Sumer

In the article “Cuneiform and the History of Civilization” Ephraim Avigdor Speiser, a world renowned Assyriologist argues that the survival span, influence, and legacy of Mesopotamia, a historic civilization is unmatched. After extensive research, Speiser came to the conclusion that Mesopotamian Laws were the most influential of the Cuneiform laws. It’s legal traditions set the precedent for other civilizations and heavily impacted later cultures. Our world as we know it today is culturally…

QUESTION 1 Name and discuss three major cultural changes or contributions to the humanities that occurred between the Paleolithic (Old Stone Age) to the Neolithic (New Stone Age) period (wall paintings, architecture, literature, technology). Between the Paleolithic Age and Neolithic Age, wall paintings were a major cultural change to humanities. Paleolithic life comes largely from paintings found in caves. Most of these paintings were naturalistic. For example, ‘many of the animals-bison,…

From the development of agrarian society, to the origins of democracy, Chapter 2 of Patterns of World History Volume One spans a crucial era in the development of large humans civilizations or empires. First, The“Fertile Crescent” between the Tigris and Euphrates river allowed for increased agricultural success, paving the way for agrarian society. Furthermore, Mesopotamian and Egyptian government commenced with similar political structure but soon after developed into two distinct empires. The…

History tells the story of human kinds past. The human species evolved from hunters and gatherers to Neolithic people, who began to build villages, which turned to cities all around the world. This transition gave humans a new way of life, focusing on things like building cultures and monuments, which will stand the tests of time. Throughout history, many civilizations have sprung up with different cultures, ideas, technologies, and political systems. However, not all these civilizations…

The Journey of Gilgamesh The oldest piece of literature in the world today has transcended time. The main character of Gilgamesh reflects a journey that we must all make in life, learning we will not live forever. This lesson transforms Gilgamesh from a tyrannical leader to a humble king. Gilgamesh undergoes this transformation through a hero's journey. A hero’s journey was identified by Joseph Campbell when he recognised a similar theme across all cultures and times. The subject of the journey…

Imru' al-Qais: Life and Poetry Imru' al-Qais was born in the Najd region of northern Arabia sometime in the early 6th century AD. He was an Arabian poet in the 6th century. He was the son of Hujr bin al-Harith who was a king that ruled over the tribes of Asad and Ghatfan. Many scholars believe that Imru’ al-Qais was born in the Asad territory and his mother was said to be Fatimah bin Rabi'ah al-Taghlibi. He is considered by many Arabic poetry scholars to be the father of Arabic poetry. His…

In exploring early vernacular settlements, Catal Huyuk and Mohenjo-Daro, they offer examples of how prominent lifestyle changes occurring at the time impact these settlements due to technological advancements, adaptation to geography, and use of local resources for these successful cities. Although Catal Huyuk was built 5000 years before Mohenjo-Daro they still offer important comparisons of vernacular architecture showing similarities and differences of the cities growth and adaptation to the…

In this excerpt, I will be comparing two primarily documents namely the epic of Gilgamesh and Code of Hammurabi. I have chosen these documents for the insight they give us about Mesopotamia civilazation;the world’s first civliztion.The epic of Gilgamesh was written around 2000B.C.E and perfectly gives us details about the society at that time. Code of Hammurabi was also written around 1754B.C.E. They are historically significant as they are the rigins of civilization that shaped the sociert and…

Justifying Rulership: a comparison of the Olmec and Ubaid cultures There are many similarities in the rise of complex society in both Mesopotamia and Mesoamerica. From monumental structure building to well integrated trade, cultures such as the Olmec of Mesoamerica 1200 BC - 400 AD and the Ubaid of Mesopotamia 4500 BC-3000 BC, have many parallel elements relating to their success as complex societies and what one may refer to as states, despite thousands of years between the two. Comparatively…

Literary and artistic practices have long since given us an idea about the practices and culture within ancient civilizations, that we are still attempting to discover information today. Two civilizations that we have received the most knowledge about through their written text are Mesopotamia and Egypt. For the Egyptian perspective, The Instructions of Merikare, a letter addressed from a father to a son about how to be an effective pharaoh, is able to be analyzed to determine facts about…