Hi folks,

This week I’d like you to pick one question from the Topics section of the review sheet and write about what you think is the most important perspective on this topic. Why do you think it makes a difference? What does it show us about the meaning of civilization as expressed in this particular time or place? I’m not looking for facts but a personal response—maybe one that might help someone else in the class see this event or idea in a new way.

Since they left no writings, how do we know anything about the Indo-Europeans’ origins?

Without any writing, the only way we could’ve known about ancient peoples of the past such as the Indo-Europeans were through artifacts, clothing, artwork and etc. The study of artifacts and the materials used or found around a specific place leads to knowledge about what use these materials had & its importance to the Indo-Europeans. Art like pottery & drawings are especially important as it displays the meaningful connections the people had with each other and the environment. You can learn a lot about what a society values based on the different types of art pieces or religious artifacts.

Writing and trade were a big part that are connected in early civilizations. Writing played a big role allowing people to record trade agreements, and communicate. In Mesopotamia, cuneiform began to track goods, but it became a tool for sharing ideas and culture. This connection shows that civilization advanced through cooperation and communication. Trade helped people exchange more than goods, it spread knowledge and new ways of thinking. Writing allowed ideas to be shared more efficiently, helping societies develop greater organization and stronger connections.

The events that happen in the epic of Gilgamesh reflect sumerian ideas through the way characters interact with the gods, their humanity and each other. When Enkidu and Gilgamesh kill humbaba and receive punishment for it, Enkidu dies a lackluster death going against his goal for fame. This reflects how Sumerians viewed death and how they saw it as the end of a story, and if the ending was lackluster or not memorable then you would be forgotten in contrast to the immortality of the gods. In addition, Gilgamesh's search for immortality after his friend dies only to find its impossible for him to achieve causes him to accept his mortality and immortalize himself through his story.

The intercourse between the harlot and Enkidu is significant in the process of civilization because it shows the role women hold in how society runs smoothly. A harlot in the book is known as a prostitute. In today's world, prostitutes are usually looked down on and treated less than but in ancient societies like Sumer, people like her were to be respected. As said in tablet 1, “She did for the man the work of a woman.” In this case it was bearing herself to Enkidu essentially making him into a man, teaching him the calmer more human ways of life. What Shamhat did for him was help him find his place in society. It could be assumed that a Harlot in Sumerian society is to be respected because their roles are just as great as a mother and/or woman in society– to guide, to care, to mother the future of man to guarantee it.

There were different kinds of writing systems. There were pictographic, syllabic and phonetic. Phonetic alphabet was when there was a picture for the starting sound and no an idea. Examples were: cuneiform, hieroglyphics. Syllabic alphabets were used for records and number/ quantities by Minoahs from Crete. They were hard to decipher and died out. Pictographic was a writing system where tablets were used to inscribe with a stylus. They represented nouns and were seen by the greeks, latin and Etruscan. I think this helps us understand how advanced civilizations built and utilized writing systems to keep record of everyday living and keep record of data that would help organize the civilization.

• Why does intercourse with the harlot transfer Enkidu from the wild to civilization, and why is his process of civilization significant?

Intercourse with the harlot transfer Enkidu from the wild to the civilization because of the fact that women represent somewhat of humanity as when Enkidu slept with the harlot the harlot in turn "civilized" Enkidu as intercourse meant that you were human as you treaded your lesser instinct to have sex to reproduce as we see this savage man who was living like an animal until the harlot as this shows the importance of women as women calm the beast inside of the men and therefore make the men more civilized and less dangerous to society having intercourse is like a way to calm them down or give them humanity just like the harlot did to Enkidu.

The development of writing was crucial to an urban civilization because it allowed people to organize and manage large communities more effectively. As cities grew, keeping track of trade, taxes, and resources became too complicated to rely on memory alone. Writing systems like cuneiform in Mesopotamia and hieroglyphics in Egypt helped record important information such as laws, property records, and religious texts. This made communication clearer between rulers, priests, and citizens and helped governments stay organized. Writing also allowed knowledge to be passed down through generations, helping civilizations preserve their history and culture. Without writing, urban societies would have struggled to maintain order or develop complex economies.

The factors that made the vast Persian empire so much more stable than the Neo-Assyrian empire was that the Persians allowed their subjects to enjoy the benefits of being a part of the empire unlike the Neo-Assyrians. For example, the Persian empire allowed non-Persians to be in positions of government and gave it’s people the ability to have and practice their own religions and rituals rather than taking that freedom from them The Neo-Assyrian people were infamous for instilling violence among their subjects to maintain order and oppressing their subjects by taking from them via taxes and stealing their goods. The Neo-Assyrian approach to maintain order by way of violence against the people led to revolts against the empire, demonstrating the people’s unhappiness of being subject to their rule. The empire was divided from within, a huge contrast to the Persian empire. 

What is “civilization”? What motivates its creation? What changes does it represent? Why do I call it an invention? Why is it a sacrifice?

Civilization is a human-made system developed to manage large, settled populations through organization, laws, and technology. It was created out of necessity—especially when farming replaced hunting and gathering, requiring new ways to manage land, food, and people. Civilization is an invention because it didn’t happen naturally; humans built it step by step, creating writing, government, and cities. But it’s also a sacrifice—people gave up freedom, equality, and a close connection to nature in exchange for stability and progress.

For example, in “Guns, Germs, and Steel,” we see how agriculture led to surplus food and the rise of cities, but also to social inequality. Early laws, like Hammurabi’s Code, helped maintain order but reinforced class divisions. In class, we discussed how civilizations like Mesopotamia or Egypt needed massive labor forces to build cities and irrigation—progress that came with control and hierarchy.

So, civilization brought advancement but also cost people a lot in return.

The cure to Gilgamesh's tyranny was the creation of Enkidu is mainly because the Gods made him to be almost like a one to one counterpart of Gilgamesh, which helps challenge Gilgamesh's arrogance as well as his tyranny rule over Uruk. This in the end allowed them to have a friendship, and Gilgamesh's demeanor changes up, as he begins to do heroic deeds and acts and grows as a character in a good way, not tyranny.

When it came to Pharaohs, the Egyptians held a believe that they were more then mortals but they had the power of gods. Pharaohs ruled the Egyptian land as the extension of the gods they believed and granted them the power and to lead the people the people of Egypt. But the Pharaoh also had their limits as they was expected to be able to keep his religious duties up to part as well as to keep order in his community by pleasing people of similar power and fighting people who were threatening his kingdom.

In The Epic of Gilgamesh, the creation of Enkidu was the answer to Gilgamesh’s tyranny because Gilgamesh needed someone to match his power. Gilgamesh was tyrannical because he felt disassociated from the people of Uruk, as he was the only one who was a demigod. Gilgamesh would force soldiers to fight him to satisfy his urge for battle, but none were able to match him until Enkidu arrived.  

In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Enkidu’s death is the catalyst for Gilgamesh’s search for immortality and throughout this quest the theme of life and what it means is explored. Gilgamesh fails to become immortal but he finally understands that because of who he is and what he has done he won’t die or disappear from history. This is a reflection of the theme; the meaning of life is the legacy left behind.

Civilization is about creating a new form of community and security for a union of people. The creation is motivated by finding a place with abundant agriculture, stable living connections and a trading system that connect other communities. This started as early as the Neolithic Agricultural revolution where the conversion to agriculture helped expand early civilizations across proto-cites. This would lead to city-states which marked a change in civilization by constructing monumental buildings and patron deities. Building a civilization serves as both an invention and sacrifice to the community. It's an invention by creating writing systems, forms of government and new religions to bring the community together. However, it's a sacrifice because a civilization like Sumer depends on the relationship between the individual and the community, the mortal and the divine, and the city and the empire. If those morals are compromised by an individual, it results in disgrace, banishment or termination.

Early civilizations developed through new technologies and social changes. Irrigation the plow, and the food storage let people grow more food, leading to bigger communities. In Mesopotamia, irrigation from the Tigirs river and Euphrates river helped support cities, surplus food created job specialization, stronger governments and organized religion. Writing systems like cuneiform script helped to keep records and manage resources. Together, these technologies and social structure laid the foundation for civilization.