Ancient Mesopotamian Civilizations

Study Notes

The Amorite King Hammurabi created one of the world's earliest and most complete written legal codes.
The Code of Hammurabi helped Babylon surpass the Sumerian City of Ur as the region's most powerful city.

The length of the skirts varied according to hierarchical status.
Servants, slaves, and soldiers wore short skirts, while royalty wore long skirts.
They wrapped around the body and tied with a belt at the waist to hold the skirts up.
Men and women wore skirts composed of woven cloth and tufted fabrics.

Characterized by bronze artifacts and the use of bronze implements.
Greece became a major hub of activities during the Bronze Age.
The Minoans were the first advanced civilization in Europe.
They traded timber, olive oil, wine, and dye to nearby Egypt, Syria, Cyprus, and the Greek mainland.
They imported metals and other raw materials, including copper, tin, ivory, and precious stones.

Clothing was made of wool with a simple weave.
Leather was used as straps on clothes and shoes.
Most clothing was a dark color.
Textile tools such as spindle whorls and loom weights were made of clay and stone.
Men wore caps made of either knitted thread or animal skin.
Most people wore shoes.
In cold climates, the fur was left on the skin and put on the inside of the shoes to help keep them warm.

Located in the Indus River valley.
Its two large cities, Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, were located in present-day Pakistan's Punjab and Sindh provinces, respectively.
The Indus cotton industry was well-developed.
People wore loin cloth for men, wrap skirts and shoulder shawls for women.
Sandals were made from cloth and wood.
Their cloths were made from cotton and woolen yarn.

Women were bare to the waist and wore only a scanty skirt.
The skirt was held by a girdle made either of beads or a band of woven material.
There were also dresses made from stiffened cotton cloth.
Men were usually nude, and they would mostly wear an embroidery worn over their left shoulder and under the right arm.
People were fond of jewelry and hair-dressing.
Men had various hairstyles, including parting their hair in the middle and curling their hair.
Metal ornaments were made out of gold, silver, copper, and bronze.

The era of the Shang and the Zhou dynasties are generally known as the Bronze Age of China.
The capital, and the land was controlled directly by the king.
Farmers typically raised domestic animals such as sheep-goats, cattle, and pigs.
A diet was supplemented by hunting and fishing.
Use of bricks was extensive, but there are no traces of burnt (baked) bricks.
Metals such as copper and its alloys were used to make knives, axes, fishing hooks, chisels, pins, and rods.

The people of the Chalcolithic Age were expert coppersmiths, ivory carvers, lime makers, and terracotta artisans.
Ornaments were made from semiprecious stones and beads such as agate, jasper, chalcedony, and carnelian.
People had knowledge of spinning and weaving.
Flax, cotton, and silk thread were found from sites in Maharashtra.
Cotton was produced in black cotton soil.
Animal skins, woven fabrics were used to make garments.