Austin Harvard
10/9/2015
Paper 1 Neolithic vs Civilizations
Qualitative and quantitative changes occurred between early agricultural societies and the First Civilizations.The largest change between the early agricultural societies and the First Civilizations was the introduction of the state. The state is a system of officials, bureaucrats, and scribes. The state helped to maintain order in cities. The introduction of the state created new structures of power, social inequalities, and larger cultural changes. These changes were the direct result of the state or as a result of establishing legitimacy.
Civilizations and early agricultural societies differed in their organisation of power and source of legitimacy. Early agricultural societies were led by chiefs, who were appointed by kinship, or family relations. Chiefs claimed legitimacy through generosity and respect. A chief would collect surplus from the villagers and redistribute it to other villagers. The redistribution of surplus caused villagers to be loyal and respect the chief. However, if the chief did not receive the loyalty of the villagers he would be replaced by someone who could fill this role. Unlike early villages, a state was needed to maintain order in the First Civilizations, which had populations up to forty thousand. The state most likely originated from religious leaders appointing an official to deal with the “worldly” problems of the commoners. An official, who was backed by the religious leaders, could claim power through legitimacy. Religious leaders would provide legitimacy to the king by creating a storyline, and claiming that the king was sent by the gods to rule. The Babylonian Empire under the rule of Hammurabi illustrates a Civilization ruled by legitimacy through a storyline. Hammurabi claimed that he was given instructions to rule by the gods. Early agricultural societies and First Civilizations differed in equality and social divisions. …show more content…
Though slight inequalities may have arose in early agricultural societies, they did not limit the roles and positions each gender could carry out. Social divisions originated from the accumulation of wealth, which was not possible in early agricultural societies. The accumulation of wealth was impossible, because any surplus was redistributed throughout the village. With the rise of the state in the First Civilizations, gender inequality and class divisions developed. The introduction of the state allowed people for the first time to accumulate significant wealth. Those who controlled the most surplus were able to form an upper class of elites. In the First Civilizations the majority of the population was composed of commoners and slaves. The upper class was supported by taxes and tribute from the commoners. Also, commoners were often forced to work on public works projects. Leaders could also control commoners through force and violence. An inequality in gender developed in the First Civilizations. This inequality may have developed due to the introduction of wealth. The inequality may have arisen from men doing more of the farming and women being less important to the food supply. The portrayal of women as being property arose with the greater surplus in cities. If a man worked hard his entire life to build a house and own some land he would want to pass it on to his son, but if he did not control his wife, he would not be able to be sure if he was the father of his children. Most commoners were not aware of their positions
10/9/2015
Paper 1 Neolithic vs Civilizations
Qualitative and quantitative changes occurred between early agricultural societies and the First Civilizations.The largest change between the early agricultural societies and the First Civilizations was the introduction of the state. The state is a system of officials, bureaucrats, and scribes. The state helped to maintain order in cities. The introduction of the state created new structures of power, social inequalities, and larger cultural changes. These changes were the direct result of the state or as a result of establishing legitimacy.
Civilizations and early agricultural societies differed in their organisation of power and source of legitimacy. Early agricultural societies were led by chiefs, who were appointed by kinship, or family relations. Chiefs claimed legitimacy through generosity and respect. A chief would collect surplus from the villagers and redistribute it to other villagers. The redistribution of surplus caused villagers to be loyal and respect the chief. However, if the chief did not receive the loyalty of the villagers he would be replaced by someone who could fill this role. Unlike early villages, a state was needed to maintain order in the First Civilizations, which had populations up to forty thousand. The state most likely originated from religious leaders appointing an official to deal with the “worldly” problems of the commoners. An official, who was backed by the religious leaders, could claim power through legitimacy. Religious leaders would provide legitimacy to the king by creating a storyline, and claiming that the king was sent by the gods to rule. The Babylonian Empire under the rule of Hammurabi illustrates a Civilization ruled by legitimacy through a storyline. Hammurabi claimed that he was given instructions to rule by the gods. Early agricultural societies and First Civilizations differed in equality and social divisions. …show more content…
Though slight inequalities may have arose in early agricultural societies, they did not limit the roles and positions each gender could carry out. Social divisions originated from the accumulation of wealth, which was not possible in early agricultural societies. The accumulation of wealth was impossible, because any surplus was redistributed throughout the village. With the rise of the state in the First Civilizations, gender inequality and class divisions developed. The introduction of the state allowed people for the first time to accumulate significant wealth. Those who controlled the most surplus were able to form an upper class of elites. In the First Civilizations the majority of the population was composed of commoners and slaves. The upper class was supported by taxes and tribute from the commoners. Also, commoners were often forced to work on public works projects. Leaders could also control commoners through force and violence. An inequality in gender developed in the First Civilizations. This inequality may have developed due to the introduction of wealth. The inequality may have arisen from men doing more of the farming and women being less important to the food supply. The portrayal of women as being property arose with the greater surplus in cities. If a man worked hard his entire life to build a house and own some land he would want to pass it on to his son, but if he did not control his wife, he would not be able to be sure if he was the father of his children. Most commoners were not aware of their positions