Archaeology and Humanity's Story: A Brief Introduction to World Prehistory PDF

Archaeology and Humanity’s Story: A Brief Introduction to World Prehistory By Deborah I. Olszewski Archaeology and Humanity’s Story: A Brief Introduction to World Prehistory Any questions about: 1.The midterm exam? 2. Chapter 7 – the Southwestern US? 3. Chapter 8 – the Southeastern US? 4.Announcemen...

Archaeology and Humanity’s Story: A Brief Introduction to World Prehistory By Deborah I. Olszewski Archaeology and Humanity’s Story: A Brief Introduction to World Prehistory Any questions about: 1.The midterm exam? 2. Chapter 7 – the Southwestern US? 3. Chapter 8 – the Southeastern US? 4.Announcement – EC Opportunity on Wednesday @ 4 p.m. @ Int’l Pavilion Chapter 9 Early Dynastic Mesopotamia Early Dynastic Mesopotamia Later Mesopotamia © 2018 3 Chapter 9 Learning Objectives Discuss various aspects of art, economy, gender roles and religion in ancient Mesopotamian society. Examine the rise of Uruk. Explain shifting political complexity in Dynastic Mesopotamia. Identify some ties between modern politics and Archaeology, and their relevance. Utilize course tools and skills to become more aware of how an issue manifests in an identified community or inside yourself to develop stronger connections with diverse people and communities. Apply basic archaeological knowledge and foundational skills to build awareness of issues like economy and politics. © 2018 4 Questions to Consider: 1. Between looting of museums, destruction of archaeological sites for political ends, and political framing of archaeological evidence to boost political legitimacy, archaeology seems to be getting a lot of political play in recent years. – Should archaeologists consider the modern political outcomes of their work when making decisions about where and what to research? © 2018 5 Reconstructing Palmyra https://www.theartnew spaper.com/2021/01/1 1/new-hope-thatancient-palmyra-willbe-rebuilt-after-isisdamage © 2018 6 Today Uruk & Ur Pre-dynastic and Dynastic periods Resource Networks, Trade, and Exchange Next time: Social Life & Gender Ritual and Religion Warfare & Violence Later Mesopotamia Cuneiform & the Code of Hammurabi © 2018 7 Timeline © 2018 8 ’Ubaid Pottery ca 6500-4200 BCE Painted ceramics, often in the form of pots Clay figurines © 2018 9 Uruk Period Politically complex cities and city-states developed during the Uruk period (4000– 3100 BC) Densely populated, with villages, towns, and cities concentrated along the Tigris River and its tributaries Irrigation canals  large-scale barley agriculture and large herds of sheep and goats © 2018 10 Importance of Water and Irrigation The Euphrates River – Critical to the Mesopotamia © 2018 11 Uruk Period [s] 4000-3100 BC Named after Uruk, a large city in modern day Iraq along the Euphrates River © 2018 12 Uruk Period [s] Some settlements grew progressively larger through time. By the late Uruk period, some areas were established as walled cities, likely made possible by stored food surpluses and highly coordinated labor. © 2018 13 Plan of the City of Uruk (modern Warka): Estimated 250 hectares (600 acres) ca. 3500 BCE – Grew in size during the Early Dynastic Period (ca. 2900-2300 BCE) to over 400 hectares (1000 acres); enclosure wall 6 miles long © 2018 14 Eanna district: 4000–2000 BC at the Heart of the City of Uruk During this period, the city of Uruk had one major temple dedicated to the goddess of love and war = Inanna [Ishtar] in the Eanna sector of the city. Early texts mention how other Sumerian cities sent ritual offerings to the shrine of Inanna at Uruk. © 2018 15 Sumerian cuneiform clay tablets & writing (ca 3200 BC) © 2018 16 Cities and States: Uruk © 2018 17 The Site of Uruk (today), 1 One of the two principal mounds of the city (ziggurat) © 2018 18 The Site of Uruk (today) ziggurat Cone-Mosaic Decoration Mud-Brick Construction © 2018 19 Reconstruction of the Uruk city Twin Mesopotamian Pillars: Temple and Palace (German Archaeological Institute, Bonn) https://ancientmesopotamia.or g/cultures/uruk-period © 2018 20 Questions to Consider: 1. What role did ritual, religion, and ceremony play in the political and social life of Early Dynastic Mesopotamian civilizations? – Do you think ritual ideology was necessary for the rise of complex citystates? © 2018 21 Early Dynastic Cities of Sumer: Ur, Uruk, Nippur The Early Dynastic Period (starts @ 2900 BC) AKKAD SUMER © 2018 22 Ziggurat @ Ur Tell - an Arabic word for "tall" - refers to an earthen mound that resulted from many superimposed layers of human occupational remains (mostly collapsed and/or melted mud-bricks) on the same location over a log span of time. In the Near East, such sites have a occupational span of 1000s of years. Ziggurat or temple platform is a gigantic tell. Each temple mound has many episodes of rebuilding, additions etc. It was first built at the city of Ur. © 2018 23 The City-State of Ur Excavated areas of the Royal Cemetery of Ur The “Royal Standard of Ur” depicting wartime and peaceful life Reconstructed ziggurat of Ur © 2018 24 King Gilmamesh of the City-State of Uruk (Fifth Ruler, ca. 27002600 BCE; Early Dynastic Period) © 2018 25 Epic of Gilgamesh, a 3000-line poem Gilmamesh Goddess Inanna © 2018 26 Trade and “World System” in Ancient Mesopotamia © 2018 27 The Mesopotamian Trade and “World System”? © 2018 28 Resource Networks, Trade, and Exchange Scribes and merchants recorded trade details, and later developed standardized weights for commerce. Goods were transported via ships along the rivers, or by donkey over land: – Timber, obsidian, carnelian, lapis lazuli, gold, silver, alabaster, and shell. © 2018 29 IMPORTED GOODS: Semi-Precious chalcedony/agate imported from India Lapis Lazuli imported from Afghanistan © 2018 30 The Written Word (1 of 2) Protocuneiform: The ideographic written language of the Uruk and Jemdet Nasr periods Cuneiform followed in the ED period  Used for bookkeeping, but also for recording myths, royal inscriptions, recipe lists, and ritual hymns © 2018 31 The Written Word (2 of 2) Writing was restricted to an occupational class called scribes. They possessed and controlled written language. Even kings, priests, and priestesses were usually unable to read or write. Cuneiform is still not completely deciphered. However, it gives us invaluable insights into Sumerian society in their own words. © 2018 32 The Oikoi Economy “Superfamilies” combined kin-based households with nonkin labor. Lower ranked or indebted people could work for elite landowners, temples, and palaces. Each superhousehold was an oikos This system, which included the enslavement of debtors and war captives, rapidly increased social inequalities. © 2018 33 Social Life Cuneiform tablets describe ranked and gendered lists of professionals The oikoi economy extended these rankings to include contracted workers, slaves, rulers, religious and military elites, scribes, overseers, bureaucrats, merchants, traders, and commoners. Social stratification is seen archaeologically in burials. © 2018 34 Ritual and Religion Each Early Dynastic city had a patron deity, and temples were dedicated to them. – Ur was the domain of Nanna (the moon goddess). – Ningirsu (god of the plow and thundershowers) was the patron of Lagash. – Anu (the sky god) and Inanna (goddess of love and war) were associated with Uruk. – Enlil (storm winds god) was associated with Nippur. © 2018 35 Warfare and Violence Individual city-states battled over access to agricultural land, water rights, and control of exchange and trade networks. Power was divided between about a dozen city-states, and never dominated by one for long. Art from this period depicts soldiers in phalanxes armed with shields, spears, axes, chariots, maces, and daggers. Average soldiers were probably indebted people with few options. Warfare was another way of capturing slaves and adding to a city’s labor pool. © 2018 36 Later Mesopotamia In 2334 BC Akkad’s Sargon I established the Akkadian Empire through military conquest. The Akkadians were conquered by the Gutians (from the highlands in the east) in 2150 BC. The Gutians were, in turn, conquered by Ur-Nammu, the Sumerian ruler of Ur in 2112 BC. He established the Third Dynasty of Ur, which lasted until 2004 BC. The Babylonian Kingdom began in 1792 BC. The Babylonian ruler Hammurabi is well known for his legal code. Cyrus II the Great conquered Mesopotamia in 539 BC and incorporated the region into the Achaemenid (Persian) Empire. © 2018 37 The Code of Hammurabi Activity Hammurabi’s Law Code is one of the most famous documents in human history. When reviewing Hammurabi’s code, it is immediately apparent that he lived in a cultural context that dealt with very different day-to-day concerns than ours. However, there are also many familiar elements that persist into our present legal system. © 2018 38 The Code of Hammurabi Activity Take a look at the Code of Hammurabi: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/ancient/hamfram e.asp 282 distinct points. Is the law applicable in the modern world? Why or why not? For example, point 282: “If a slave say to his master: ‘You are not my master,’ if they convict him his master shall cut off his ear.” - This is not particularly applicable to most of the modern world. In the United States, slavery is illegal and cutting off an ear is not seen an acceptable punishment for any crime. © 2018 39 Questions to Consider: 1. Review “The Big Picture: Ideology and Art in the Early Dynastic” (p. 290). Rulers are often depicted in exaggerated form, as physically larger than everyone else. War captives are depicted as naked and powerless (Fig. 9.12). – – What do you see as the social functions of this art? Have you seen anything comparable in your own modern society? © 2018 40 Questions to Consider: 1. The development of an oikoi economy in the Early Dynastic, in which “superhouseholds” or oikos were formed, marks a major shift in social/economic organization. – – What do you see as the benefits and drawbacks of this type of economy, as opposed to earlier kin-based groups? What were the social consequences of this shift? © 2018 41 Questions to Consider: 1. The “Big Picture” box on page 287 describes the division of labor along gender lines in Early Dynastic Mesopotamia. People often use ancient examples like this to argue that gender roles are “natural” and universal. – – What do you think? What can archaeology reveal about gender roles in human societies? © 2018 42 Chapter 9 Review Learning Objectives Discuss various aspects of art, economy, gender roles and religion in ancient Mesopotamian society. Examine the rise of Uruk. Explain shifting political complexity in Dynastic Mesopotamia. Identify some ties between modern politics and Archaeology, and their relevance. Utilize course tools and skills to become more aware of how an issue manifests in an identified community or inside yourself to develop stronger connections with diverse people and communities. Apply basic archaeological knowledge and foundational skills to build awareness of issues like economy and politics. © 2018 43