LEARNING OBJECTIVE

OBJECTIVE:

YOU WILL BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY THE KEY FEATURES THAT MAKE A CIVILIZATION.
YOU WILL BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY THE COMMON SOURCES OF A CIVILIZATION’S COLLAPSE.
WHAT WE WILL COVER

•AGRICULTURAL (NEOLITHIC) REVOLUTION

•KEY ELEMENTS OF A CIVILIZATION
•HOW DO THEY FALL?
UNDERSTANDING BC VS. BCE
• EARLY CALENDAR ERA
• CREATED BY DIONYSIUS EXIGUUS OF SCYTHIAN MONKS
• BC = BEFORE CHRIST
• AD = ANNO DOMINI (IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD)
BC AD

Counts down Counts up

COMMON ERA
• TO AVOID THE RELIGIOUS, CHRISTIAN , CONNECTION AND TO PUSH FOR A MORE INCLUSIONIST SYSTEM,
THE COMMON ERA SYSTEMS WAS FORMED.
• DATE RANGES REMAIN THE SAME, HOWEVER THE FOLLOWING CHANGES WERE MADE:
• BC BECAME BCE (BEFORE COMMON ERA)
• AD BECAME CE (COMMON OR CURRENT ERA

• NOTE THAT IN BOTH VERSIONS, THERE IS NO YEAR “0”.

• 1 BCE WAS FOLLOWED UP BY 1 CE
THE NEOLITHIC
REVOLUTION
THE START OF AGRICULTURE
UNDERSTANDING EARLY
HUMANS
• EARLY HUMANS BEFORE ABOUT 10,000 BCE
(KNOWN AS THE PALEOLITHIC, OR OLD STONE AGE)
WERE HUNTER-GATHERERS
• NOTE AT THIS TIME, EVERYONE IS A HUNTER-GATHERER

• A HUNTER-GATHERER IS:
• NOMADIC (ALWAYS ON THE MOVE TO FEED THEMSELVES)
• SMALL GROUPS (ABOUT 20-30 PEOPLE)
• SURVIVED ON EATING VEGETATION AND HUNTING
 UNDERSTANDING EARLY HUMANS:
MESOLITHIC PERIOD
• BETWEEN 10,000 AND 8,300 BCE, EARLY HUMANS BEGAN SETTLING
DOWN INTO MORE PERMANENT COMMUNITIES
• THEY DID NOT HAVE AGRICULTURE
• GATHERED FOOD FROM WILD PLANTS AND ANIMALS IN THE AREA
• MOST NOTICEABLE IN EARLY MESOPOTAMIA AND THE FERTILE CRESCENT.

• THIS CHANGE COMES OUT OF:

• CLIMATE CHANGING TO A MORE WARM AND WET CLIMATE
• INCREASED PLANTS AND ANIMALS

• DURING THIS TIME, A RUDIMENTARY UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT WILL

BECOME AGRICULTURE BEGINS TO TAKE PLACE.
THE NEOLITHIC REVOLUTION
• AROUND 9000 BCE MANY BELIEVE THERE WAS ANOTHER CLIMATE CHANGE, THIS TIME BACK TO
COLD AND DRY.
• AS A RESULT, FEWER RESOURCES WERE PROVIDED BY THE LAND.

• THE VAST MAJORITY OF PEOPLE LIVING IN SETTLEMENTS LEFT TO BECOME NOMADS ONCE
AGAIN.

• SOME REMAINED IN THE SETTLEMENTS.

THE NEOLITHIC REVOLUTION
• THOSE THAT REMAINED BEGAN EARLY FARMS, MAINLY OF THE REGIONAL WILD GRASSES
• IN THE FERTILE CRESCENT, THESE CROP WOULD BECOME WHEAT AND BARLEY.

• EARLY AGRICULTURE WAS A TRIAL AND ERROR THAT WAS EXPERIENCED THAT OCCURRED OVER
CENTURIES.

• OVER TIME, FARMING PROVED TO BE A VIABLE OPTION.

• AS TIME PASSED MORE AND MORE ADOPTED AGRICULTURE INSTEAD OF NOMADIC LIFE.
THE NEOLITHIC REVOLUTION
• DURING THIS TIME, DOMESTICATION OF ANIMALS OCCURRED.
• BEGAN WITH WOLVES (10,000 BCE) AND LATER EXPANDED TO SHEEP, GOATS, PIGS AND
EVENTUALLY CATTLE. (8500 – 7000 BCE)

• THE LAST MAJOR ADVANCEMENT WAS IN POTTERY.

• FIRST APPEARED AROUND 7000 BCE
• THIS PROVIDE STORAGE FOR THE SURPLUS OF FOOD
WHAT IS A CIVILIZATION?

• ITS IS A COMPLEX HUMAN SOCIETY, NORMALLY ASSOCIATED WITH URBAN

DEVELOPMENT THAT SHARES COMMON ASPECTS.
• THE WORD “CIVILIZATION” IS RELATED TO THE LATIN WORD “CIVITAS” FOR
“CITY” AND THE LATIN WORD “CIVIS” FOR “CITIZEN”.

• MOST DEFINE “CIVILIZATION” AS A SOCIETY MADE URBAN LOCATIONS

 SO WHY ARE WE TALKING ABOUT THIS THEN?
• GENERALIZING THE TERM IS MUCH EASIER THAN DEFINING WHAT IS A CIVILIZATION IS
• DEBATING WHAT IS OR ISN’T A CIVILIZATION CAN BE A HOTLY DEBATED TOPIC IN THE ANTHROPOLOGY WORLD.

• IN ORDER TO HELP DETERMINE WHAT IS A CIVILIZATION, ANTHROPOLOGIST HAVE COME UP WITH CRITERIA
THAT HELP DETERMINE IF A SOCIETY IS A CIVILIZATION.

• MOST CRITERIA IS REQUIRED; HOWEVER SOME SOCIETY MAY LACK CRITERIA AND STILL BE CONSIDERED A
CIVILIZATION.
 • FOR A CIVILIZATION TO FORM AND SURVIVE, THEY ARE DEPENDENT ON
PROVIDING ENOUGH FOOD TO FEED THE COMMUNITIES.

• PRIOR TO CIVILIZATIONS, FORAGING FOR FOOD WAS A REQUIREMENT

THAT EVERYONE HAD TO DO IN ORDER TO SURVIVE.

#1 • HOWEVER WITH THE INTRODUCTION TO AGRICULTURE, FORAGING

BECAME LESS IMPORTANT AND FARMING MADE GROWING, GATHERING
AND DISTRIBUTING FOOD EASIER.
AGRICULTURAL
SURPLUS • THROUGH AGRICULTURE, FARMS WERE NOT ONLY ABLE TO CREATE
ENOUGH FOOD FOR EVERYONE IN THE COMMUNITY BUT ALSO ABLE TO
CREATE A SURPLUS OF FOOD.

• HAVING A SURPLUS OF FOOD MAKES CITIES POSSIBLE, ALLOWS

NONFARMERS TO BECOME SKILLED IN OTHER THINGS, ULTIMATELY
LEADING TO THE CONCEPT OF TRADE.
 • CIVILIZATIONS REQUIRES A COMMUNITY TO SETTLED AND NO LONGER BE NOMADIC.

• TO BE ABLE TO SETTLE DOWN, THERE MUST BE A SURPLUS OF FOOD,

• MOST COMMONLY AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES.

#2 • DURING THE ANCIENT DAY, SETTLEMENTS WOULD MOST LIKELY FORM AROUND WATER,
ESPECIALLY RIVERS, DUE TO NUMEROUS BENEFITS OF BEING NEAR A WATER SOURCE.

URBAN • SETTLEMENT AND CITIES SERVED TWO MAIN PURPOSES

DEVELOPMENT •
•
1.) A PLACE TO LIVE
2.) A CENTRAL HUB FOR TRADING.

•WHILE THERE WERE PEOPLE WHO LIVED OUTSIDE UNBAN CENTERS, THEY WERE STILL
CONSIDERED RURAL RESIDENTS OF THE SOCIETY.

•THESE RURAL RESIDENTS WOULD COME INTO THE URBAN CENTERS TO TRADE THEIR
GOODS WITH OTHER PEOPLE WHO HAVE FORMED DIFFERENT FORMS OF LABOR.
 Athens
Ancient Rome

Alexandria
 • DUE TO THE AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION, THERE WAS A REDUCED NEED FOR EVERYONE
TO DEVOTE THEMSELVES TO FINDING OR FARMING FOOD.

#3 • THIS IN TURN LED TO A SPECIALIZATION OF LABOR

• EVERY MEMBER OF THE COMMUNITY HAD A SPECIFIC ROLE.

COMPLEX • ARTISANS (CREATES MATERIAL OBJECTS TO BE AESTHETICALLY APPEALING) AND

DIVISION OF CRAFTSPEOPLE (CREATES MATERIAL OBJECT TO BE FUNCTIONAL) BECAME MORE COMMON.

LABOR • WITH THE LATER INTRODUCTION OF RELIGION AND GOVERNMENTS PROFESSIONS LIKE
RULERS, PRIESTS, GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS, AND WARRIORS BECAME ADDITIONAL LABOR
ROLES.

• AS MORE AND MORE LABOR ROLES EMERGED, A DIVISION OF SOCIAL CLASS AROSE,
DIVIDING PEOPLE BASED ON THEIR ROLE IN SOCIETY.
Khufu (Pharaoh) Artisans Mesopotamia Scribes
 • WITH THE SPECIALIZATION OF JOBS AND THE INTRODUCTION OF GOVERNMENT, A
DIVISION OF CLASSES IS FORMED BASED ON TWO ASPECTS: INCOME AND TYPE OF
WORK.

#4 • INCOME CLASSES FOCUSES ON THE INCOME BROUGHT IN.

• THIS FORM OF SOCIAL CLASS IS NOT WIDELY USED IN EARLY CIVILIZATIONS AT FIRST.

SOCIAL • “TYPE OF WORK” SOCIAL CLASSES FOCUS ON THE TYPE OF WORK AND PLACES
CLASSES VALUE ON WHAT JOB YOU DO.

• IF YOU WERE A RULER, PRIEST, GOVERNMENT, OR WARRIOR, YOU WERE UPPER

CLASS.
• IF YOU WERE AN ARTISAN, CRAFTSPERSON, OR FARMER, YOU WERE LOWER CLASS.
• THE LOWEST CLASS FOR MOST EARLY CIVILIZATIONS WERE THE SLAVES.
 Social order of Ancient Greece

Social order of Ancient Egypt

 • WITH POPULATION GROWING, GOVERNMENTS WERE EVENTUALLY
CREATED TO ORGANIZE AND REGULATE HUMAN ACTIVITY.

• GOVERNMENTS PROVIDED POLICIES AND RULE THAT HELPED

SMOOTH INTERACTION BETWEEN MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY
#5
• IN THE EARLY DAY, MONARCHIES WERE THE MOST FREQUENTLY
CENTRAL GOVERNMENT (WITH ONE PERSON LEADING OTHERS)
GOVERNMENT
• THE KINGS OR QUEENS WOULD CREATE LAWS TO REGULATE THEIR
CITIZENS LIVES AND FORMED MILITARY FORCES TO PROTECT THE
POPULATION.

• OVER TIME, DIFFERENT FORMS OF GOVERNMENT AROSE BUT MORE

SYSTEMS KEPT A SINGLE PERSON AT THE HEAD OF GOVERNMENT.
 • SHARED COMMUNICATION INCLUDES SPOKEN
LANGUAGE, ALPHABET AND NUMBER SYSTEM, SYMBOLS,
ETC.

#6 • EACH METHOD ALLOWS MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY

TO COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER

SHARED
COMMUNICATION • WRITTEN LANGUAGE SERVES A PARTICULARLY
IMPORTANT ROLE AS IT ALLOWS FOR A SOCIETY TO KEEP
TRACK OF EVERYDAY EVENTS AND MAINTAIN A RECORD OF
THEIR OWN HISTORY

• LIKE MODERN DAY, SHARED COMMUNICATION VARIES

GREATLY BASED ON THE REGION YOU LIVE IN.
Cuneiform – Mesopotamia Maya Glyphs – Mayans

Greek Alphabet - Greece Hieroglyphics - Egypt

 • ALMOST ALL CIVILIZATIONS DEVELOP A FORM OF RELIGION

• MOST LIKELY AN OUTCOME OF EXPLAINING THE FORCES OF NATURE

ALONG WITH OUR ROLE IN THE WORLD

#7
• MANY RELIGIONS BELIEVE THAT GOD(S) AND/OR GODDESS(ESS) WERE
IMPORTANT FORCES TO THE SUCCESS OF A COMMUNITY
RELIGION
• THIS WOULD LEAD TO RELIGIOUS LEADERS AND RITUALS THAT WOULD
BE DONE IN THE NAME OF PLEASING THEM.

• RULERS WOULD ALSO CLAIM THEIR RULE IS BASED ON DIVINE

APPROVAL AND SOME BELIEVE THAT THEY ARE DIVINE.
Greek Gods
Aztec Gods
 • CIVILIZATION ALSO INCLUDE MONUMENTAL ART AND
ARCHITECTURE.

• MASSIVE ARCHITECTURAL BUILDS, LIKE THE PYRAMIDS AND

#8 TEMPLES WOULD BE CONSTRUCTED.

MONUMENTAL • COMMUNITIES WOULD ALSO CREATE EXPANSIVE CREATIONS LIKE ROADS

TO AID THE COMMUNITIES.
ART AND
ARCHITECTURE • PAINTERS AND SCULPTORS WOULD CREATE WORKS THAT BEGAN
WITH NATURE AND LATER RULERS AND GODS.

• THIS WAS LIKELY DONE SIMPLY TO APPEASE THE FORCES AT WORK,

WHETHER TO GAIN FAVOR FROM THE UPPER CLASS OF SOCIETY OR
PRAISING A GOD.
ARE THERE EXCEPTIONS?
• SOCIETIES MAY LACK CRITERIA LISTED ABOVE AND STILL BE CONSIDERED A CIVILIZATION
• ANCIENT PERU CIVILIZATIONS DID NOT MASTER AGRICULTURE BUT SUBSTITUTED IT WITH MARITIME FOOD

• WHEN ARCHEOLOGIST LOOK BACK AT CIVILIZATIONS, THE ABOVE CRITERIA POPUP MORE FREQUENTLY IN MANY
OF THE MORE ADVANCED SOCIETIES, SO THEY ATTRIBUTED THIS TO WHAT A SOCIETY NEEDS IN ORDER TO BE
CONSIDERED A CIVILIZATION.

• THINK ALONG THE LINE OF PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN; THE CRITERIA “IS MORE WHAT YOU’D CALL
‘GUIDELINES’ THAN ACTUAL RULES”
SO WHY DO CIVILIZATIONS FALL?
• CIVILIZATIONS HAVE FAILED IN NUMEROUS WAYS AND NEVER
BECAUSE OF ONE SINGLE EVENT OR EVEN PATTERN.

• HISTORIANS HAVE DETERMINED THAT THERE ARE THREE

PATTERNS IN CIVILIZATIONS FALL TO:

• 1.) INTERNAL CHANGE

• 2.) EXTERNAL PRESSURE
• 3.)ENVIRONMENTAL COLLAPSE
 INTERNAL CHANGE
• THE CIVILIZATION FALLS TO SUDDEN OR DRAMATIC INTERNAL
CHANGE

• EXAMPLES INCLUDE:
• SUDDEN POPULATION SHIFT
• INTERNAL SEPARATION
• CULTURAL CHANGE

• TRADITIONALLY THIS, COMBINED WITH ANOTHER ISSUES

CAUSES A COLLAPSE.
 EXTERNAL PRESSURE
• THE CIVILIZATION FALLS TO THE IMPACT OF FORCES OUTSIDE OF THE
CIVILIZATION’S CONTROL.

• THE BEST EXAMPLE IS FOREIGN INVASION AND/OR SUSTAINED

WARFARE
• WAR IS COSTLY AND CAN GRADUALLY DIMINISH A CIVILIZATION (EGYPT)

• EXTERNAL FORCES CAN ALSO AFFECT COMMUNITIES BY ERADICATING

ASPECTS OF THE CIVILIZATION LIKE THEIR MEANS OF COMMUNICATION
AND RELIGION.
 ENVIRONMENTAL COLLAPSE
• THE CIVILIZATION FALLS TO THE IMPACT OF ENVIRONMENTAL
ASPECTS FAILING, EITHER FROM MISUSE OR NATURAL DISASTERS.

• NATURAL DISASTERS INCLUDE DROUGHTS, FLOODS, TSUNAMIS,

EARTHQUAKES, VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS, AND OTHERS.

• MISUSE OF THE ENVIRONMENT CAN INCLUDE DAMAGING NATURE

THROUGH OUR OWN MEANS OR FAILING TO ADAPT TO ANOTHER CLIMATE
 “LOST CIVILIZATIONS”
• A SEPARATE BUT ASSOCIATED ASPECT OF
CIVILIZATIONS COLLAPSING.

• THIS CATEGORY COVERS CIVILIZATIONS FLOURISH

BUT COLLAPSE AND DISAPPEAR FROM HISTORICAL
RECORD.

• THESE CIVILIZATIONS TYPICALLY REMAIN FOREVER A

MYSTERY AS TO WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM.