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TheriseofcivilizationCivilizationsroseandfelltimeandagain,indifferentplacesatdifferenttimes,somelastingmuchlongerthanothers.Therewereatleasttwogreatdarkagesduringwhichcivilizationessentiallydisappearedfrommostoftheworld(1200BCto700BCand400ADto900AD).Thetwoprerequisitesforcivilizationwerethehumanabilitytoorganizeandtheproductionoffoodinlargequantities.Largeamountsoffoodmadelargepopulationspossible,butonlyiftheycouldbeeffectivelyorganized.Inthespaceof5000years,from8000BCto3000BC,theearliestsettledvillagesgrewintofullcivilizationsintheMiddleEast,Anatolia,Iran,IndiaandPakistan,andChina.Amongtheimportantstepsinthemovementtowardcivilizationwereirrigation,thecity-state,trade,metalworking,andwriting.IrrigationItisnotaccidentthatthecradlesofcivilizationwererivervalleystheNile,Tigris,Euphrates,Indus,andYellow.Thelandaroundtheseriversmusthavebeenrecognizedasbeingrich,butthesourceoftheirrichnesswasnewsoildepositedeachyearwhentheriversflooded.Thevalleyswerenotusefultotheearliestfarmersuntiltheylearnedtocontrolfloodingoradapttoit.Theriseofcivilizationwaspartlythestoryoflearningtocontroltheseriversandrealizingthepotentialoftheland.MoreisknownaboutthehistoryoftheTigris,Euphrates,andNilecivilizationsthanothersbecausetheseareashavebeenextensivelyexcavated.Thesethreeriverscarrywaterfromhighlandsfarinlandtothesea,passingthroughveryaridregions.Thecontrastbetweenthelandadjacenttotheriverandthatashortdistanceawayisstriking.DesertcanexistonlyafewhundredyardsfromtheNile.Thelandaroundtheriversisrich,butmakingitbloomrequiredthetransferofwatertothosepartsofthevalleynotadjacenttotheriver.Theconstructionoflarge

-scaleirrigationprojectsrequiredalargecommunaleffortandorganization.Thefactthattheirrigationwasaccomplishedisproofthatgovernmentsandorganizationwereinplace,althoughitwasaccomplishedbeforewritingappears.Onceirrigationwasunderstoodandinplace,foodproductionsoaredalongtherivers,makingthesevalleystherichestandmostpopulousplacesonEarth.Therelativerichesoftheareamadepossiblespecializationoflabor,leisuretime,thedevelopmentofthearts,andthenecessityofdefense.TheCity-stateTheTigrisandEuphratesRiversoftheFertileCrescentfloodinthesummer,duringthegrowingseason.Forthelandinthisareatobecultivated,therivershadtobeheldincheckbydikesandcanals.NothingcameeasyinMesopotamia.Therewerefewnaturalresourcesotherthanfarmland.Thebuildingmaterialwasmud.Tobesuccessful,thepeoplelivingtherehadtoberesourceful.Itisnoaccidentthatmanyofthegreattechnologicalinnovationsoftheera,suchasinventionofthewhe

el,occurredhere.From5000BCto3000BCtheplainsthroughwhichthesetworiversflowedbecamecoveredwithsettlements.Largersettlementsintheareawereseparatedfirstphysicallybytheshiftingoftheriversandareasofmarshlandandthenpolitically.By3500BCthepeopleatthemouthoftheriver,theSumerians,hadachievedthefirstfullcivilization.TheirmajorcitywasUr,situatedonalagoonofthePersianGulfwhereitsupplementeditsfarmingbyoperatingasatradingpostforbothseaandrivertraffic.RoyalburialsfromUr,datedto2600BC,revealedremarkabletreasures,includingbowlsofgoldinscribedwiththeprincesname,anelaboratehelmetbeatenfromasheetofgold,axesofelectrumandadaggerofgold(weaponsfordecorativepurposesonly),andmanymorebowlsofgold,silver,andcopper.Someoftheroyaltombsincludedlargesupplementaryburialsofassistantsandretainersapparentlyincludedtohelpthedeceasedinanafterlife.Thesetombswereevidenceofprominentsocialstatus.Thef

irstSumeriankingwhostandsoutinhistoryisUr-Nammu,whobuiltthegreatzigguratofUr.Thisenormousmudbrickstructurewasrestoredbylaterkingsintheareaovertheyearsandstillexists.MassivewallswerebuilttodefendUr,buttheseweretorndownbytheElamiteswhocapturedthecityaround2000BC.Thecity-statewasthetypicalpoliticalorganizationintheMiddleEastandEasternMediterraneanuntilalmosttheendofantiquity.Theywereoftencollectedintoanempire,buttheserarelyheldtogetherforlonguntiltheRomansappeared.Egyptwasthemajorexceptiontothecity-state,butitsisolatedsituationmadeitunique.TradeTradeonalargescalewasfinancedbyagriculturalsurplusesthatbecameavailableespeciallyaftertherivervalleyswereirrigatedandorgan

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ized.Thetradeofsurplusesgreatlyencouragedthespecializationofcrafts.Peoplenearimportantrawmaterialscouldconcentrateonacraftandtradetheresultoftheirlaborforfoodfromtherivervalleys.PeopleinthemountainsaroundUrtradedmetaltoolsandoreforfood,forexample.Theplacementofthefirstcivilizationsonriversandcoastsacceleratedtradebecausetransportbyboatwascheap.Potterycouldbeshippedbyboatoverlongdistances.ThecedarofLebanoncouldbeshippedbyseatoEgypt,wheretimberwasinshortsupply.Tradewasaneconomicmultiplier.Thecomparativeadvantagesofproductionindifferentareasmeantthatallparticipantswerebetteroffaftertrading.Tradewasalsoanimportantdisseminatorofideas.Visitorstootherculturesspreadnewideasandinnovationsquickly.Thoseculturesthatactivelytradedwereusuallyamongthemostadvanced.MetalworkingTheearliestuseofmetalyetknowncomesfromsouthernTurkey,northofSyria.Hammeredcopperobjectsfoundheredateto7000BC.Prolongedhammeringcausesmetaltoeventuallyhardenandbecomebrittle,leavingituseless.Theprocessofannealing,heatingthemetalinafire,restoresitsmalleability,makingitusefulagain.Theprocessofannealingseemstohavebeendiscoveredveryearly.Thefirstimportantbreakthroughinmetallurgywasthediscoveryofsmelting,theprocessofextractingmetalsfromoreunderhightemperatures.Thisgreatlyexpandedtheuseofcopperbecauseorewasmuchmorecommonthanrawcopperthatcouldbehammered.By4000BCsmall,simplecopperobjectswerewidespreadintheMiddleEast.Thesecondimportantbreakthroughinmetallurgywasthediscoveryofbronzearound3000BC.Thiscopperandtinalloywasharderthancopperandmoreusefulfortools,anditalsoflowedmoreeasilywhenmoltenthancopperdidandwaseasiertocast.MetalworkinginThailandgo

esbackto4000BCandbronzeappearstherebefore2000BC.MetalworkingappearedintheAndesofSouthAmericaaround2000BC.ThisdevelopmentisconsideredtobeindependentofmetalworkingintheMiddleEast.IronwasknownfromthethirdmillenniumBC,butitwasnotmastereduntilmanyyearslater.Someoftheearliestironartifactsweremadefrommeteoriciron.Ancienttradingrecordsshowthatironwasmorevaluablethansilverduringmuchofthesecondmillennium.OneoftwoceremonialdaggersplacedinTutankhamenstombin1323BCismadeofiron(thesecondisgold).Theuseofironspreadafter1200BCduringthefirstdarkage,inpartperhapsbecausethebreakdownoftradelimitedsuppliesofcopperandtin.Withoutthosecriticalmetals,smithsmadedowiththemorecommonironore,learnedhowtomakeitwell,andendedupwithamoreusefulandcheapermetalfortheirtrouble.WritingItappearsthatwritingwasinventedtokeepaccountsintradeandfortheearlycity-states.Theinventionofwritingtookplac

einMesopotamiajustbeforethestartoftheBronzeAgein3000BC.Theearliestwritingwaspictographiceachpicturerepresentedanobject.Forexample,adrawingofahorsesheadrepresentedahorse.ThecommonwritingmaterialinMesopotamiawasaclaytablet.Thepreservationoflargenumbersoftabletsallowedhistorianstotracethetransformationoftheearlypictographsintocuneiform.Inthissystem,thepictographsweregraduallystylizedintoclustersofwedgespressedintotheclaybyawritinginstrumentcalledastylus.Becauseclaytabletsweremuchmorelikelytobepreservedthanmoreperishablemedia,wegenerallyknowmoreaboutthoseculturesthatwroteincuneiform.WritinginseveralformsappearedinEgyptveryquicklyafter3000BC,probablyinfluencedinfunctionbydevelopmentsinMesopotamia.ThemostfamousEgyptianwritingwashieroglyphics,anotherpictographwritingespeciallyusedfortemplescarvings.Cursivehieroglyphicswereeasiertowriteandwereusedonpapyrusdocumentsandineveryday

use.Animportantstepinwritingflexibilitywastheinventionofanalphabetwherelettersymbolsrepresentedmouthsounds,notobjects.Acombinationofsoundscreatedwords.TheearliestalphabeticsystemappearedinthecityofUgaritinmodernSyriaaround1350BC.UgaritwasanimportanttradingcenterbetweenMesopotamia,Palestine,Anatolia,andtheportsontheLevantleadingtoGreeceandEgypt.Thebest-knownscriptfromthistimeiscalledUgaritic,whichhasa32-letteralphabetandisprobablytheancestorofalllateralphabeticscripts.