Deck 2: B: First Civilizations Cities, States, and Unequal Societies 3500 B.C.E-500 B.C.E

Question 1

Explain how religion or association with the divine in the First Civilizations could be used to both legitimize and restrain the authority of the state.

Answer 1

•Examples of how religion could be used to legitimize state authority:
oClass and gender inequalities were ordained by the gods.
oIn China,the emperor was portrayed as the Son of Heaven.
oIn Mesopotamia,rulers were viewed as stewards of their city's patron gods.
oIn Egypt,pharaohs were believed to have divine qualities and supernatural powers.
oThe symbols of kingship were said to be of divine origin.
oThe gods established monarchy.
•Examples of how religion could be used to restrain state authority:
oHammurabi's law code was said to have been inspired by Marduk,the chief god of Babylon.
oThe Mesopotamian monarch Urukagina in the city of Lagash invoked the authority of the city's patron god to launch reforms.
oIn China,emperors in the Western Zhou could be overthrown if their bad behavior resulted in their loss of the Mandate of Heaven.

Question 2

Name at least three features typical of a king in one of the First Civilizations.

Answer 2

•Gave authority to the state
•Monumental architecture
•Elaborate clothing
•Magnificent burials
•Claim of divinity or divine approval

Question 3

Give specific examples of the movement of goods,ideas,and people in the ancient world.

Answer 3

worship of Asarte,a local version of the Mesopotamian fertility goddess Istar;adaptation of the Sumerian cuneiform
•Mesopotamia to Anatolia: Indo-European peoples in Anatolia incorporated Sumerian deities;bronze metallurgy and the wheel
•Egypt to Nubia: intermarriage;Nubians buried in Egyptian style;construction of Egyptian-style pyramids;worship of Egyptian gods;use of Egyptian hieroglyphic writing
•Nubia to Egypt: Nubian archers fought as mercenaries in Egyptian armies
•Egyptian influence in art of Minoan civilization
•Hittites to Egypt,Mesopotamia,China: horse-drawn chariot;bronze metallurgy
•Asia to Egypt: new kinds of armor,bows,daggers,and swords;improved methods of spinning and weaving;new musical instruments;olives and pomegranates
•Babylon to Egypt: women

Question 4

Name at least three elements that a civilization must have in order to produce monumental works on the scale of the Mesopotamian ziggurats or Egyptian pyramids.

Question 5

Give examples of the ways in which men's and women's roles in the First Civilizations were gendered masculine or feminine.

Question 6

Explain how the civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt affected the environment.

Question 7

What new products and technology did Egypt's interaction with the outside world bring?

Question 8

How did class differences create different roles and expectations for women?

Question 9

Identify the different purposes of writing in the First Civilizations.

Question 10

Identify the different social classes in the First Civilizations,and give specific examples of people within each class.