Culture, Civilization, and the State
I Human evolution during Paleolithic era
A First humanoids: “Lucy,” ca. 4 million yrs. ago (australopithenes)
B First evidence of use of tools, 3 to 2.5 million yrs.
C Refined stone tools, 2 to 1.5 million yrs. (homo habilis)
D Advanced speech, use of fire to cook, 1.5 to 0.5 million (homo erectus)
E Europe, and signs of religious activity, 120,000 to 30,000 yrs. (Neanderthal)
F Cro-Magnon (30,000 to 10,000 yrs.), author of cave drawings in S. France
G Neolithic (new stone age, around 10,000 BC)
1 More polished stone tools
2 Agriculture (wheat, barley) and the plow
3 Domestication of animals (sheep, goats, oxen)
4 Wheels and wheeled carts
5 Clothes made of textiles
6 Baking of clay and the invention of pottery wheel
7 Use of Bronze (smelting of tin and copper), around 4000 BCE
H Historical horizon and the invention of writing and “history” (3500 BC?)
II Culture: role of culture(s) in creation of “evolution”
A Language as agent of change
1 Symbols and sounds
2 Concepts, meanings and purposes
3 History and evidence of change
4 Religion as ultimate meaning
B Primitive religion: Meaning and annihilation of change (Eliade)
III Coming of City and State & State (ca. 3000) & Effect on Religion
A Hierarchy: border between the visible & invisible & speculation about beyond
B Political coercion, change & divine involvement in change
C Conquest, expansion and relativization of the “right”
IV Mesopotamia: the first civilization (around 3000 BCE)
A First inhabitants: Sumer, Sumerians, the black-haired people
B Geography: between Tigris and Euphrates, need for dikes and irrigation, open
C Economy: barley, date palms, lack of other resources and need for trade
D Political and social structure (theocratic democracy)
1 Independent city-states (Uruk, Nippur, Ur, Lagash, Kish, Shuruppak,
2 Temple community: priest steward (ZIGGURAT)
3 Public labor: collective work on ditches and dikes
4 Property: temple land, allotments, rented land
5 Crafts and trade: guilds or work-groups at first in service of Temple
E Religion and religious literature
1 Writing (cuneiform) related to religion (temple accounts)
2 Cosmic gods: Anu (heavens); Enlil (air); Ea (waters); Ishtar
3 View of gods
(a Immortal and powerful by contrast with mortal human beings
(b Capricious creators and exploiters of humankind
(c Subject to placation by ritual discoverable by divination
(d Source of mes, or laws governing all cultural activities
(e Dim view of “afterlife” ( Gilgamesh epic)
F Rise of the ruler
1 Temporary lugal or leader in time of crisis or warfare
2 Palace and its servants, somewhat competitive with temple community
3 Transformation of temporary kingship into hereditary kingship
4 Coming of social hierarchy (nobles, commoners, slaves), taxes, armies
5 Conquest by Sargon, Semitic king of Akkad (first empire, 2300 BCE)
6 First Babylonian Empire (Hammurabi and his laws, around 1750 BCE)
7 Succession of conquests and empires: Babylonian, Assyrian, Persian
G Political and religious consequences
A Role of king as high priest and stand-in for people vis-à-vis the gods
B Rise of Marduk in the pantheon (or family of gods)