1.5 The first Civilisations - T -

• History
• Middelbare school
• havo, vwo
• Leerjaar 1

AGE 1: The Time of Hunters and Farmers

1.5 The first civilisations

theory

- T -

What is this lesson about?

The first farmers settled around rivers in the Middle East. Because of the fertile ground around the rivers, the farmers were able to get an agricultural surplus. This abundance of food allowed people to specialise in other jobs: like traders, craftsmen or priests. Villages in Sumer and Egypt grew to become cities with a highly developed level of culture.

What you can explain /  do after this lesson

• how Egypt and Sumer could develop around rivers
• how an agricultural surplus could lead to a highly developed civilisation
• explain what an agricultural-urban society is and how it developed
• give the characteristics of the first civilisations and explain them

Word Duty

Mesopotamia: fertile area in the Middle East; Greek for ‘land between two rivers’

Irrigation: artificial way to spread water across farmland to make it fertile

Agricultural surplus: when farmers produce more food than they can eat

Specialise: when someone becomes very good at one thing

Craftsman: someone who makes products with his hands and tools

Bartering: exchange goods or services directly for other goods or services

Markets: places where people come to barter their products

Agricultural-urban society: society in which the majority of people live as farmers, while the minority live in cities

Culture: things people think and do, such as religion, traditions, art, clothes and language

Civilisation: highly developed society

Pharaoh: the king of ancient Egypt

KEY WORDS

Introduction

In the Middle East and in North Africa, farmers lived in villages close to rivers. They were able to produce so much food that some of them could specialise in art, trade, religion, writing or warfare. Eventually the villages grew to become the first cities.

The land between two rivers

Farming started in the Middle East. Uruk was an ancient city in what is now Iraq. It was once one of the biggest cities on Earth. Uruk had beautiful temples, workshops, and markets. Thousands of people lived there. But now, Uruk is covered by desert sand. How did people live in such a dry place? And what happened to them?

Archaeologists discovered that the first people in Uruk were farmers. They stayed in one place, grew crops, and raised animals. To grow their crops, they needed fertile soil and water.

Around 3500 BC, the area around Uruk was different from how it is now. The city was not built in the desert, but close to two rivers: the Euphrates and the Tigris. The ancient Greeks called this place Mesopotamia, which means "the land between two rivers."

Source 1.5.1

Map of the Fertile Crescent

Source 1.5.2

This Standard was found in the Sumerian city of Ur. It showes farmers and shepherds with their cattle and harvest (c. 2600 - 2400 BC).

Fertile floods

Sometimes, the two big rivers, Euphrates and Tigris, overflowed. This caused a lot of water to cover the land and destroy everything in its path. But these rivers did not only cause damage. The Euphrates and Tigris also turned the desert into green land with grass and trees. When the water went down, a dark layer of silt (clay) stayed on the riverbank. This clay was very fertile, so the farmers of Mesopotamia chose to grow their crops there. The crops grew very fast! The farmers saw these rivers as life-giving miracles.

The three steps in the flooding of the Euphrates River are shown below. First, the water is low. Then, it covers the riverbanks. Finally, it leaves pools of water and fertile ground so the farmers can grow their crops.

Source 1.5.3

Three steps in the flooding of the Euphrates River (present-day drawing).

The Sumerians studied the stars to understand the changing of seasons and to predict the floods of the rivers. They tried to calculate when the floods would occur. This is how they started calculating time. The number twelve was important to them. Nowadays one day is still two times twelve and a year has twelve months.

Teacher's Tip:

If you need to write DIFFERENCES in your answer it is important that you ALWAYS mention BOTH things that you are comparing.

For example: What is the difference between a fish and a bird?

WRONG ANSWER: "a bird has feathers"

CORRECT ANSWER: " a bird has feathers and a fish has scales"

Floods caused by the gods

The farmers of Mesopotamia and Egypt needed the river to live their lives. They grew their grain on its banks and built houses from the clay. They believed that the gods controlled the floods. These gods could punish the farmers by changing the river's flow. 

Some years, the river did not rise enough, causing a drought. Without water, crops failed, and people died of famine. Other years, the water level was too high and destroyed fields and houses, causing people to drown. In both situations, the Sumerians and Egyptians prayed to the gods for a better flood next time.

Source 1.5.5

The river Nile today. The flooding is regulated by dams.

Source 1.5.4

Sobek, the Egyptian god of the Nile, half man, half crocodile

An abundance of food

Sometimes, the two big rivers in Mesopotamia overflowed. The farmers found a way to use the river water to their advantage. They dug small canals to bring water to dry areas. This is called irrigation. With irrigation, dry land became fertile.

Thanks to irrigation and fertile silt, farmers could grow more food than they needed. This extra food is called agricultural surplus. Farmers did not waste this surplus. They traded it with each other. Because of this, some people didn’t have to be farmers. They could do other jobs. 

Some people became potters, goldsmiths, carpenters, or shoemakers. These craftsmen traded their products with farmers. For example, they might trade a pair of shoes for grain or a necklace for a cow. This type of trade is called bartering.

Source 1.5.6

A craftsman made these basket shaped hair ornaments of gold (around 2000 BC).

Source 1.5.7

Sumerian craftsmen working

Teacher's Tip:

If a question asks you to "use the source" it is important that you do that. 

If the source is a picture, you can describe what you SEE. You can start your answer with: 

"In the source I see......", or: "The source shows...."

If the source is a text, you can copy a passage from that text. You can start your answer with:

"The source says:"......."

Villages become cities

Just as today, trading and bartering occurred at markets. Craftsmen and traders showed their goods at stands. Farmers came to trade their crops or cattle. Every year, more craftsmen built their workshops and houses near the market. 

They were followed by shop owners, innkeepers and priests who built temples to honour the gods. Because of this the villages grew to become cities. 

At that moment society changed: not everyone worked as a farmer anymore. Some people decided to live and work in the city. The Sumerians in Mesopotamia were one of the first people to have an agricultural-urban society.

Source 1.5.8

A trader tells a scribe (schrijver) about the products and amounts he is trading. In the back is a Sumerian Ziggurat (a temple tower). 

(present-day drawing).

Sumer and Egypt: the first civilisations

Uruk was not the only city in Mesopotamia. Over time, many cities grew. They fought wars, but they also worked together. These cities shared the same culture. They had the same language, writing, laws, art, and religion. Because of this, we call it a civilisation. In the Sumerian civilisation, every city had its own leader. The leader of the strongest city could call himself the king of Sumer.

In Egypt, another civilisation grew around the Nile River. The Egyptians also relied on the river's flooding and some lived in cities. Their king was called a Pharaoh, and he was worshipped as a god.

The Sumerians and Egyptians influenced other countries around them. Through war and trade, their culture spread throughout the Middle East.

Source 1.3.2

Artist’s reconstruction of the Sumerian city of Ur

(IMAGE by Artefacts Berlin)

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