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Asb 222-
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- Arizona State University
This is a comprehensive and detailed note on Key Terms for Module 5: The First Kings, Cities, and Laws for ASB 222. Quality stuff!! U'll need it!!
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Key T erms for Module 5: The First Kings, Cities, and LawsCommunal ownership
Before Urban Revolution (evolution of the state):
oIn band and village societies average human beings enjoyed economic and political freedoms.
oMen decided on what they would work on or if they’d work at all.
oWomen, although subordinate to men, generally set up their own daily schedules and paced themselves on an individual basis.
oFew routines:
People did what they wanted to do. No bosses or quota
oEvery man and woman held title to an equal share of nature.
Earth, water , plants, and game were communally owned.
No rent, taxes, or tribute stopped people from doing what they wanted to do.
oNo class division.
After Urban Revolution (evolution of the State):
oAll the of the freedoms people had before urban revolution fell away .
o9/10 of all the people who ever lived did so as peasants or as members of some other servile caster or class.
oOrdinary people seeking to use nature’ s bounty had to get someone else’ s permission.
oOrdinary people had to pay for things with taxes, tribute, or extra labor .
oWeapons and the techniques of war and organiz ed aggression were taken away from them and turned over to specialist:
Soldiers and policemen, controlled by military , religious, and civil bureaucrats.
oClass division: Appearance of kings, dictators, high priests, emperors, prime ministers, presidents, governors, mayors, generals, admirals, police chiefs, judges, lawyers, and jailers.
oAppearance of dungeons, jails penitentiaries, and concentration camps.
oPeople learned to bow down and grovel.
oRise of state led the world from freedom into slavery .
V. Gordon Chil de
Most prominent archaeologist of the 20 century .th He coined the term Urban Revolution.
oUrban Revolution: Vere Gordon Childe’ s concept, based on the assumption that metallurgy , specialists, and food surpluses caused a revolution in human life and urban civilization (rise of the state).
He was interested in how dif ferent the earliest states and cities compared to the bands and
tribes that went before them.
He organi zed these differences into a list of 10 traits, and his article that described t hese in is one of the most influential papers in the history of archaeology . 1950
The ten featur es of the urban revolution
1.Cities (Urban settlements): The earliest cities around the world were very dif ferent in many ways, but they all had three key dif ferent traits.
a.Lots of people lived in them, many more than in villages, Neolithic farming societies.
b.Early cities had many dif ferent types of people.
i.They had ethnic and religious variation, dif ferent occupations, and both rich and poor residents.
c.Early cities were usually capitals from which kings or governors ruled a territory .
d.One reason States needed cities was that there were so many more people than in bands and tribes, and one role of early cities was to help or ganization society .
2.Production of a surplus: a.Farmers had to grow enough food to feed not only their family , but also for their rent and tax payments.
b.Since a lot of people were not farmers, those who did farm had to produce for the rest of society .
c.Farmers in ancient states (this was the majority of the population) had to produce a surplus so that society could function.
i.They had to use ef ficient farming methods, and much food had to be stored.
3.Full-time Specialization:
a.People in bands and tribes were generalist.
i.Each family built its own house, hunted or raised its own food, and made most of its own tools and goods.
b.In states, many people were specialist.
i.Included craft workers (e.g., father teaches son his craft), carpenters, lapidary worker , a painter , a silversmith, and feather worker . Archaeologist have learned since Childe’ s time that in many early states, specialists like these worked P ART-TIME instead of full- time.
c.These states also had many kinds of FULL TIME specialists, including: i.Merchants, priests, soldiers, and bureaucrats.
d.Farmers were also specialist in the early states.
4.Social Class and Inequality: There’ s some level of social inequality in all societies, but compared to bands and tribes, states had much higher levels of inequality . a. In early states
i.The rich were really rich and the poor were really poor .
b.The early states had two social classes:
i.Elite class who ruled society and owned most resources and was onl y 2-
5% of society .
ii.Commoner class who farmed and did many other jobs.
c.One way that archaeologists can tell the elites from the commone rs in ancient is from the size of their houses. i.In just about every state-society , including our own today , the wealthy live
in bigger , fanc ier homes than the poor .
ii.Example is the Aztecs. Elite houses were 20n times bigger than commoners and commoners houses were built on ground level while elite houses were built on platforms.
5.State Form of Government: In the early states.
a.Power becomes centralized: Power is taken away from the mass of individuals and families, and concentrated in a few key people who made up the government:
i.Households and communities lose power and autonomy .
ii.The state government is formed and gains powe r.
b.States do two things for people:
i.They provide services and benefits Defense and civil protection
Roads, water , and other public services
Education
ii.They exploit people
Taxes
Loss of individual freedom
Development of social inequality
6.Monumental Public Works
a.Monumental: Refers to buildings that are lar ger than they have to be. It is also about using a building to make a statement.
b.The rulers of early states built huge buildings for public use. i.Included big temples (Ziggurat of Ur), massive canals (Roman aque duct) Almost all early states had lots of massive buildings like these and some practical, other more for show like pyramids or temples.
c.One reason for these big projects was for kings to show of f their power .
i.These projects required lar ge labor gangs and coordination.
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