principles; this would assure Chinese officials were given
jobs based on merit, not their family influence
2. Economy
How is the a. Infrastructure – improved roads and canals to improve
Silk Road trade
similar to the b. Monopoly – set up an monopoly on iron and salt; this gave
internet? the government another source of income other than the
taxes on peasants
c. Silk Road – Wudi opened a trade route to the west that
expanded from china to the Middle East and Eastern
Europe. China would capitalize on its silk production ($$);
New goods were introduced to China
Even though
Civil Service 3. Society
Exams helped a. Scholar gentry – Wealthy educated class emerged from the
provide China Civil Service Exams
with a stable b. Women – Confucian principles had women subordinate to
government, men; women were not allowed to take the exams and could
how did they not take a government job
also promote 4. Contributions
in unequal a. Technology
society? 1. Paper making from wood pulp
2. Wheel barrow
3. Fishing reel
4. Rudder – device to help steer ships
5. Suspension bridges
6. Iron stirrups
b. Science
1. Acupuncture – needles are inserted under the skin
to relieve pain and to treat illnesses
c. Arts
1. Temples and palaces
2. Jade and Ivory carvings
3. Bronze artworks
4. Silk
5. Literature – “Lessons for a Woman” – Roles for
men and women
5. Fall of the Han Dynasty
a. Political Causes – Weak rulers after the death of Wudi;
unable to control powerful warlords
b. Economic Causes – Did not maintain canals and roads
which were vital for trade to prosper; Increased taxes on
the peasants, led to a revolt
c. Military Causes – Warlords overthrew the last Han
emperor in 22 CE, the empire was split into several
kingdoms; invaders overran the Great Wall and set up their
own kingdoms

D. Greece (1750 BCE – 133 BC)

1. Geographic setting
a. Located in southeast Europe, it consists of many mountains
isolated valleys and small islands
b. The Mediterranean and Aegean Seas were an important
link to the outside world
c. The Greeks became skilled sea traders allowed for cultural
diffusion where they exchanged goods and ideas
(technology)
1. They adopted the Phoenician alphabet for their own
use.
 2. Early civilizations
a. Minoans – 1750 BCE the first Greek civilization was
established.
1. The Minoans traded with Egypt and Mesopotamia
3. Government
a. Due to the rugged mountains and isolated valleys, Greek
civilizations revolved around the small city-state or polis.
b. This geography prevented the Greeks from building a large
empire like the Egyptians or Mesopotamians
4. The Rise of City States
a. Greek culture – Greek city-states had independent
government but shared many cultural characteristics such
as: language, religion, and sports.
b. Between 750 BCE and 500BCE the city states had several
different types of government
1. Monarchy – first form of government
2. Aristocracy - landowning nobles gained power
c. Sparta – A Totalitarian, Military Dictatorship
1. At the age of seven boys moved into the military
barracks
2. They trained hard and faced rigid discipline
3. Girls also trained hard to strengthen their bodies
4. Healthy women produce healthy babies
What were the 5. Sparta was an totalitarian state that produced an
differences excellent military
between 6. But they did not trade, create products, nor were
Spartan they scholarly so they left no cultural achievements
society and 7. Spartan inability to change, would lead to its
Athenian decline
society? d. Athens – A Limited Democracy
1. Under the leadership of Pericles (460BCE – 429
BCE
2. Direct-Democracy - all “citizens” participated in
government by debating all political actions.
3. To be a citizen you must be: a male, over 30, who
owns land
4. Women were seen as needing male guidance and
were not allowed to participate.
5. Slaves and foreign born also did not participate
 5. Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic age
What is the a. Macedonia was a mountainous region in the kingdom of
blending of northern Greece.
ideas, goods b. Alexander the Great built an empire that included the
and culture Egypt, Persia and parts of India
known as? c. Hellenistic culture - blended aspects of Greek, Persian,
Egyptian and Indian life.

d. This culture gave more rights and opportunities to women.

e. Although the empire fell soon after his death, Hellenistic
culture had a lasting impact in the regions he had ruled
6. Greek and Hellenistic Contributions
a. Philosophy
1. Greek thinkers tried to use observation and reason to
understand why things happened
2. The word philosopher means “lover of wisdom”
3. Socrates - Developed the scientific method: leaning
about beliefs and ideas by asking questions;
Government put him to death
4. Plato - Believed government should control the lives
of the people; Divided society into three classes;
workers, philosophers and soldiers
5. Aristotle - Believed on strong and good leader should
rule; Believed people ruled through reason
b. Literature
1. Famous for plays - tragedies and comedies
2. Famous poet: Homer
a. Iliad - Set in the Trojan War - the ten-year siege
of Ilium by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of
the battles and events during the weeks of a
quarrel between King Agamemnon and the
warrior Achilles
b. Odyssey – a sequel to the Iliad, The poem
mainly centers on the Greek hero Ulysses and
his long journey home following the fall of
Troy. It takes Odysseus ten years to reach home
3. The first true historian: Herodotus
a. Considered the “father of history” for his
careful historical writing
c. Art and Architecture
1. Greeks believed in beauty, balance, and order in the
universe
2. Greek Statues - were life-like, and showed the human
 body in the perfect form

What
buildings in
the United
States were
influenced by
the
Parthenon? The Discus Thrower

3. Parthenon - The most famous Greek building

Greece is often
considered the
father to
Western
Civilization.
What
contributions A modern copy of what the Parthenon looked like
did the Greeks
provide for 4. Use of columns
Western 5. Symmetry
Civilizations? d. Science
1. Aristarchus discovered that the earth rotated on its
axis and moved around the sun
2. Archimedes explored the principals of levels and
pulleys
3. Hippocrates, a Greek physician, studies the causes of
illness and looked for cures
e. Mathematics
1. Pythagoras; the formula of a right triangle
2. Euclid: wrote a book that became the basis fir
modern geometry

E. Rome (509 BCE – 476 CE)

1. Geography
a. Italy – located in the center of the Italian peninsula
b. Mediterranean Sea – helped the Romans trade and expand
Why was into an empire that spanned three continents (Europe,
Rome’s legal North Africa and the Middle East)
system often 2. Government
considered the a. The Roman Republic – established a government where
greatest people had the power to elect representatives
contribution b. Senate – most powerful governing body of the republic
to Western c. Roman Law – Rome’s greatest achievement
Civilization? 1. Twelve Tables – codified laws of Rome that guaranteed
the right to all Roman citizens
2. Basic principles – equality under the law, right of the
accused to face the accuser and defend one’s self, idea
of being innocent until proven guilty
3. Males had authority over his wife and family
3. Society
a. Patricians – Upper class, landowning Roman citizens that
made up the Senate
b. Plebeians – Social class made up of farmers, merchants,
artisans and traders who had little power
c. Women – were subordinate to men, but gained right to hold
a prominent public role and own businesses
4. Roman Empire
a. Conquering an Empire – By 270 BCE, Rome had
conquered the Italian peninsula and then used the
Mediterranean Sea to conquer an empire that spanned three
continents:
1. Europe (including present day England, France,
Germany, and Greece)
2. North Africa – Mediterranean Coast
What 3. Southwest Asia (Middle East) - Asian Minor
geographic
feature
allowed Rome
to trade with
and conquer
three
continents?

b. Civil War – Rome erupted into civil war as ambitious

generals (including Julius Caesar) tried to conquer Rome
for themselves. After the murder of Caesar, Octavian
(Caesar’s Grandnephew) emerged the victor.
c. Emperor – Octavian changed his name to Augustus and
Why must ruled Rome with absolute power and the age of the Roman
civilizations Empire had begun.
have a strong d. Strong Central Government
government in 1. Civil Service Exams – ensured a well educated
order to have government officials
a strong 2. Reformed tax system
economy and 3. Uniform coins – made trade easier
vice versa? 4. Strong military – expanded and protected the empire
b. Pax Romana – “Roman Peace” was a time of peace and
prosperity or a golden age.
1. Trade - Roman influence, through vast road networks
and the Mediterranean Sea. People freely traded with
others in the empire and with other parts of the world,
such as China and India, via the Silk Road.
2. Goods – grain from Nile River Valley, ivory and gold
from Africa, spices and gems from India and silk
from China
c. Religion - 313 CE Emperor Constantine
legalizes Christianity - Edict of Milan
d. Engineering
Why were 1. Roads – allowed for trade and military expansion
Rome’s roads
important for
a strong
government
and economy?

Why were
aqueducts an
important
reason why 2. Arches – engineering technique that allowed Rome to
Rome was the create large buildings
first city with 3. Concrete – material used for large buildings
over a million 4. Aqueducts – bridge-like structures that used the
people? roman arch to carry water from the hills to the cities

What modern
building have
been 5. Dome – a half, sphere-like roof
influenced by
Roman
architecture
and
engineering?

The Pantheon – Temple to all Roman Gods

6. Coliseum – Stadium built in Rome that was used for

Gladiator fights, chariot races and executions (Bread
and circuses)

Rome’s
centralized
government
provided
stability
(provided
trade, military
protection) for
nearly a
thousand
years. What
effect do you
think this has
on society, 5. Fall of the Roman Empire
when it is a. Political Causes
taken away? 1. Government becomes too strict
2. People stop supporting the government
3. Corrupt officials
4. Divided empire becomes too weak
b. Economic Causes
1. Heavy taxes
2. Use too much slave labor
c. Military Causes
1. Constant invasions
2. Borders become too big to defend
3. Forced to hire foreign soldiers to protect the borders
d. Social Causes
1. Gap between the rich and the poor widens
2. People become selfish and lazy