Paper Topic:

FirstExam

First Exam

The Neolithic revolution is often cited as the start of civilization Here we see the end of the hunter-gatherer stage . Man has started farming and keeping livestock . It was the need of the Ice Age and thus food was more available . The need to travel far distances for food came to an end . Groups started living in the same place all year round People started to build permanent dwellings . This is important not only to western civilization but to all of us as a whole . The Neolithic revolution laid the

groundwork for towns and cities . It fostered population growth and the need for an organized body to govern these settlements (Mithen , 2003 , p55

What we now know as the Fertile Crescent was once occupied by the Sumerians thousands of years ago . At 4000 BCE , Sumerians lived in Mesopotamia . They built irrigation for their crops and great walled-in cities . Perhaps the greatest contribution of the Sumerians to early Western civilization was their system of writing and counting . It was the Sumerians who widely used the base ten for counting (Kramer , 1971 p25 . Something that is still in use today

When we picture Pharaohs , we almost automatically see pyramids and the Nile . The Pharaohs were considered heads of government and the high priest of every temple . They were also considered half god and half man Pharaohs are one of the earliest examples of a continuing monarchy as well as absolute rule . Their greatest contribution to civilization is their bureaucracy (Dowling . October 23 , 2004 "Mr . Dowling 's Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt page . HYPERLINK "http /www .mrdowling .com /604-pharaoh .html http /www .mrdowling .com /604-pharaoh .html . 24 February 2008

A Greek city-state is called a Polis . These were independent cities with their own laws and rulers . Greeks pride themselves as being the only people who practiced democracy . It is said that the greatest innovation of the Greeks was the creation of the Polis . Democratic government required the creation of another foundation of modern civilization . And this was the determination of citizenship . Only citizens could participate in democratic exercises . Much of what the Greeks have instituted is still in practice today (Hines , 1996 ,

. 156

The three early civilizations Sumerian , Egyptian and Assyrian civilizations had much in common . First , these three civilizations each had a way of writing and counting . Second , all three were polytheistic (worshipped more than one god . Lastly , these civilizations thrived because they had a stable system of food production and were located near a body of water

The Sumerians used a system of writing called cuneiform . They used a sharp writing instrument called a stylus . The Egyptians used a set of picture words ' called hieroglyphics . The Assyrians used the Akkadian language , a branch of Semitic language . This was also written a form of cuneiform script (Ascalone , 2007 , pp . 55 , 90 , 127

All three were polytheistic . The Sumerians worshipped various gods whom governed their daily lives . Like the Sumerians , the Egyptians viewed their gods as immortals with mortal attitudes . The...

3 pages

62.5 KB

Free sing-up