P. 180 – 181
Pre 8000 ya people in Near East live in small villages
little difference in wealth or status and little or no recognizable governmental structure
no evidence of public buildings, or craft specialists — one community was much the same size as the next (sustainability)
civilization has certain characteristics – Near East begins to transform – quality and scale of human life becomes more familiar
Communities begin to differ in size – some seem to develop craft specialties
Evidence of differing status between households
Evidence of political authority, sometimes over multiple communities – “chiefdoms”
By 5500 ya we see most conventional markers of “civilization”
the first inscriptions or writing
cities
many different kinds of full-time craft specialists
great difference in wealth and status
centralized political system – “state”
China 4500 ya
India 3750
Peru and Mexico 2000 ya
Evolve independently of one another…l.
Archeological Inferences re Civilization
Early Neolithic societies seem more egalitarian
later societies show signs of more stratification – archeologists assume inequality in death means inequality in life — at least in status, if not also wealth and power
other signs – dwelling differences – house size and furnishing differences indicate differing socioeconomic status
States first evolve in Mesopotamia around 5500 ya
One definition of states – hierarchical and centralized decision making affecting a substantial population is the key criterion
other factors:
substantial portion of the population is NOT involved directly in food production
or collection – indicates that the city is dependent on production elsewhere
full time religious and craft specialists
public buildings
an official art stule
a hierarchical social structure topped by an elite class from which leaders are drawn
government tries to claim a monopoly on the use of force – no citizen right to take the law into their own hands. the state uses threat of force to tax the population or draft people for war or public works projects
One definition (Wright and Johnson) of a state is at least three levels of administration – demonstrated by different sized settlements
Early Uruk (5500 bc) – 50 settlements, three groups according to size. 45 small villages, three or four towns, and one large center Susa. Meets W and J state criteria.
Evidence from the next period, middle Uruk, the presence of clay city seals used in trading – commodity seals kept a shipment tightly closed until it arrived at its destination and message sealings were used to keep track of goods sent and received. Clay seals found in Susa include all of these plus bullae (containers that acted as bills of lading for goods received) Villages have few of these – inference is that Susa was the center and the villages looked to Susa as a “capital” or political center.
Farming communities older than these first states have not been found, but existed on the plains of southern Iraq – the area known as Sumer but may have existed and been covered by silt from the Tig and Euphr rivers – but we know there were small communities depending at least partly on agriculture in the area before 8000 ya., after that mixed farming and herding economy in the area.
7000 to 5500 is called the “Formative Era” (Elman Service) – coming together to many changes that create cities and states – small scale irrigation in lowland river areas attracts settlers – rivers – waters for irrigation and fish, mollusks, waterbirds, use as transportation corridors to move stone, hardwood for building in the Sumer area
changes during this formative era suggest an increasingly complex social and political life. burial differences, specialized goods production – pottery, copper and stone tools
temples indicate centers of political and religious authority for several communities. Some A’s believe that cheifdoms arise at this time
SUMERIAN CIVILIZATION
By 5500 ya there are many cities in the area of Sumer.
Most had a fortress wall, surrounded by an agricultural area.
By 5000 all of Sumer was unified under a single government – then became an empire unified under a single government
> great urban centers
> imposing temples on artificial mounds dominate the cities (Ziggurats) – 150 feet high in Warka
> complex empire and an elaborate system for the administration of justice, codified laws, specialized government officials, a professional standing army, and sewer systems in the cities
- specialized crafts – brickmaking, pottery, carpentry, jewelry making, leatherworking, metallurgy, basketmaking, stonecutting and sculpture.
- Sumerians made wheeled wagons, sailboats, horsedrawn chariots, and spears, swords, bronze armor.
- more elaborate social stratification – Sumerian Docs describe a system of social classes – nobles, priests, merchants, craftworkers, metallurgiss, bureaucrats, soldiers, farmers, free citizens and slaves – common in sumer, they often were captives, spoils of war
- first evidence of writing around 5000 ya – earliest Sumerian writings were ledgers containing inventories of items stored in temples and records of livestock or other items owned or managed by the temples.
- Sumerian writing — cuneiforms – stylus on wet clay, fired if intended to be permanent. Hieroglyphics appeared about the same time writing on woven papyrus rolls (paper origins)
CITIES AND STATES IN MESOAMERICA P. 182
Emerged later (Mexico and Central America) later than in the Middle East. Archeologists believe that it relates to the more casual approach to agriculture and lack of large herd animals to be organized around
Teotihuacan in northeastern Valley of Mexico – reaches its peak about year 0
Formative Period –
\
The formative period in the area about Teotihuacan (3000 ya – 1700 ya) – began small scattered farming villages through the hillsides – probably a few hundred people in each community lacking a central political authoritiy – autonomous
Around 1500 ya a population shift to settlements on the valley floor — maybe in association with irrigation
between 2300 – 2200 ya small elite centers emerged in the valley – each with a earthen or stone raised platform with residences or small temples – burials in these centers sometimes in special tombs with ornaments, headdresses, carved bowls, and distribution of food, and kinds of food indicate social inequality
these elite centers may indicate presence of chiefdoms
CITY OF TEOTIHUACAN
2150 ya a few thousand people in scattered villages, in T valley – by 1900 ya a city of 80,000 in the valley, by 1500 ya the valley contained 100K people, 90% of whom live in the city of Teotihuacan.
The city shows a carefully planned grid system, with streets and buildings in a 57 sq meter unit modular grid, the river through town was channeled to conform to the grid pattern.
Public Architecture was on a colossal scale with two pyramids (Sun and Moon) the Sun’s base is as big as the Great Pyramid of Cheops in Egypt.
The thousands of residential structures built after 1700 ya (300 AD) are standardized – narrow streets separate one story buildings, each with high windowless walls – patios and shafts provide interior light. Each building had several apartments with as many as 100 individuals in ea compound.
Variation in room size and decoration indicates variation in wealth from compound to compound
At its height metropolitan Teotihaucan (200-500 ad) was larger than imperial Rome, with much of Mesoamerica under its influence – judging from the spread of Teo-style pottery and architectural style
Large numbers of people were engaged in production for, and conduct of longdistance trade. 25% of the city’s population – specialized crafts, obsidian products – in demand over much of the region
Burial goods indicate an enormous flow of foreign goods into the area – precious stones, cotton, feathers from colorful birds from the tropical lowlands.
CITY OF MONTE ALBAN
Teo is not the earliest city-state in Mesoamerica – evidence of political unification about 2500 ya (500 bc) in the valley of Oaxaca southern Mexico with Monte Alban at its capital.
Monte Alban did not dominate the area like Teo, did not produce crafts, no grid system, other towns remained important
MA not an important market center, no distinctive architecture – only a slightly larger population
Few natural resources, no water, poor soil
On top of a hill – (500 – 400 bc) perhaps an intentional neutral site to meet, coordinate, and plan for the community of towns and villages – without resources it could not become a political threat at least at first founding
OTHER SITES –
Mayan sites, only now beginning to be uncovered from the jungles, translation of Mayan language records only began in 1980’s so the complexity of the society is only now becoming revealed.
FIRST CITIES AND STATES IN OTHER AREAS –
Sumer – contemporary with the Old Kingdon in the Nile Valley Egypt 5100 ya / 3100 bc with a capital at Memphis – largely self-sufficient villages – pyramids 4500 ya / 2500 bc
Ethiopia/Axum early in first millennium – center of trade between Africa and Arabian peninsula – multistory stone structures in a distinctive style – and 1st Christian state in the world (official0
Sub-Saharan Africa – Gahana (800 AD) the gold coast, Congo River (1200 ad) tens of thousands of residents and a recognized King – relations with Portugal in the 1500s, cities in the 2nd millennium farther south with large circular stone structures.
Indus Valley – 2300 bc the Harappan – no monumental architecture just enormous territory mil sq kil and several massive, clearly planned cities with municipal water and sewage systems
China – Shang dynasty 1750 bc may have been preceded by the Xia dynasty 2200 bc – earmarks of statehood – stratified specialized society, religious, economic and administrative unification, distinctive art style
South America – Peru – 200 bc – complex ag based on irrigation. separate but similar states participated in a widespread systeom of religious symbols and beliefs called Chavin. – Moche state, effigy ceramics, Nazca state –incised landscape intaglios in the highland deserts, by 700 ad absorbed into the Wari – a highly militarized empire
North America – Cahokia – chiefdom with evidence of religious and draft specialists – clear social stratification but no evidence of the ability to use force to govern.
p. 186 THEORIES ABOUT THE ORIGIN OF THE STATE — what spurred the growth of political systems?
irrigation –
labor and management needed for construction and upkeep of an irrigation system moay have led to the formation of a political elite to oversee the system that may have grown into government of the society – proponents of this believe that irrigation is the creator of the city and the state
population growth, circumscription and war –
Robert Carneiro : states emerge because of population growth in an area that is physically or socially limited (circumscripted). Competition and conflict over limited resources may cause one group to have to submit to the control of a more powerful group
pay tribute
surrender actual political power and submit to the authority of others in day to day management of communites
physical limitations – geographical features – narrow river valleys, high mountain ranges, desert
social limitations – communities or control of a area prevents use or necessary passage by another group
early forms of coercive authoritarian systems depended on control of food sources (intensive grain agriculture) to convince others to cooperate or face reduced living standards when cut off from grain as a food source
à problem with circumscription theory – why wouldn’t the victors just exterminate the people on the land they wanted and take it for themselves? Why would they extract tribute?
also – population growth does not always trigger state development, but seems to be connected to situations where people start to reach the limits on their resources
LOCAL AND LONG DISTANCE TRADE
Wright and Johnson theory: organizational requirements for producing items for export, distributing imported goods and defending trading parties caused formation of states
Some evidence supports this theory:
Southern Iraq, Mayan lowlands – long distance trade routes may have caused a bureaucratic system to grow –
Iraq – stone and wood for building came from the highlands
via trade relationships
Mayan lowlands – farmers trade for salt, obsidian, hard stone for grinding tools from faraway places
Iran – long-distance trade doesn’t develop until Susa became a major center
IN China – Kwan-chih Chang’s theory: Neolithic societies in the Yellow River valley developed a long-distance trade network about 6000 ya (4000 bc) which spread culture as well as food goods and created an interdependence that evolves into a single political unit (4000 ya / 2000 bc) under the Shang dynasty – so
trade is the pre-existing condition and the state is the result, to facilitate trade
Which theory is correct? No one theory fits every situation for the creation of the state. Could be different situations bring about the political organization of a society.
CONSEQUENCES OF STATE FORMATION:
1. States allow for a larger, denser population concentration
a. changes the life-style of people
b. provides for the infrastructure for a larger population
roadways, irrigation, markets – allows for the production
and distribution of agricultural products more efficiently
2. States can coordinate information for management of production cycles, and deal with
droughts, blights or other natural disasters.
3. States control access to land (laws and military) – to support farmers or control their production of food
4. State supported efficient agriculture relieves many people of food production – people can concentrate on crafts, merchants, artists, bureaucrats, soldiers, political leaders.
5. Cities can arise in trade convenient locations, or highly defensible areas and not necessarily fertile areas for food production.
6. Art, music, literature may flourish because of societal support
7. Organized religion also
Negative impacts:
1. People governed by force may be subject to oppression
2. Stratification of classes may limit access to vital resources for some segments of society
3. Health is jeopardized by the concentration of people in cities – epidemics are more likely
4. Without direct access to food sources and supplies people in the cities may also face malnutrition or even starvation if food production or distribution filas.
5. Since all states appear to be expansionistic the emergence of state warfare and conquest is an aspect of the creation of the state. Source of considerable human suffering.
Why do states expand?
a. because they can – they have standing armies ready to fight or conquer enemies
b. resource unpredictability may push states to seek more land to offset issues with food or other resources
c. some believe that belligerence is part of the nature of states — defeat in war is often the cause of the collapse of states
DECLINE AND COLLAPSE OF STATES P. 191
the most common element to the ancient states we discussed – eventually they all collapse
why?
a variety of reasons
1. environmental degradation may undermine food production –
declining fertility of soils, natural occurrences such as drought, pestilence
overuse by humans – deforestation, building materials, firewood Cahokia
salinization of soils from irrigation
human behavior as increasing incidence of disease –
lowland Mayan cities that were abandoned because
of the incidence of yellow fever – what caused this? overpopulation bringing resource depletion – deforestation would increase mosquito habitat and increase the incidence of yellow fever
some trees planted by Mayans in their cities increased the urban monkey population which carried the disease which was spread to people by mosquitoes
2. overextension – Roman empire
3. internal conflict because of leader mismanagement or exploitation – upsetting the social organization and no longer allowing for the smooth function of social systems through overuse or accumulation of power, wealth or both