欧洲文化学习指导书.pptVIP

Ancient Near East: The First Civilizations Prelude Questions to think about (Chapter 1 p.1) Where did the Neolithic agricultural revolution occur, how did it affect the lives of men and women? What are the characteristics of civilization? What are some explanations for why early civilizations emerged? How did geography contribute to the civilizations that arose in Mesopotamia and Egypt? What role did religion play in the civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt? What were the chief legacies of Mesopotamia and Egypt to later civilizations? In what ways were the civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt alike, and different? The Early Civilizations The Mesopotamia (Tigris and Euphrates = today’s Iraq) (4,000 – 3,500 BC) The Nile valley (Egypt) (3,100 BC ) The Indus valley (3,000 – 2,500 BC) The Yellow River and Yangtz River (3,000 - 2,500 BC) Traditionally 4 civilizations, all in the East. How about the West civilization? Origin of European/Western Civilization Aryan model雅利安模式: ancient Greco-Roman origin + the decisive influence of Indo-European language speakers from the North. Ancient model古代模式: ancient Greco-Romans borrowed from Near East Semite[闪族] people, Egyptians. Martin Bernal, Black Athena, 1986, 2006 Martin Bernal (1937 -): a Professor of Government and Near Eastern Studies at Cornell University, USA. Black Athena: The Afroasiatic Roots of Classical Civilization: a controversial three-volume work. Criticism of the Aryan model. Revisionist [修正主义] view on the origin of Western culture/civilization：“revisit the ancient model”. Rejection of Euro-centrism [欧洲中心主义]. Civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt. Part One Civilization of Mesopotamia Part Two Egyptian Civilization Part Three Ancient Near East: Peoples and Empires Part One Civilization of Mesopotamia-- “The Cradle of Civilization” Civilization of Mesopotamia-- the cradle of civilization Mesopotamia, located mainly in modern Iraq, as well as some parts of northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey