ANTH 4701 Lecture 1: Ancient Civilizations
Document Summary
Theoretical approach es to the city, anth 4701, fall 2018. The (first) urban revolution-agrarian revolution-state (state or farming pushing into cities?) First civilizations (civitas=cities: all close to rivers (rivers flood=agriculture, irrigation) Civilization: a complex society that creates agricultural surpluses, allowing for specialized labor, social hierarchy, and the establishment of cities; writing, complex religious systems, monumental architecture, and centralized political power are also identifying markers. Cities: center of all early civilizations; people came to live, work and trade. State: organized community that lives under a single political structure. Religion: a system of beliefs and behaviors that deal with the meaning of existence. Social hierarchies: clear distinctions in status between individual people and between different groups: cities needed unity for the large population of varied people (i. e. government, religion, language). In some instances, politics and religion was combined (see divine kingship). Both factors enforced social hierarchies: writing was a means of record-keeping and managing institutions.
