Mesopotamia: the first civilization - SUNY Oswego

1 mesopotamia : the first civilization Trait-complex definition (based on V. G. Childe s work) Primary (fundamental changes in organization): 1. Size and density of cities: much wider level of social organization 2. Full time specialization of labor: institutionalized, along with systems of distribution and exchange 3. Concentration of surplus: social means for collection and management of surplus production of farmers and artisans 4. Class structured society: privileged ruling class organized and directed society 5. State organization: well structured political organization with membership based on residence. Replaced political identification based on kinship Secondary (document presence of five primary traits): 6. Monumental public works 7. Long-distance trade 8. Standardized, monumental artwork 9. Writing 10. Arithmetic, geometry and astronomy: exact predictive science and engineering initiated. By 7th millennium farming villages throughout Fertile Crescent: Clusters of mudbrick houses Wheat, barley, pulses grown Pigs, sheep, goats raised Pottery Early copper metallurgy Exchange networks revealed by distribution of obsidian Northern mesopotamia /Southern mesopotamia contrasting environments Northern mesopotamia in early 7th : Proto-Hassuna; Hassuna (6500-6000 5250 ) Tell Hassuna in Iraq.

2 Distribution of sites shows all fertile areas occupied. Sites small. Most probably no more than 500 people. Yarim Tepe, ca. 5500 provides good picture: passages and courtyards separate multiroomed houses with interior courtyards; probably single story. At northern end of settlement, probable communal storage facility. Sheep, goats, pigs. Einkorn, breadwheat and barley. Beads of marble, chalcedony, turquoise, carnelian. Copper beads. Two-story pottery kiln: large number of pots could be fired at temperatures above 800 degrees C. Overall, Hassuna 2 fairly simple. Luxury materials minimal, with no real indication of class distinctions and differential wealth. No evidence for administrative or religious centers. But wide distribution of ceramics suggests integration of villages, perhaps on basis of tribal organization structured by kinship. Central area: Samarran (overlaps Hassuna in time) Tell as-Sawwan on east bank of Tigris, 60 mi.

3 North of Baghdad (see map in text). Surprising complexity. Burial sites show some people interred with considerable wealth. Also suggest high technical and aesthetic level of production and existence of trade. Obsidian, turquoise and carnelian obtained from considerable Most burials under a single building a shrine? Sheep and goats. Agriculture well developed: irrigation (not found for Hassuna). Hybrid barley and breadwheat, large-seeded flax. Irrigation essential for these crops. Middle Samarran: (ca. 5400 ): buttressed fortification wall; within wall T-shaped and rectangular buildings. Rectangular were houses; varied in size. T-shaped important: storehouses for grain; appear to represent communal storage, suggesting communal ownership of land. Also, provide prototypes for later temples. Halaf (5500 4700 ; known for widely distributed, fine pottery). Centered in northern Syria, southeastern Turkey and northwestern Iraq, but either expanded into or at least influenced more distant areas.

4 Ceramics from Iran to Mediterranean coast. Settlements include tholoi: round, often with attached rectangular annex, antechamber or courtyard (keyhole plan). Most likely for storage; if so, implies substantial production. Also, burials may be associated, so structures may have been religious sanctuaries for burial of important people. Ceramics quite uniform and very attractive: luxury ware traded over great distances. Production by specialists in a few limited areas indicated. No evidence of administrative centers. Hassuna, Samarra, and Halaf represent advances from earlier Neolithic culture in terms of population growth, economic and political integration, and development of class structure. Movement to Southern Plains required heat and salt resistant plants; animals also had to be able to tolerate higher temperatures. Adaptation to new environment 3 Move southward to southern plains. Origin of Ubaid a puzzle. Where did it come from?

5 Early sites probably under considerable alluvium. Probably developed in southern mesopotamia : Ubaid as early as 6000 (your text goes with 5300 ) marked by village of Oueilli (Tell Ouilli). Lowest levels quite similar to Samarran. Not a Garden of Eden: heat extreme in summer, unpredictable and unreliable rainfall, severe cold in winter. Cultivation possible only along banks of major rivers, lagoons and tributaries. Also, lack of resources: no wood or stones. No ores for metal. No precious stones. Response: at first , path of least resistance. Simple communities along banks of rivers. By middle Ubaid: temples elaborate, establish style and layout of historic period Eridu temples demonstrate key role of religion in formation of first cities Mudbrick houses and a mudbrick temple. Clustered around temple, houses of elite. Craftspeople lived near elite; farther away lived the farmers. Probably 5,000 people around 4800 Settlement pattern indicates centralizing role of temple, a role that increases in importance over time.

6 Temple complex becomes the administrative center in every major Ubaid settlement. Development of sacred precinct with great continuity over time. Paul Wheatley: all cities evolved from ceremonial centers. Patron deities, residents are the people of the deities Temples become powerful economic institutions: own land. Result: state religion Key to Ubaid: long distance trade to north and east and south to Persian Gulf Environmental conscription, as in southern Arizona (Hohokam). Differential access to resources. Surplus and need for reliable, long-distance exchange chiefdoms? High population densities Uruk (3600 3100) Anu Ziggurat: site of temple from Ubaid period on What does the size of the late Uruk period complex say about society? What do those crude little bowls say? Specialization in food production: farming, herding, fishing 4 Craft specialization: how made possible? Technology: wheel, plow Writing Modeling the development of complexity (refer to diagram handed out in class) In lower mesopotamia , three deviation-amplifying relationships eventually led to class-stratified society: A, B, and C.

7 Should be seen as an incremental processes people required to react to what they saw as their most advantageous short-range choices. Primary forces environmental, technological and social. Establishment of agricultural communities along natural river courses initiated three positive-feedback processes: 1. Slow, but steady population growth within circumscribed, productive region 2. Specialization in food production by different units of society 3. Acquisition of foreign raw materials needed for utilitarian purposes Best land close to rivers, where small-scale irrigation needed. As population increased, land cultivated needed to be increased. Canals must now run through land of other farmers. What might happen in dry year? What would be effects of need to eventually farm less desirable land? Differential production and power. Individual ownership and inheritance favored by the haves. What could wealth be used for? Acquisition of more land.

8 Outcome: differential access to resources. Growing population in circumscribed area increased population density, required intensification of agriculture. Concentration of wealth in large settlements raises need for defense. Also, improved flow of information necessitated by growth of population. Needed new methods of integration, regulation and adjudication as well. Role of temple central. With specialization, increased need for redistribution. This led to increased power for administrative elite. 5 Trade appears to have been conducted through temple. Exchange most likely involved textiles, pottery, foodstuffs, and craft goods for raw materials such as bitumen, stone (for building, toolmaking, and decoration), timber, metal, etc. Feedback D on chart: partly result of A, B and C. Concentration of great wealth made settlements attractive targets. Offense needed as well: settle disputes, protect trade routes, attack other communities for profit.

9 Tendency to keep the soldiers busy and earn their keep (supported by the surplus production). Negative feedback: Production of agricultural surplus and increasing militarism. Over-intensification of agriculture: reduced fallow periods and salinization. Concentration of population in cities reduced potentially cultivable land. Increasing size and wealth of elite drained capital from productive segments of society. Reduced surplus that could be used for improving agriculture and supporting craft production and industry. Increased militarism leads to movement of population from rural areas to safer, urban areas: agricultural production decreased. Long-distance trade became more hazardous and expensive. Support of army drains resources. Defensive constructions required large quantities of labor and raw materials. Feedback E: Purposeful strategies of elite to stimulate growth of institutions that gave them power and wealth. Attempt to extend growth of authority meant encouraging managerial institutions, which led to increased dependency of society on them.

10 Private or institutional property, ascribed status, differential access to productive resources, military force, elements of religion, myth, and artistic works all contributed to society division.