Figure 1.--

Humans are capable of a great deal without civilization. We see animal domestication, art, astronomical observation, burial, building, clothing, cooking, fire, hair styles, language, music, pottery, religion, tattoos, tools, weapons, the wheel, and much more. There are three human creations, however that are necessary for civilization: 1) agriculture, 2) writing, and 3) math. Agriculture is need to create the wealth necessary for building civilization. A civilization requires specialization and urbanization. Both require the accumulation of a surplus so that each individual and family unit does not have to produce their own food and clothing. Agriculture developed before civilization. But for agriculture and civilization to advance, written language and math were needed. All of the early civilizations of the ancient world developed in river valleys where conditions were most appropriate for settled agriculture. The same pattern occurred in Tigris-Euphrates, Nile, Yellow, and Indus Rivers. It was here that early hunter-gatherers first settled down and began to grow and husband crops in settled communities. Writing is necessary for record keeping, but can be used for much more. Writing was needed for record keeping and probably evolved out of efforts to do just that. Writing was important in conducting economic transactions. Written records on goods traded and debts owed were essential for the commerce involved as people moved from simple bartering to more complex transactions. Distilling language to a writing system helped to make language a mote powerful tool. Clear writing is essentially clear thinking. And developing the grammar needed for clear thought necessitated a written language. Writing also had a range of practical benefits. Writing allowed people to preserve their history. This could be done orally, but not with the same accuracy. Math is also needed for record keeping, but like writing can be used for much more such as building. Mathematics has been described as 'a continuously expanding system of organized thought.' Thus like written language it perfected the tools needed for civilization. Math is needed for architecture, art, commerce/economics, music, science, technology, even sport. Meaning virtually every aspect of human activity. This has not only influenced, but often determined the direction of human advances in various areas. All known civilizations developed mathematical systems, some amazingly accurate systems.

Agriculture

Agriculture is need to create the wealth necessary for building civilization. A civilization requires specialization and urbanization. Both require the accumulation of a surplus so that each individual and family unit does not have to produce their own food and clothing. Some can turn to specializing in he skills needed for urbanization and civilized life. Agriculture developed before civilization. But for agriculture and civilization to advance, written language and math were needed. The early civilizations of the ancient world developed in river valleys where conditions were most appropriate for settled agriculture--meaning low-technology agriculture could produce bountiful harvests. The same pattern occurred in Tigris-Euphrates, Nile, Yellow, and Indus Rivers. It was here that early hunter-gatherers first settled down and began to grow and husband crops in at first small urban settings. Many of these crops have had profound consequences on human culture and society. Human agriculture used the native plants in these river valleys, gradually modified, and as a result the crops varied from one civilization to another. Over time, plants were imported from distant regions. Agriculture provided both food and raw material for textiles. Two crops, corn and the potato, were imported from the Americas in modern times -- part of the Colombian Exchange, And as a result of the Spanish conquests and had a profound impact on European society including making the industrial revolution possible. Another plant, cotton, played a major role in the generating the Industrial Revolution.

Writing

Writing is necessary for record keeping, but can be used for much more. Writing was needed for record keeping and probably evolved out of efforts to do just that. Writing was important in conducting economic transactions. Written records on goods traded and debts owed were essential for the commerce involved as people moved from simple bartering to more complex transactions. Distilling language to a writing system helped to make language a mote powerful tool. Clear writing is essentially clear thinking. And developing the grammar needed for clear thought necessitated a written language. Writing also had a range of practical benefits. Writing allowed people to preserve their history. This could be done orally, but not with the same accuracy. The Egyptians, for example, documented their pharaohs’ reigns on stone walls and papyrus scrolls. These works provided coming generations with important information about their culture, traditions, and beliefs as well as vital knowledge about the Nile floods. Writing also expanded the communication over time and place. The Greeks thus were able to communicate with their various city sates as well as other people beyond their own peninsula. They thus could could document events and information and both offer and request assistance. We only know of one major civilization that did not have a written language--the Inca. But modern research has revealed that Inca quipus served much the same function as writing. Writing was invented in Mesopotamia. -systems appear to have been invented independently at least six times in human history: first in Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq) where cuneiform appeared (about 3400 BC) followed soon after in Egypt (about 3200 BC). Although a great quantity of Egyptian writing has survived, it baffled scholars for centuries. It may have remained undecipherable had translations not been discovered--the Rosetta Stone which Jean François Champollion used to crack the code. Writing also developed in the Indus Valley (about 2500 BC), but so little of it has been found that it remains undecipherable. Much later writing appeared in Shang China (about 1250 BC). And finally we see writing in Mesoamerica (about 800 BC). Mesoamerican writing proved very difficult to decipher, in part because the Spanish friars destroyed so much of the writing. These systems varied significantly in type and other features. Mesopotamia created the most advance system, beginning with pictorial signs that gradually evolved into a complex system of characters representing phonetic sounds of the Sumerian language. But it would be the Egyptian hieroglyphics that would provided the basis of our modern alphabet. Egyptian picture symbols being used in Canaan, evolved into phonetic symbols. Here the Phoneticians played a major in this process and spreading it throughout the Mediterranean world. Although these dates suggest that writing could have spread out from one central point of origin, there is little evidence of any links between these systems, with each possessing unique characteristics and qualities.

Math

Math is also needed for record keeping, but like writing can not only be used for much more and is not only central in building and engineering. Mathematics has been described as 'a continuously expanding system of organized thought.' Thus like written language it perfected the tools needed for civilization. Math is needed for architecture, art, commerce/economics, music, science, technology, even sport. Meaning virtually every aspect of human activity. This has not only influenced, but often determined the direction of human advances in various areas. All known civilizations developed mathematical systems, some amazingly accurate systems. The Maya for example had calculated the length of the celestial year much more accurately than the Europeans. The history of mathematics begins in Mesopotamia and as far as can tell, much more advanced than Egyptian mathematics. There are extant original Mesopotamian documentation (clay tablets) written by scribes. The limited Egyptian documentation is limited, but suggest that Egyptian mathematics was largely elementary and limited to practical applications. The Mesopotamian tablets reveal an impressive level of mathematical advance, although not yet organized into a deductive system. This is what the Greeks would achieve. It is likely that the explosion of mathematical knowledge in Greece was influenced by the ground breaking developments in Mesopotamia. The Greeks developed important fields of math, especially geometry and calculus. The Arabs would significantly expand the Greek foundation with an expansion of Algebra. The cumbersome Roman numerical system no doubt inhibited the development of both math, science, and other areas. The arrival of Arabic (actually Indian) numbers was vital in the development of science as Europe emerged from the medieval era. The level mathematical knowledge is India is commonly not fully explored.

Created: 10:37 PM 10/17/2023
Spell checked: 10:37 PM 10/17/2023 Last updated: 10:37 PM 10/17/2023