Week 1: Mesopotamia
We will discover many of the cultural “firsts” invented in Mesopotamia, such as the wheel, urbanization, and metallurgy. If there is a "mother" of civilizations, then she must have lived in the “Land between the Rivers.” We will also discuss the rather humble beginnings of the Assyrians and Babylonians.
Week 2: Ancient Egypt
No other civilization has such a long history as that of ancient Egypt, whose cultural achievements are virtually unsurpassed concepts of kingship, administrative skill, and artistic expressions. Much of the cultural inventory of Western civilization came from the Greeks and Romans, both civilizations variously indebted to Egypt.
Week 3: Harappan Civilization
Impressive but relatively unknown, the Harappan civilization of the Indus Valley shows the earliest evidence of dentistry (7000 BC) and constructed striking urban structures including great communal baths. There must have been highly able leadership and organizational structures, but the archaeological record on these is scant.
Week 4: Ancient China
Although the written sources for ancient China are fairly late (1500 BC), the archaeological record is informative. Social stratification is very pronounced, as is the love of metallurgical objects, particularly bronze, more highly regarded than gold. Among other topics we will consider are the remarkable achievements of some rulers.
Week 5: Mesoamerica
The beginnings of the Mesoamerican civilizations date earlier than most people would assume. They "invented" the ballgame, bloodletting, monumental structures and their own script. The achievements of the Olmec were passed to the Mayans with their own astonishing cultural repertoire.
Week 6: South America
The pyramids of the Egyptians of the Fourth Dynasty had their contemporaneous counterparts in the Peruvian desert: the pyramids of Caral. Yet this is not Andean civilization’s only achievement: important cultural developments happened through the Moche, Nasca, Chimu, and, finally, Inca civilization.
