Ch. 2 First Civilizations (Cities, States, and Unequal Societies)

The First Civilizations
The earliest of civilizations emerged around 3500 B.C.E. to 3000 B.C.E. in three places. One was the "cradle" of Middle Eastern civilization, expressed in the city-states of Sumer in southern Mesopotamia. Sumerian civilization likely were likely the ones who gave rise to the world's earliest written language. Then, around the same time, the Egyptian civilization emerged in the Nile River valley. The third civilization developed along the central coast of Peru from roughly 3000 B.C.E. to 1800 B.C.E. This area received little rainfall; but it had dozens or rivers which helped. Furthermore, a number of First Civilizations continued to develop in the Indus, in China, and central Asia later on.

The Erosion of Equality
Inequality and hierarchy came to play after the First Civilizations took place. The upper class had great wealth in land and salaries, didn't engage in physical labor, had the best quality of everything, and took positions in political, military, and religious life, The clothes they wore were also different as well as the houses they live in; and even their manner in burials. As for the free commoners, they represented the vast majority of the population. They were artisans, lower-level officials, soldiers, servants, and farmers. The farmers' surplus production supported the upper class through taxes, required labor, and tribute payments. And at the bottom of social hierarchies were slaves. Female slaves were captured in many wars among the Mesopotamian cities and were put to work in semi-industrial weaving enterprises. The males were placed to maintain irrigation canals and construct ziggurats.

Hierarchies of Gender
Men were regarded as superior to women and they could prefer sons over daughters. Men had roles as rulers, warriors, scholars, and heads of households. As for the women, their roles both productive and reproductive, took place in the household. It developed further when women took their role in nature relating to reproduction. Gathering and hunting societies developed gender systems without restrictions and inequalities that characterized the civilizations. The patriarchal societies likely developed from private property and commerce. And the buying and selling associated with the commerce also aided in men applying rights over women, as slaves, concubines, and wives.

The Rise of the State
Early states were headed mostly by kings who had a variety of officials who extended control over society and defended the states against external enemies. Someone had to organize the irrigation systems of river valley civilizations, direct efforts to defend the city or its territory against aggressive outsiders, and adjudicate conflicts among the many different peoples. The First Civilizations generated ideas that state authority, class, and and gender inequalities were normal, natural, and ordained by the gods. Kingship everywhere related to the sacred.

Cities and States
Mesopotamia and Egypt civilizations differed quite greatly. Mesopotamian civilization was organized in a dozen or more separate and independent city-states. Each city was ruled by a king. With Egypt, it maintained their unity and independence in their states and chiefdoms. The focus of the Egyptian state resided in the pharaoh - a god in human form. The pharaoh was believed to ensure the daily rising of the sun and the annual flooding of the Nile.

"Civilization" 
Civilization -  The idea that civilizations can represent distinct and widely shared identities with clear boundaries that mark them off from other units creates solidity. Despite the many issues and obstacles the city-states face, they certainly did grow and evolve as societies.