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.