Chapter – 1

Writing and City Life

In this post we have given the detailed notes of Class 11 History Chapter 1 (Writing and City Life) in English. These notes are useful for the students who are going to appear in Class 11 board exams.

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Chapter 1: Writing and City Life

Introduction to Early Societies

• Overview: This chapter traces the evolution of human societies from their origins millions of years ago to the development of early cities, focusing on Mesopotamia as a key example.
• Human Origins:
  • Humans first emerged in Africa millions of years ago (around 6 million years ago or 6 MYA, based on Australopithecus fossils).
  • Archaeologists study this period using remains like bones and stone tools to reconstruct early life.
• Early Life Reconstruction:
  • Archaeologists examine shelters (caves, temporary shelters), food sources (plant gathering, hunting), and expressions (cave paintings).
  • Key developments include the use of fire (e.g., evidence from 1.4 MYA in Africa) and language, which marked significant progress in human society.
• Connection to Modern Hunter-Gatherers: The chapter raises the question of whether studying modern hunter-gatherer societies can help understand ancient ones, suggesting continuity in some lifestyles.

Transition from Nomadic to Settled Life

Shift to Agriculture:

• Date: Began around 10,000 years ago (circa 8000 BCE).
• Pre-Agricultural Life: Humans survived by gathering wild plants and hunting animals, a nomadic lifestyle with no fixed settlements.
• Agricultural Knowledge: Over time, people learned about plant growth cycles—where plants grew, when they bore fruit—leading to deliberate cultivation.
  • West Asia: Wheat, barley, peas, and pulses.
  • East/Southeast Asia: Millet and rice.
  • Africa: Millet.

Domestication of Animals:

• Concurrent Development: Around 10,000 years ago, alongside agriculture, animals like sheep, goats, cattle, pigs, and donkeys were domesticated for food, labour, and materials.
• Later Advances: By 5,000 years ago (circa 3000 BCE), domesticated animals (e.g., cattle, donkeys) were harnessed to ploughs and carts, enhancing agricultural productivity.

Settled Life:

• Reason: Growing crops required staying in one place until harvest, ending nomadic wandering.
• Result: People built permanent structures (mud houses, later brick homes), forming villages.

Technological Advances:

• Pottery: Earthen pots were crafted to store grains, cook food, and process produce, reflecting attention to food preparation.
• Stone Tools: Evolved from crude implements to polished tools through grinding:
  • Mortars and Pestles: For grinding grain.
  • Axes and Hoes: For clearing land and sowing seeds.

Metallurgy:

• Date: Around 5,000 years ago (circa 3000 BCE).
• Materials: Copper and tin ores were extracted and used, initially for their color (e.g., bluish-green copper), later alloyed into bronze for tools and jewelry.
• Significance: Marked the beginning of the Bronze Age, enhancing tool-making and trade.

Trade, Mobility, and Growth of Communities

Exchange of Resources:

• Goods: People became familiar with distant resources—wood, precious stones, metals, shells, and obsidian (volcanic glass).
• Mobility: This led to movement and trade, as communities sought materials unavailable locally.

Social Evolution:

• From Small Groups: Early humans lived in small, isolated bands of hunter-gatherers.
• To Larger Settlements: Trade and agriculture fostered the growth of villages, then towns, and eventually small states.

Urban Catalyst:

• The pace of change accelerated with the rise of the first cities (around 3000 BCE), driven by these developments over thousands of years.

Mesopotamia: The Cradle of Urban Civilization

Definition:

• Mesopotamia = “land between rivers” (Greek: mesos = middle, potamos = river), located between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in modern-day Iraq.

Historical Significance:

• Renowned for prosperity, urban life, voluminous literature, mathematics, and astronomy.
• Its writing system and culture spread to regions like the eastern Mediterranean, northern Syria, Turkey, and Egypt after 2000 BCE.

Historical Naming:

• Early Period: Southern urbanized area called Sumer and Akkad.
• After 2000 BCE: Babylonia, named after the rise of Babylon as a key city.
• After 1100 BCE: Assyria, as the northern Assyrian kingdom emerged.

Languages:

• Sumerian: Earliest known language, used until 2400 BCE, then gradually replaced.
• Akkadian: Dominant from 2400 BCE until the 1st century CE, with regional variations.
• Aramaic: Emerged around 1400 BCE, became widespread after 1000 BCE, similar to Hebrew, still spoken in parts of Iraq today.

Archaeological Exploration:

• Beginnings: Started in the 1840s, with long-term excavations at sites like Uruk and Mari.
• Sources: Hundreds of buildings, statues, tools, seals, and thousands of written tablets unearthed.

European Interest:

• Mesopotamia featured in the Old Testament (e.g., Sumer as “Shimar”), prompting early excavations to verify biblical accounts (e.g., the Flood story similar to Noah’s Ark and Mesopotamian Ziusudra/Utnapishtim).

Geography of Mesopotamia

Diverse Landscapes:

• Northeast: Green plains rising to tree-covered mountains with streams and rainfall, suitable for agriculture (began 7000-6000 BCE).
• North: Steppe (upland) ideal for animal herding (sheep, goats) after winter rains.
• East: Tigris tributaries linked to Iran’s mountains, aiding communication and trade.
• South: Desert, but fertile due to silt from Euphrates and Tigris floods, supporting cities.

Agricultural Advantage:

• Rivers carried silt, deposited during floods or channeled into fields via irrigation canals.
• Southern Mesopotamia’s agriculture was the most productive in ancient times, despite low rainfall.

Resources:

• Abundant food: Grain, meat, milk, wool, fish, and dates.
• Scarce minerals: Limited stone, wood, and metals, necessitating trade.

The Emergence of Cities

Timeline:

• Earliest cities appeared around 3000 BCE in southern Mesopotamia, marking the Bronze Age.

Role of Metals:

• Bronze: Alloy of copper and tin, sourced from distant regions.
• Uses: Tools for carpentry, bead-drilling, seal-carving, and weapons (e.g., spear tips).

Urbanism Defined:

• Cities were not just large populations but centers of diverse economic activities beyond food production—trade, manufacturing, and services.
• Interdependence: City dwellers relied on others (villagers or other city folk) for goods and services, ending self-sufficiency.

Social Organization:

• Division of Labour: Specialization emerged (e.g., seal carvers needed bronze tools and stones they couldn’t procure themselves).
• Trade and Storage: Organized systems managed the flow of resources (grain, fuel, metals) into cities.
• Hierarchy: Some gave commands, others obeyed, reflecting a structured society.
• Example – Warka Head:
  • A marble sculpture from Uruk (pre-3000 BCE), imported stone, inlaid with lapis lazuli and shell, showing advanced craftsmanship and trade networks.

Development of Writing

Origins:

• Date: Around 3200 BCE in Uruk.
• Form: Picture-like signs and numbers on clay tablets, initially for recording transactions (e.g., oxen, fish, bread).

Cuneiform Script:

• Evolution: By 2600 BCE, signs became wedge-shaped (cuneiform from Latin cuneus = wedge, forma = shape).
• Method: Scribes pressed signs into wet clay with a reed, drying it into durable tablets.

Uses of Writing:

• Early: Lists of goods for temple distribution.
• Later: Legal documents, dictionaries, royal inscriptions, and law reforms.

Literacy:

• Rare skill; scribes learned hundreds of syllable-based signs (e.g., “put-“, “la-“), requiring years of training.
• Kings boasted of reading ability in inscriptions, but most communication was oral, read aloud by scribes.

Example – Enmerkar Epic:

• Enmerkar, an early Uruk ruler, organized trade for lapis lazuli and metals.
• When his messenger faltered, Enmerkar invented writing on clay tablets, symbolizing urban superiority and kingship.

Urban Institutions: Temples and Kings

Temples:

• Earliest: Small shrines of unbaked bricks around 5000 BCE.
• Evolution: By 3000 BCE, temples grew into large brick complexes with courtyards, distinct from ordinary houses by their in-and-out walls.
• Functions:
  • Residences of gods (e.g., Moon God of Ur, Inanna of Love and War).
  • Centers of production (oil pressing, weaving) and trade.
  • Stored and distributed grain, fish, and other goods, keeping written records.

Kings:

• Origins: Emerged from successful war chiefs who distributed loot and enslaved captives.
• Role: Gained authority by enhancing community welfare—building temples, fetching resources, and managing labour.
• Example: Enmerkar’s trade expeditions and temple beautification.

Uruk:

• Growth: Expanded to 250 hectares by 3000 BCE, twice the size of later Mohenjo-daro.
• Features: Defensive walls, bronze tools, potter’s wheel, and colorful clay cone mosaics in temples.
• Labour: Temples and rulers compelled work (e.g., 1,500 men built a temple over 5 years), paid with rations.

Life in Mesopotamian Cities

Social Hierarchy:

• Elite: Kings and queens buried with riches (gold jewelry, daggers) at Ur.
• Ordinary People: Lived simpler lives, revealed through legal texts and excavations.

Family Structure:

• Nuclear Family: Man, wife, and children; married sons often lived with parents.
• Marriage: Involved parental consent, gifts from groom to bride’s family, and temple offerings.
• Inheritance: Sons inherited property; daughters received a share at marriage.

Ur Excavations (1930s):

• Layout: Narrow, winding streets (no carts), irregular house plots, no town planning or street drains like Mohenjo-daro.
• Houses: Rainwater drained into courtyard sumps via clay pipes; light from doorways ensured privacy.
• Daily Life: Refuse swept into streets, raising levels; thresholds raised to prevent flooding.
• Superstitions: Raised thresholds brought wealth; outward-opening doors meant a troublesome wife.

Seals:

• Cylindrical stone seals rolled on clay to mark ownership or authenticity (e.g., on packages, letters).
• Carved with writing (owner’s name, god) by skilled craftsmen.

Mari: A Trading Hub

Location: 

• On the Euphrates, upstream from southern plains, flourished after 2000 BCE.

Economy:

• Prospered through trade (wood, copper, tin, oil, wine) rather than agriculture.
• Taxed boats (10% of goods); handled bronze trade (copper from Cyprus).

Society:

• Mixed farmers and pastoralists (sheep, goats); pastoralists exchanged goods but could conflict with farmers.
• Ruled by Amorite kings (e.g., Zimrilim, 1810-1760 BCE), who blended Mesopotamian and steppe cultures.

Palace of Zimrilim:

• Size: 260 rooms, 2.4 hectares.
• Features: One entrance, paved courtyards, throne room with wall paintings, storerooms, and a kitchen (identified by food preparation areas).
• Role: Royal residence, administrative hub, and production center (e.g., metal ornaments).

Cultural Legacy

City Pride:

• Gilgamesh Epic: Gilgamesh, a legendary Uruk ruler, finds solace in the city’s brick walls after failing to gain immortality, reflecting urban pride.

Scientific Achievements:

• Math (1800 BCE): Tablets with multiplication, division, square roots (e.g., √2 ≈ 1.41421296), and interest calculations.
• Timekeeping: 12-month year, 4-week month, 24-hour day, 60-minute hour—adopted globally via successors like Alexander.
• Astronomy: Recorded eclipses, star positions.

Libraries:

• Assurbanipal (668-627 BCE): Collected 30,000 tablets at Nineveh on history, epics, astrology, etc., cataloged by subject.

Early Archaeology:

• Nabonidus (last Babylonian king): Restored ancient traditions (e.g., priestess role from 1150 BCE, Sargon’s statue from 2370 BCE) based on historical evidence.

Timeline of Key Events

• 7000-6000 BCE: Agriculture begins in northern Mesopotamia.
• 5000 BCE: Earliest temples in southern Mesopotamia.
• 3200 BCE: Writing begins in Uruk.
• 3000 BCE: Uruk expands; bronze tools widespread.
• 2600 BCE: Cuneiform script develops.
• 2400 BCE: Akkadian replaces Sumerian.
• 2370 BCE: Sargon of Akkad rules.
• 2000 BCE: Mari and Babylon emerge.
• 1800 BCE: Mathematical texts; Sumerian no longer spoken.
• 1100 BCE: Assyrian kingdom founded.
• 1000 BCE: Aramaic widespread.
• 720-610 BCE: Assyrian empire peaks.
• 668-627 BCE: Assurbanipal’s rule.
• 331 BCE: Alexander conquers Babylon.
• 1st century CE: Akkadian and cuneiform fade.

Definitions

• Cuneiform: Wedge-shaped script on clay tablets, representing syllables.
• Urbanism: Growth of cities with economies based on trade, crafts, and services, not just food production.
• Division of Labour: Specialization where individuals rely on others for specific goods/services.
• Nuclear Family: A household of parents and children.

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