The Rise & Fall of Ancient Civilizations
A civilization is an advanced state of human society that has achieved a highly defined and recognizable culture, government, science, and industry. Civilizations have developed for centuries; there are some civilizations that can be traced back to 3000 BCE, when humans first developed agriculture to stabilize a permanent settlement.
Part I: Aspects of Civilization
DIRECTIONS: On the document provided, write the definition for the vocabulary terms in the top portion of the circle. In the bottom portion, answer the question or follow the prompt to demonstrate your understanding of the aspects of civilization.
Large Urban Centers
Large urban centers, or heavily populated areas, allow civilizations to develop. People, like farmers, who live outside urban centers but sell their goods and services there, are still part of that region’s civilization.
Use Google to identify the major urban centers of the following ancient civilizations:
Use Google to identify the major urban centers of the following ancient civilizations:
- Mesoamerica
- Indus River Valley
- Nile River Valley
Monuments
All civilizations work to preserve their legacy by building large monuments and structures, since these structures will represent the civilization that made them. Pyramids and other monumental structures have represented Egypt for thousands of years.
Draw an example of a monument on your paper.
Draw an example of a monument on your paper.
Written Communication
Written communication is another element that all civilizations share. Writing allows systems for trade, government, and intellectual thought to develop. Written language also allows civilizations to record their own history.
Egyptians used hieroglyphics to write down and preserve their history. Modern societies use emojis to describe their feelings. Using emojis, describe what you do during an entire day.
Egyptians used hieroglyphics to write down and preserve their history. Modern societies use emojis to describe their feelings. Using emojis, describe what you do during an entire day.
Administrative Systems
As their control over territories spread, rulers of a civilization usually left local leaders in power to administer, or oversee, the law in their territories. They also instituted a common language to make communication between leaders and citizens easier. Many times, they also built networks of roads to make travel to problem areas easier.
Provide one or two examples of classroom rules that all, or most, of your teachers have in common.
Provide one or two examples of classroom rules that all, or most, of your teachers have in common.
Division of Labor
Civilizations are also marked by complex divisions of labor. This means that different people perform specialized tasks, like farming, cooking, and hunting. In complex civilizations, farmers may cultivate one type of crop and depend on other people for clothing, shelter, and other necessities.
List three jobs that every city NEEDS to have.
List three jobs that every city NEEDS to have.
Social Hierarchy (Social Classes)
The last element that is key to the development of civilizations is the division of people into social classes. This is a complex idea that can be broken down into two parts: income and type of work performed. Changing classes has traditionally been difficult and happens over generations.
Using your knowledge of social classes from our unit on culture, draw an example of a social pyramid.
Using your knowledge of social classes from our unit on culture, draw an example of a social pyramid.
Part II: The Downfall of Civilization
Many civilizations have flourished and then failed or fallen apart. There are many reasons for this. The reasons can be internal, such as conflict within the civilization. It can also be external, such as a natural disaster.
Roman Empire
The Roman empire was one of the most influential empires for hundreds of years. Rome began experiencing a period of decline around 300 AD, when Germanic tribes in Europe began attacking their borders. The empire already had enough trouble keeping up with the overexpansion they had experienced when conquering their lands, and political instability led to the Roman emperor dividing the empire in half in order to maintain it. Roman soldiers were largely made up of prisoners of war, and therefore had no loyalty to the empire, which severely weakened its army. Finally, foreign invasion from rival groups led to the breakup of the Roman empire.
Aztec Empire
The Aztecs built their empire in the middle of the Mexican desert, and they flourished there despite the very many troubles they faced. However, a period of rebellion among its different tribal leaders led to political instability that only served the cause of the new tribe in their lands- the Spanish conquerors. The Spaniards took advantage of the situation, convincing the rebels to stage an attack on Tenochtitlan, the Aztec urban center. In the end, the foreign invaders were victorious in their destruction of the Aztec empire.
Mongol Empire
The Mongols were an Asian warrior tribe who conquered a very big piece of land in a very short amount of time, only 80 years, in fact. However, this rapid overexpansion would eventually lead to their downfall. Ghengis Khan established the Mongol empire in the 1210s, and he focused on the hostile takeover of as much land as possible. After his death, the next Khans found it difficult to maintain unity in the empire, which was the root cause of political instability that followed. Coupled with the breakup of the empire into individual kingdoms that began fighting each other for power in multiple internal conflicts, the weakened army could not focus its attention on foreign invaders.
Egyptian Empire
While the Egyptians maintained an empire for over 3000 years, their downfall occured relatively quickly. Outdated weapons produced with brittle metals led to a weakened army that could not fight the empire's battles for very long. This was a direct cause of various foreign invasions at the empire's borders, especially from Ethiopian tribes on the African continent and from Turkey across the Mediterranean. Finally, corruption of government officials and political instability caused a severely weakened Egyptian empire when Cleopatra assumed control of it, after which she entered into an alliance with Rome, who effectively absorbed it into its empire in 30 BCE.
Greek Empire
Unlike other civilizations, the Greek empire was already split up into individual city-states in order for the ruler to maintain control of the empire. The leaders of the city-states were loyal to the empire, which Alexander the Great took advantage of by conquering all lands between Greece, India, and Egypt in 336 BCE. While the empire was unified under his military control, Alexander's death led to internal conflict among the city-states. Political instability was caused by the lack of a clear heir to Alexander's power, since the different factions were fighting with each other, threats from beyond their borders were ignored. In 146 BCE, the outdated technology and skills of Greece's weakened military was beaten by a new empire- the Romans.
Part III: Map the Ancient Civilizations
Mongol Empire |
Roman Empire |