Chapter 3: First Civilizations
     
           Chapter three was especially compelling as it is the first time we can see the society as we know it starting to form. For the first time there are actual states and governments with leaders who use force to get obedience.  Personally, the civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt were always the most interesting part of history as they provided the foundation for civilization today. It was also interesting how civilizations not only formed in one place, but 6 different places around the globe at around the same time, just like how agriculture happened. As civilization developed so did trade between peoples and also writing. Two things that generally did not happen before these 6 major civilizations suddenly appeared and became a major part of most of the societies as the literate people were often held in higher regard than those were illiterate; and trade made the possibility of getting materials a lot easier, it also helped the spread of culture. The Indus Valley civilization was interesting because they did not have a hierarchy like the other civilizations had. I think it takes a lot of intelligence to have a coordinated civilization with specialized jobs, and not have someone overseeing it all as a ruling figure. The most interesting civilizations, in my opinion, was the one in South America known as Norte Chico because, unlike Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, and the other early civilizations, they did not have a form of writing. Nor did they trade much or even have wars as their cities did not have defensive structures. Most of these things were probably due to isolation, however, even isolated they were able to develop their own society, much different than the others but still functioning. Of course the more typical ancient civilizations are interesting too as Egypt, Mesopotamia, and China have done many significant things during their time. For example, the Chinese were able to create an irrigation system that left surplus all over the civilization, thus allowing them to expand and focus on advancing their civilization. Another example would be the hard work and ingenuity it took the Egyptians to build the pyramids which we still see today as a huge accomplishment. Of course there was also the Mesopotamian civilization who were the first to emerge and the first to develop a written language. Lastly, but by no means least important, were the Olmec, whose civilization revolved around agriculture. The chapter mentioned that they built 17 stone heads which weighed over 20 tons each, an enormous feat for a civilization whose economy was based on agriculture. The importance of the agricultural revolution was evidenced in this chapter as none of these civilizations would have had the chance to grow without surplus created as a result of agriculture. The civilizations forming were an amazing accomplishment, but things did not stop there, as societies started forming, so too, came the problems that go with them. Gender discrimination, hierarchies of class, and the patriarchy that we can still see today started to form back even in the first of civilizations. A lot of times we wonder why there are so many problems in the world, but even the first civilizations had these problems, as they are a part of society. Gone with the Agricultural Revolution, equality left too as jobs needed more specialization and perhaps the more important ones required men to be done. These were just the start of problems that equality faced when people started forming cities and they are still very much apparent today. However,the problems did not start with our own society, we just failed to learn from past mistakes.

Ways of the World Chapter 2: First Farmers


The agricultural revolution was a long time in coming and the occurrence of it was just as much luck as it was evolution and innovation. The combination of things like the ending of the Ice Age and globalization paved the way for farming to happen. Many of the large animals that thrived during the Ice Age were now becoming extinct due to a shift in climate. On the other hand, the domestication of other, smaller animals also greatly contributed to the further development of farming, and through natural selection, the animals better suited to human needs survived and reproduced. It's interesting how the book says that humans not only tamed the animals and settled them, but that the animals also, in a way, tamed humans, as they made gather-hunting obsolete and much more useless. However, this made domesticated animals and humans much more dependent upon each other since the animals were fed and raised by humans while the animals, in turn, fed the humans or were used for other things like wool or milk. Gathering and hunting became useless because people got more from farming than they did from from hunting. Because they got a lot more food, population also greatly increased as humans strove to settle and migrate all over the world. Population actually seemed to explode with the agricultural revolution going from 6 million to 250 million by the common era. Gone with gathering and hunting was the understanding the paleolithic people had of the natural world. It seems like the people of the neolithic era were more out of touch with the environment because they did not depend on it as much as they once did.  I also found it interesting how the agricultural revolution happened generally around the same time period, which was between 12,000 and 4,000 years ago. This makes sense though, considering that the ending of the Ice Age brought with it the end of animals and plants that people used to rely on, thus creating the need to domesticate animals and start farming. The adaptation of crops over time was also very pertinent to the further advancement of civilizations, and it seems rather clever that peoples of the neolithic era were able to conquer such a feat.  Diffusion and migration were also essential as they probably meant contact with other societies bringing trade and further growth which all seems much more advanced than I would have thought the people of the time were capable of. Although most places around the world developed farming around the same time, the environments in which they lived allowed each place to grow and develop separately, effectively creating different types of cultures all around the world. Perhaps the most interesting things was that farming not only led to domestication, population, and globalization, but also a lot of technological advancement. Technologies newly available or more essential included pots, textiles, weaving and newer tools. One of the only negative things that developed, in my opinion, was the rise of inequality through chiefdoms, however, even these were not so bad as they were based off of giving, not of force which is probably how it should be. Overall, the peoples of the neolithic era provided a strong foundation for society today through agriculture and although these people lived thousands of years ago, it is easy to see that their ways of life definitely influenced how we are today.

DGP Chapter 1: The Need for Water in Ancient Societies

It's obvious that water is a necessity for life, be it human, plant, or animal, all living things need water (among other things) to survive. Water is something we, hopefully, consume each day, and here in America water is easily taken for granted. We do not seem to understand how lucky we are to have such easy access to water when we need it. However what would happen if it weren't so easy to obtain like in the ancient societies of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Rome, and China? I think society would be a much different place if we had to struggle for water like our ancestors did. Most would think that the struggle to find water would be a big problem and a hindrance to advancing technology. However, the struggle for water seemed to actually help the peoples in ancient civilizations by giving them problems that needed to be solved by advancing their technology. Irrigation was a necessity that provided for cities to grow and expand as well as population. Land was of no use if it did not have access to water by means of irrigation.These problems led to different types of irrigation in each different civilization because of different type of land environments, if nothing else, these innovations prove that the people of ancient societies were at least good problem solvers. And not only did this struggle provide for better technology, it also made for the need of better communications between different peoples, and a more regulated system of government and called for more intellectual organized means of controlling the water. The violence between peoples for water became less effective and diplomacy became more useful and prevalent. People were not really looking to exalt heroes vanquishing foes in the battlefield so much as the inventor with the latest technology to help the water system. It seems only obvious to be proud of the guy who is making something that is necessary to our survival rather than the guy making things that just waste our time or distract us, but I think somewhere along the way we lost sight of this principle. Now, it's all about who can make the shiniest, fastest computer, not about who cures our sicknesses or energy problems. Holding the rights to water meant almost as much, if not more, power than actual strength. A leader who gave water to his people could easily be seen as kind and compassionate. Rulers could not neglect matters relating to water because if they were, as seen in sources 8 and 12, people were always looking for ways to better their own positions and therefore strict laws needed to be in place or else social and political unrest could arise. A ruler who could not control his own water supply probably would not have been seen as a strong nor effective leader. Even a ruler who was effective probably could not have solved all the legal disputes that came with irrigation as land and water rights were probably a common topic of arguments.  I think it is really interesting how we learned so much through things they left behind since a lot of these things were created before there was an established system of writing.