North America
Stone age tribes around 9500 BCE
By 800 BCE small farming in Ohio River valley (evidence of copper)
Bow and arrow replaced the spear by 400 BCE
By 300 BCE settled villages in British Columbia, Ohio and Illinois
North American Nations
Anasazi “ancient ones” located near the four corners, most influential in the southwest. (began taking form 100 BCE)
“Mound People” – worshipped their gods – located near the Mississippi
More than 200 different languages among North American tribes
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica stretches from Mexico’s central plain to Costa Rica
Beginnings of civilization around 12000 BCE (300-400 yrs. after Shang)
Depended on corn, beans and wild turkey –used only digging sticks
Olmecs (2000 – 400 BCE)
Olmecs – first civilization located in southern Mexico (until 100 CE) -preclassic
Pottery, jade carvings, sculptures
Polytheistic, had writing and mathematics
Considered the founder of most other Mesoamerican tribes
Teotihuacan (450 – 750 BCE)
Teotihuacan (now Mexico city) Classic
By 500 CE Teotihuacan was the most populated city in the world (150,000 to 200,000)
Obsidian, ceramic figures
Culture spread north into the U.S. and south into Guatemala
Writing/numbering system
Formalized religion came with the formation of an empire
Numerous temples and two pyramids dedicated to the sun and moon
Polytheistic: Quetzalcoatl was the main god – feathered snake god of fertility
Stone carvings of people at play, in song, in gardens, near streams and mountains depicted heaven
Toltecs 950 – 1150 CE Post-classic
Mesoamerican region
Lived in a tropical rain forest in Guatemala and Belize
Agricultural community: beans, maize, chili peppers and squash
Made clay, cloth, rope, nets, string
Around 900 BCE migrated into Yucatan Peninsula
By first century, traded with Teotihuacan
Complex family units, cities, temples: class division, private property
Built with limestone, coral, and plaster
Had writing and numbering system (including zero)
Religion
Trances/Visions: dancing, blood letting, hallucinogenic enemas, used the mushroom: psilocybim, flowers, toads, etc.
Sacred written texts
Popol Vuh was sacred mythology
Xibalba was the under world
Hunaphu and Ixbalanque – hero twins – played ball game in Xibalba and won. Most important thing you can be is a trickster, could outwit the gods. Really appreciated witty individuals. (Moon has a trickster)
All movements in the story of the twins represents solar movement, i.e. descending into Xibalba represents retrograde motion of Venus (disappears), mnemonic devices to plot movements of the universe
“Popol Vuh” – people of the mat.
Michael Coe wrote “Breaking the Maya Code” – took a Russian, Uri Knorosov, during the cold war, with outdated equipment (there was no Rosetta Stone until De Landa’s letters regarding Chi’s )
The Aztec Calendar
Aztecs 1345 – 1521 CE
In the Mesoamerican region
Came to Mexico from a Southwestern region in the United States
Capital was called Tenochtitlan (no comparison in 16th century Europe, when Cortes landed). 250,000 inhabitants
The plaza on the island represented the Mesoamerican universe. Pyramids, large buildings, temples and homes.
Transportation was mainly canoes, much like in Venice.
The Sport of Life and Death
Played a sacred ball game for 3000 years: Mexico, Guatemala, Belize and Honduras.
More than 1560 courts have been discovered. Use of a heavy rubber ball, and a ring. Teams of two to seven, wore yokes, shoulder pads, hip covers and helmets – losers were sacrificed. Ball represents trajectory of a planet and set in ground – near underworld, supernatural.
Wagering was an important part of the games.
Religion
Human sacrifice
Complex calendaring
Polytheism
Human sacrifice
South America
Hunting-gathering tribes as early as 9000 BCE
By 2500 BCE people in the Andes (Peru) were raising Llama, growing plants, corn and potatoes
By 500 BCE complex societies on southern coast of Ecuador, southern highlands of Columbia
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Lyric Poetry
Lyric poetry for the ancient Greeks had a precise and technical meaning: verse that was accompanied by the lyre. The lyric poet was classified as distinct from the writer of plays (which were spoken rather than sung), the writer of trochaic and iambic verses (which were recited), from the writer of elegies (which were accompanied by the flute, rather than the lyre) and the writer of epics. The scholars of Hellenistic Alexandria identified nine lyric poets worthy of critical study. These archaic Greek musician-poets included Sappho, Pindar, Anacreon and Alcaeus. The metrical forms characteristic of ancient Greek sung verse are strophes, antistrophes and epodes.
Meters
Much lyric poetry depends on regular meter based either on number of syllables or on stress. The most common meters are as follows:
• Iambic - two syllables, with the long or stressed syllable following the short or unstressed syllable.
• Trochaic - two syllables, with the short or unstressed syllable following the long or stressed syllable.
• Anapestic - three syllables, with the first two short or unstressed and the last long or stressed.
• Dactylic - three syllables, with the first one long or stressed and the other two short or unstressed.
Some forms have a combination of meters, often using a different meter for the refrain. Each meter can have any number of elements, called feet. The most common meter in English is iambic pentameter, with five iambs per line. The most common in French is the alexandrin, with twelve syllables. In English, the alexandrine is iambic hexameter.
Meters
Much lyric poetry depends on regular meter based either on number of syllables or on stress. The most common meters are as follows:
• Iambic - two syllables, with the long or stressed syllable following the short or unstressed syllable.
• Trochaic - two syllables, with the short or unstressed syllable following the long or stressed syllable.
• Anapestic - three syllables, with the first two short or unstressed and the last long or stressed.
• Dactylic - three syllables, with the first one long or stressed and the other two short or unstressed.
Some forms have a combination of meters, often using a different meter for the refrain. Each meter can have any number of elements, called feet. The most common meter in English is iambic pentameter, with five iambs per line. The most common in French is the alexandrin, with twelve syllables. In English, the alexandrine is iambic hexameter.
Chinese and Indian Philosophy NOTES
Hinduism (800 BCE):
Hinduism is a result of Aryan religion combined with local ideas of native Indus Valley peoples. There are many gods in Hinduism (and yet one god). People are believed to be inherently good, and sin is seen as a force on the outside (not a flaw of the human character). Originally an oral tradition, the hymns of the warrior culture were eventually written and are the sacred texts, the VEDAS, of which there are four:
Rig Veda – hymns and devotional incantations
Yajur Veda – Sacrificial rituals
Sama Veda – focused on Indra, the main god (war and thunder)
Atharya Veda – Prayer hymns rituals of love, health, etc.
Also a sacred text, is the Upanishads (found at the end of the four Vedas) which consists of more than 200 books written over 200 years. It explains that we have spirits and souls and that the soul can migrate into other beings. It discusses rebirth, and that one’s station is dependent upon how well one did in his/her former life. It claims that “god” can also be found within a person and that self awareness (controlling physical lusts) leads to enlightenment.
Buddhism (600 BCE):
The founder of Buddhism was Siddhartha Gautama. He rejected the Hindu gods, their animal sacrifices, dependence upon gods and dismissed the caste system based on bloodlines. Buddha means “The Awakened One.” Buddhism focuses on self responsibility while breaking the cycle of rebirths.
There are four truths in Buddhism:
1. Life is painful.
2. Selfish desire is the origin of pain and suffering.
3. Craving, the origin of suffering, can be eliminated.
4. The Eightfold Middle Path leads to extinction of suffering.
In Buddhism, knowing these truths and behaving without guile (language, actions, sexual relations, violence, livelihood) toward any one or anything is the start of the path (Eightfold) toward Nirvana (extinction of individuality and the end of rebirths).
There are five main rules in Buddhism:
1. Understand that change is the only constant (contrary to Hinduism)
2. Proper Attitude – do not expect the impossible, just accept the inevitable (show self control over one’s appetites)
3. Proper Speech – One’s words precede one’s actions
4. Proper Action – Avoidance of lustful acts
5. Do not injure other living things (drink, sex, lies, etc.)
Taoism (600 BCE):
Lao Tzu was born an old man, after his mother was pregnant for 62 years. His name means “Old Boy.” As an adult, Lao Tzu was a politician in the Chou dynasty. After years of service he became disillusioned with government and rejected it entirely (wrote the Tao Te Ching). Thus Taoism takes on a non-structured shape, a more intuitive approach of life.
An important part of Taoism is the Yin-yang.
The Yin is feminine, dark, cold, weak, negative, sluggish, wet, earth, moon and north. The Yang is masculine, light, heat, strong, positive, aggressive, dry, sky, heaven and sun. Rather than thinking of them as opposites, a more accurate conception would be like viewing the Yin-yang as two inseparable ends of the same stick. Their interaction, flux and flow, their very balance is what creates the Way or the universe.
The central idea behind Taoism is the concept of “The Way.” The Way is the force or pulse of the universe. It is the natural order of all things. One cannot force him or herself to find the way, rather submission to the natural order will in itself, bring one to the Way. If people live in harmony with the Wu-Wei (the Way), then happiness, peace and wisdom will result. The Wu-Wei is literally, non-action. There must be balance in all things because nothing can really be forced. Resisting the way only makes the process harder for the person experiencing it. “Force defeats itself.” For example, a leader who is not too strong will find success, and the more laws there are, the more thieves there will be. The critical thing is to be an “uncarved block.” That is to be unaffected by the deviation of the Way by others. - And to be able to sense the Way for yourself, without acting for it.
This is a rejection of society to some extent and a return to nature. Adherence to these relationships comes from sensing one’s “Way,” but it is critical to understand this is not an individualistic approach. The key to Taoism is living in harmony with the ethics and order of the universe. Taoism is unstructured and intuition based but means one is open to new directions.
Confucianism (600 BCE):
Confucius was a historian and an educator. He was deemed the “champion of Chinese culture” by ‘heaven.’ Confucius developed the idea of the “Superior Man” which is a true gentleman, meaning one is not petty, mean or vulgar. The true gentleman has inner virtue and exterior composure. In Confucianism, virtue consists of five attributes:
1. Integrity
2. Righteousness
3. Conscientiousness to others/loyalty
4. Altruism/reciprocity
5. Benevolence
While Confucius recognized a sort of “heaven,” the most important component of Confucianism is proper behavior. For example, there are five social relationships in Confucianism:
Behavior Role Role Behavior
Benevolent Master Servant Loyal
Loving Father Son Reverential and obedient
Good Husband Wife Attentive
Gentle Elder Younger Respectful
Considerate Older Friend Younger Friend Deferential
One must have proper behavior and order in all actions as we are all connected through our relations. (And one must respect those who are older.) This is the Way to attain the level of a “Superior Man.” Confucianism ultimately seeks structure, order and conformity.
Legalism (300 BCE):
Han Feizi was the main scholar behind Chinese Legalism. Legalism valued human beings as inherently evil, and thus in need of strong government. The law was to be indisputable. By appointing strong, authoritarian leaders to uphold the law, the law is preserved. Further, it is the duty of the state to expand and to impose its laws on all of its subjects. By giving citizens rewards for their obedience, it maintains the state and structural integrity of the nation. Independent thought, actions or contrary groups are not tolerated as they jeopardize the higher good of the state. It is actually the “duty” of the government to breed insecurity and interdependence among the population. Fundamentally, men are not to be trusted, thus “measures” can be put in place (no matter how stringent) to ensure the success of the state.
VOCABULARY
Huanghe or Yellow River basin – Location of first Chinese civilization around 1500BCE
Shang – First Chinese dynasty
Vedas – Aryans hymns written in sacred books
Yu – mythical king that developed flood control for the Huanghe River
Xia – first (not documented) kingdom, ruled by Yu
Feudalism – social structure which exchanged land for oaths of allegiance- Shang dynasty
Qin – dynasty (221 – 207 BCE) founded at the end of the Warring States period
Shi Huangdi – founder of Qin dynasty, first emperor of China
Mencius – major follower of Confucius, believed humans were good/governments need consent of people
Xunzi – follower of Confucius – believed people to be lazy/need authoritarian government
Laozi – Chinese Taoist philosopher – believed in retreating into nature.
Great Wall – Chinese defensive built against northern nomadic invaders
Sunzi – author of The Art of War, argued war was part of the state and should be approached scientifically
Forbidden city – imperial precinct in Chinese capitals, only royal family and household allowed inside.
Rama – major figure in the Indian epic Ramayana -
Dharma – caste position determined by one’s birth.
Transmigration – belief in reincarnation into other bodies
Upanishads – Indian sacred writings (end of the Vedas)
Hinduism is a result of Aryan religion combined with local ideas of native Indus Valley peoples. There are many gods in Hinduism (and yet one god). People are believed to be inherently good, and sin is seen as a force on the outside (not a flaw of the human character). Originally an oral tradition, the hymns of the warrior culture were eventually written and are the sacred texts, the VEDAS, of which there are four:
Rig Veda – hymns and devotional incantations
Yajur Veda – Sacrificial rituals
Sama Veda – focused on Indra, the main god (war and thunder)
Atharya Veda – Prayer hymns rituals of love, health, etc.
Also a sacred text, is the Upanishads (found at the end of the four Vedas) which consists of more than 200 books written over 200 years. It explains that we have spirits and souls and that the soul can migrate into other beings. It discusses rebirth, and that one’s station is dependent upon how well one did in his/her former life. It claims that “god” can also be found within a person and that self awareness (controlling physical lusts) leads to enlightenment.
Buddhism (600 BCE):
The founder of Buddhism was Siddhartha Gautama. He rejected the Hindu gods, their animal sacrifices, dependence upon gods and dismissed the caste system based on bloodlines. Buddha means “The Awakened One.” Buddhism focuses on self responsibility while breaking the cycle of rebirths.
There are four truths in Buddhism:
1. Life is painful.
2. Selfish desire is the origin of pain and suffering.
3. Craving, the origin of suffering, can be eliminated.
4. The Eightfold Middle Path leads to extinction of suffering.
In Buddhism, knowing these truths and behaving without guile (language, actions, sexual relations, violence, livelihood) toward any one or anything is the start of the path (Eightfold) toward Nirvana (extinction of individuality and the end of rebirths).
There are five main rules in Buddhism:
1. Understand that change is the only constant (contrary to Hinduism)
2. Proper Attitude – do not expect the impossible, just accept the inevitable (show self control over one’s appetites)
3. Proper Speech – One’s words precede one’s actions
4. Proper Action – Avoidance of lustful acts
5. Do not injure other living things (drink, sex, lies, etc.)
Taoism (600 BCE):
Lao Tzu was born an old man, after his mother was pregnant for 62 years. His name means “Old Boy.” As an adult, Lao Tzu was a politician in the Chou dynasty. After years of service he became disillusioned with government and rejected it entirely (wrote the Tao Te Ching). Thus Taoism takes on a non-structured shape, a more intuitive approach of life.
An important part of Taoism is the Yin-yang.
The Yin is feminine, dark, cold, weak, negative, sluggish, wet, earth, moon and north. The Yang is masculine, light, heat, strong, positive, aggressive, dry, sky, heaven and sun. Rather than thinking of them as opposites, a more accurate conception would be like viewing the Yin-yang as two inseparable ends of the same stick. Their interaction, flux and flow, their very balance is what creates the Way or the universe.
The central idea behind Taoism is the concept of “The Way.” The Way is the force or pulse of the universe. It is the natural order of all things. One cannot force him or herself to find the way, rather submission to the natural order will in itself, bring one to the Way. If people live in harmony with the Wu-Wei (the Way), then happiness, peace and wisdom will result. The Wu-Wei is literally, non-action. There must be balance in all things because nothing can really be forced. Resisting the way only makes the process harder for the person experiencing it. “Force defeats itself.” For example, a leader who is not too strong will find success, and the more laws there are, the more thieves there will be. The critical thing is to be an “uncarved block.” That is to be unaffected by the deviation of the Way by others. - And to be able to sense the Way for yourself, without acting for it.
This is a rejection of society to some extent and a return to nature. Adherence to these relationships comes from sensing one’s “Way,” but it is critical to understand this is not an individualistic approach. The key to Taoism is living in harmony with the ethics and order of the universe. Taoism is unstructured and intuition based but means one is open to new directions.
Confucianism (600 BCE):
Confucius was a historian and an educator. He was deemed the “champion of Chinese culture” by ‘heaven.’ Confucius developed the idea of the “Superior Man” which is a true gentleman, meaning one is not petty, mean or vulgar. The true gentleman has inner virtue and exterior composure. In Confucianism, virtue consists of five attributes:
1. Integrity
2. Righteousness
3. Conscientiousness to others/loyalty
4. Altruism/reciprocity
5. Benevolence
While Confucius recognized a sort of “heaven,” the most important component of Confucianism is proper behavior. For example, there are five social relationships in Confucianism:
Behavior Role Role Behavior
Benevolent Master Servant Loyal
Loving Father Son Reverential and obedient
Good Husband Wife Attentive
Gentle Elder Younger Respectful
Considerate Older Friend Younger Friend Deferential
One must have proper behavior and order in all actions as we are all connected through our relations. (And one must respect those who are older.) This is the Way to attain the level of a “Superior Man.” Confucianism ultimately seeks structure, order and conformity.
Legalism (300 BCE):
Han Feizi was the main scholar behind Chinese Legalism. Legalism valued human beings as inherently evil, and thus in need of strong government. The law was to be indisputable. By appointing strong, authoritarian leaders to uphold the law, the law is preserved. Further, it is the duty of the state to expand and to impose its laws on all of its subjects. By giving citizens rewards for their obedience, it maintains the state and structural integrity of the nation. Independent thought, actions or contrary groups are not tolerated as they jeopardize the higher good of the state. It is actually the “duty” of the government to breed insecurity and interdependence among the population. Fundamentally, men are not to be trusted, thus “measures” can be put in place (no matter how stringent) to ensure the success of the state.
VOCABULARY
Huanghe or Yellow River basin – Location of first Chinese civilization around 1500BCE
Shang – First Chinese dynasty
Vedas – Aryans hymns written in sacred books
Yu – mythical king that developed flood control for the Huanghe River
Xia – first (not documented) kingdom, ruled by Yu
Feudalism – social structure which exchanged land for oaths of allegiance- Shang dynasty
Qin – dynasty (221 – 207 BCE) founded at the end of the Warring States period
Shi Huangdi – founder of Qin dynasty, first emperor of China
Mencius – major follower of Confucius, believed humans were good/governments need consent of people
Xunzi – follower of Confucius – believed people to be lazy/need authoritarian government
Laozi – Chinese Taoist philosopher – believed in retreating into nature.
Great Wall – Chinese defensive built against northern nomadic invaders
Sunzi – author of The Art of War, argued war was part of the state and should be approached scientifically
Forbidden city – imperial precinct in Chinese capitals, only royal family and household allowed inside.
Rama – major figure in the Indian epic Ramayana -
Dharma – caste position determined by one’s birth.
Transmigration – belief in reincarnation into other bodies
Upanishads – Indian sacred writings (end of the Vedas)
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Quiz 1 & 2
Quiz 1
Hist 3A
A is True/ B is False
1. Civilization is to have urbanism, technology, industry, social change, long-distance trade and use of symbolic communication.
2. Tin and copper are used in making Bronze.
3. The discovery of Bronze making started the Bronze Age, c. 30o0-1200 BCE.
4. The Sumerian language was closely related to the Semitic languages.
5. Sargon was the world’s first Emperor.
6. “The Code of Hammurabi” were the laws of the god, Hammurabi.
7. Cuneiform was a complex mathematical system.
8. Polytheism of Mesopotamia depicted gods in human form.
9. The afterlife in Mesopotamia was not seen as pleasant.
10 Sumerians believed in divination.
Key 1 - 10
TTTFTFFTTT
Quiz 2
1. In the Epic of Gilgamesh there is a flood.
2. Hieroglyphs means “sacred carvings” in Greek.
3. Iron was first discovered in Northern Anatolia c. 1100 BCE.
4. Under General Nebuchadnezzar Ur grew to be one of the greatest cities of the world.
5. The cities Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro were cities designed in completely different styles.
6. The Aryans were semi-nomadic warriors who invaded India.
7. The Mahabharata and the Ramayana are India’s two classic epics.
8. The Upanishads are part of the Vedic texts.
9. The Mandate of Heaven was applied in China.
10. The Olmecs established the first civilization in Mesoamerica.
Key 1 - 10
TTTFFTTTTT
Hist 3A
A is True/ B is False
1. Civilization is to have urbanism, technology, industry, social change, long-distance trade and use of symbolic communication.
2. Tin and copper are used in making Bronze.
3. The discovery of Bronze making started the Bronze Age, c. 30o0-1200 BCE.
4. The Sumerian language was closely related to the Semitic languages.
5. Sargon was the world’s first Emperor.
6. “The Code of Hammurabi” were the laws of the god, Hammurabi.
7. Cuneiform was a complex mathematical system.
8. Polytheism of Mesopotamia depicted gods in human form.
9. The afterlife in Mesopotamia was not seen as pleasant.
10 Sumerians believed in divination.
Key 1 - 10
TTTFTFFTTT
Quiz 2
1. In the Epic of Gilgamesh there is a flood.
2. Hieroglyphs means “sacred carvings” in Greek.
3. Iron was first discovered in Northern Anatolia c. 1100 BCE.
4. Under General Nebuchadnezzar Ur grew to be one of the greatest cities of the world.
5. The cities Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro were cities designed in completely different styles.
6. The Aryans were semi-nomadic warriors who invaded India.
7. The Mahabharata and the Ramayana are India’s two classic epics.
8. The Upanishads are part of the Vedic texts.
9. The Mandate of Heaven was applied in China.
10. The Olmecs established the first civilization in Mesoamerica.
Key 1 - 10
TTTFFTTTTT
PP Notes Egypt
Egypt
Giza
Ancient Egypt
Temple of Hatshetsup
Religion
Pharaoh god-like, afterlife, will of Re
Pure bloodlines (incest)
Life governed by Pantheon of gods
Spirits brought sickness, drought, influenced life
Mythology explained existence and order of world
Reincarnation
Afterlife
Mummification: cosmetics, pottery, jewelry, clothing, food, clay servants, pets, weapons, furniture
70 Days to embalm
Organs preserved in jars
Housed in Pyramids
Contained the Ka
Karnak Temple
Re – Sun god
Osiris – god of afterlife
Isis – Osiris’ wife, magic, control Nile
Horus – son of Osiris, son of Isis, defeated Seth, falcon shapes
Anubis- god of embalming
Ma’at – goddess of truth, weighs sins against ostrich feather
Thoth – god of knowledge and writing, husband to Ma’at
Political & Social Structure
Royalty
Priests
Scribes
Soldiers
Traders
Merchants
Craftsmen
Farmers
Slaves
Social classes and private property
Paid taxes and free labor to community works
Could amass personal wealth
Some social mobility
Shipbuilding, bronze, writing,
Intellectual & Artistic Progress
Architecture
Writing (1500+)
Mathematics
Astronomy
Money
Taxes
Record keeping
Music/dance
Sculpting
The Nile & Life in the Desert
What Fed Egypt?
Incursions from outsiders
Loss of dynastic power
Weakening of infrastructure
Climate/Epidemics
By 30 CE would be absorbed by Rome
Review
3000 + years
Political hierarchy
Pantheon of gods
Rejected outside influence
War
Writing
Architecture
People
Kush and Axum
Five Cultures
Mesopotamia
Egypt
Indus Valley
Shang China
Olmecs
Giza
Ancient Egypt
Temple of Hatshetsup
Religion
Pharaoh god-like, afterlife, will of Re
Pure bloodlines (incest)
Life governed by Pantheon of gods
Spirits brought sickness, drought, influenced life
Mythology explained existence and order of world
Reincarnation
Afterlife
Mummification: cosmetics, pottery, jewelry, clothing, food, clay servants, pets, weapons, furniture
70 Days to embalm
Organs preserved in jars
Housed in Pyramids
Contained the Ka
Karnak Temple
Re – Sun god
Osiris – god of afterlife
Isis – Osiris’ wife, magic, control Nile
Horus – son of Osiris, son of Isis, defeated Seth, falcon shapes
Anubis- god of embalming
Ma’at – goddess of truth, weighs sins against ostrich feather
Thoth – god of knowledge and writing, husband to Ma’at
Political & Social Structure
Royalty
Priests
Scribes
Soldiers
Traders
Merchants
Craftsmen
Farmers
Slaves
Social classes and private property
Paid taxes and free labor to community works
Could amass personal wealth
Some social mobility
Shipbuilding, bronze, writing,
Intellectual & Artistic Progress
Architecture
Writing (1500+)
Mathematics
Astronomy
Money
Taxes
Record keeping
Music/dance
Sculpting
The Nile & Life in the Desert
What Fed Egypt?
Incursions from outsiders
Loss of dynastic power
Weakening of infrastructure
Climate/Epidemics
By 30 CE would be absorbed by Rome
Review
3000 + years
Political hierarchy
Pantheon of gods
Rejected outside influence
War
Writing
Architecture
People
Kush and Axum
Five Cultures
Mesopotamia
Egypt
Indus Valley
Shang China
Olmecs
PP Notes India/China
India
Harappa
Harappa - Indus River Valley, North of Mohenjo-Daro.
Grid patterns, walled, construction standardized
Citadels - public meeting houses (assemblies/worship)
Public bath houses, granaries, and track housing
Advanced sewage system
Complex social structure
Pantheon religion
May have spawned Yoga
priest class (fertility)
Traded with Mesopotamia, China, Burma.
Down fall:
Flooding, climate change (monsoons)
Earthquakes
Immigrant populations
Decline in planning, building and destruction of dikes and canals
Four classes in society:
Brahmans (Priests)
Warriors
Merchants/Commoners
Untouchables (Darker skinned people)
Polytheists
Most important warrior god: Indra
Gods were related to specific duties. (Did also have female gods.)
Animal sacrifice
Songs of worship
Eventually hymns were written: Vedas
Did NOT believe in reincarnation
Discouraged then outlawed inner-mixing
Hinduism derives from Aryan religion, combined with Indus beliefs
Later Buddhism would emerge.
CHINA
Warrior Kings
Huanghe River
Shang 1500 – 1122 BCE
Nomadic warriors
Advanced military techniques
Ruler - intermediary between gods and people
Ruler responsible for fertility of nation
Shang Society
Anyang – capital city
Complex bureaucracy, local leaders
Royals lived in walled towns (compounds)
Vassals provided tribute & soldiers for king, from commoners
Royalty, artisans, farmers, merchants, shamans, slaves
Traditional housing sunken earth dwellings
Land worked in teams
Miller, wheat, beans and rice
Marriage and family patrilocal
Domesticated silk worm, made silk, used bronze and pottery
Religion
Focused on ritual, sacrifice (including human) and oracles
Shamans helped leaders in asking for successful crops and offspring
Offerings: grain, wine, incense and animals (placed in elaborate bronze vessels)
Human sacrifice: war and in burial with King
Oracles functioned: harvests, wars, journeys and marriages
Spiritual readings taken from cracked animal bone and tortoise shell
Writing emerged and consisted of 3000 characters by 1100 BCE
Bones, bamboo, silk, wood and eventually paper were used for recording writing
Zhou Dynasty
Zhou Dynasty
Turkic-speaking nomadic people, originally vassals to the Shang
By 12th century BCE, overpowered the Shang, and maintained a dynasty until 3rd millennium BCE
Wu – first ruler who expanded eastern and southern boarders (claimed Zhou lost Mandate)
Two capitals: Xian and Loyang
Originally tried to separate from indigenous people
Used forced labor for roads, irrigation projects and military service
Changes Under Zhou
More rigid hierarchy – government more centralized
More patriarchal society
Shi emerged (men of service) – scholar administrators
Emphasis placed on refined manners and decorum
Human sacrifice ended
All vassal states were annexed
Trouble makers were forced to migrate to secure Zhou land
Feudalism- Formal oaths of allegiance, fief granting
Zhou rulers gained loyalty and military service in exchange for fiefs
Religion
Mandate of Heaven
Annual fertility sacrifices in capital cities
Ancestor worship
Elaborate ceremonies and rites used to receive “divine blessings”
Writing continued to be important
Agriculture
Improved agricultural techniques:
Four pronged hoe
Improved irrigation
Millet, wheat and rice
Increased productivity (farms)
Farms further away had much greater freedom
Harappa
Harappa - Indus River Valley, North of Mohenjo-Daro.
Grid patterns, walled, construction standardized
Citadels - public meeting houses (assemblies/worship)
Public bath houses, granaries, and track housing
Advanced sewage system
Complex social structure
Pantheon religion
May have spawned Yoga
priest class (fertility)
Traded with Mesopotamia, China, Burma.
Down fall:
Flooding, climate change (monsoons)
Earthquakes
Immigrant populations
Decline in planning, building and destruction of dikes and canals
Four classes in society:
Brahmans (Priests)
Warriors
Merchants/Commoners
Untouchables (Darker skinned people)
Polytheists
Most important warrior god: Indra
Gods were related to specific duties. (Did also have female gods.)
Animal sacrifice
Songs of worship
Eventually hymns were written: Vedas
Did NOT believe in reincarnation
Discouraged then outlawed inner-mixing
Hinduism derives from Aryan religion, combined with Indus beliefs
Later Buddhism would emerge.
CHINA
Warrior Kings
Huanghe River
Shang 1500 – 1122 BCE
Nomadic warriors
Advanced military techniques
Ruler - intermediary between gods and people
Ruler responsible for fertility of nation
Shang Society
Anyang – capital city
Complex bureaucracy, local leaders
Royals lived in walled towns (compounds)
Vassals provided tribute & soldiers for king, from commoners
Royalty, artisans, farmers, merchants, shamans, slaves
Traditional housing sunken earth dwellings
Land worked in teams
Miller, wheat, beans and rice
Marriage and family patrilocal
Domesticated silk worm, made silk, used bronze and pottery
Religion
Focused on ritual, sacrifice (including human) and oracles
Shamans helped leaders in asking for successful crops and offspring
Offerings: grain, wine, incense and animals (placed in elaborate bronze vessels)
Human sacrifice: war and in burial with King
Oracles functioned: harvests, wars, journeys and marriages
Spiritual readings taken from cracked animal bone and tortoise shell
Writing emerged and consisted of 3000 characters by 1100 BCE
Bones, bamboo, silk, wood and eventually paper were used for recording writing
Zhou Dynasty
Zhou Dynasty
Turkic-speaking nomadic people, originally vassals to the Shang
By 12th century BCE, overpowered the Shang, and maintained a dynasty until 3rd millennium BCE
Wu – first ruler who expanded eastern and southern boarders (claimed Zhou lost Mandate)
Two capitals: Xian and Loyang
Originally tried to separate from indigenous people
Used forced labor for roads, irrigation projects and military service
Changes Under Zhou
More rigid hierarchy – government more centralized
More patriarchal society
Shi emerged (men of service) – scholar administrators
Emphasis placed on refined manners and decorum
Human sacrifice ended
All vassal states were annexed
Trouble makers were forced to migrate to secure Zhou land
Feudalism- Formal oaths of allegiance, fief granting
Zhou rulers gained loyalty and military service in exchange for fiefs
Religion
Mandate of Heaven
Annual fertility sacrifices in capital cities
Ancestor worship
Elaborate ceremonies and rites used to receive “divine blessings”
Writing continued to be important
Agriculture
Improved agricultural techniques:
Four pronged hoe
Improved irrigation
Millet, wheat and rice
Increased productivity (farms)
Farms further away had much greater freedom
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Epic of Gilgamesh (Due by Monday 4/19)
This epic poem is considered the earliest recorded human writing. Gilgamesh was a great Babylonian epic based on an actual king named Gilgamesh. The longest and most complete version of the tale was written in cuneiform on twelve stone tablets in the Akkadian language.
The tablets were found in the ruins of King Assur-banipal's library in Nineveh. Unfortunately, the Persians attacked and destroyed the library in 612 BC and damaged all of the tablets. Archeologists and scholars have been able to piece this great work back together.
One thing which isn't certain is when the Epic of Gilgamesh was written. It is generally believed to be in the 3rd millennium BC. The actual Gilgamesh lived and ruled around 2700 BC. This work is particularly famous for being a historical account of The Flood in the Old Testament book of Genesis. The tablets found in Assur-banipal's library are thought to have been copied from tablets which date way back to the first dynasty of Ur. This time was about halfway between the flood and the birth of Abraham. This has added to the significance of this great poem.
The story begins by telling us that Gilgamesh, who was more god than man, built the great city of Uruk. Gilgamesh is the greatest and strongest of any who ever lived. However, Gilgamesh is not your nicest king. He is a tyrant and oppressor. The people, not knowing what to do, call on the sky-god Anu for help. In response to their requests, Anu makes a savage man named Enkidu, who is also super-strong, to counter Gilgamesh. A son of a trapper sees the naked Enkidu in the forest and runs home to tell his father. The father tells him to get a harlot from the city and take her to Enkidu and offer her to him sexually. If Enkidu takes her, he will lose strength and be normal. Naturally, the wild man submits. He loses his strength, but he gains great knowledge.
After this, Enkidu is taken to the city to be introduced to civilization. While he is becoming civilized, Gilgamesh is having dreams which his mother interprets as meaning Gilgamesh will soon make a friend who will help him do great things. One day, Gilgamesh meets Enkidu, because they get into a fight over—you guessed it—sex. Finally Gilgamesh beats Enkidu and they become great friends. Now that they are friends, they spend their time doing what friends do, naturally. And so they grow lazy. To get themselves out of this, Gilgamesh suggests an adventure—after all, you can't have an epic poem without an adventure. He wants to go to Iran and cut down all of the cedar trees in the Great Cedar Forest. To do this, though, they will have to fight the great demon Humbaba. Enkidu, the smart one, warns Gilgamesh against this, for he met Humbaba in his wild days. Gilgamesh, of course, does not listen.
A large section of the tablet is missing here, so we jump in where Gilgamesh's family and friends are praying to the gods to keep him safe. Before they leave, Enkidu tries again to convince Gilgamesh that this is folly, but he still doesn't listen and they continue on.
It takes six days to get to the Cedar Forest, and every day Gilgamesh has a prophetic dream which Enkidu interprets for him. Only two of them are preserved, but it is pretty sure that Enkidu makes all of the dreams sound good. They pray to the gods again and continue on. Shamash, the sun-god, tells them to attack Humbaba now, because he isn't wearing all of his armor. Enkidu chickens out, however, and he and Gilgamesh fight.
Once again, a large part of the tablet is missing again. Where it resumes, the two friends have apparently made up, for they are cutting down the trees in the forest. Humbaba hears them and goes out to see what is going on. He finds them, tells them to go away, learns they won't and finally begins to threaten them. Now, it's Gilgamesh's turn to chicken out. He runs and hides, but Enkidu shouts at him to come and fight and there you have the epic battle scene.
Shamash enters the fight to help and together they defeat Humbaba. Gilgamesh, realizes he will be famous if he killed the demon, so he cuts off its head. Before he dies, he manages to shout "Of you two, may Enkidu not live the longer, may Enkidu not find any peace in this world!"
They then decide and continue to cut down all of the trees and send them down the Euphrates on a raft to Uruk. Now, Gilgamesh is really, REALLY famous. So famous that he attracts the goddess Ishtar in a sexual manner. Gilgamesh doesn't want her, however, and chases her off, insulting her and all of her previous mortal lovers. Ishtar is enraged and asks Anu to let her send the "bull of heaven" down to Gilgamesh to kill him. Now by this thing's description, it's definitely something you don't want to see in your backyard. Despite its best efforts, however, Gilgamesh and Enkidu kill IT instead of the other way around. Enkidu then takes it a step farther and throws one of the bull's thighs at Ishtar's head while insulting her.
This probably wasn't a good idea. The gods give Enkidu a fever and kill him and drag him down to Hell. Gilgamesh is devastated. That's all we know for a while, because the rest of that tablet is missing.
Where it picks up again, we find a non-bathing, non-shaving, non-deodorant wearing Gilgamesh. He is terrified to die and decides that he wants to live forever. Good plan, but how does one go about that? We might not know, but good old Gilgamesh knows. He sets out to find the only two humans who have been granted immortal life. The first is Utnapishtam, who lives at the end of the world. He was the great King of the World before the flood came. He and his wife (the second) were the only two mortals preserved in the flood. So Gilgamesh sets out. He arrives first at Mount Mashou, which guards the rising and setting of the sun. There he encounters two giant scorpion guards who tell him it's pointless to continue, but they let him pass anyway. Next he arrives in a city of precious gems; all of the trees are dripping with them. He continues on until he reaches a cottage by the ocean. The owner of the cottage, Siduri, tells him where to find Urshanibi the ferryman. Gilgamesh goes there very arrogantly and violently, destroying these stone objects. He finds out from the ferryman that these were essential in getting across the water. So he cuts down trees and uses those instead to cross the River of Death. Gilgamesh crosses the water (which he would have died if he touched) and meets Utnapishtam, who tells him that death is a necessary thing.
Gilgamesh, naturally, asks how he became immortal. He tells him that long ago, at a council of the gods, it was decided that they would destroy the earth in a flood. They promised that they wouldn't tell this to any living thing. Ea, a god who created humans, decided he would get around it, and tell it to the WALLS of Utnapishtam's house (that technically wasn't forbidden…). He told the walls to make a boat and put all living things in it. Utnapishtam gets into the boat with the animals and closes the door. It rains for seven days and nights. He opens to window and finds the world to be an ocean. The boat floats around for seven more days until it comes to rest on Mount Nimush. One of the gods blesses them with eternal life. After telling this story, Utnapishtam offers Gilgamesh eternal life, providing he can stay awake for six days and seven nights staring at the plant which restores youth. Gilgamesh agrees, sits down and falls asleep right away.
At the end of the story, Gilgamesh returns to Uruk realizing that people can't live forever and decides to live his life as best he can, and ends up being a great king.
http://www.studylit.com/summaries/gilgamesh.htm
Monday, April 12, 2010
The Code of Hammurabi [18th Century BCE]
Of the several law codes surviving from the ancient Middle East, the most famous after the Hebrew Torah is the Code of Hammurabi, sixth king of the Amorite Dynasty of Old Babylon. It is best known from a beautifully engraved diorite stela now in the Louvre Museum which also depicts the king receiving the law from Shamash, the god of justice. This copy was made long after Hammurabi's time, and it is clear that his was a long-lasting contribution to Mesopotamian civil ization. It encodes many laws which had probably evolved over a long period of time, but is interesting to the general reader because of what it tells us about the attitudes and daily lives of the ancient Babylonians. In the following selection, most of the long prologue praising Hammurabi's power and wisdom is omitted.
What do these laws tell us about attitudes toward slavery? What indication is there that some Babylonian women engaged in business? Clearly men had more rights than women in this society; but what laws can you identify that seem aimed at protecting certain rights of women? Which laws deviate from the egalitarian standard of "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth?" What qualities does this text say a ruler should have to enable him to write new laws?
When Anu the Sublime, King of the Anunaki, and Bel, the lord of Heaven and earth, who decreed the fate of the land, assigned to Marduk, the over-ruling son of Ea, God of righteousness, dominion over earthly man, and made him great among the Igigi, they called Babylon by his illustrious name, made it great on earth, and founded an everlasting kingdom in it, whose foundations are laid so solidly as those of heaven and earth; then Anu and Bel called by name me, Hammurabi, the exalted prince, who feared God, to bring about the rule of righteousness in the land, to destroy the wicked and the evil-doers; so that the strong should not harm the weak; so that I should rule over the black-headed people like Shamash, and enlighten the land, to further the well-being of mankind.
15: If any one take a male or female slave of the court, or a male or female slave of a freed man, outside the city gates [to escape], he shall be put to death.
16: If any one receive into his house a runaway male or female slave of the court, or of a freedman, and does not bring it out at the public proclamation of the [police], the master of the house shall be put to death.
53: If any one be too lazy to keep his dam in proper condition, and does not so keep it; if then the dam break and all the fields be flooded, then shall he in whose dam the break occurred be sold for money, and the money shall replace the [grain] which he has caused to be ruined.
54: If he be not able to replace the [grain], then he and his possessions shall be divided among the farmers whose corn he has flooded.
108: If a [woman wine-seller] does not accept [grain] according to gross weight in payment of drink, but takes money, and the price of the drink is less than that of the corn, she shall be convicted and thrown into the water. (1)
109: If conspirators meet in the house of a [woman wine-seller], and these conspirators are not captured and delivered to the court, the [wine-seller] shall be put to death.
110: If a "sister of a god"[nun] open a tavern, or enter a tavern to drink, then shall this woman be burned to death.
129: If a man's wife be surprised [having intercourse] with another man, both shall be tied and thrown into the water, but the husband may pardon his wife and the king his slaves.
130: If a man violate the wife (betrothed or child-wife) of another man, who has never known a man, and still lives in her father's house, and sleep with her and be surprised [caught], this man shall be put to death, but the wife is blameless.
131: If a man bring a charge against [his] wife, but she is not surprised with another man, she must take an oath and then may return to her house.
132: If the "finger is pointed" at a man's wife about another man, but she is not caught sleeping with the other man, she shall jump into the river for [the sake of her] husband. (2)
138: If a man wishes to separate from his wife who has borne him no children, he shall give her the amount of her purchase money and the dowry which she brought from her father's house, and let her go.
141: If a man's wife, who lives in his house, wishes to leave it, plunges into debt [to go into business], tries to ruin her house, neglects her husband, and is judicially convicted: if her husband offer her release, she may go on her way, and he gives her nothing as a gift of release. If her husband does not wish to release her, and if he take another wife, she shall remain as servant in her husband's house.
142: If a woman quarrel with her husband, and say: "You are not congenial to me," the reasons for her prejudice must be presented. If she is guiltless, and there is no fault on her part, but he leaves and neglects her, then no guilt attaches to this woman, she shall take her dowry and go back to her father's house. (3)
143: If she is not innocent, but leaves her husband, and ruins her house, neglecting her husband, this woman shall be cast into the water.
195: If a son strike his father, his hands shall be [cut] off. (4)
196: If a [noble-]man put out the eye of another [noble-]man, his eye shall be put out. (5)
197: If he break another [noble-]man's bone, his bone shall be broken.
198: If he put out the eye of a [commoner], or break the bone of a [commoner], he shall pay one [silver] mina.
199: If he put out the eye of a man's slave, or break the bone of a man's slave, he shall pay one-half of its value.
200: If a man knock out the teeth of his equal, his teeth shall be knocked out.
201: If he knock out the teeth of a [commoner], he shall pay one-third of a [silver] mina.
In future time, through all coming generations, let the king, who may be in the land, observe the words of righteousness which I have written on my monument; let him not alter the law of the land which I have given, the edicts which I have enacted; my monument let him not mar. If such a ruler have wisdom, and be able to keep his land in order, he shall observe the words which I have written in this inscription; the rule, statute, and law of the land which I have given; the decisions which I have made will this inscription show him; let him rule his subjects accordingly, speak justice to them, give right decisions, root out the miscreants and criminals from this land, and grant prosperity to his subjects.
Hammurabi, the king of righteousness, on whom Shamash has conferred right (or law) am I. My words are well considered; my deeds are not equaled; to bring low those that were high; to humble the proud, to expel insolence.
Translated by L. W. King (1915), edited by Paul Brians.
________________________________________
(1) This refers to a practice known as trial by ordeal which has been commonplace in many cultures, including Medieval Europe. It was believed that the Euphrates River would act as judge of people accused of various crimes. If, when thrown into the river, the accused floated, she was considered innocent; but if she sank, the river had found her guilty. For an interesting instance of a different trial by ordeal in ancient Hebrew law, see Numbers 5:11 31.
(2) I. e. to prove her innocence.
(3) The right of women to initiate divorce proceedings is extremely rare in ancient civilizations.
(4) Cf. Hebrew law, which prescribes the death penalty for such an act (Exodus 21:15) and extends its scope to mothers.
(5) Note how punishments are administered according to the social status of the attacker and the victim. "Equality before the law" is a rare concept in ancient times.
http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~wldciv/world_civ_reader/world_civ_reader_1/hammurabi.html
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
