Chapter 13: Peoples and Complex Societies of Ancient Southwest Asia Flashcards
(134 cards)
1
Q
What does Mesopotamia literally mean?
A
“Between the rivers”, Euphrates and Tigris
2
Q
Chalcolithic
A
6000-3000 BCE, tools still made principally of stone, although an increasing use of copper implements through time
3
Q
Bronze age
A
3000-1200 BCE, tools and weapons of bronze (usually alloy of copper and tin) most common
4
Q
Iron age
A
1200-334 BCE, iron tools increasingly in use
5
Q
When had the human societies of Southwest Asia developed into fully agricultural communities?
A
c. 6000 BCE
6
Q
How did the societies of Southwest Asia feed themselves around 6000 BCE?
A
- Animal husbandry, principally of sheep, goat, pigs, and cattle
- Rain-fed crops, barley, wheat and legumes
- Hunting, wild cattle, onager, gazelle
7
Q
What were the population numbers of the societies of Southwest Asia like around 6000 BCE? What is this based on?
A
Not high, all evidence indicates widely dispersed small-scale settlements
8
Q
Irrigation agriculture
A
Use of constructed canals and channels to bring water from rivers to otherwise dry land
9
Q
When was there a major breakthrough with the development of irrigation agriculture?
A
Around 6000 BCE
10
Q
The Halaf Period
A
c. 6000-5400 BCE
11
Q
What site it the Halaf period named for?
A
Tell Halaf in northern Syria
12
Q
What are Halaf period sites characterized by
A
- Circular buildings
- High-quality painted pottery
- Female figurines
- Stone stamp seals
- Obsidian objects
- Clay sling bullets
13
Q
What were the buildings in Halaf period sites like?
A
Circular
14
Q
In what kind of locations were Halaf period sites?
A
Rolling, hilly country with sufficient rainfall for dry farming
15
Q
What does the fact that many Halaf sites were founded as new settlements suggest?
A
A new peopling of sparsely inhabited areas, as farming techniques improved and populations spread
16
Q
Who were the first systematic farmers of the Fertile Crescent region?
A
The peoples of the Halaf period
17
Q
When do we see the first development of administrative technology?
A
During the Halaf
18
Q
What was the first development of administrative technology?
A
Seals
19
Q
What may two major causes of population growth during the Halaf period have been?
A
Introduction of draft animals, enabling tillage of deep, fertile soils, and a shift toward a diet rich in diary products
20
Q
How big were Halaf settlements generally?
A
0.5-3 ha
21
Q
How many people lived in Halaf settlements?
A
20-150
22
Q
Did trade occur during the Halaf period?
A
There is some evidence for trade among and beyond communities in pottery and obsidian
23
Q
What was obsidian used for?
A
Tools, weapons, jewelry
24
Q
From what period is the site Tilkitepe?
A
Halaf period
25
What is the site of Tilkitepe characterized by?
Settlement specializing in the collection and preliminary working of obsidian prior to its shipment on to other Halaf sites
26
Why is our understanding of Halaf cult practices and religious beliefs minimal?
- No clear ritual buildings.
| - Human burials treated in variety of ways
27
What were clay sealing used for at Halaf sites?
To secure portable containers such as baskets and pots
28
What does the use of clay seelings at Halaf sites suggest?
The need by some people to exercise control over their possessions, perhaps while away on hunting/trading expeditions.
29
When was the Ubaid period?
5900-4200 BCE
30
Where did Ubaid communities settle?
Plains of Lower Mesopotamia, south Iraq
31
When was irrigation agriculture first achieved
5900 BCE
32
What was found at Tell Awayli?
Substantial mud-brick buildings, including possible grain storage structure
33
Where did Ubaid influence spread from around 5400 BCE?
Upper Mesopotamia (replacing Halaf-period occupation), southeast Anatolia (Turkey), shores Persian Gulf
34
What has been excavated at Eridu?
Sequence of temples dedicated to Enki, water god.
35
What was the uppermost temple at Eridu like?
Classic tripartite temple plan.
36
What did they do with their dead at Eridu, in the Ubaid period?
They were buried, often with grave goods, food offerings and sometimes figurines with lizard-like heads
37
What was found at Tell Madhhur?
Domestic house which had been destroyed by fire
38
What was found at Tepe Gawra
Complex of 3 temple structures. Presence of many clay sealings found in a will in one of these temples.
39
When was a complex of three temple structures at Tepe Gawra erected?
c. 5200 BCE, Late Ubaid period
40
What may the presence of large quantities of clay sealings found in a well in one of the Tepe Gawra temples indicate?
Role for temple in collection and distribution of commodities in name of relevant divinity.
41
When did painted Ubaid-style pottery fall out of use?
4200 BCE
42
Where is Zagheh
Iranian Plateau, Qazvin Plain, west of Tehran
43
The Painted Building finds
- Red, black, white designs on walls.
- Array 18 skulls wild male goats set into wall faces
- 40 clay figurines many appearing to represent scattered around
- 8 buried adult females, arms strecthed in classic pose of cultic devotion to building
44
What does the Painted Building appear to be?
Special cultic structure, presence of female figurines and burials, along with male goat skulls, strongly suggests connection with fertility and childbirth.
45
What do the large numbers of clay tokens found at Zagheh seem to be connected with?
Counting, interpret them as basic administrative devices used to keep account of movement raw materials and products in and out of ceramic production area.
46
When was the Uruk Period?
c. 4200-3000 BCE
47
When can be said that people on the alluvial plains of Lower Mesopotamia were living in communities that can be defined as urban?
3200 BCE
48
What were the steps to the rise of civilization in Southwest Asia?
- Fertility of the earth
- Ability to generate staple surpluses
- Ingenuity human beings in devising ways to distribute agricultural wealth through increasingly complex codes of conduct and practice.
49
When can dynasties comprising kings/queens first be recognized?
2900 BCE
50
What were communities like by 3200 BCE?
Can be defined as urban
51
How large were large settlements during the Early and Middle Uruk periods?
Up to 70 ha
52
When were the Early and Middle Uruk periods?
4200-3500 BCE
53
When was the Late Uruk period?
3500-3000 BCE
54
What happened to the population distribution in the Late Uruk period?
Many settlements on northern plains around Nippur abandoned, increase in settlement intensity in southern alluvium around Uruk
55
How large was Uruk during the Late Uruk period?
100 ha
56
How large was Uruk by the Early Dynastic I period?
400 ha
57
What is Uruk's modern name?
Warka
58
By what millennium BCE must Uruk have been a major settlement?
Fifth
59
What is meant by "city"?
Large agglomeration of people, probably tens of thousands, living in a well-defined place that contained designated structures and spaces for the execution of a broad range of social functions.
60
What kind of designated structures and spaces for the execution of a broad range of social functions would have been in Uruk?
- Large-scale temple and associated administrative and residential buildings for priests and officials
- Open spaces for gatherings/ worship
- Specialized craft production zones: pottery making, stoneworking, metalworking
- Areas of housing
61
Why was a temple often constructed in the form of a domestic house, albeit on a grand and elaborate scale?
Temple was regarded as the residence of the god.
62
Inanna
Uruk goddess of war and love
63
An
Uruk sky god
64
What did the Anu temple area consist of?
A series of successive temples built on terraces.
65
Which of the successive temples of the Anu temple area was best preserved?
The White Temple
66
What can be considered a precursor of the ziggurats?
The White Temple in the Anu temple area in Uruk.
67
What supports the idea that in the Uruk period across all of Lower Mesopotamia there were common patterns of cultic and ritual activity?
Close parallels in temple plans, orientation, and location of such fixtures as altars and niches of holding cult statues.
68
Where were 5,000 clay tablets bearing evidence of early writing found?
Uruk
69
What does (proto-)cuneiform look like?
Incised or impressed signs made by styles (tapered instrument of wood/ivory) on soft clay tablets
70
How many signs did the proto-cuneiform found in Uruk have?
850
71
Why may the proto-cuneiform found in Uruk not have had grammer?
It would allow the texts to be read by individuals from a variety of linguistic backgrounds
72
What was a sexagesimal system (units of 1, 10, 60, 600) employed for in Uruk?
Counting discrete objects: animals, humans, fish, implements.
73
What was a bisexagesimal system (units of 1, 10, 60, 120, 1,200) used for in Uruk?
Counting grain products and other items distributed within a rationing system
74
What was the time system in Uruk?
Using units of 1, 10, and 30 forming a calendar with months comprising 3 weeks with ten days.
75
What do the very earliest texts date to?
Late Uruk period
76
Where did script likely originate?
Uruk, the very earliest texts have so far been found only at Uruk itself
77
What were cylinder seals used for?
- Rolling over soft clay tablets, validation and identification of participants involved in administrative activity
- Employed within system of control over access to containers and storerooms by means of sealings affixed to pegs and coverings
78
What was the origin of setllers in Habuba Kabira and Jebel Aruda?
Uruk
79
What was the engine for the expansion of the Uruk world in the later 4th millennium BCE?
The desire by powerful elite groups of Lower Mesopotamia to acquire resources like timber, lapis lazuli, carnelian, copper, gold, silver, tin and human labor in the form of slaves.
80
When did the Uruk world system collapse?
c. 3100 BCE
81
What was the origin of the settlers of Jebel Aruda?
Uruk
82
When was the Early Dynastic period?
2900-2350
83
When was the Early Bronze Age?
3000-2000 BCE
84
Why was the Early Dynastic period called that?
For the first time, written sources provide a list of kings and dynasties that controlled cities or groups of cities in Mesopotamia.
85
Sumer
Area of south Iraq
86
What was the holiest shrine of the land during the Early Bronze Age?
That of Enlil at Nippur
87
What consistent repertory of services exited within each city during the Early Bronze Age?
City temple, major residence for the ruler and his family, city wall with gates, craft and production workshops, domestic quarters for the populace.
88
Ninevite 5
Elements mostly small, lacked writing and monumental architecture. Fine painted and incised pottery.
89
What were the relations between Lowe and Upper Mesopotamia like during 3000-2500 BCE
Minimal
90
When did the rise of empires start?
Final three centuries of the third millennium BCE
91
By what is indicated that under Sargon's influence there was an increased emphasis on Semitic aspects of language and society in the Akkadian Empire?
Preference for Akkadian soldiers as elite troops and dominance of Semitic Akkadian language in all forms inscriptions.
92
By who was the Akkadian empire initiated?
Sargon
93
When did Sargon live?
2334-2279 BCE
94
When did the Akkadian Empire collapse?
2200 BCE
95
Why did the Akkadian Empire collapse?
Flood of invading forces from the east, some indications of major episode of aridification and the abandonment of agricultural land.
96
Why did the Third Dynasty of Ur fall?
Due to military intrusions from the east, including armies from land of Elam.
97
When was the Middle Bronze Age?
2000-1650 BCE
98
Where did the Amorites come from?
They were a wave of Semitic intruders from the west and southwest desert fringes
99
Were did the Hurrians come from?
Origins are unclear but often associated with the regional population movements of the early 3rd millennium BCE
100
What did the trade connections of Isin and Larsa with the Persian Gulf invole?
Import of copper, timber, precious stones, export of wool, cloth, oil, barley, silver.
101
What was the main rival of Isin?
Larsa
102
Gulf Seals
Stamp seals of a particular style, evidence for regional contacts of the Middle Bronze Age
103
When did the city of Larsa assume dominance over Lower Mesopotamia, its kings carrying out massive programs of temple construction at many of the cities of the plains?
1865 BCE
104
Who was the greatest Larsa king?
Rim-Sin (1822-1763)
105
Who destroyed Mari?
Hammurabi
106
When was Mari destroyed
1757 BCE
107
Where was the great palace of Zimri-Lim?
Mari
108
From what god did the great palace of Zimri-Lim get power?
Isthar
109
What can be considered the lingua france of Southwest Asia around the eigteenth-century BCE?
Akkadian
110
Between who did the so-called Old Assyrian trade take place?
The city of Ashur and the communities of Anatolia
111
Where does most of our knowledge about Old Assyrian trade with Anatolia come from?
The site of Kültepe, ancient Kanesh.
112
Karum
Trade centers throughout Anatolia
113
When did the Hittites move to the capital of Hattusa?
1680 BCE
114
Around when may the proto-Hittites have entered Anatolia?
2300 BCE
115
Who was the founder of the Hittite dynasty?
Labarna
116
Who was the first Hittite king to campaign in northern Syria?
Hattusili
117
Who was Hattusili's successor and the Hittite king to sack Babylon?
Mursili I
118
What did the site of Ortaköy turn out to be?
The Hittite, heavily Hurrian-influenced city of Shapinuw
119
What Hittite king conquered much of northern Syria?
Shuppiluliama I
120
When was the Old Hittite period in Hattusa?
1650-1400 BCE
121
Teshub
Weather god seen on the Rock Sanctuary of Yazilikaya
122
Hebat
Sun goddess seen on the Rock Sanctuary of Yazilikaya
123
Rock Sanctuary of Yazilikaya
In Hattusa, compleec in 13th century BCE. On vertical rock faces are carved images of Hittite deities in procession, culminating in a scene of the weather god, Teshub, and the sun goddes, Hebat.
124
Amarna Letters
Letters in the form of clay tablets in cuneiform reveal that there were 15-17 important city states in Canaan, each of these controlled a territory of no more than 1,000 square kms. Sheds light on the politics and diplomacy of the relationships between Egypt and the states of Canaan.
125
Where did Ugarit derive it's purple dye from?
Processing of locally available murex shells.
126
To what gods was an acropolis with 2 temples in Ugarit dedicated?
Baal and Dagan.
127
What did Ugarit export?
Olive oil, wine, salt, bales of cloth, purple linen, wool garments.
128
What is the earliest known alphabetic script?
A local cuneiform script found in Ugarit employed for the indigenous West Semitic language of the region.
129
Who did Ugarit ask for help at some point when involved in conflicts?
The Hittites
130
When did Mittani dominate Upper Mesopotamia?
1540-1340
131
Idrimi
King of Alalakh, statue of c. 1500 adorned with long inscription detailing the vagaries of contemporary regional politics.
132
What was the Uluburun ship carrying?
Immense wealth of cargo. Biggest component: 350 ingots of copper from Cypros.
133
What is the capitol of Assyria from the 14th century BC?
Ashur
134
Until when was iron scarce?
900 BC, when steel technology was adopted
